Had this sent to my inbox the other day, and it has really helpful tips for keeping your work area organised. On of the really simple things you can do to help with studying is to keep your work area organised, and that link has some fantastic, simple, easy to implement ideas. No, you won't be able to implement every idea, but don't just stick to one picture either. Pick and choose your organisation, and sort out the area you work in. Simple and effective.
Showing posts with label All Subjects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label All Subjects. Show all posts
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
10 Ways To Beat Exam Stress
I know that exams are upon us, and if you're anything like me, you'll be freaking out. It's normal to be stressing out about exams. A little bit of stress helps us motivate ourselves, helps us get ourselves in gear, get us moving. But too much stress can make us burn out. So, here are 10 Top Tips to keeping the stress levels down, and helping you be prepared for your pending exams. Good Luck!
1) Devise A Cunning Plan.
I write a detailed revision chart a few weeks before exams to help allocate time to revise, time to do homework, time to do chores, time to go out etc. That way I know how many hours I'm spending on my subjects. Always allocate a little bit of extra time to the subjects that you're having trouble with. It doesn't have to be much - just a little extra to help cement it into your brain. It's better to overestimate how much time you'll need to revise than it is to underestimate. You don't want to get over-booked, because that leads to stress. Be realistic and flexible. Look over the syllabus, go over old exam questions, and get your parents and friends involved. (See 'Extra Tips and Tricks')
2) Find A Quiet Space.
It's impossible to get work done when there are distractions and a noisy environment. Close your door, shut yourself in your room, and find your way of working (See '6) Find Your Own Way Of Working'). Try going to the library to get away from distractions, or find a quiet space at home.
3) Aids To Memory.
The more relevant facts you can mention in your exams the better. Make lists of the key facts you need to know in each subject/topic and memorise them. Make memory study cards, or a key facts revision poster, and get friends and family to help test you on them.
4) Don't Stress Over Chores.
Household chores are a pain. But don't panic that you'll never find time to do them. Try talking to your parents and working out a way of condensing and simplifying your chores down. Don't throw a tantrum, but ask politely and state your case. A simple 'I need to focus on my exams, is it OK to leave my room cleaning until the weekend? I promise I'll give it a really good go-over.' is much more effective than 'I can't do my room I'm revising for my future! Ergh, you're so STUPID!!!' Right?
5) Praise Don't Pressure.
Don't pressure yourself into a state. Praise is much better to hear than put-downs. Don't say to yourself 'God, why don't I know that? I'm so thick, I'm gonna fail!' Instead, try asking 'Why don't I know that? Lets go over my notes, and try spending some more time revising it.' Failure is disappointing, but it's not the end of the world. Sure, if you get a D but you really wanted a B, it's annoying, but don't get hung up on it. You can't change the past. Just learn from it.
6) Find Your Own Way Of Working.
Not every revision way is going to work for you. Your mates may like to work in the morning, and yet you just can't drag yourself out of bed. That's fine. Your other friend might be able to revise all day, but you get bored and end up playing computer games. That's fine too. Because those aren't your way of working. Try revising at different times in the day and find the time that's right for you. It may be morning, afternoon, or evening. And then try revising for a long while and then try shorter chunks. I find I can't work more than an hour on one subject before getting bored. So I tend to work for an hour, go off, have a drink, come back in 20 minutes and start again. My tip? Swap subjects after your 'cut off point' and swap mediums. So, if you've revised English for 20 minutes by reading a book, after your break revise Maths by doing quizzes on the Internet. That way your mind is constantly being challenged, and you might even be able to work for longer.
7) Start Your Exam With A Plan.
At the start of every exam I spend about 5-10 minutes jotting down everything I can remember on the topic I'm being asked questions about. That way my knowledge is down on the paper, and my brain can access more information because you're not stressing out as much. Plus you have a note plan for every answer, so you can spend a little more time on structuring a great answer than on panicking that you 'suck'. Plus, if you run out of time, the exam may see your plan and award you some marks. If I'm running out of time I always try and bullet point my answers down, because then I can prove I know what I'm talking about. Timing is everything, so spend about 5-10 minutes reading the exam paper, choosing your answers and planing. You may find you need a little more time, and that's fine. Try practising your timing at home on old exam papers.
8) Chill-out Time.
