It’s becoming harder to finish reading good books in our modern world thanks to distractions. Today, we are distracted by social media, smartphones, emails, streaming sites such as Netflix, and our friends.

While it might seem like scrolling through social media is more rewarding than reading, the opposite is true. Most of the activities that people consider to be fun have no consequences. Watching a Netflix show or chatting with your friends online has no major consequence in your life. However, reading books more often can transform your life.

Benefits of reading books

The majority of successful people spend as much as three hours reading books every day. Why do they read so much? Well, there are a lot of benefits that you’ll enjoy by reading books regularly. They include:

Gaining knowledge

This is one of the most obvious reading benefits. Unlike watching a video on YouTube about Ordinary Grace or listening to a podcast, reading ordinary grace summary will help you understand the themes and access in-depth information. Books help you gain knowledge. And knowledge helps you form new positive habits. To achieve your biggest goals in life, you have to read books.

Exercising your brain

Reading is important because it exercises the mind. Various research studies have confirmed that reading stimulates a network of circuits and brain cells. The more you read, the more these networks become stronger. The human brain has a popular policy – use it or lose it. If you fail to exercise your mind regularly, your cognitive abilities will decline.

Boosts your focus

Your ability to focus for an extended period is essential to your health and success. When you read regularly, you train your brain to concentrate on one thing at a time. This skill is becoming rare as the world progresses due to constant multitasking and distractions. To achieve your goals, you have to focus. And to improve your focus, you need to read more books.

What’s your ideal reading time?

You should read books when you have lots of time and energy. Most people prefer reading in the morning when their minds are fresh and there are fewer distractions in their environment. You might also discover that different genres are more engaging at different times during the day. For instance, you might enjoy reading non-fiction in the morning and fiction in the afternoon or evening.

Read a specific number of pages every day

When you commit to reading a specific number of pages every day, you’ll set yourself up for success. You can easily read 15 pages every day in less than thirty minutes. If a book is made up of 150 pages, you’ll only take ten to fourteen days to read the entire book.

Have a reading list

If you love reading, you’ve probably found yourself surfing the internet when you should be reading or reading a completely different book. To avoid this, you need to have a reading list. Having a reading list will help you overcome procrastination and avoid losing track.

Read multiple books

Some people get bored reading one book for an extended period. If you are one of them, it might help to read two or three books This practice will help you switch from one book to another without getting bored. You don’t have to force yourself to read one book to completion. You should focus more on understanding key concepts than on finishing a book.

Join a book club

A book club is a group of people who get together virtually or physically and talk about the books that they’ve read. The most important thing about joining a book club is all members commit to reading. Otherwise, they have to explain why they haven’t read. You need accountability partners to keep you on track, especially when forming the reading habit.

Listen to audiobooks

If you spend a lot of hours commuting, walking, or working out, one of the best ways to read more books is by listening to audiobooks. Most audiobooks are often narrated by the author. Audiobooks are a great alternative to reading print books. You can easily find most audiobooks on YouTube, Amazon, and Spotify either for free or for a few bucks.

Conclusion

Reading is a habit. And like any other positive habit, it takes time and energy to form it. When you are forming this habit, don’t give up. Instead of being hard on yourself, accept that there will be times when you don’t have the time or energy to read. Using the tips that we’ve discussed here will greatly increase your chances of success.

You can use MLA in different areas of publishing to create a list of works cited, a reference list, and more. Citing with MLA is quite simple when you know the basic guidelines. For this style, you need the 9-core elements system to do it correctly.

Citing lectures

When citing oral presentations like class lectures, make sure to include basic information. These are the name of the speaker and the title of the presentation, which you should place in quotation marks.

Omit the name of the city if it’s a part of the venue’s name already. Include the name of the course and the course number after the title. Also, include the date of the lecture, the venue, and the name of the sponsoring organization. Also, add the words “Class Lecture” after the venue. For lectures that don’t have titles, provide the name of the course name and the course number only. Add these after the name of the speaker.

Professional assistance with proper formatting

When you study in college, it’s important to learn all about MLA formatting. You will need this when writing academic papers as part of college coursework. Using MLA format heading and citations, you can create high-quality editing. Gaining familiarity with this style enables you to create well-written papers to ensure good grades. If needed, it’s possible to seek professional assistance online to help with formatting papers properly before submitting them. Still, it’s recommended to learn this formatting style so you can follow it properly.

