How to Succeed in Humanities
Professor Chris Fahy gives this advice to his students. Even though his advice is for humanities classes, these insights are apt for all courses.
1) Read all poetry more than once. Read plays and fiction more than once if possible; at least note important sections for rereading. Remember that you’re dealing with rich and complex texts that only begin to reveal their secrets and delights upon review. These works are meant to be read more than once. Because of this, it makes no sense to insist that you already know a text because you read it once a few years ago in high school. A first reading is just a start.
2) Rewrite. Typically, writers only discover what they want to say after a first draft. They begin to make their discoveries clear to themselves and others after a second draft. Third drafts tighten the prose and make everything more precise.
3) Be sure to take notes as your read. Write in the margins. Ask questions to bring up in class. Talk back to the writer. These works demand your active response, not passivity.
4) Take advantage of your professor’s office hours, tutorials, and review sessions. He or she is a great resource and a possible friend and ally. You’ll at once enjoy the class more and be more challenged by it.
5) Don’t take grades and comments too personally (this is easier said than done). Remember that expectations are higher in college than high school. You’ll probably need some time to adjust to that fact. If so, join the crowd—it’s normal. Focus less on grades and more on doing better work. If you focus on the work first, the grades will (sooner or later) improve.
6) Bring your book to class. Always. (Even if it’s heavy.) Nothing bespeaks a lack of academic seriousness more than not bringing your book (particularly if you make a habit of it).
7) Be sure to edit your work. Set aside time for it. Pay attention to commas and quotation marks. In particular, learn how to introduce quotations properly with a lead-in phrase. (Things like, “According to Joe Jones…”)
8) Be sure to look up grammatical, mechanical issues in your Handbook. I know I still look up things, and I have a PhD.
9) Look up words you don’t know. It’s unpleasant to have the teacher scowl at you because you didn’t bother to look up a word in a short poem. If you looked it up you’d be able to understand the poem. Since you didn’t look it up, you appear to be waiting for someone to explain the poem for you.
10) When you write a paper, make an original argument. Don’t just repeat what you heard in class. At best, this shows that you understood the class discussion (a start), but it doesn’t show that you’re actively wrestling with the material.
11) Remember that originality is always a virtue, even in exams. Here though, originality is less expected than in papers and understanding of texts, class discussion, etc. where it’s more appreciated.
12) Don’t just sit there in class discussion taking down every word the teacher says like he’s God Almighty dictating the Ten Commandments. Think about what he’s saying; you may or may not agree. Provided you’ve evidence to back up what you’re saying, feel free to disagree. Not to speak up is to deprive the teacher and your peers of a viewpoint that may advance everyone closer to the truth(s) of the text.
13) By the same token, don’t always expect the teacher to agree with you. Sometimes he will, sometimes he won’t. Don’t take it personally. The important thing is to have the courage to participate in the dialogue, and the discipline to provide evidence for your assertions.
14) On papers, it is less important that the teacher agree with you than that you make a real argument and back it up with evidence. Typically, teachers will give higher grades to thoughtful papers with positions contrary to their beliefs than dull, unsupported prose that echoes their own value system. Is it best of all to write surprising, insightful papers that the professor agrees with? Well, sure, but you can’t predict their opinions; all you can do is your best work.
15) If you don’t understand the professor’s comments on your work, be sure to see him or her during office hours. Don’t stew about it in private. Understanding the comments is extremely important in doing better work for the next paper (whether you agree with the comments or not).
16) If you’re having troubles that prevent you from attending class or completing a paper, be sure to see your professor and talk about it. Communication is important. Above all, if you’re having a problem completing a paper (i.e. it’s late), don’t become ashamed of yourself and stop coming to class. Instead, try to schedule an appointment to talk through your concerns. Here, teachers can be important advisors.
17) Review the week’s material—the lecture and class notes particularly, at the end of the week so that you can consolidate what you’ve learned (a half hour will probably do). Don’t wait till the exam to try to do it all at once. This approach gets only middling results.
18) Remember—Humanities is not a BS subject. Gassing on in vague generalities (even with a refined vocabulary) will not impress me. I expect you to know specific facts from the lectures, understand the plots of the literature, etc. When you write, use clear, concise prose.