Always take time out to chill. Watch TV, hang out with mates, do some exercise. Regular breaks and regular chill-outs are the key. If you don't see your friends, or chill, you are heading for severe brain meltdown. And then there's no point revising anyway, because it's all leaking straight back out your ears. Plus, the science behind this? Regular activity helps combat stress hormones. So you get to see your mates and feel less stressed? Sounds like a winner. Just make sure you're home at a reasonable time so you get enough sleep. So no partying until 3am!
1) Devise A Cunning Plan.
I write a detailed revision chart a few weeks before exams to help allocate time to revise, time to do homework, time to do chores, time to go out etc. That way I know how many hours I'm spending on my subjects. Always allocate a little bit of extra time to the subjects that you're having trouble with. It doesn't have to be much - just a little extra to help cement it into your brain. It's better to overestimate how much time you'll need to revise than it is to underestimate. You don't want to get over-booked, because that leads to stress. Be realistic and flexible. Look over the syllabus, go over old exam questions, and get your parents and friends involved. (See 'Extra Tips and Tricks')
2) Find A Quiet Space.
It's impossible to get work done when there are distractions and a noisy environment. Close your door, shut yourself in your room, and find your way of working (See '6) Find Your Own Way Of Working'). Try going to the library to get away from distractions, or find a quiet space at home.
3) Aids To Memory.
The more relevant facts you can mention in your exams the better. Make lists of the key facts you need to know in each subject/topic and memorise them. Make memory study cards, or a key facts revision poster, and get friends and family to help test you on them.
4) Don't Stress Over Chores.
Household chores are a pain. But don't panic that you'll never find time to do them. Try talking to your parents and working out a way of condensing and simplifying your chores down. Don't throw a tantrum, but ask politely and state your case. A simple 'I need to focus on my exams, is it OK to leave my room cleaning until the weekend? I promise I'll give it a really good go-over.' is much more effective than 'I can't do my room I'm revising for my future! Ergh, you're so STUPID!!!' Right?
5) Praise Don't Pressure.
Don't pressure yourself into a state. Praise is much better to hear than put-downs. Don't say to yourself 'God, why don't I know that? I'm so thick, I'm gonna fail!' Instead, try asking 'Why don't I know that? Lets go over my notes, and try spending some more time revising it.' Failure is disappointing, but it's not the end of the world. Sure, if you get a D but you really wanted a B, it's annoying, but don't get hung up on it. You can't change the past. Just learn from it.
6) Find Your Own Way Of Working.
Not every revision way is going to work for you. Your mates may like to work in the morning, and yet you just can't drag yourself out of bed. That's fine. Your other friend might be able to revise all day, but you get bored and end up playing computer games. That's fine too. Because those aren't your way of working. Try revising at different times in the day and find the time that's right for you. It may be morning, afternoon, or evening. And then try revising for a long while and then try shorter chunks. I find I can't work more than an hour on one subject before getting bored. So I tend to work for an hour, go off, have a drink, come back in 20 minutes and start again. My tip? Swap subjects after your 'cut off point' and swap mediums. So, if you've revised English for 20 minutes by reading a book, after your break revise Maths by doing quizzes on the Internet. That way your mind is constantly being challenged, and you might even be able to work for longer.
7) Start Your Exam With A Plan.
At the start of every exam I spend about 5-10 minutes jotting down everything I can remember on the topic I'm being asked questions about. That way my knowledge is down on the paper, and my brain can access more information because you're not stressing out as much. Plus you have a note plan for every answer, so you can spend a little more time on structuring a great answer than on panicking that you 'suck'. Plus, if you run out of time, the exam may see your plan and award you some marks. If I'm running out of time I always try and bullet point my answers down, because then I can prove I know what I'm talking about. Timing is everything, so spend about 5-10 minutes reading the exam paper, choosing your answers and planing. You may find you need a little more time, and that's fine. Try practising your timing at home on old exam papers.
8) Chill-out Time.
Always take time out to chill. Watch TV, hang out with mates, do some exercise. Regular breaks and regular chill-outs are the key. If you don't see your friends, or chill, you are heading for severe brain meltdown. And then there's no point revising anyway, because it's all leaking straight back out your ears. Plus, the science behind this? Regular activity helps combat stress hormones. So you get to see your mates and feel less stressed? Sounds like a winner. Just make sure you're home at a reasonable time so you get enough sleep. So no partying until 3am!
