Image courtesy of http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://school.discoveryeducation.com/clipart/images/arfydog.gif&imgrefurl=http://school.discoveryeducation.com/clipart/clip/arfydog.html&h=683&w=550&sz=106&tbnid=QY_qF2noawGocM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=72&prev=/search%3Fq%3Ddog%2Beating%2Bhomework%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=dog+eating+homework&docid=iXLoqLYYdRij2M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=y4VKTu3QBsGcgQfw-v1y&ved=0CBoQ9QEwAA&dur=15ven the busiest of students.

 “GradeFix is the world’s most advanced homework planner. You enter how much time you have and what you need to do and GradeFix will automatically optimize your homework schedule.”

Keeping to a schedule like this could help to boost grades and allow for more free-time.

-Frangelica

TOOLS TO MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER
-Easy Bib: http://library.franklinpierce.edu:2048/login?url=http://www.easybib.com/ for FPU free account or http://www.easybib.com for MLA-only
-Microsoft Word 2007 and later: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/create-a-bibliography-HA010067492.aspx
-Zotero: http://www.zotero.org
-Son of Citation Machine: http://citationmachine.net/
EASY BIB (FREE THROUGH FRANKLIN PIERCE LIBRARY)
I always show students how to use Easy Bib if they’re struggling with sources. You can paste in a website to autocite or enter info manually. Easy Bib can will save your references—if you find out you have to write about the same book again, or use a different format style, Easy Bib
http://library.franklinpierce.edu:2048/login?url=http://www.easybib.com/ or http://www.easybib.com/
Son of Citation Machine is similar and popular with some students: http://citationmachine.net/
MICROSOFT WORD 2010 ($35)
This will make your life so much easier it should be worth the $35 the student edition will cost from IT and the time it will take to learn to use it.
A short YouTube tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3T6y2vU7nM
ZOTERO (FREE, ADD-ON FOR FIREFOX ONLY)
Zotero needs to be downloaded and added to your Firefox browser, but it is plain awesome for collecting sources when you are working on more than one computer and it will “grab” information off Amazon web pages about book info and journal info from online databases. It will also automatically add items by ISBN or DOI.
Here’s a demo video: http://www.zotero.org/blog/zotero-basics-getting-stuff-into-zotero/
“OLD SCHOOL”
The Cite feature in EBSCOhost and the good old Diana Hacker Writer’s Reference. I mark the pages I use most and now it’s faster than a website for tasks I do most often.
DON’T BE A STRANGER!
Come to the Center for Academic Excellence or use the Wensberg Writing Center for more help with writing or to learn to use the tools in this handout.
The Center for Academic Excellence
DiPietro Library, 1st floor
academicexcellence@franklinpierce.edu,

http://www.facebook.com/academicservices

“LibriVox volunteers record chapters of books in the public domain and release the audio files back onto the net. Our goal is to make all public domain books available as free audio books.”

 Instead of buying the book and reading it this could prove to be a more effective way of retaining the information of Frankenstein.

-Frangelica

Image courtesy of http://blog.mpl.org/nowatmpl/playaway.jpg

This link, http://www.hackcollege.com/blog/2011/3/28/how-to-have-hobbies-in-college.html, offers advice on how to survive college while still having a life. Between attending class and doing homework for class it sometimes seems like there is no “me” time or a time to hang out and enjoy what you love to do the most. This blog post written by a college student (so you know he isn’t fooling you!) voices his opinion on how to maintain your two different lives: your student life (class.homework.class.repeat) and your fun self (the self that gets to read a book for fun or go sailing).

 Because college has no defined work/not work boundaries, it is incredibly easy to just work all the time and completely lose any ability to do things that are not assigned to you. This isn’t healthy. Side projects and hobbies (for example, this site) are the sorts of things that not only get you noticed from a pack of job applicants post-graduation, but which make you a non-boring, fully-functional human being.

 This list might make you realize just how much you missed “me” time and how little you get if you don’t prioritize!

