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Study Guide
College assignments may be tougher, but they don’t need to be scary

January 2010 | Technology

By Abby McCartney
Special to the Classroom Edition

The first time I arrived at final-exam time in college, I was in for a serious shock.

I was plugging along, studying my notes as always, when I consulted my trusty syllabus and found a terrifying statistic: This single test was going to be worth more than half of my grade.

Gulp.

I was quickly finding out that my college courses were structured very differently from my classes in high school. While my high school history class had monthly tests or even weekly quizzes to keep me caught up, college courses typically have only one or two assessments during the semester, and a final exam or paper at the end, each worth a big chunk of the grade. And while my high school teachers went out of their way to prepare me for their exams, in college, professors expect me to be much more independent. Their exams sometimes test me on readings the professor has never even mentioned. The paper assignment might be something along the lines of “six to eight pages”—with no more guidance than that about what to write.

The good news is that many of the same study skills I developed in high school work just as well for college. The assignments may have different names, but what they’re testing isn’t really so unusual. Sure, it sounds much scarier to say you have a “midterm” than a “test,” but you’re still writing it with the same No. 2 pencil.

DEPTH OVER BREADTH

Studying for a midterm or final is very much like studying for a high school test: reviewing your notes, making flashcards and working practice problems are still your most reliable bets. But with a big, comprehensive test, there’s no need to try to memorize every factoid the professor might have mentioned. Instead, go for depth over breadth. A final exam usually emphasizes big, overarching themes rather than random pieces of information. Think about the questions the professor has asked over and over again during the class, the ones that you’ve been trying to answer all semester. (Then make a bet with your friends about what the essay question on the test will be. Trust me. I’ve won more than one free lunch this way!)

As for final papers, professors look for the same thing as good teachers at any level: clear writing, a strong argument and sound evidence to back it up. If you’ve never written a term paper or research paper before, it can be a little intimidating; the expectations are definitely different from your standard five-paragraph essay. Luckily, professors are always willing to read a draft and give you some pointers about how to make it better.

The key is to start early on any paper you’re unsure about, and to reach out and ask for help. Most universities offer writing centers with tutors to give feedback, and believe me, the reference librarian would like nothing better than to help you with your research. But you have to ask. The worst possible time to find out that you did a paper assignment completely wrong is after you’ve already turned it in.

NO QUESTION IS TOO DUMB

One feature of college classes that will be new to you is the Teaching Assistant, a younger, less experienced instructor, usually a graduate student, who leads discussion groups, grades assignments and answers students’ questions. TAs are less knowledgeable than professors, but they’re also less intimidating. Their job is to help you understand the class and do well in it, so there is no question too dumb to ask (even if it might be embarrassing to say to the eminent professor).

It’s also worth shopping around to find a TA you like. I’ve had a perfectly good poetry class ruined by a scowling grad student who couldn’t teach to save her life—and a dull international-relations course brightened up by a joke-cracking, skeet-shooting Ph.D. candidate who turned every review session
into a game. In a big lecture class, your TA matters every bit as much as the professor. Switch discussion sections as often as necessary to find a good one.

The most important strategy for dealing with college assignments, though, is not to let them freak you out. Sometimes it seems like college courses are designed to be as scary as possible, with intimidating names, inaccessible professors and high stakes on everything. But in reality, professors, TAs, tutors and librarians all want you to succeed.

If you start early and ask for the help you need, there’s no paper you can’t master and no final exam you can’t overcome.