Monday, March 02, 2009
Essay Writing - Part Four
Remember, you can download the entire pack here.
When you have finished the first draft, READ IT THROUGH. If you are in any doubt about the grammar, read it aloud. Have you done a spell check? Have you done a bibliography? Have you numbered and captioned the illustrations? Have you included a word count?
Avoiding Cliché
Here are some common words and phrases that are often misused:
In stark contrast: What is so stark about the contrast? Are you sure it is not just simply a bit different?
Portray: To portray something means to make a portrait of a name individual or thing. By extension, the word can be used metaphorically: thus "James' novel, Washington Square is a portrait of New York society in the 1880's. But this use of 'portray' has become a cliché, and bad writers, unaware of the metaphorical meaning, now use it relentlessly when they really mean 'represent', 'depict', 'show'.
Deeply personal: This is often used as the ultimate term of praise for any sort of artwork. But what does it mean? If you mean that the subject of the work is private life, or intimate experience then say so. It is helpful to remember that everyone experiences love, death, birth etc, but far fewer people can make good art about these experiences. If it is good art it works because it taps into the common realm of such experiences, otherwise we would not be able to understand it.
Capturing the essence: Image-makers do not capture essences of things: they make representations. Image-making is an artificial process; ideas for artworks are not hanging in the air, waiting to be 'captured': the most apparently spontaneous work may involve years of effort. talking about 'capturing essences' mystifies this effort, which should be the real subject of your analysis. Lens-based art is particularly liable to fall victim to this kind of mystification. Instead of saying, for example, that Gillanders' photograph of the poet Ian Hamilton Finlay 'captures the great mans essence', you should consider the portrait as an image which invokes other images; i.e. which deliberately places this image of MacLean in well-known traditions: the Romantic 'Great man' (e.g. Rodin's Thinker), the head of the prophet (e.g. Michaelangelo's Moses).
When you have finished the first draft, READ IT THROUGH. If you are in any doubt about the grammar, read it aloud. Have you done a spell check? Have you done a bibliography? Have you numbered and captioned the illustrations? Have you included a word count?
Avoiding Cliché
Here are some common words and phrases that are often misused:
In stark contrast: What is so stark about the contrast? Are you sure it is not just simply a bit different?
Portray: To portray something means to make a portrait of a name individual or thing. By extension, the word can be used metaphorically: thus "James' novel, Washington Square is a portrait of New York society in the 1880's. But this use of 'portray' has become a cliché, and bad writers, unaware of the metaphorical meaning, now use it relentlessly when they really mean 'represent', 'depict', 'show'.
Deeply personal: This is often used as the ultimate term of praise for any sort of artwork. But what does it mean? If you mean that the subject of the work is private life, or intimate experience then say so. It is helpful to remember that everyone experiences love, death, birth etc, but far fewer people can make good art about these experiences. If it is good art it works because it taps into the common realm of such experiences, otherwise we would not be able to understand it.
Capturing the essence: Image-makers do not capture essences of things: they make representations. Image-making is an artificial process; ideas for artworks are not hanging in the air, waiting to be 'captured': the most apparently spontaneous work may involve years of effort. talking about 'capturing essences' mystifies this effort, which should be the real subject of your analysis. Lens-based art is particularly liable to fall victim to this kind of mystification. Instead of saying, for example, that Gillanders' photograph of the poet Ian Hamilton Finlay 'captures the great mans essence', you should consider the portrait as an image which invokes other images; i.e. which deliberately places this image of MacLean in well-known traditions: the Romantic 'Great man' (e.g. Rodin's Thinker), the head of the prophet (e.g. Michaelangelo's Moses).
Essay Writing - Part Three
Remember, you can download the whole pack from here.
Your Own Ideas and Other People's
Try to avoid vague remarks: Some say... or Many think... Who exactly says or thinks this? You should be able to cite at least one specific individual, and be able to quote what it is that he or she said or thought. If quoting from a book, it is important to supply a context for the quotation. Briefly introduce the new speaker in your text: "According to the anthropologist, Joseph Campbell...", or "In 1908, Freud argued in a letter to Jung that..." This will enable your reader to orient themselves. Then comes the quote (indented and single spaced). Then, explain to the reader the significance of the quote: state explicitly why you are quoting this. Point out any contradictions or interesting implications. Very often you will be able to use this 'exit' from the quote to form a bridge to the subject or point you will be dealing with next.
