The first week of classes is coming up. Are you ready? Have you thought about your academic and personal goals? There are a few concrete steps you can take to have a really successful first week back on campus. 

1. Make absolutely sure that you are enrolled in the correct classes for the semester.
2. Go through the university academic calendar and mark down important dates. Note the final enrollment dates, drop dates, holidays, etc. 
3. Mark your calendar with your own important personal dates, deadlines, goals, etc. If you're applying for law school, make sure you know when applications are due (remember, you need to ask for recommendation letters well in advance, but that will be a different post). If you're planning on taking any professional certification exams, what are the possible dates for those exams and how much time will you need to allocate for studying, in the lead up? 
4. Figure out your class schedule, which campuses / buildings / rooms your classes are in. Decide what your days are going to look like. There might be a certain day of the week when you need to remember to pack a lunch because you don't have much extra free time in your schedule, and other days when you'll have time to work at an on campus coffee shop for several hours between classes - know when those days are. 
5. Be aware of what you know, and what you don't know. At almost any university, your professors will have submitted to the book store in advance, the required textbooks for the course. You can find out which books are required in that way (and how much you'll need to budget for them). However, you will probably NOT have success emailing your professors and asking them to send you their syllabus. A few professors may have finished their syllabi weeks in advance, but just as many will wait until the last second to finalize details. You'll probably need to be satisfied with knowing the required textbooks for a course now, and waiting another week to find out all of the course deadlines and details. 

Finally, breathe, relax, and enjoy! All bodies and brains need rest - use the last week before classes begin to give yourself a little bit of rest and self-care. Read a book, get coffee with a friend, deep clean your apartment, do some meal preps to set yourself up for success during that first week back. 

So that's it - a few quick and easy ways to get yourself ready for the semester. Is there anything I've forgotten? What are the ways you get ready for the semester? 

After getting not one, but TWO, emails in the last 48 hours addressed to Ms. Clare Brock, I decided it might be time for a new blog post. This time answering the question: how should you address your professor? The short answer is that it is always acceptable to say "professor last-name." The long answer is that if they have a PhD, then they can be addressed as "Dr. last-name" or as "Professor last-name," but if they do not have a PhD then "Professor last-name" is still appropriate. You should not, however, address your professor as "Mrs. / Ms. /Miss" or "Mr." 

Who cares? Why does it matter? The answer has everything to do with respect. First, your professor worked very hard for their degree, and in doing so, built up a wealth of expertise. Addressing your professor by their appropriate title shows acknowledgement of that effort and expertise. Second, for women, people of color, queer or LBGTQIA folks, and other marginalized people in the academy, their fight has often been an uphill battle in institutions that are not built for them or for people like them. These faculty members often face discrimination and bias that follows them throughout their careers and works against their promotion and tenure (see literature on bias in student evals, for instance, here). Referring to these faculty members appropriately acknowledges their place in the academy and their hard-won position of (again) expertise. And if you're not sure about your professors degree, then "professor last-name," is always a good choice. 

As an undergraduate, you might feel uncomfortable or unsure about "office hours." What are they? What are you supposed to do or say when you go to them? Office hours are the time that your professors specifically designated to meet with students, answer questions, help with homework or essays, and so on. This doesn't mean they won't meet with you other times as well, by appointment. But office hours are YOUR time. 

What should you say? You might go to office hours with a specific question in mind. Maybe you missed a piece of the lecture or felt confused, or maybe you had trouble with a homework assignment or want to talk about an essay prompt. But, you don't HAVE to have a question about course materials. You can go, introduce yourself, and discuss college more broadly or just get to know your professor a little bit (and let them get to know you). Here are some suggestions for discussion prompts:

• I know professors sometimes do research, what do you research or what is your area of expertise?
• I'm really enjoying your class so far (only say this if it's true), and I'd love to find some interesting resources on the subject. Do you know of any YouTube videos or websites that I should look at?
• I'm a ____ major, and I'm taking this class because it is required for graduation. But, I feel like the material I'm learning might be useful to my major / future career - can you help me think about the connections between what I'm learning in your class and what I'm majoring in?
  
• Hi, I just wanted to stop by and introduce myself. I'm ___ and I'm majoring in ___. I'm really looking forward to what we are going to learn this semester in your class!

Why should you go talk to your professors? If you're planning to ask a professor for a letter of recommendation, it's very important that they know who you are. It is very difficult for your professor, who likely has hundreds of students each semester, to write a strong letter for someone they've never met. Visiting your professor early in the semester also helps break the ice, that way later in the semester if you find yourself struggling, you feel comfortable asking them for help, and they know who you are. Finally, your professors LIKE students (at least, most of them do). They want to meet you, hear from you, and help you! Hearing from you helps us do our jobs better. 

