Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Better Student: comprehensive collection of resources for students that covers a full range of topics, including:
- participating in class
- studying
- reading skills
- test taking
Resources are drawn from colleges and universities around the country.
Writing and Citing
The University of Iowa has a range of excellent writing guides for students that cover all the most important skills you will need to succeed in a college course. They are geared towards History students but will be helpful in most of the classes I teach, as well as many others you will take at Sewanee. Check them out, especially:
- How to Identify Historical Sources
- How to Read Primary Source
- How to Read a Secondary Source
- Writing a Thesis and Making an Argument in an essay
- How to Paraphrase and Quote in an essay – helps to avoid plagiarism!
- Doing Well on Exams
- Taking Lecture Notes
You can also find a wide range of writing guides at the duPont Library Research Skills page.
Students always need to cite more than they think they have to. See the Yale University Guide for When to Cite for tips on avoiding plagiarism and “showing your work.”
Finally, be sure to use The Writing Center to get an extra pair of eyes on your work — not just for beginners!
Reading Academic Texts
Struggling with the reading in our course? Check out these guides for how to tackle different kinds of reading:
- General Reading Techniques from the University of Michigan’s Newnan Advising Center
- How to Read a Book by Paul Edwards (especially helpful for upper-level courses with large amounts of reading)
- Tips for reading in History classes by Blair Stein and Marie Hicks
- Active Reading Strategies from the duPont Library
Research Help
I encourage to reach out to me with specific questions about your research in my courses. For more general questions, these resources will be helpful for any research project you undertake.
- What is a Scholarly Source from the Loyola University Writing Center
- Research Skills from the duPont Library, including finding sources, citing, avoiding plagiarism, etc.
- Make an appointment with a Research Librarian at the duPont Library
Dr. Molly M. Brookfield 