Citing online lectures, lecture notes, and in-text citations

If you found the lecture online, creating the citation differs. For instance, rather than writing down the venue, including the URL of the site where you found the lecture. You would usually do this for Zoom and other online lectures.

When making citations from lecture notes, it’s also possible to use the MLA style. Include the name of the speaker, the title, and where you found the lecture notes. When making in-text citations of lectures in MLA, use the author-page number format. Since most lectures don’t have page numbers, use the last name of the author in the citation instead.

Citing a speech

When citing a speech or any similar presentations, cite the name of the speaker and the speech title. After this, add the title or name of the meeting or conference where you heard the speech. Then indicate the organization’s name and the venue, including the city. Use descriptors that appropriately express the types of speeches or presentations. Cite a speech you just heard on the reference list at the end of your paper.

Include the name of the speaker, the speech title, and the name and location of the organization where the speaker delivered the speech. Also, indicate the type and date of the speech.

When citing published speeches, do this in the same way as you would cite a book using the MLA format. Start with the last name of the speaker, followed by their first name. Include the location and date when the speaker delivered the speech. Also, indicate ‘print’ as the medium.

Citing an address

The proper way to cite an address is to identify specific details about it. These include the full name of the speaker, the name of the editor (if applicable), the title of the address, and the date. If you found the address in a book, indicate the right details. These include the title of the book where you found the address along with the full name of the book’s author.

Also, include the name of the book’s publisher, the year it got published, the city, and the state. Finally, indicate the page range where you found the address. If you found the address online in the form of a transcript, include the needed details. These are the title of the webpage and articles where you found the address. Also the location of the address, the article’s publisher, and the publishing date. Finally, include the URL of the site too.

Conclusion

The MLA style uses parenthetical citations when referring to other people’s works. When creating citations, this style has a set of guidelines that you can find throughout the MLA Style Manual and the MLA Handbook. Both of these books provide lots of examples to serve as guides. It’s recommended to go through them first to become more familiar with the MLA style and guidelines. These books are also useful for any specific reference questions.

Approximately a quarter of students attending four-year colleges in the US experience moderate or high levels of math anxiety. Some even simply give up entirely in frustration over it. However, with a few helpful habits, this can be easily remedied.

Math can be considered a combination of several skills. To master mathematics, one must practice a set of habits to gain absolute control over it. If one follows and maintains these habits, anyone can overcome their fear of it.

Study Habits to Improve Mathematical Capability

Regardless of how much we are deathly afraid of math, it is a fact that with proper strategy, effort and perseverance, anyone can become decently skilled enough in this area. There are a few habits that can spell success for everyone in mathematics. If you have at least one of these habits, you will not have college math problems. And after that, you will be able to solve any math question you have on your list with relative ease. Here are a few great habits to study mathematics.

Practice Efficiently:

Almost everyone will tell you to practice more and more. But they leave out one important step. Do not just practice, but practice efficiently. Do not just sit and solve math problems. But rather, try to make sense of them while you’re practicing, to get a better grip on the basics.

Take Proper Notes:

Most students write down whatever they see on the board. But here’s one helpful tip. Do not write only what’s written on the board, but instead, try to add small notes for yourself as well. So that they may help you revise the notes during your study sessions.

Create a Routine:

It is essential to practice regularly to keep up your momentum. Therefore, make a routine dedicating enough time to study mathematics alongside other subjects. And if need be, allocate more time to math compared to other subjects that you excel at.

Keep Track of Your Mistakes:

Mathematics has a huge amount of topics that differ from one another. And some may require more effort to understand than others. Locate your weaknesses. Keep those topics on top of your priorities. And track your mistakes. Make sure to try your best to not make the same mistake twice.

Strengthening the Basics:

Before moving on to bigger and more complex topics, it is necessary to make sure that you have a solid foundation and a good grasp of the basics of mathematics. As the fundamentals are a necessity for the harder topics.

