Ever had a time when whatever you do or how much work you put into your paper or assignments just could not get you that distinction? I mean you burnt the midnight oil, you did all the reading, and you even laminated your assignment covers. (Laminate - Though its always good to keep up the appearance of your work), and you still end up with a B-? Well, here are 5 tips you can practice that will give good impressions of you on your professor.
1. When in class, LISTEN
There is nothing more irritating to a teacher than to see his/her students chatting away while lectures are in session. It doesn't matter if a class has 15 or 500 students, teachers have eyes. And when we see you DISRESPECTING the teachers' time, you already screwed up your reputation. Regardless of whether you work hard, manners people. Even if you can't understand, just pretend. It will benefit you in the long run.
2. Be visible, but not irritating.
Students that generally choose to fill up the front to middle rows consistently tend to get better impressions. For one, teachers remembers them easier, and if you happen to be singled out for a sudden Q&A, trust me, you are either in the lecturers good list, or you're being given a second chance to prove yourself worthy. This however does not apply to students whose prime focus is to get visible by being loud and obnoxious. We teachers see through that immediately. If you're one of those, you have a much steeper hill to climb than even the poor students. If you are a back bench-er, ask questions after lecturer ends. Even if you think it is a stupid one to ask. It tells me that you might have been too shy to ask during the lecture, but still would like to learn. It shows initiative from your end to accomplish end-goals and keeps you in the teachers memory.
3. Get those referencing page right.
A sure way to impress without much hard work is referencing. Be it APA or Harvard, it is not rocket science to try and master referencing. Some lecturers, including yours truly sometimes go straight to the reference page at the back before even reading your paper. If it just shows a bunch of internet links, or worst empty, you can trust that however good the content may be, you are never getting that A. Today, reference generators are everywhere online. Use them to your advantage though you will still need to learn them in the long run. Getting your reference right shows that you are an organized and responsible person and it WILL gain you that extra point if it means bumping your grades up.
4. Practice email etiquette.
As more emails get exchanged between students and teachers for paper reviews, it would not hurt to practice common email etiquette. Addressing your teachers as Dear Dr. Batman (Example), is better than having an email that says "I dont know how to do the assignment teacher" and I can only identify the sender from the address, if indeed that person uses their real name. If you don't know common email etiquette, here are two things to get you started. Start with a Dear Mr/Mrs (name), and always end with a Thank you. Regards, (name).
5. Stop giving lame extension excuses.
We understand sometimes you are not able to submit assignments in time. We can also understand and sometimes even accept laziness as a reason. But gosh, we are not born yesterday and certain excuses are just plain dated and pathetic. So if you are requesting an extension date, never give the following excuses;
- My Laptop is down. Worst possible excuse a person can give and perhaps one of the oldest. With technologies that abound today, chances are slim that your laptop can fail you. Hypothetically lets assume it does, you can still get your work done on a tablet, a friend's pc, or simple a cyber cafe. Students today have more gadgets than the teachers. If you're indeed working on your work at the 11th hour and all your saved date are lost, then the joke is on you to be doing stuff at the last minute.
- Rushing another teachers assignment. To be frank, teachers do not want to know that you value another teacher's tasks more than theirs and it gives them reasons to keep your marks to the possible minimum amount teachers are legally allowed to give dependent on your output quality. So ensure that you always keep your assignment planning in check and pace yourself properly.
- Somebody died. As this is a sensitive issue, the only proof that the office will ask for is a death certificate. But if, and I stress the 'if', this is a lie, it is just sick. Not only you are cursing somebody, you are setting yourself up for future failures by risking your own integrity as a human being. So just don't.
Practice the above tips, or hacks if you like to call it that, and you should be on your way to a relatively smoother tertiary education. All in all, nothing beats a humble learning attitude and hard work. Make that your first priority in everything.