If you are a law student, I wouldn't be surprised if your approach to assessment is dissimilar from mine: I have a tendency to get super-motivated and start an assignment the second I receive a topic. That motivation lasts about an hour, often less, as I realise the topic is boring/difficult/easy/stupid. At some point (often a week or so before it is due, although sometimes in the days before) I become super motivated yet again. This all ends up with me handing in an assignment that I am totally sick of and, a week later, would not be able to tell a person the topic.
We all know it isn't the best way to go about getting a lousy few marks down before our big exams, but we all do it anyway. We all wonder if it was the adrenaline, Red Bull, coffee or lollies that kept us going and vow to ourselves that it will not happen again as we drift off to sleep, still standing in front of the submission box. Other students behind us growing impatient, we promptly forget the promise we made to ourselves and carry on, destined to forever forget to start the next assignment early.
When I start an assignment, or even studying for that matter, early enough, I have a tendency to assume it is too early and 'no one could possibly be starting now'. WRONG! Someone else always will have started before you and law school is WAR. Well, not really, but you get the idea! Do you really want to be the last person to start? Even factoring the stress of starting an assignment with so little time remaining, neglecting to start in a timely fashion means you run the risk of losing valuable resources, if you are like me and like using library books.
So starting early is a given, right? But what do you do when you are in a situation like I am now, with 3 assignments and 1 exam in a short period of time? Someone told me in high school that when you get an exam timetable you should always plan to start studying for the last exam first. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it makes plenty of sense. I'm planning on taking this idea and using it for my assignments. While I won't completely finish the one due last now, I plan to have a great draft done in the next week or so which will enable me to spend the time I need to spend on my other pieces of assessment.
What is your take? Do you start super early or are you like me, a perpetual procrastinator?
I have been a perpetual procrastinator (man I love a good alliteration)
ReplyDeleteThis time round I started early, I knew the piece covered the first five topics, so as we've progressed through each topic I've tried to tick off the points form each topic so I've got something workable to play with. The thing in doing it like that, is the courses typical have a progression in the level of analysis, and I've found that the earlier sections I've completed while applying to the topic from that week, do not necessarily represent the topics we've covered for the assessment as a whole. I think that there's something to be said for waiting until the materials that you'll be assessed against have taught, but I've found it valuable starting early, it least gives me quite a bit of raw materials which I can shape a more comprehensive answer out of now that I've gotten to the later materials.
You always have to start early, otherwise all the talk from the students in your class about how they have started, researched and well on their way, will drive you insane.
ReplyDeleteI was a perpetual procrastinator until I did really badly in a subject last year and realized it was time to start early. Buuuut...groupwork also weighs on this. I have two group assignments this sem and people seem to like avoiding meetings or allocating work to each other. Frustrating.
ReplyDeleteI used to be a perpetual procrastinator until I realised was I even leaving my procrastinating until the last minute! ;-) Then I slapped myself round the face and starting my papers earlier. I think it's better that way, but I don't think there's a hard and fast rule for success! :-)
ReplyDelete