Formulas and Derivations:

Formulas are your best friends when it comes to mathematics. As they not only help you solve problems, but also some formulas can give you further insight into the topic. Therefore, to gain a deeper understanding of some topics, it is highly advised to study the derivations.

Breaking Down Problems:

The majority of complex math problems can be broken down into several smaller segments and then solving them individually. Simplifying the problem can provide you with a clearer resolution than approaching it whole. As bigger problems are harder to take in for the brain.

These are a few habits that could help you study more efficiently and more effortlessly. With the help of these habits and enough practice, anyone can improve their math skills.

How Can Math Skills Help in Real Life?

Math is not just a subject for scientists, engineers, and businessmen. Every person needs decent mathematics skills in real life. Following are some such real-life scenarios.

Math in Everyday Life:

1. Math helps you keep track of your finances.
2. With the help of mathematics, you can balance your earnings and your bills.
3. Development of your problem-solving skills can be done through math.
4. Mathematics also helps you improve your critical thinking capabilities.
5. If you work in sales, you can use math to improve your profit.
6. Decent mathematics skills can also help you get a better job as they help to sharpen your mind.
7. Mathematics can also help you manage your time properly.
8. Math helps you with tracking your diet and fitness.

Conclusion

Mathematics is nothing to be afraid of or despise. With the help of the habits mentioned above, anyone can improve their mathematical capabilities with ease. Alongside improving their grades.

Not only for good grades but math skills are also necessary for our day-to-day life. Mathematics helps us take a rational approach to our life. It’s time to appreciate the subject’s beauty and comprehend its significance. Everyone in all sectors of life ought to embrace math as a medium.

We all wake up, brush our teeth, take a shower, etc, but what makes one student get up and be extremely active and efficient at both studies and personal life, and other – is completely exhausted and tired. The real question here is how to set up those habits so they would work for us.

How to plan a day and make it more efficient, especially for young, slightly irrational people, to help with your studies? Is it possible to control ourselves or is it something we should live with?

Recent research shows that concentration has become even more testing over the past few years. Moreover, even more, young people find it pointless to even go to college or universities since many occupations are no longer relevant and some of them do not require a degree. Still, many people do.

Some by their own choice and some by parents’ ultimatum. Nevertheless, all of them equally struggle at some point from being inefficient. It sometimes might be complicated to motivate yourself. Studying is not always easy, it can be very challenging, but services such as studyclerk can help you study better and more methodically.

It can be quite tough to balance all classes, homework, and new information, however, you are not alone in it. To be efficient for 4 years straight, if we are only talking about a Bachelor’s degree, it will not just involve motivation. There are many other factors increasing discipline as well as useful habits that are crucial to success.

These are a few useful habits for more efficient studying in college:

1. Having rest. It is crucial to get rest between studies. Sometimes, students are overlapped with their homework in addition to part-time jobs, endless studies and having fun with teammates. It would be practical to add short meditations, walks and breath exercises to your routine for regular breaks.
2. Have a timetable. Whenever you do not have an exact schedule – it is very easy to overwork or overstudy and end up feeling completely exhausted. If you have specific time for studying, for working and for spending time with family and friends – it will be easier to concentrate and not to spread a specific task throughout the day.
3. Sleep well. Sleeping is the magic pill not only for effective studying, but also for general well-being. Some students might sacrifice the sleep to study but it will for sure not be as effective as a restful night. Please, remember that another sleepless night will not bring you any closer to better results.
4. While studying – put the phone and all distractions away. In that way it will be simple to concentrate and finish the homework sooner.
5. Have your desk in order. There is such a term as  “creative chaos”, however it is just a myth. Whenever you have all set up to just sit down and study – you will not procrastinate thinking that you need to tidy up first.
6. Eat well. Pay attention to what and when you eat. It might seem like having a quick snack in between classes is more efficient and is saving time. Although, it actually does not give you enough energy for the brain to function and your hungry stomach will also disturb you from being efficient.
7. Surround yourself with the right people. We know that for many students college is about having fun. Nevertheless, it is also a fundamental time for your future. It is time for you to gain useful knowledge, and make the right connections to represent yourself in the job market later. Having a little fun won’t hurt though.

