Five Ways to Become a Better English Major

It may be easy to succeed as an English major, but there are several ways to improve your chances of getting an A. The thing about English assignments is that they are generally graded subjectively rather than objectively. That is, the overall beliefs and mind state of the individual who is grading your papers will ultimately influence the grade you receive. This may seem a bit unfair, but learning how to use subjective grading in your favor will vastly improve your grade point average. There are also some specific tweaks you can use to adjust your writing so that it stands a better chance of getting a higher grade. Here are five ways to be more successful as an English major.

Go to class - English classes may seem boring due to the fact that most of the material seems to be common sense. Nonetheless, it's extremely important that you go to all of your classes. This alone will create an immediate improvement in the grades you receive. The reasoning behind this is that each teacher has certain aspects of the course that appeal to them personally. It may be a theme, motif, or general philosophy, but going to class and paying attention will make it very obvious to you over time.

By focusing your writing assignments and applying the specific principles your teacher seems to focus on, you can sway their subjective grading in your favor. Furthermore, incorporating class discussion into your assignments shows that you have been attending class and are actually paying attention to the material. Attendance is also a large part of the overall grade in many English courses. If you are on the border between an A and a B, a flawless attendance record will shift the odds in your favor.

Go to office hours - Before any major assignment or paper is due, it is imperative that you go to the office hours of your professor or TA. Make sure that you have a basic outline typed up and printed to bring to the meeting. This outline will show your grader that you are serious about the assignment and intent on getting a good grade. Most English majors tend to avoid office hours out of sheer laziness. They believe they can get the grades they want without wasting their time at these meetings. While this may be true for some people, going to office hours will almost guarantee a good grade.

Your teacher can look at your outline and offer constructive criticism, virtually ensuring that your final product will please them. Getting to know your TA or professor will provide you with a source of letters of recommendation for future endeavors. Often times, professors will drop hints about how you can do better on assignments that you otherwise may not have had the chance to learn. Office hours a great way to improve your chances of getting an A. Resist the temptation to avoid a face-to-face meeting by using e-mail. Professors and TAs receive tons and tons of e-mail from unmotivated students looking for the professors to do the work for them. Get out there and in front of your grader

Don't use generalizations in your writing - The most common element which detracts from the overall grade of your paper will be the frequent use of sweeping generalizations. Graders aren't going to be convinced by your all-encompassing assumptions that have no evidence cited to support them. To really improve your writing, concentrate on using specific examples from the work you are discussing. Quotations from a book, from class handouts, and from class lectures are great ways to incorporate specifics into your assignments

Take notes in class - English lectures can be notoriously misleading in that they always seem to be very common sense. For this reason, many people believe that taking notes is an unnecessary waste of time. On the contrary, notes are an indispensable resource when it comes to planning and writing a paper. If your teacher seems to be reiterating a certain point constantly, or if you notice an overarching theme connecting the works you are studying, make sure to make note of it. Then, include you notes in your paper to support your analytic insights.

Actually read the books - As an English major, it may be tempting to avoid reading an entire book and instead relying heavily on online summaries or cliff notes. Teachers aren't stupid; they've seen it all. They know what the generic notes consist of and they know exactly what kind of questions to ask to see if you've been actually reading. Reading books isn't exactly difficult - it just becomes time consuming when you have a course-load full of English classes. Still, you must set aside the time to read all of your assignments. Doing so will allow you to pick up on influential details that will give your analysis a competitive edge over students who skim the texts.

Incorporating these five suggestions into your life as an English major will make an immediate and noticeable impact on not only your grades, but the level of difficulty involved with completing your assignments. You'll find yourself more prepared to write a paper, completing it in less time, and receiving higher grades.