Managing your time as a university student

University students are often unaccustomed to the greater challenges, workload, and time commitment associated with university and college compared to secondary education. The use of editing services when writing papers, or even using an editing service to help respond to emails or supervisor feedback is helpful, but time management is something that is ultimately left to the individual.

In everything a university student does, there is a trade-off in terms of time spent on one task rather than another. However, if you recognise what is draining your time and use reasonable strategies to address the situation, you are likely to find that you can balance all of your commitments effectively. Even if you are studying on the most demanding course, you should still be able to satisfy all of your course requirements and have a peaceful night’s sleep.

 

1. Create a checklist or schedule

Doctors, pilots, entrepreneurs, and many other professionals use checklists or schedules to ensure that they make optimal use of their time. As a university student, you are likely to have many tasks and events for both, personal and academic – competing for your attention. For this reason, using a checklist or schedule to write down all your tasks, and then to cross them out when they are finished, is worthwhile. There is also something very rewarding about checking off every task in a checklist, which can drive you on and give you momentum.

 

Image: Crossing items off your checklist can give you a psychological boost

2. Prioritise your tasks

If you don’t already have a to-do list, schedule, or checklist, you should create one (as we draw attention to in the previous tip). Once you have, the next crucial step is to order your tasks based on their priority. To improve your ability to identify tasks that are high-priority and those that are low-priority, one of the key questions to ask yourself is the following: “Will doing this task on my to-do list help me resolve others?” If there is a clear answer to this question, those are the tasks you should prioritise.

 

3. Use rewards

Oftentimes, you – as a university student – desperately want to purchase a product or attend a social event. Even if you have the money and time to do so without sacrificing too much, use the desires you have to help you achieve your academic goals and manage your time more effectively. For example, if you stick to a routine where, every time you cross a task of your checklist, you add £0.50 to a saving jar for something you want to buy, you’ll begin to find that this has dramatically positive impact on your productivity and efficiency.  

 

4. Get an early start

If you wake up early in the morning, you are less likely to rush and, as a result, you are less likely to experience time-related stress. Also, when you wake up early, you may benefit from the fact that many of the people you live with do not. As a result, this will help you to remove things from your environment that are distracting you, helping you to manage your time much more effectively.

 

Image: Rise early to make the most of your day

Strategies for writing a good plot

Many resources are available that authors can use to make their life easier. Editing and proofreading services are one of the most widely-used resources, as well as book proofreading services UK. However, these services are usually used when an author has finished their book, or when they are in the stages of finalising something that has already been written.

Dissimilar to other types of writing Proofreading services and aids for authors, assistance in terms of planning and writing a good plot is somewhat lacking. Furthermore, many authors believe – perhaps rightly so – that if another person writes their plot for them, this is a form of cheating or an unacceptably substantial shortcut. For this reason, this article outlines a few of the strategies you can use to create an excellent plot for your next book.

 

1. Know what a plot is

This sounds patronisingly obvious, but having a clear understanding of what a plot is – or, so to speak, the general essence of plots – is fundamental. Therefore, this article must begin with a definition of the concept of a plot in a piece of fictional writing.

A plot refers to a sequence of interrelated events that a writer devises in order to engage a reader. A plot can also be viewed, perhaps more helpfully, as a complication followed by the resolution of the complication.

 

Image: Devising a plot lies at the centre of creative writing

2. Remain focused

By this, we do not mean that you yourself should remain focused (though, of course, you should). Instead, we mean that your manuscript should remain focused. Remember in the previous step that we defined a plot as a complication followed by the resolution of the complication. With this in mind, the sequence of interrelated events that you devise to serve as your plot should, in a focused way, always move the reader onwards to the resolution.

 

3. Know when enough is enough

Awful plots are bad, boring, or unsuccessful for diverse reasons. However, one of the most common reasons why a plot is unsuccessful is due to the phenomenon known as “plot overkill”. If the sequence of interrelated events that defines your plot establishes a complication and resolves that complication, stop! There is no need to continue dragging everything out with new events that occur after the plot’s resolution.

 

Image: Books vary in length, but knowing when to stop is fundamental

4. Learn about common types of plots

The main types of plots are tragedy, comedy, hero’s journey, rebirth, overcoming the monster, voyage and return, and rags to riches. Each type of plot is associated with clear and well-defined contours, and although these plots have been used endlessly, they never get old. If you use these types of plots as a general framework, in which you set a novel sequence of interrelated events, your book is likely to win over your reader and keep their attention.