Since this is a political science blog, let's talk about politics and the holidays. The cliche is families that fight about politics over turkey. If you're not sure how politics will be received at home, take this quiz: Should you talk about politics over the holidays? Let me suggest, however, that instead of getting into a fight you might consider switching the topic to Food Politics! Need some ideas?

• If someone in your family talks about clean eating, tell them there is no such thing. It's all a big marketing scam. (Okay, this one might turn into a fight. Sorry). 
• Does someone in your family enjoy hunting and fishing? Bring up the conservation of public lands (listen to this podcast)
• Learn some fun facts to change the subject (just in case things get tense) from the database: What America Ate. 
• Talk about Genetically Modified Foods, and why public opinion differs so drastically from scientific opinion on the subject. Should we label? 
• If a relative starts droning on about dieting, remind them of the importance of intuitive eating and healthy food attitudes. Or, if they must talk about diet, tell them to talk about this one. 

Now that we've talked Thanksgiving conversation and food politics... a little perspective: if you find yourself alone or unable to visit family on Thanksgiving, be sure to take care of yourself and realize that you can still have a great holiday. 

Finals are rapidly approaching, and crunch time is here. Take a deep breath, remember to have perspective (this is not life or death), and get ready to dive in to studying. For those students who feel desperately behind or overwhelmed, also bear in mind that you are not alone and the best thing to do is meet with your professor and make a plan. Having a plan will feel much better than avoidance. 

Once you have a plan (or if you had one all along) then the next thing to think about is how to maximize your studying time. Effective studying will look different for every student, but here are some of the techniques that you might find useful. I recommend trying several, then narrowing down on just a few that you find most helpful. 

Make your own study guide: Read through your notes and highlight the things you find to be the most important, main points, and major connections. If you were using effective note taking techniques over the course of the semester, this will be easier, but even if not, you can still do this. Once you've highlighted the most important points of your notes, re-write your own study guide using bullet points, highlighting and underlining particularly important information, and using arrows or other pictorial notations to indicate connections between subject matter. 

Flashcards: This technique can be particularly helpful for studying content from your textbook. Make flashcards with important concepts, vocabulary, and ideas. Do not limit yourself to bolded vocabulary words. Instead, consider the major headings and subsections of each chapter. Look at the important concepts and suggestions for the review in the back of each chapter. These resources are there for a reason, use them! 

Timeline: For history and government classes, in particular, making a timeline and taping it above your desk can be particularly helpful. Sometimes when studying these subjects, we cram a lot of information, but forget the big picture. Creating a timeline of events and milestones can help students have perspective and a broader understanding of the material they're learning about. 

Study Groups: I find that study groups are most useful after you have spent some time studying independently. If everyone in your study group has spent time on their own studying, then coming together to compare study guides, clarify confusing concepts, and discuss possible exam questions can be helpful. I do not recommend group studying as a place to start, since students can sometimes begin to "group think" and lead each other astray. 

Visit the professor: Once you have spent time studying on your own and with classmates, make an appointment with the professor. Have questions written down or sections of your notes highlighted where you were confused or need elaboration. If there are any gaps in your notes that your fellow classmates couldn't help you fill in, you can ask the professor to help you. Discuss the test format, if the professor did not explain it to the class, and consider how you can gear your studying to that format. 

Eat, drink water, sleep plenty, let your brain rest. When you study, use the Pomodoro technique, or otherwise give yourself periods of intense focus interspersed with periods of rest. Rest is essential to learning and to being human. Don't "pull all nighters," do take care of yourself. 

​Good luck! 

Receiving and incorporating feedback is something that is challenging for even the most seasoned of writers.

Feedback can often feel like someone is telling you that you aren't good enough, that your work or writing isn't valuable, and that perhaps you as a human aren't sufficient. That feeling is a lie! That is not what feedback is about. 

Feedback, when given in the spirit of constructive helpfulness, is about improvement. Your teachers, fellow students, and eventual coworkers and bosses, all want you to be your best self and produce your best work. They (hopefully) want to build you up, not tear you down. So let's talk about how to use feedback. To start with, the writing center at UNC has this helpful guide to getting, understanding, and effectively using feedback on your writing. 

So knowing that feedback isn't about being mean, and it IS about helping you reach full potential, what are some ways to make feedback work for you? 