Good Style
Focus on the artwork, not the artist. An excellent way to approach any still or time-based work of art is to pretend it is anonymous. This will save you from wasting time and words on irrelevant biographical detail. Imagine that all you know about a work is the year and place in which it was made. How would you start researching its meaning? You would have to look first at the culture and historical events, the movements and ideas around it.
Avoid overstatement, as in the sort of sentence that begins, "Truly, Man Ray had entered a new realm of reality..." Had he bodily left the universe or had he just started making a different kind of photographic image? And what is that "Truly" doing there? If it is not true, why say it?
You may find yourself using "Truly" and other redundant constructions ("Hopefully", "Sadly") to make your writing sound more exciting. This is unnecessary. If the event or idea you are discussing is itself interesting or important, all you have to do is describe it and let it speak for itself.
Other forms of overstatement involve making gigantic claims; e.g. "Throughout history, man has endeavored..." or "Never before in the history of photography had..." Few of us actually know enough to make a claim like this. Chances are such statements are going to be plain wrong or at best redundant. Similarly avoid starting with assertions about human nature e.g.: "Man has always used violence as a spur to progress." Has the writer undertaken a comprehensive study of all known civilisations and cultures, at all periods of human history, or are they talking nonsense? What would you think? If in doubt try putting together an opposite statement: "Throughout history man has never tried to..."; "Many/Several times before in the history of photography..."; "Man has always regarded violence as a block to progress." If any of these strike you as at least as likely to be true as the original claim, then you will know you have to change your text.
The truth is that no culture is uniform; cultures are composed of competing and co-operating groups, who may differ radically in their views of their common situation. History tends to be produced through debate and disagreement (dialectic). Where there is slavery, for example, there will always be groups of people trying to abolish it.
Your Own Ideas and Other People's
Try to avoid vague remarks: Some say... or Many think... Who exactly says or thinks this? You should be able to cite at least one specific individual, and be able to quote what it is that he or she said or thought. If quoting from a book, it is important to supply a context for the quotation. Briefly introduce the new speaker in your text: "According to the anthropologist, Joseph Campbell...", or "In 1908, Freud argued in a letter to Jung that..." This will enable your reader to orient themselves. Then comes the quote (indented and single spaced). Then, explain to the reader the significance of the quote: state explicitly why you are quoting this. Point out any contradictions or interesting implications. Very often you will be able to use this 'exit' from the quote to form a bridge to the subject or point you will be dealing with next.
Good Style
Focus on the artwork, not the artist. An excellent way to approach any still or time-based work of art is to pretend it is anonymous. This will save you from wasting time and words on irrelevant biographical detail. Imagine that all you know about a work is the year and place in which it was made. How would you start researching its meaning? You would have to look first at the culture and historical events, the movements and ideas around it.
Avoid overstatement, as in the sort of sentence that begins, "Truly, Man Ray had entered a new realm of reality..." Had he bodily left the universe or had he just started making a different kind of photographic image? And what is that "Truly" doing there? If it is not true, why say it?
You may find yourself using "Truly" and other redundant constructions ("Hopefully", "Sadly") to make your writing sound more exciting. This is unnecessary. If the event or idea you are discussing is itself interesting or important, all you have to do is describe it and let it speak for itself.
Other forms of overstatement involve making gigantic claims; e.g. "Throughout history, man has endeavored..." or "Never before in the history of photography had..." Few of us actually know enough to make a claim like this. Chances are such statements are going to be plain wrong or at best redundant. Similarly avoid starting with assertions about human nature e.g.: "Man has always used violence as a spur to progress." Has the writer undertaken a comprehensive study of all known civilisations and cultures, at all periods of human history, or are they talking nonsense? What would you think? If in doubt try putting together an opposite statement: "Throughout history man has never tried to..."; "Many/Several times before in the history of photography..."; "Man has always regarded violence as a block to progress." If any of these strike you as at least as likely to be true as the original claim, then you will know you have to change your text.
The truth is that no culture is uniform; cultures are composed of competing and co-operating groups, who may differ radically in their views of their common situation. History tends to be produced through debate and disagreement (dialectic). Where there is slavery, for example, there will always be groups of people trying to abolish it.
Essay Writing - Part Two
Remember you can download the whole pack from here.