How to write a strong reference letter

As a professional academic or businessperson, a rewarding aspect of your role is the opportunity to write letters of recommendation, or reference letters, for either students or employees you have supervised or managed within your workplace. Even if you use professional proofreading services to speed up the process, writing reference letters can become extremely time-consuming, especially if you are doing so for the first time.

Knowing about the main sections that you should include in your reference letter can accelerate the process tremendously. This is because, once you know the structure, the text itself tends to come much more rapidly. In many cases, referees find that, having figured out a logical and reasonable structure, the letter almost writes itself. In addition to making use of professional proofreading, following the structure described below is worthwhile.

 

1. Greeting

All good reference letters begin with the correct salutation. In most cases, especially when you are not on friendly terms with the recipient of the reference letter, you should use a formal salutation. In rare cases, you can use an informal greeting.

Often, the employee or student you are referring will give you the name of the recipient, meaning that you can simply address the letter directly to them (e.g., “Dear Mr. Jones”). If you are unsure about the name of the recipient, use the salutation “To whom it may concern”.

 

Image: Think about whether you should use a formal or informal salutation

2. Opening paragraph

The first paragraph of your reference letter should set out all the critical information about who you are, who you are referring, and why you are referring them. Begin by stating who you are and what your professional role is, and briefly explain how long you have known the candidate. You can end this section by describing the position you are recommending the candidate for, and briefly explaining why you are their referee.

 

3. Main body

In one, two, or three paragraphs, describe the candidate’s suitability and, for lack of a better term, sell the candidate. Try to be as concise as you can, and remember that the recipient of your letter, as a busy recruitment professional, has limited time. Therefore, consider restricting yourself to a description of the candidate’s main attributes (especially those that make them a suitable person for the role) and their qualifications or achievements.

 

Image: Knowing the details about the candidate you are referring is vital

4. Closing paragraph and contact information

Use the closing paragraph of your reference letter to reiterate your endorsement of the candidate. Also, just in case the recipient of the letter would like to contact you for more information, remember to include your contact information, such as your phone number and email address. You can then end your letter with an appropriate valediction (e.g., “Sincerely” or “Best Regards”).

How to publish your journal article: 5 straightforward steps

For researchers and academics who are in the early stages of their career, the need to publish journal articles is well-known. Even if you use proofreading, rewriting, or editing services to speed up the process of writing your journal article, the next step – that is, publishing it – is not as simple or convenient. For this reason, here are five straightforward steps to follow if you are in the process of publishing your journal article.

 

1. Choose your journal

The first essential step to publish your journal article is to choose the type of journal that you will write for. At the outset, research journals related to your field and try to choose one that has the narrowest possible scope. For example, if you want to write up your research results on the performance of surgical staff in an intensive care unit, consider journals like Critical Care Medicine or Journal of Intensive Care Medicine.

 

2. Check your journal’s author submission guidelines

Every reputable journal offers detailed author submission guidelines. These guidelines will be publicly available on the journal’s website, and so you should be able to find them fairly conveniently.

Your journal’s author submission guidelines will contain clear and comprehensive instructions for the formatting, referencing, word count, and use of language in your journal article. It will also provide information about how you can submit your paper and any additional materials or resources that are needed (e.g., an abstract, keywords, and so on).

When you are writing your journal article, it is always useful to have checked your target journal’s author submission guidelines in advance. If you don’t, you may have to make some changes to your manuscript before submitting it.

 

3. Edit and proofread your journal article

This is a critical but regularly overlooked stage. Use an editing and proofreading service before you consider submitting your journal article, and once the editing process is finished, be sure to proofread your document thoroughly (if your editor has not done so already).

 

4. Write your cover letter

In your cover letter, state what the journal article you are submitting is about, but don’t go on for too long about this. Remember that the person reading your cover letter will also be reading your article, and so there is no need to go into any great level of detail.

Consider writing about the context surrounding your journal article, including your academic career, your interests, and the contributions of your research. Mentioning these issues is likely to have a significant impact on the way you are received by your reviewers.

 

5. Revise your journal article and resubmit

Journal articles are seldom accepted without a request for revisions from your peer-reviewers at the journal. It is important to understand that even if you’ve put substantial amounts of time and energy into your manuscript, you will invariably receive a set of recommended revisions. At this point, follow the instructions and guidance of the reviewers, and once you’ve done so, you will be ready for resubmission and, finally, publication.