1. the 7 habits of highly effective people - stephen r. covey
2. the 7 habits of highly effective teens - sean covey
3. rebecca - daphne du maurier 
4. the complete poems - anne sexton
5. collected poems - edna st. vincent millay
6. democracy in america - alexis de tocqueville
7. don quixote - miguel de cervantes saavedra
8. save me the waltz - zelda fitzgerald
9. glass, irony, and god - anne carson
10. plainwater: essays and poetry - anne carson
11. reader’s block - david markson
12. the secret history - donna tartt
13. the aeneid - virgil 
14. seduction of the minotaur - anaïs nin
15. the count of monte cristo - alexandre dumas 
16. beatrix potter: a life in nature - linda lear 
17. the divine comedy - dante alighieri
18. the myth of sisyphus and other essays - albert camus
19. art objects: essays on ecstasy and effrontery - jeanette winterson
20. at swim-two-birds - flann o’brien
21. the book of disquiet: the complete edition - fernando pessoa
22. the princess bride - william goldman 
23. decreation - anne carson 
24. to the lighthouse - virginia woolf
25. autobiography of red - anne carson 
26. middlemarch - george eliot
27. on the road - jack kerouac 
28. the bakkhai - euripides, translated by anne carson
29. the picture of dorian gray - oscar wilde
30. the age of innocence - edith wharton
31. twenty love poems and a song of despair - pablo neruda
32. the solitary summer - elizabeth von arnim
33. a thousand acres - jane smiley
34. a short history of nearly everything - bill bryson
35. the wind-up bird chronicle - haruki murakami
36. east of eden - john steinbeck
37. candide - voltaire
38. the cremona violin - e.t.a. hoffman
39. dracula - bram stoker
40. stardust - neil gaiman
41. the art of war - sun tzu 
42. les misérables - victor hugo 
43. love in the time of cholera - gabriel garcí­a márquez
44. the iliad - homer
45. one hundred years of solitude -  gabriel garcí­a márquez
46. the stranger - albert camus
47. the odyssey - homer
48. man’s search for meaning - viktor e. frankl
49. swann’s way - marcel proust
50. frankenstein - mary wollstonecraft shelley
51. kafka on the shore - haruki murakami
52. the laugh of the medusa - hélène cixous
53. as consciousness is harnessed to flesh: journals and notebooks, 1964-1980 - susan sontag
54. the secrets of italy: people, places, and hidden histories - corrado augias
55. il piacere - giovanni episcopo - l'innocente - gabriele d'annunzio
56. lonely planet italy - cristian bonetto
57. villette - charlotte brontë
58. an oresteia - aeschylus, translated by anne carson
59. useless magic: lyrics and poetry - florence welch 
60. antigonick - anne carson 

So I’ve always stuggled with procrastination. I would stress myself out over doing no work and my solution was to continue doing no work. I got okay GCSE grades but if I would’ve revised/studied harder I could’ve done a lot better. These tips aren’t going to motivate you by themselves, unfortunately nobody can motivate you but yourself. I hope these help someone :)

• Mindmaps help so much. Use as many or as little coloured pens and highlighters as you like. They really help you visualise the basic content of each topic.
• Diagrams! But I don’t study a subject that uses diagrams? It doesn’t matter! Draw little diagrams and doodles to help you picture the content in a more fun way!
• Colour code everything! Colour coding really helps you create cues. Cues are essential in recalling information so if you write your notes for one topic in purple and there is something purple in your exam you will activate that cue!
• Sticky notes! You can put these everywhere. For my GCSEs, I had sticky notes: on the hallway mirror, in my sock draw, on the fridge, stuck to the TV remote. Literally everywhere you go on a regular basis or everything you use. Use digital sticky notes on MacBooks or set alarms with the info as the title of the alarm.
• Use kahoot! Everyone knows what kahoot is so I’m not going to explain it. However, it is very fun and competitive and if you struggle to enjoy the content using a kahoot makes it a lot more fun.

• Record lectures or online lessons. You can use these to look back and listen to what your teacher is saying, listen to what they emphasise.
• Watch YouTube videos on the topic. Honestly, ASAPScience’s songs helped me so much in GCSE science. It’s easier to understand and it gets stuck in your head if you want it to or not. (Just don’t listen to songs before opposing subject exams: I once had the periodic table song stuck in my head during an Literature exam- not helpful.)
• Create mnemonics!! Just liked in primary school when we learnt the colours of the rainbow by remembering “Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain”, it’s so helpful. And, the stupider and funnier the more you will remember it.

• Rewrite them notes!! Rewrite them in different colours, type them up. Write them and see how much you can remember after 10 minutes.
• Revision/note cards are amazing. You can lay out revision cards however you like. You can have them as questions with the answers on the other side, you can use it for the basic information or to just rewrite your notes in a form you can easily carry around with you.
• Exam questions. This isn’t only for written learners, it’s for everyone. Anyone who ever has a test or exam for something. Use past exam papers or practise questions. Answer them and then use mark schemes to grade them. You’ll learn how to structure answers for different types of questions and you’ll also learn timing. It’s the best way to revise!

