I am overwhelmed in my new major?

College Life
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<p>I just switched from biotechnology to political science. Although I really find my classes interesting, I am having difficulty completing my writing assignments. In high school I was a very strong writer, I graduated with an IB diploma, but for two years I have only written lab reports. I have not been required to write an essay in a considerably long period of time and I feel rusty and overwhelmed. </p>

<p>The topic is very vague and there is a limit of 3 pages, which is not enough to throughly explain my viewpoints. I also do not know what exactly the professor is looking for and how harshly he grades the assignments. How do I complete this assignment without totally failing? I would go see my professor but he assigned it two days ago and its due today.</p>

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<p>The thread title is a question. I think that about sums it up. You were the person who complained about getting a B+ in seventh grade, weren’t you? Stop fishing and go write the freaking 3 page essay. You aren’t this helpless.</p>

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<p>If there’s a limit of three pages, it’s meant to be concise. You need to figure out how to express your viewpoints in a more concise manner. If you were a strong writer in high school, you’re a little rusty, but once you get into the swing of things you should be fine, you’re just not used to writing a lot of essays that aren’t lab reports. </p>

<p>Just relax and write your essay. Next time you get assigned an essay, look at the assignment when it’s given to you so that you’ll have time to go talk to the professor if you don’t understand the assignment or think you need help. Sometimes professors will be really vague because they aren’t looking for an exact answer. For lab reports it’s easier because you know exactly what you’re supposed to be writing in each section. You just need to relearn how to write essays.</p>

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<p>“Although I really find my classes interesting, I am having difficulty completing my writing assignments.”</p>

<p>Look at the thread title. Writing skills obviously aren’t where you think they are. “Good writing” in HS is not good writing in college. Read the “Elements of Writing.” </p>

<p>"which is not enough to throughly explain my viewpoints. "</p>

<p>If you can’t make an argument in 3 pages, Poli sci is not your field. You need to be able to share a large amount of information in a short span. I am a poli sci/hsty major, but I find poli sci papers extremely easy to write. You focus on the main argument, and you don’t put in a bunch of useless information. 3 pages is more than enough.</p>

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<p>Tiff90, there is no need to be pretentious. If I was asking for criticism I would have said so. By writing in high school I meant I.B. (which is college level). I got a A on my extended essay which is a 20 page paper on a complex topic of your choice within a certain subject. So my skills aren’t exactly “good” on a high school level. And by the way, it’s gramatically correct to say that I write well, not good.</p>

<p>I have a hacker manual and I know the basics of writing an essay. I’m not trying to sound sorry for myself and I’m not stupid. That’s great that you are doing so well. I write my lab reports well. Poli sci papers are a bit different from those. Like I said, I just switched my major. </p>

<p>Thanks to everyone else for their input.</p>

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<p><a href=“http://www.henryfarrell.net/pol_sci_essay.html[/url]”>http://www.henryfarrell.net/pol_sci_essay.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>someone should post some tips on how to write</p>

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<p>Just about every campus has a Writing Center or some similar option where students can go for help with a paper. Often these are drop-in centers; sometimes an appointment is required. Staff members are usually pros, although there may be peer counselors, too. When switching from a major that required mostly lab reports to one that demands a lot more writing, the Writing Center may be the perfect place to get a crash course on how to jump-start both short and long papers.</p>