My Topic is __________.

Buzzing through her mind, thought after thought insisted upon landing on the page. The thoughts appeared not to notice particularly that she was supposed to be writing a paper on how she learned to surf. Ideas loosely connected to the skill kept surfacing, demanding to take part in the essay. She wrote a whole paragraph on how much fun it was to shop for new gear. Another paragraph detailed the history of surfing in a totally different state, not Texas where she first balanced on a board. Part of her paper was on another sport entirely, snow skiing.

Her introduction was fine. She even had a thesis for the narrative, the benefits of acquiring a new skill, i.e., surfing. Somewhere, however, along the way, she’d wandered so far from her topic that the reader had no clue what she was trying to say. By the time she reached her conclusion, even she had forgotten the purpose of her paper, her original goal.

What was she to do? Her paper was due way too soon for her to completely start over, but when she reread what she’d written, she felt confused, unsure of the result. She had about an hour to fix the paper, so she took a highlighter and started mercilessly marking all passages that were not on surfing itself or how she first learned to surf. Although there was not a whole lot left, she reread the off -topic paragraphs and decided to try to weave at least part of them into her narrative.

The section on buying gear might work if she put it into the context of what she needed to try the sport. She struck the parts of how cute the different footwear was and concentrated on the necessary items to be able to paddle out to a wave and stand upon the equipment, the surfboard. She then kept some detail of the designs of her first board and went on to describe learning to balance on it.

Snow skiing? Surfing in California? There are some likenesses in skiing and surfing, balancing especially, so she salvaged parts of that passage as well by comparing the skills needed for each sport, which led to her own experience in learning to balance properly. The two states, California and Texas, could also serve to detail most of the skills needed for surfing in different types of waves on different coasts, for instance.

By deleting, adding, and tying areas of discussion to the main idea, she finished on time with an adequate paper. She did resolve as she turned it in to be more careful on the next assignment, maybe even putting a large reminder by her keyboard: My Topic Is________. Maybe she’d make the letters about an inch high and color them neon green and blue. Perhaps such a reminder would help her keep from meandering all over the universe for her next paper and make polishing the paper less arduous, no heavy duty revisions needed before the time came to submit it.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! My next entry is coming soon. ‘Til then, hang ten!

Preparing for a Tutorial Session

Events in life take some preparation, even something simple like a short trip to the sea wall to rest our eyes on the waters of the gulf. Before catching a wave, I survey the scene, check out the surf, and have my gear with me and in good condition. Before you come to the SWC for a thirty-minute tutorial, a bit of planning can make the time more useful for you than not.

Tip 1: It may sound like a no-brainer, but it is best to arrive early for your appointment, five or ten minutes, since being late may result in a standby taking your appointment time. If you cannot make it to the scheduled appointment, call and let us know so that someone else can use the appointment time.

Tip 2: Bring a copy of your assignment with you so that the tutor will know what your work involves. Relying on your memory - what you think possibly the instructor said – may not be the best method for getting the right advice from a tutor.

Tip 3: Mostly, though, think about what it is that you want to find out. When you come prepared with questions or concerns (and any notes or drafts or brainstorming that you’ve done) the session will go smoothly and be productive.

Tip 4: Your active participation during tutoring time is essential. Express yourself. Talk about your writing, what problems or successes you have had with it so far, what hopes or fears about the writing you have (or what technical/grammatical problems you need to solve). While a tutoring session is not exactly the right time to bare your soul or air opinions about the state of the universe, moods, emotions, and attitudes do have an effect on your writing. If you are upset, let the tutor know, especially if it is a problem that is keeping you from completing the assignment. Often, acknowledging an emotion and talking about it briefly can clear it up, like clouds moving away from the sun, so that the rest of the session can be focused on the work at hand.

Tip 5: If you have begun the paper, bring two typed copies of your draft, double spaced, for notes that you or the tutor may make. Your thoughts, ideas, and questions will keep the dialogue on the main reasons you have come to see a tutor. It is best to phrase your questions by asking “What if I write__________?”(And then come up with a possibility) instead of “What should I write?” The paper is yours, not the tutor’s; and whatever the tutor might suggest is not the answer you need. Discussing your ideas before starting your paper also works very well. Be aware that your own ideas are the ones that will work best for you when you do start writing. Talk with the tutor about your ideas, ways to structure the paper that you have considered, perhaps to see if your ideas are logical and will work to fulfill your assignment.

Tip 6: Finally, don’t forget to enjoy the half hour you have taken to talk about your writing. Keep your mind open to possibilities, and you will find the time well spent, maybe even as much fun as taking a walk along the shoreline to comb for treasure along the beach.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! ‘Til then, hang ten!

Timing is Everything

Welcome to a new semester! The excitement of a fresh, new start fills the air here at Del Mar College. As syllabi are being distributed and course calendars reviewed, now is a great time to address the ever-critical aspect of time management, especially in regards to writing assignments.

Lazing a day away at the beach, relaxing without a care in the world, watching the waves and the seabirds, all bring peace to my mind; but not every day can be a timeless one. Life also requires work (which is often quite fun in its own right). Work involves a component of managing time, planning ahead to make sure that what needs to be done is done on time.

As a student, you know the difference between time that you can call completely your own and time that has to be used to get work done for a class. One way to avoid a sudden and hideously hopeless realization that you’ve got a paper due NOW is to write down what work the instructor expects you to complete as soon as you know what the class requirements are.

At the beginning of a semester, usually on the first day of class, most instructors provide an overview of the course with calendar dates that list upcoming assignments. Their hope, actually their expectation, is that students who know in advance when work is due will manage their time effectively, a practical and worthwhile goal, one that practically assures success in the course.

Along with noting what work is due and when it is due, estimating how long each assignment will probably take makes sense. A research paper takes much longer to write than a paragraph or a one-page summary. Some assigned reading also involves more time than others, an article vs. a whole book, for instance. You know from previous experience what you can accomplish fairly quickly and what will take extra time.

Even if you enjoy living on the edge - the very brink of disaster - and think your best work happens at the last minute because fear and pressure inspire you, the reality is that advance planning remains the wiser course. In fact, getting the work done before the due date, a few days in advance, is even wiser than just planning to start before the deadline. (Your paper may possibly need a bit of revision, something you definitely don’t want to do right before the very minute it is due.)

The final advantage of advance planning and getting work done in a timely fashion is that you wind up with extra time, time to call your own, free time with nothing to do but what you choose. Like me, you might enjoy a pleasant trip to the bay front to watch the waves, pick up shells along the beach, and let the soothing sounds of the surf bring you peace of mind.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! ‘Til then, hang ten!

The above entry is taken from Roxy's archive; it was originally published January 12, 2012.