Notes on Writing
Explain Things Clearly
It is very important to remember that real people, not abstract nouns, are the actual cause of historical events. For example, the sentence "Industrialisation swept across Europe in the nineteenth century" is misleading on several grounds. Grammaically, Industrialisation is not something like a plague of a hurricane; it cannot literally 'sweep' anywhere. So here the author is speaking metaphorically. Is this then a good metaphor? No. What the author of the sentence really means is that, across Europe, millions of people were engaged in building factories and railways; that more and more people now worked in factories with machines, and that the common experience of urban life was radically different for these people that it had been for their grandparents. This type of metaphor is bad for a number of reasons; first it conceals the experience of these people. Worse, by making Industialisation sound like a force of nature, it conceals the political nature of the phenoenon. Finally, the sentence is bad because of its hidden assumptions about causation. It implies, first, that this particular historical change was inevitable, and, second that this change did indeed have the nuetral qualities of a force of nature, instead of being something actively created by specific groups of people, and in this case for profit.
Grammer and Style
Sentences
Keep your sentences short and to the point. use active rather than passive sentences. e.g. "Leibovitz took the photo" (active). "The photo was taken by Leibovitz" (passive). The subject of the sentence must agree in tense, number (singular or plural) and voice; avoid switching from "It says" to "They say" halfway through a sentence. Just because a phrase has some kind of verb in it does not mean it is a sentence. For example: "Combining the two forms in a new way" is not a sentence. This phrase could probably be linked to the previous sentence with a semi-colon (;) or made to stand on its own, e.g. "He/She combined the two forms in a new way."
This is not a trivial matter; sentences are units of sense and logic. If your essay is not expressed in sentences, your writing will not make sense and your points will be confused and confusing. Everyone talks naturally in short sentences, we do not mix up tenses and number. As a test, try reading your essay aloud. Never write anything you can't say.
Paragraphs
Paragraphs are the next unit of sense; a way of organising your thouts typographically, making your argument easier to follow. Typically made up of about three or four linked sentences, paragraphs are used to develop and idea, or present a logical sequence of data. The following sections of this booklet are examples of paragraphs.
Notes on Writing
Explain Things Clearly
It is very important to remember that real people, not abstract nouns, are the actual cause of historical events. For example, the sentence "Industrialisation swept across Europe in the nineteenth century" is misleading on several grounds. Grammaically, Industrialisation is not something like a plague of a hurricane; it cannot literally 'sweep' anywhere. So here the author is speaking metaphorically. Is this then a good metaphor? No. What the author of the sentence really means is that, across Europe, millions of people were engaged in building factories and railways; that more and more people now worked in factories with machines, and that the common experience of urban life was radically different for these people that it had been for their grandparents. This type of metaphor is bad for a number of reasons; first it conceals the experience of these people. Worse, by making Industialisation sound like a force of nature, it conceals the political nature of the phenoenon. Finally, the sentence is bad because of its hidden assumptions about causation. It implies, first, that this particular historical change was inevitable, and, second that this change did indeed have the nuetral qualities of a force of nature, instead of being something actively created by specific groups of people, and in this case for profit.
Grammer and Style
Sentences
Keep your sentences short and to the point. use active rather than passive sentences. e.g. "Leibovitz took the photo" (active). "The photo was taken by Leibovitz" (passive). The subject of the sentence must agree in tense, number (singular or plural) and voice; avoid switching from "It says" to "They say" halfway through a sentence. Just because a phrase has some kind of verb in it does not mean it is a sentence. For example: "Combining the two forms in a new way" is not a sentence. This phrase could probably be linked to the previous sentence with a semi-colon (;) or made to stand on its own, e.g. "He/She combined the two forms in a new way."
This is not a trivial matter; sentences are units of sense and logic. If your essay is not expressed in sentences, your writing will not make sense and your points will be confused and confusing. Everyone talks naturally in short sentences, we do not mix up tenses and number. As a test, try reading your essay aloud. Never write anything you can't say.
Paragraphs
Paragraphs are the next unit of sense; a way of organising your thouts typographically, making your argument easier to follow. Typically made up of about three or four linked sentences, paragraphs are used to develop and idea, or present a logical sequence of data. The following sections of this booklet are examples of paragraphs.
Essay Writing - Part One
This is an important part of nearly every subject you study, and can help out with simple note-taking as well. Below are sectiosn from a pack I was given when we were writing out photography personal study, but it applies for all subjects. Just skip over parts that are purely subject-based. I'll have to type it into parts, so bear with me. Or, you can download the entire pack from here.
