Tap into your inner writer with this book of practical advice by the bestselling author of How Writers Work and the ALA Notable Book Fig Pudding. Writers are just like everyone else—except for one big difference. Most people go through life experiencing daily thoughts and feelings, noticing and observing the world around them. But writers record these thoughts and observations. They react. And they need a special place to record those reactions. Perfect for classrooms, A Writer’s Notebook gives budding writers a place to keep track of all the little things they notice every day. Young writers will love these useful tips for how to use notes and jottings to create stories and poems of their own.
Erimentha Parker is a chronic overachiever, bookworm and perfectionist. Starting in Year 7 at Lady Nightingale's School, she is excited for the term ahead. However, when Erimentha she gets on the wrong side of Kimberly, one of the most popular girls in her class, everything starts to go wrong. Constantly picked on by Kimberly and her friends, Erimentha begins to doubt herself but is too embarrassed to ask for help. 'Erimentha Parker's To Do List' follows the story of a young, ambitious girl and her struggle with one of the greatest hardships for schoolchildren: bullying.
"Why would I need a book on how to take notes? Notes are just notes!" -- FALSE. Scientists have found that note taking can be as mentally demanding as playing chess can be for an expert. While you take notes, you listen carefully to the lecturer, you process the new material, you organize it in your working memory, and you finally write down what you think is most important. All this happens while someone is talking at an average speed of three words per second and someone is writing down at an average speed of one-third of a word per second. It doesn't sound easy now, does it? Notes are an important tool for learning. We don't take notes just to record a few facts so we can review them later. Learning happens as we take notes. Taking notes the right way leads to good study practices, better performance on exams, and long-term retention of information. "Note taking comes naturally." FALSE. Note taking is not obvious or intuitive. Research has shown that students fail to capture 40% of the main points in a typical lecture. First-year students capture only 11%. In some studies, even the best note takers seem to record less than 75% of the important information. People think they take good notes until they're told they don't. Few of us have consciously thought about how we take notes (let alone how to improve the quality of them). We often reproduce the lecturer's phrases verbatim. We don't save time by systematic use of abbreviations. We fail to become a "good psychologist" of our lecturer. We fail to pick up his enthusiasm. We fail to interpret the tone of his voice. We fail to read his body language. And the result is that we fail to take good notes. "Anyway, no one taught me how to take notes in school or in college." TRUE. Educators believe that students are able to assess the quality of their notes and follow good practices. However, studies have shown the exact opposite. The fact that there isn't a course in college dedicated to the art of taking notes (or learning in general) makes students believe that this is a natural skill that they can perfect with practice over the course of their studies. "At the end of the day, everyone has their own way to take notes." TRUE. In this book, you may be surprised to learn that I don't make any references to different types of note-taking systems like those that other books do. The reason is that it's the practices behind the note taking that matter most. For example, you should not copy the lecturer's phrases word for word, but generate the main points in your own words. And you should leave space on your notes for adding comments and testing yourself later. I encourage students to use the Cornell note-taking system because it utilizes most of the principles of effective note taking. No matter which note-taking system you decide to follow, the cognitive effort you will have to expend is equally high. Note taking may not be rocket science, but it's definitely science-cognitive science. And cognitive science has produced a lot of useful insights that we can use now to take better notes. This book presents these insights in simple words, so you can make the most of your notes and use them to study effectively. The title of this book is How to take good notes. However, note taking is just one part of the picture. Note taking is much broader in the context of this book. We take notes so we can interact with them later. What matters most is what we do with our notes after we finish taking them. Notes can do so many good things for you. They hold all your learning efforts. Treat them well. Look after them.
"Building a second brain is getting things done for the digital age. It's a ... productivity method for consuming, synthesizing, and remembering the vast amount of information we take in, allowing us to become more effective and creative and harness the unprecedented amount of technology we have at our disposal"--
From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York’s work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice! There’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when • coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it • you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all” • you’re being micromanaged—or not being managed at all • you catch a colleague in a lie • your boss seems unhappy with your work • your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal • you got drunk at the holiday party Praise for Ask a Manager “A must-read for anyone who works . . . [Alison Green’s] advice boils down to the idea that you should be professional (even when others are not) and that communicating in a straightforward manner with candor and kindness will get you far, no matter where you work.”—Booklist (starred review) “The author’s friendly, warm, no-nonsense writing is a pleasure to read, and her advice can be widely applied to relationships in all areas of readers’ lives. Ideal for anyone new to the job market or new to management, or anyone hoping to improve their work experience.”—Library Journal (starred review) “I am a huge fan of Alison Green’s Ask a Manager column. This book is even better. It teaches us how to deal with many of the most vexing big and little problems in our workplaces—and to do so with grace, confidence, and a sense of humor.”—Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide “Ask a Manager is the ultimate playbook for navigating the traditional workforce in a diplomatic but firm way.”—Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together
Create This Book is the ultimate outlet for creativity. Includes 242 pages of unique and inspiring prompts to get you in the creative zone! Whether you are trying to get past an artist's block, wanting to become more creative, or just looking to have some fun, you will love this interactive journal! Want to learn more? Check out "Create This Book" on Youtube! You can watch Moriah Elizabeth's "Create This Book" Series! Great for inspiration and guidance on your creative journey! Go to MoriahElizabeth.com for more information.
Discover the Journal From Initial Idea to Completed Story A wardrobe that leads to a fantasy world...a rendition of Hamlet told by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern...the life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West.... Just where do successful writers get their ideas? Author Fred White demystifies the creative process of idea generation by breaking it down into six essential stages: idea recognition, idea incubation, outlining, research, drafting, and revision. In Where Do You Get Your Ideas? you will learn: • How to create, organize, and keep a writer's notebook. • Where to look for ideas--in daily observations, books, news articles, and magazines--and how to recognize a story when you see one. • Techniques for developing ideas into creative works of fiction and non-fiction: free-associating, listing, mapping, and collaging. • How to transform a good idea into a great story, novel, or memoir. With practical advice, techniques, and exercises, plus 75 seminal ideas to jump-start your creativity, Where Do You Get Your Ideas? will pull back the curtain on the magic of idea generation and reveal the wealth of writing inspiration right in front of you.
Build your social media strategy. From managing email to building a social media presence, making smart use of technology is essential to professional success in a digital world. But using all these tools can quickly lead to digital overload. In this comprehensive guide from social media expert Alexandra Samuel, you’ll find out how to use the social web to achieve your professional goals—without letting it overwhelm you. Find out what social media power users do to: • Tame the email backlog and focus on the messages that matter most • Build professional relationships that advance your career using Twitter and LinkedIn • Increase your professional visibility online by using HootSuite to schedule social media updates • Keep your most important work front-and-center with a digital notetaking system • Integrate these tools to get the most out of each one, and make them even more powerful together