• Realize that feedback (especially from your professor) is intended to be constructive and is being given in the spirit of helping you. It is NOT intended to be mean-spirited or hurtful. If you feel hurt, it's okay to set it aside for a time and come back to it later after you've had a little distance. 
• If you do not understand the feedback, ask questions. This is best done in person, but if you cannot make it to your professors office try asking if they're willing to set up a skype meeting or phone call. 
• Use those peer mentors! If the feedback you receive feels overwhelming, ask a friend to read your work, read the comments, and help you parse through what you really need to do. 
• Read the feedback even if you get a good grade. If you got a 100 on an assignment, you may not get much feedback. However, if you got an A-, you might be happy with that grade and be tempted not to bother with reading the comments. Don't do this. Looking at feedback even when you got a grade can help you see patterns of error so that you can adjust in the future. 
• Realize that you don't HAVE to make all of the suggested changes. Sometimes you'll get feedback that you disagree with, and that's okay too. 

It's nearing the end of the fall semester and many of you will be asked to fill out evaluations of your professors and their classes. Unfortunately, most of your professors can't (or won't) bribe you to do this. And in fact, there is bountiful evidence that student evaluations are poor measures of student learning and professor effectiveness. Nonetheless, it's important to most of your professors that you complete them since these evaluations are used in tenure and promotion decisions. Given that, I'd like to say a few words about them. 

First, please offer constructive comments! Here are two examples of what that might look like (taken from past course evaluations for my public policy course): 

• "The best aspect of this course would be learning about real-world policy and learning the process of policy. I would also say being able to choose that specific policy allowing you to choose something that you are passionate about." 
• "Some of the assignments were confusing even after reading the material. Since it is an online class it would be helpful to have an example portfolio available so that students can see what is expected." 

Notice that both those comments offer specific details about what is helpful about the course or could be improved upon about the course. Because of these comments, I continue to allow students in that course to choose a specific policy that they want to work on for the semester, and I added an example portfolio for students to look at as they create their own own work. 
 
On the other hand, vague comments are not very helpful. For example: 

• "I would change the grading policy" 

How? What would be better? This comment may be valid, it's possible my grading policies aren't fair somehow, but it was not useful, because it doesn't allow me to adjust or improve for the future. 
 
Second, try to consider the language you use and what biases might be at work. Ask yourself if you have fair and realistic expectations from your professors, or if there are some expectations may have been operating unconsciously and influencing your perceptions of the class. Try to write your evaluations based on the course itself, not based on your feelings about the professor's attitude or likability - doing this will also help ensure that you are writing constructive comments. 
 
Your professors care about what you think and how their courses worked for you. Above all else, they care that you learn. So please take these evaluations seriously! Tell your professors (in a constructive way) if there are ways that they can help you learn more effectively or make the course work better for you. And tell them what you liked, what they shouldn't change, and what you'd want to see again! 

Throughout the semester it is important for students to check in with themselves, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Take stock of how you're feeling across the board. Does your body feel run down and exhausted? Are you running on a high of stress and caffeine? 
Taking just 5 minutes to check in with your body can help you assess where you are and what you might need to adjust to make it through the remainder of the semester. Your university will almost certainly have a variety of resources that you can, and should, make use of. These resources range from academic assistance such as writing centers, to free counseling and mental health services, to affordable or free health clinics and vaccinations. But in addition to those services, there are a few minor things you can do right away to get back on track. 

​Are you struggling with racing thoughts?

• Take 1 minute to do a guided meditation. 
• Ask yourself where the majority of your stress is coming from, and what you can easily change or take control of. 

Does your to-do list feel endless and overwhelming? 

• Do a quick triage of your tasks by writing down every single thing on your to-do list, then ranking them in terms of deadline and importance. Tackle the most urgent ones first, and let go of some of the less important things where you can. 

Feeling generally unhealthy and off-kilter? 

• Try a brief social media detox. 
• Try to schedule in time for exercise. If a 30 minute run isn't in the cards, just do what you can. Exercise is not all-or-nothing. Fit in a few short walks by taking the long way to your next class or your car, or squeeze in a quick stretch break between homework assignments. Do these things WITHOUT your phone glued to your face. Just listen to the sounds around you, pay attention to your thoughts, and generally be a part of your surroundings. 

Are you maintaining healthy attitudes toward food? 

• During times of intense stress, food can easily become a crutch for comfort. Don't beat yourself up. Use Intuitive Eating strategies to honor your hunger, avoid diet culture, and retain a sense of body neutrality. 

Have you done something kind of someone else recently? 

• Engaging in small acts of kindness toward others can boost our own moods, self esteem, and happiness. In fact, kindness toward others can improve your life in a myriad of ways. 