Essay Writing
Essay writing is an essential skill when articulating your thoughts and ideas. No matter how good an image maker you are, youw ill need to articulate and explain your ideas through words, whether verbally or written.
Listening and Taking Notes
The first port of call for writing an essay is listening in class. Take notes, a lesson is an interactive experience, even when the teacher is giving a long lecture. The more engaged you are, the more you will get out of it, and the easiest way of doing this is to take notes. Writing while you listen is a key skill; it enables you to remember and absorb more of what you are hearing, which generally improves your memory. When taking notes, flag up any interesting points, or things you would like to know more about. Leave spaces and questions for parts that you missed, or didn't understand. Ask the tutor to fill these points in, or expand on them. Talk to your classmates later to see how they write their notes. NEVER be afraid to ask when you don't know.
Why Reading Helps Understanding Images.
It may not be immediately evident how one can 'apply' a particular piece of reading - a theorectical text, a cultural analysis etc - to a set of pictures, or footage, or media layout. But it is always true that the more you know, the more you can see. What, exactly, we see depends on our viewpoint, and this changes the object we think we are seeing. The job of artists, scholars and critics is to interpret historical events and to evaluate what they really mean, what they appear to mean, and what they can be made to mean, from different viewpoints in culture.
How To Read
We all think we know how to read, but reading with an essay in mind requires preparation and concentration. Again, note-taking is essential. After the fifth book or article, few people will remember the first unless they've made notes. Copy out quotations you find striking or illuminating, note the details of images as you find them. Come equipped with post-it notes and index cards. Get used to carrying a book; read it on the bus or over coffee. Read a newspaper, ideally one with arts coverage and in-depth articles. Keep pen and paper with you so you can jot down ideas and references as you go. Get a decent dictionary and look up words that you don't know, and write them down as you go. The complete Oxford English Dictionary will also tell you when a word was first used, and what it meant then. Use the Dictionary of National Biography, or the Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought to find out the correct names of people and the definitions of more complicated terms such as Modernism or Industrialisation. These methods are probably quicker than looking them up on the Internet. only use the references from the Internet from reliable sources such as University websites or Google Scholar
Essay Writing
Essay writing is an essential skill when articulating your thoughts and ideas. No matter how good an image maker you are, youw ill need to articulate and explain your ideas through words, whether verbally or written.
Listening and Taking Notes
The first port of call for writing an essay is listening in class. Take notes, a lesson is an interactive experience, even when the teacher is giving a long lecture. The more engaged you are, the more you will get out of it, and the easiest way of doing this is to take notes. Writing while you listen is a key skill; it enables you to remember and absorb more of what you are hearing, which generally improves your memory. When taking notes, flag up any interesting points, or things you would like to know more about. Leave spaces and questions for parts that you missed, or didn't understand. Ask the tutor to fill these points in, or expand on them. Talk to your classmates later to see how they write their notes. NEVER be afraid to ask when you don't know.
Why Reading Helps Understanding Images.
It may not be immediately evident how one can 'apply' a particular piece of reading - a theorectical text, a cultural analysis etc - to a set of pictures, or footage, or media layout. But it is always true that the more you know, the more you can see. What, exactly, we see depends on our viewpoint, and this changes the object we think we are seeing. The job of artists, scholars and critics is to interpret historical events and to evaluate what they really mean, what they appear to mean, and what they can be made to mean, from different viewpoints in culture.
How To Read
We all think we know how to read, but reading with an essay in mind requires preparation and concentration. Again, note-taking is essential. After the fifth book or article, few people will remember the first unless they've made notes. Copy out quotations you find striking or illuminating, note the details of images as you find them. Come equipped with post-it notes and index cards. Get used to carrying a book; read it on the bus or over coffee. Read a newspaper, ideally one with arts coverage and in-depth articles. Keep pen and paper with you so you can jot down ideas and references as you go. Get a decent dictionary and look up words that you don't know, and write them down as you go. The complete Oxford English Dictionary will also tell you when a word was first used, and what it meant then. Use the Dictionary of National Biography, or the Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought to find out the correct names of people and the definitions of more complicated terms such as Modernism or Industrialisation. These methods are probably quicker than looking them up on the Internet. only use the references from the Internet from reliable sources such as University websites or Google Scholar
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