-Frangelica

Hopes
An appreciation of the importance of factual knowledge.
Be able to schedule time effectively.
Confirm what he wants to be
Expectation- graduate in 4 years
Find a career that she will be happy and successful in. Learn to mature without depending on me.
Find-self confidence- to feel comfortable asking for help.
For him to achieve all that he can academically, socially, and mature through his experiences.
For success in processing those “growing” experiences
Happiness and success
He belongs, he accesses support and help if he needs it.
He will become a well-rounded independent person able to care for himself, his family and his community.
Hope child matures.
Hope for her to be comfortable and involved with her days here. And to do things and activities that are a chance of a lifetime.
Hope for my son to enjoy learning and achieving his goals throughout his college experience. Both academically and in sports.
Hope for support if grades start to slip.
Hope for: Easy transition. The ability to acclimate herself to the different lifestyle and gain much more independence.
Hope he grows into the person he wants to become.
Hope he learns to prioritize + organize as well and not be fearful to ask for assistance when/where needed
Hope she gets involved.
Hope someone looks over him to make sure he is on track+ not overwhelmed- he is an athlete.
Hope that my son takes advantage of all the opportunities available to him here.
Hope that our son has the maturity to focus on school work and balance his social life.
Hope that she will be happy, well educated and accepting of others.
Hope that they take full advantage of all that is offered.
I am hoping that he gains confidence in himself.
I am thankful that FPU is offering days like today and pre-orientation, so my son can connect with others before he comes in August.
I guess my hope is that my son develops life experience and independence that lead him to be a more well rounded man.
I hope he graduates in 4 years and enjoys himself with healthy activities and lifelong memories.
I hope my dtr. enjoys college life while doing well academically
I hope my son will be able to successfully do his sport and do well in his studies. Also I hope he feels compelled to ask for help if he needs it.
I hope she makes good choices with good guidance. Thanks!
I hope that my son takes ownership of his education and asks for help if he needs it.
I hope that she can not stress herself out adjust to dorm life.
I hope that she discovers herself + follows through on her studies.
I want for my daughter to enjoy her experiences here at Franklin Pierce and get the most out of her experiences & education.
I want her to be the best she can be and be able to know how to do that or learn how to do that.
I’d like to see my student get involved!
More independence, responsibilities, and knowledge. Make friends that will last forever and find herself.
My hope is my daughter will get organized and become a self starter.
My hope is that she continues to thrive and grow as she had in high school, and has an awesome experience here!
She gets involved in the world around here and takes action to make it better.
Social relationships and activities other than academics
That my son will feel knowledgeable + comfortable accessing the resources that are here for him.
That our daughter will fit in socially and academics she will be able to keep with workload
That she finds an area of study that she is passionate about. That she will learn how to organize her schedule + develop better study habits.
To continue to become independent while maintaining a sense of family support. To try out new things and get out of the comfort zone. TO have FUN while learning.
To get the absolute most out of the 4 year experience and take advantage of the great opportunity.
We hope she will grow emotionally.
We hope that he gains independence, maturity, and he graduates.
What I want: To continue to figure out who he is, make new friends. He is very quiet, maybe to be a little more outgoing.
What we want for our daughter is success. She has the dream to make a movie/write a book and work for Disney.
Will enjoy the college experience- find his passion + get a job with this + make a decent living-

Concerns
Ability to manage time and responsibilities
About her academic situation
Afraid he won’t get involved with campus life
Asking for help when needed
Balance school and social activities
Being encouraged to ask for help if she is struggling with anything
Biggest problem-time management and organizational skills
Can my son reasonably expect to keep a good academic performance and play a sport at this level?
Can there be a roommate “switch” if the 2 students find they are not compatible
Concerned about toga parties, drinking.
Concerned that he might introvert + miss out
Concerned that she may close herself off and not interact with people
Concerned: whether he will eat enough. He is very thin + picky
Counseling services available any stigmas
Difficulty managing academics with sports
Do the students receive the same type of light, yet very candid message from the staff that the parents do?
Does this environment help the student mature and remain focused as each year the studies become more involved and challenging
Easily distracted. Very verbaly opinionated.
Fear is boyfriend influencing her + making her homesick
Getting work done on time. She tends to be a perfectionist and spends too much time on papers/homework
Going to class
He will get overwhelmed academically and shut down instead of reaching out for help
Her adjustment to being independent
His “internet community” is really important to him–don’t want him to ignore the “real community”
How do we ensure safety and what can we do to make sure she is safe
I am afraid that my child will not ask for help because they are afraid to ask.
I am concerned about her fitting in, making friends + allocating her time.
I am concerned that he will struggle with finding a way to organize his time on his own
I am concerned, because he is very quiet and shy, that he will not seek academic or other help when he needs to.
I certainly hope he keeps his experiences all in perspective
I have heard that there is a lot of underage drinking that goes on—how is this controlled/dealt with?
I worry that my son will fall behind in his classes and not seek help.
If he has a hard time in a class is help easy to find
If he is not “engaging” in academics we will be informed
Is there an advisor on each floor? Upper classman
Loosing touch with daughters progress and her
Maybe too much partying
My biggest concern is did I instill a good enough work ethic in him to get it done w/o my constant prodding
My biggest concern is that the roommate my daughter gets will not be a good fit for her and she will be too embarrassed to ask for a change
My child can sometimes be shy + nervous. I worry he won’t ask for help
My concern is anxiety and her thinking she’s not “living up” to all the expectation
My concern is she is shy + I’m afraid she will be scared to get involved with things she loves.
My concern is that he feels he doesn’t fit in
My concern is that my daughter will make socializing her first priority
My daughter is a bit of a “social wild child”
Only children sharing space
Organizational time management doing too much at once.
Our concern is that he seeks extra help when he struggles
Overwhelmed with being “on her own”
Peer pressure, academic pressure, home sickness, financial stress. Possibly not open up to others.
Roommate issues
Safety
Security-safeness on campus
Shuttle service- she will not have a car-how dependable is it
Shy
Son and two friends will all be freshmen. Hope they support each other rather than hang.
Student organizational skills
Students understand the expectations to attend + have books
That being 18 does not mean they know it all-that parents are still there to help
That she won’t advocate for herself if she has issues.
Time management
Time management btwn-academics, sports + activities
Time management not asking for help
Time management now that I am not pushing
Time management organizational skills
Underage drinking 1) what does the school do to prevent + what are the disciplinary measures after the fact. 2) Health + security
Video games!
What supports are avl. for students with mental health issues?
Worried about her struggles with math and her not asking for help until it’s too late