Of course, there are many approaches and methods to be efficient. This topic has always been and will always be relevant, because however efficient you are – a person always wants to get even better. While you are a student – it is even more important. This is the time of life when a human gets just enough freedom to make their own decisions and carry responsibility for it.

However, most of the time still has family support to dedicate his time to what is important. It probably is not possible to spend all your time studying, and it also is not necessary. In spite of that, this is a period in life when you truly understand what you want and how you see the future. And the way you spend these years will define if you would ever live your life the way you imagined.

Indeed, online learning can offer benefits to different groups of people and make education more accessible. However, if you’re thinking about starting an online degree, you need to be ready for certain commitments. In this article, we’ll discuss what skills and qualities make a successful online student.

1. Time Management

Online learning allows flexible schedules. You can decide when and how you want to study. This makes it easy to combine learning with any other commitments like work and family. However, this also means that you need to have strong time management skills to succeed.

The first thing to do is look through a syllabus and develop a study plan. It needs to include all due dates for assignments and make enough time for you to cover at least the minimum requirements of each course you’re going to take. Of course, you can rely on an essay service. It provides help with urgent assignments and research so you can be sure you’ll hit all deadlines.

2. Goal-Oriented Mindset

Your success in online classes largely depends on your goals and self-motivation. You need to have a clear idea of why you want to pursue a degree. Having a specific goal is crucial to maintain focus and motivation to study. It keeps you accountable and pushes you forward.

Besides, by identifying your end goal, you can also define what success means to you and what tools and strategies you need to achieve it. A goal-oriented approach to education allows you to set priorities and inform your actions and decisions.

3. Technical Skills

Reliable technology and internet access are two obvious things that you need to be a successful online student. Besides, you should have basic technological competence. Start by familiarizing yourself with the platform that your institution uses to deliver learning content and organize communication. You must know how to:

Track deadlines for your assignments;

• Find study resources;
• Contact your professors;
• Participate in discussions;
• Submit assignments

These are some basic skills that will set you up for success during the semester.

4. Planning and Organization Skills

To stay on top of your classes, you need to be organized. Use planning tools like online calendars and to-do lists to keep track of all your assignments and deadlines. Look through your syllabus to determine how much time you have to dedicate to classes each week.

With careful planning, it becomes easier to organize and delegate tasks in case you need to work on complex projects and get essay help. Make sure you also consider your social and extracurricular activities when making a plan to establish a consistent study routine.

5. Communication Skills

A key difference between traditional and online learning is in the form of communication. As an online student, you need to have remarkable written communication skills. Aside from video conferencing, the major part of your communication with classmates and professors will happen via emails, texting, and discussion posts.

You need to be able to express yourself in writing, maintain proper etiquette, and be mindful about the things you write. Effective communication is key to collaboration and building friendly relationships with peers and instructors.

6. Active Participation

Learning success requires active and meaningful engagement. Research shows that engaged students are twice as likely to get excellent grades and four times as likely to be focused and future-oriented. What does it mean to be active as an online student?

• Participate in discussion forums;
• Ask questions;
• Comment on work of peers;
• Engage in group problem-solving;
• Take part in debates and round tables;
• Share the results of your work and your experience.

7. Commitment and Discipline

Despite all the flexibility offered by online classes, you shouldn’t raise false hopes that they are less rigorous than in-person education. In reality, they may even be more challenging and require some extra commitment and discipline.

To keep up with the curriculum, you need to be mature and willing to commit time and energy to your progress. This requires you to fully manage your learning process.

8. Study Environment

In a physical classroom, the environment is specifically designed to facilitate your learning. At home, you’re the one responsible for creating a functional study space. It needs to be free from distractions, like TV, background noise, and loud music.

It’s also important to keep your study environment ergonomic and comfortable. This includes optimal light sources, temperature, and equipment. Having a dedicated and clutter-free study space will maximize your productivity and help you stay focused.

9. Internal Motivation

Only internal motivation is powerful enough to keep you on track. Think about your personal reasons that have encouraged you to pursue an online degree. When classes become too challenging or frustrating, you need to have this motivation that proves your effort worthwhile.

Self-motivation also gives you increased satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment as you progress towards your goals. This empowers you, keeps you focused, and feeds your determination.