• You need to find something to motivate you. For you it can be getting into university, to show off to someone or even to just reward yourself. In all honesty, I use spite to motivate me. To prove people wrong and show that I’m more capable than they thought is an easy way to get myself to study.
• You have to force yourself sometimes. There is never going to be a time where you want to study that extremely difficult topic that you haven’t been able to grasp. So you have to push yourself- this is harder for some than it is for others. But once you get into the swing of pushing yourself a little, it does become easier.
• To counteract the point above, you have to take breaks. And I’m now taking, an hour break for 10 minutes of work. I mean, study for 25 minutes and have a five minute break and continue that. Get up, stretch, walk around, listen to song, get a snack and some water. Shake your body because sitting at a desk for hours on end is only going to hurt you.
• Find a study buddy. Some people work better alone, I know I do. But some people need others to keep them on track and that’s perfectly okay! In my opinion, you shouldn’t choose your best friend as your study partner unless they are going to be strict with you. If you know that the person you plan to study with is only going to distract you, then pick somebody else.
• Use a study group! Similar to a study buddy but in this case you can discuss the material you are going over and ask for other’s help. Peer mark fake questions for each other or again, do a quiz. Pick the right people and a study group will work perfectly!
• Find a way to shut your brain off. Easier said than done, I know. But if you’re brain is pumping out thoughts about what you’re having for dinner or the show you watched last night, then you aren’t going to get anywhere. Some people use rain sounds (like me!!) but I wouldn’t recommend listening to music. You may think you’re new Playlist is going to get you excited to work but it’s only going to distract you. If you want to listen to music I would recommend purely instrumental music of songs that you don’t know- they’re plenty on YouTube!
• Use reminders on your phone or study apps to keep you on track. I’ve heard so many people talk about the app, Forest. I have given it ago and I’d fully recommend it too. It has built-in reminders, sounds to listen to (and we know I love rain sounds) and small achievements to keep you motivated. You get rewarded with a tree or a few trees after your study session and if you get enough coins you can plant an actual real tree!! If you don’t want to pay £1.99, I completely understand so I would recommend Flora. It’s free and has almost all the same features as Forest. Give them a go!! (I will make another post about the differences:))
• Speaking of phones, turn yours off!! Unless you’re using it for studying, in which case disable all notifications for a select period of time. You can set screen time limits on IPhones and if you really need it, get someone else to set the password so you can’t simply override it.

• Clean your room/space, tidy your desk, make your space feel neat and focused. The space we are in means a lot, don’t confine yourself to a messy space.
• Make sure you also feel ready. Freshly showered, has a good meal, did some movement-based activity. You can’t focus as easily if you feel all messy and uncomfy.
• Put your work in order, what is most important? If you’re taking an exam over a specific topic i.e Biology, look for the most mentioned topics. Those will be what you study most. When I took AP Psych, I found the outline online that said what percentage of the test would be what topic, and studied those flashcards, notes, and videos.
• Likewise, figure out how much you need to do every day to get done in time. If you have 20 chapters left in a book and each one is 15 pages then take 300 pages divided by how many days left (say 40) leaving 7.5 pages a day minimum. 
• Block out time to study. Make sure you have no distractions, phone on silent, friends know you’re unavailable. This is its own test, a test of focus!
• Go to review days if you have them Your instructor should explain what’s on the exam and what is expected of you, and if you miss out on important details you’ll really notice later. It may seem like skipping gives you more time to study, but you’ll be at a disadvantage in the end.
• If you feel yourself getting distracted, reading the passage with no recollection of the content, or about to slam your head into the table, take a break. Go for a short walk, get a snack, stretch, get a glass of water, have a little dance party. Breaks count as being productive, self-care is important.
• Feel free to switch up your studying methods. Taking notes every day or reading chapter after chapter of a subject gets boring. Do flashcards, Draw or make a diagram. Studying the brain? Draw and label it. Use funky pens sticky notes. Varying your methods of study will not only help you grasp the material better, but it’ll keep you from getting bored.
• Find a friend or join a study group. There are a lot at different universities or even just create your own with like-minded folks. You can even do one online like I do. There are many discords for this. I’m in one and it’s great to hold each other accountable and share goals.
• You can also switch up your space. Everyone has a different type of place they work best. Maybe a library, cafe, park, bedroom, couch, restaurant. Don’t stay couped up. 
• Use apps like Tide, Forest, Flora, Quizlet and more. I seriously use these every day. Tide is my favorite, it incorporates white noise and nature sounds with a Pomodoro timer, as well as three settings for Focus, Relax, and Sleep.
• Make studying aesthetically pleasing. Studyblrs are on to something here! You don’t need to have expensive things or show them off but have pens you like, fun highlighter and sticky notes. Pick out playlists of music that makes you feel focused.
• Affirm and trust yourself! When you get that flashcard right? Heck yeah! You did it holy crap! Celebrate! Be proud of yourself. You worked hard, you deserve to feel good. Your best is good enough, and your best may vary day-to-day.