Tracy Mendham  -  Center for Academic Excellence Franklin Pierce University  -  April 14, 2011  -  Online version of this document at http://bit.ly/mendhamt_cite_ell

Using and Citing Sources in your Writing

What is citing and why should students do it?
As you move forward in college, you will be asked to use sources in the essays you write, and to document those sources. Using sources means supporting your ideas with the use of a source–something another person has said or written–and documenting sources means giving credit to that source using a system recognized by your academic discipline. The system you will learn first is called MLA style documentation, which was designed by the Modern Language Association.

Reasons to document:

1. To show that the material is not your own
2. To give credit to the original author and show respect for their work
3. To allow a reader to find a source you have used 

(Citing sources is another word for documenting sources.)

Important: In US academic culture, your readers will assume anything you write consists of your own, original thoughts and words unless you specifically indicate otherwise by citing your sources. To fail to cite will mislead your reader and is considered academic dishonesty (that is, plagiarism or cheating).

What is the process for citing sources in your writing?
Whenever you quote, paraphrase, or summarize a source, you must take three main steps:

1. Indicate where the cited material begins and ends (using quotation marks and/or a signal phrase)
2. Put an in-text (or parenthetical) citation after the material you have cited which gives the author’s last name and if appropriate, the page number
3. Whenever you cite a source, provide a corresponding entry in a Works Cited page at the end of your paper. Follow the MLA style to organize the information properly for each entry.

An in-text citation includes the author’s last name (unless it has already been made clear in the sentence) and the page number where you found the words, ideas, or facts. If you have an online source that does not provide page numbers, just leave that part out. If the author is unknown, you can give the title of the work instead of the author’s last name.
What are some examples of correct in-text citations in sentences?
Granny D, also known Doris Haddock, describes walking across the country through harsh conditions (Haddock 4).
As Doris Haddock says, “One can consider things more creatively at such a distance. And old age is no shame in the desert” (4).
On a blog called HackCollege one student writer explains how to communicate correctly with a professor during a crisis: “Make sure that when you are communicating your needs, you completely understand what will be required of you (and of your professors!) when he/she makes an accommodation for your situation. Ask questions if you’re unsure” (Breedlove).
What does a correct Works Cited list look like?

Works Cited

Haddock, Doris, with Dennis Burke. Granny D: You’re Never Too Old to Raise a Little Hell. New York: Villard Books, 2003.

Eric, Breedlove. “Guest Post: Communicating Your Crisis.” HackCollege – Student-Powered Lifehacking. 5 Apr. 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2011.

<http://www.hackcollege.com/blog/2011/4/5/guest-post-communicating-your-crisis.html.
Where can students find out more information about citing sources correctly?
The Purdue OWL MLA Formatting and Style Guide webpage at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
Researching writing guide books such as A Writer’s Reference by Diana Hacker
Go to YouTube.com and search for a MLA style tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mla+format+tutorial&aq=f

This semester, keep your motivation up and feel connected to other students across Franklin Pierce by participating in AMP, the online Academic Motivation and Persistence Forum. It’s simple. Click on Join and the administrator from Academic Services will add you to the group. Visit the group whenever you feel like it and post an academic status update: Are you having a good week? Do you have a question or problem? Can you help a group member with advice or encouragement? Share on the group wall!