10. Independence

A successful online student is an active independent learner. You should be willing to take the initiative and start a self-directed learning path. You’ll need to cover a large part of your coursework independently and even go beyond the class material.

However, this doesn’t mean that you won’t have the support of your fellow students and professors. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or speak up if you have any questions or concerns.

To Sum Up

Online education is a challenging yet rewarding experience. You need to be willing to stay organized, manage your time, and be meaningfully engaged throughout the whole process. In return, you get to develop essential skills and competencies that will help you in college and beyond!

The general debate about the educational system of the United States revolves around the fact that education should be free for students all over the country. In many developed countries, education is free for the citizens, with some exceptions. They include:

1. Germany
2. Finland
3. France
4. Spain
5. Austria

And more.

Of course, the US system needs to go a long way before canceling all payments for classes or at least making getting a diploma more affordable for young learners. It’s bad enough that students have to pay to be in class, they also need to ask for help from an essays writing service like essayhub.com often to keep up with the assignments! This adds up to a pretty big sum every year.

There are some advantages and disadvantages of such reforms from the economic point of view. Still, forcing young graduates into debt even before they started their careers is at least not practical. So, here are 5 reasons education should be free for all!

Class Inequality Among Students Will Be Reduced

You can all agree that there are plenty of schools where class inequality is very apparent. Everybody knows about colleges where only ‘rich kids’ or applicants with paid tuition can receive their diplomas. Of course, there always has been some kind of discrimination between the students from different social and economic backgrounds.

Still, some would argue that this discrimination is too much for lots of young applicants. Studies show that often, bright minds come from families with low incomes. They simply have no money to consider going into the top colleges of the country, so they are forced to stay in their neighborhoods and continue this cycle. Finances shouldn’t hold the younger generation back!

Workforce Gets More Skilled Laborers

Similar to the previous point, the affordability of a diploma becomes a huge point when you decide to enter the workforce. A lot of employers look at your university instead of your actual skills, even though this trend has been disappearing these days. If student loans and payments for education are canceled, you will get more chances to jumpstart the career of your dreams!

Don’t forget that choosing a good college is not everything. You can ask for advice from the top experts from essay-reviews.com about what it means to be fit for entering the workforce. Apart from getting good grades, you will need the following qualities:

• attention to details
• determination in everything you do
• critical thinking
• analytical skills
• a nice outgoing personality all around

Coincidentally, these are also the skills that a student develops in a university! So, if you can get into any good college without any financial burdens, you are more prepared for your future career.

Education Should Be Considered As a Basic Human Right and not a Privilege

Just like people have a right to food, shelter, and protection, they also have a right to learning. Many young graduates are already in debt when they receive their diplomas. Also, they are often forced to get a part-time or even full-time job so they can pay for books, studying materials, and other expenses.

Not every learner can keep up with this schedule, so they drop out. This is not exactly demonstrating that education is a given human right. For many people, it’s a privilege to afford living apart from their families and getting their degree without any additional financial burdens!

Unemployment Rates Will Go Down

Some researchers argue that if more people get a chance at higher education, they will more likely find a stable job in the future. In the modern world, if you don’t have a diploma, you can’t get a decent-paying job. In other words, people will not be relying on government assistance and unemployment payments until they find something.

From the economic point of view, free education for all means the constant arrival of skilled laborers who are ready to work. Also, the workforce will be more educated as well, which is also a huge plus for the economy! In this case, graduates can immediately start contributing to their society instead of paying off student loans for years to come.

Students Can Focus on Their Learning Instead of Finding Money For It

The current educational system of the United States results in high anxiety rates for almost every learner. They have to keep up with tuition, their grades, food, clothes, apartments, and many other things. Not every young person can afford that! So, if their studies are free, they have one less thing to worry about. Now, students can actually focus on learning instead of working.

According to Emilia Flores, the co-founder of UkBadCreditLoans,  many young people are struggling with student loan debt and it is making it very difficult for them to start their life off on the right foot. Sadly, many students are taking out unnecessary loans to pay off their debt causing them and their parents a great deal of stress.

Takeaway

So, as you can see, there are plenty of benefits to canceling student loans and making education free for everyone. Of course, the United States needs to go a long way before completely changing its system. Still, talking about it is a pretty good start!