Finally, did you remember that you are a whole and complete person who is worthy of love and kindness, just as you are? 

• Your worth is not determined by your grades or your achievements. You are doing a good job. 

This week, inspired by terrific work by Mirya Holman, I want to talk just a little bit about peer mentoring. Often when we think about mentors we think about older, wiser people who will guide us. But peer mentors are incredibly important for undergraduate and graduate students as well. You can be a mentor yourself, and find a mentor among people you already know. Perhaps it sounds silly to you to even talk about peer mentors when you're in college. Let me assure that it is not. 

So, why peer mentors? 

• Your fellow college students are going through exactly the same things you are. They share common experiences with you, and can give you advice or commiseration in real-time. 
• Your professors and advisors are likely already overburdened and may not be able to meet with you or respond to your emails as quickly as you would like. 
• It makes your college experience less lonely. 
• The college experience has changed drastically over the last 10-15 years, so your professors may not fully understand their student's lives. 
• It makes other people's lives less lonely / difficult. 
• No one person can be everything to everyone or know all the answers. Having multiple peer mentors can distribute the load, and give you the best support from the best people. 
• Peer mentoring builds community 
• It makes you a better person. 

So how can you help your fellow college students? What kinds of peer mentors should you find? Here are a few simple ways you can help other people, and things you can ask for help with yourself: 

• Feedback: You can provide feedback to other students on their research papers, essays, or task management / organization systems. 
• Hype: You can nominate your peers and friends for scholarships or awards. Amplify the people who deserve it! 
• Accountability: Help keep other people on track (and ask them to keep you on track as well). For example, I have a friend with whom I often text goals - we text each other our goals for the day, check in at lunch, then assess how we did at the end of the work day. 
• Check-in: Just check in on someone who might be having a hard time. Ask them how they're doing, show up with a coffee, and offer a listening ear. 
• "No, that shit is real": Confirm / support if someone has a terrible experience, gets talked down to, has a racist / sexist / homophobic experience, and especially if they're being gaslighted. 
• Hidden knowledge: In college there is often a "hidden curriculum." These are aspects of college like the norms, values, and expectations that are not explicitly stated, but which are required to succeed. Can you tell someone what is really going on? What they really need to know to succeed? Where to access tools and resources they might not know about? 
• "It happened to me too": Can you help someone feel less alone and like their experiences are valid? 
• Cheerleader: Can you reassure someone that they are doing a good job? Remind them that they can do hard things! 
• Reality check: Can you make sure someone is grounded and is doing what they need to do? 

If this post rings as true and important to you, then go find your people and get to work! 

For students who struggle to know when they are "done" with an assignment or paper, having a final checklist can be helpful. If you are one of these students, here are a few minor things you can do to make sure you're getting full credit on class essays /papers and that you are producing your best work. Below, I present to you a pre-submission check list. If you do all of these things before submitting an assignment, you should be setting yourself up for success.  

Pre-Submission Checklist: 

Substance 
[] Did I utilize all required class materials? If I was still not confident about the subject, did I use any supplementary materials provided? 
[] Did I actually clearly address all questions asked in the prompt?
[] Did I understand the purpose of the writing assignment and write something insightful and interesting in response? Would I want to read my own work? 
[] Does my paper flow in a logical and organized manner? 

Sources: 
[] Did I appropriately cite (in-text) class resources in my response? 
[] If I used outside sources: were they appropriate academic sources, and did I appropriately cite them (both in-text and works cited)? 
[] Did I make any unfounded claims without backing them up? If so, consider removing the claim or looking for evidence. 

Proofreading: 
[] Have I checked my grammar, spelling, and punctuation?
[] Check for consistency. For example, am I using the same tense (present / past) throughout? 
[] Is my writing concise? Remove unnecessary words meant to impress people or lengthen my word count (these don't fool the professor). 
[] Did I remember to include the word count or page numbers, if required? 
[] Did I put my name, and any other required heading information, on this assignment

For Online Discussion:
[] If this is a discussion board posting, was my response to a fellow classmate kind, clear, and a good-faith response to their posting? 
[] Did I engage my classmates in a way that I would want to be engaged with? 

For a research paper:
[] Do I clearly state the purpose of the paper? Do I explicitly state the motivating research question? 
[] Do I provide a roadmap of what is to come in the paper? 
[] Do I have at least one sentence that explains why anyone cares about this research? 
[] Have I engaged with the research on the subject? (In other words, I read a variety of research, understand it, and know where I fit in to it). 
[] Did I clearly explain how I conducted my research? 
[] Do I summarize main points for the reader?
[] Does my conclusion clearly state what I set out to do and what I found?