Welcome Back BMCC Writers!

I hope this entry finds you well on your way to having a successful semester.

How’s the writing going? Are you taking WI classes? Let us know what you’ve been working on!

Now that we are comfortably in Fall 2008 (but not too far in:)) how can we make sure that we stay on top of our coursework and not get buried under papers and information?

COMMUNICATION!

Yes, one of the best ways to stay on top of things is to communicate with your professors, both in class and during their office hours. Speak with your professors and ask your questions so that as the semester continues you are not bogged down with information that you do not understand.

Make sure, however, that the time you spend with your professors is as productive as possible. One way to do this is to do some free-writing before heading to class or office hours.

· Write about the questions you have.
· Write about different possible answers you have for these questions and how you
developed these possible answers.
· Write about what you DO know and look for gaps in the information that you understand.

After doing this free-writing exercise, you can re-write portions of it so that it is clear and you can use it as notes when you go to speak with your professor.

Sometimes I find that if I am feeling confused or frustrated when I go to speak with a professor, my questions sound confusing and impinge on my ability to even ask a lucid question and get the help that I need. When I do the free-writing beforehand, however, it is almost as if I have a dress-rehearsal to the actual meeting and I am able to work through some of my issues so that I can speak more clearly about where I am having trouble.

Of course, in addition to your professors, the fellows are also here to help - with the writing process, not course content – so come see us in room S424. We’ll post our office hours just as soon as we know when they are going to be!

Some may think that osmosis works (like my kitty here), but just to be sure you’re absorbing the information correctly, ask clear questions!