• Conjugate one verb in present, past and future tenses
• Make a list about 10 - 30 words long
• Create flashcards with them and start learning them (I use Quizlet for flashcards)
• Revise yesterday's set of flashcards

• Read an article or a few pages from a book
• Write a few sentences about anything in your target language
• Listen to one episode of podcast (at least one)

• Watch a movie in your target language, preferably animated movie as the language used there is easier. You can watch with subtitles
• Grammar exercises
• Translate some short text

• Write something longer, like an essay or report, on chosen topic

• Talk to yourself, to your friends, to your pets
• Text with someone
• Look at the transcription while listening to the podcast for second time
• Repeat what you hear (in podcast or movie)
• Check words you don't know from the listening and reading
• Read out loud
• Listen to music in your target language - you can even learn the text and sing along
• Watch YouTube in your target language
• Change your phone language to the one you're learning
• Think in you target language!!!

• first and foremost, pay attention in class, or at least try to. I spent the majority of my classes browsing through meaningless memes on Pinterest or chatting with my friends, and I regretted it as soon as exams came around.
• try doing something physical doing your class, as this reduces the chances of you drifting off and/or losing focus (I personally chose to doodle mindlessly, nothing that involved too much brain power and focus)
• all your organization systems fail you
• and finding a planning system takes months, but once you find it, STICK TO IT. mine was a hybrid weekly and daily planner with absolutely no other spreads (except a separate calendar). efficient and less time-consuming to make.
• you feel motivated in random bursts and will plan out the entirety of your remaining year and then forget about that plan the next day
• routines seem appealing as you try to get your life together from the ever-increasing slumps but then your realize they just make everything even more monotonous that they already are
• sticky notes are the shit. like seriously. I had sticky notes in my textbooks, past papers, study notes, and even other sticky notes. they’re versatile and a great way to jot down information quickly and right on top of where you want it (a paragraph on your textbook, for examples)
• do not rely on just your textbooks, especially since it’s 10 times harder to ask for help (and by the time you get around to meeting your teacher, you might actually forget about it). ask anyone around you for help – friends, family – and use all the resources you have.
• online learning resources are astronomically underrated. while I was struggling in multiple subjects all by myself, I decided to expand the resources I used for studying. My favourites through my senior year were:

1. OpenStax (FREE textbooks on a variety of subjects groups, by Rice University)
2. Khan Academy (need I say more?)
3. Crash Course on youtube, especially for AP Exams (I’m not a part of the US education system btw, and the resources I’m mentioning are applicable to everything)
4. online pdf versions of textbooks
5. tons of youtube channels (too many to list here,)

• use your phone/computer’s night light. trust me it works wonders. plus, it’s cheaper than blue light glasses if you already own a phone/computer (most have it built in). also known as a blue light filter/yellow light.
• a little bit of gratitude each week will help you keep your sanity (coming from a former skeptic)
• sleepless nights will be common, especially with all the screen time, but you’ll learn to live with that.
• and mental health will just go down the drain
• but it will all be okay
• you get both your grades and confidence high
• i speak from experience

• Decide where you will work - even if it is at your kitchen table, having a designated work spot is so important for online classes and study. I understand that for some people this can be difficult, so you could break up your day instead of sitting down for a few hours straight.
• Get enough sleep - Summer is over, it's time to settle back into a semi-normal sleeping pattern. Being tired can be a terribly difficult roadblock for concentration.
• Get up early - by this I don't mean "get up at 6am every day". I mean don't stay in bed until five minutes before your class starts. Get up maybe an hour or so beforehand, which leads me to my next point-
• Eat breakfast! - it will help you concentrate on your study. Plus, now you're at home you can snack throughout the day as well!
• Hydrate! - It is SO important to drink water regularly. Try to keep a tall glass or a bottle nearby when you're working.
• Wash and Dress - if you don't have the time or energy to shower, you can brush your teeth and wash your face. Trust me, it will makes a world of difference. It also might be tempting to throw a sweater on over your pyjamas for lectures, but you will feel a lot more alert and ready to work if you change out of the clothes you slept in. A change of underwear and even clean joggers and a shirt can freshen you up a lot.
• Take your breaks! - even a 15 minute break for you to stretch your legs and grab some air will help so much!
• Stay in touch with your friends and classmates - working alone can feel very daunting, so it might be a good idea to reach out to friends and organise a study session on a group call or video chat. You needn't be lonely just because you're alone.
• Keep any medication you take close to where you work - I started doing this not long ago. It can be frustrating to have to break the flow of work to get up and take it, so it may be tempting to leave it until later. If you have it within arms reach you can take it without disruption. It also might help to set an alarm if it is time sensitive.

• Determine primary sources/bibliography.
• Determine secondary sources/bibliography. 
• Find title.
• Brainstorm a table of contents with as much detail as possible (with chapters, sections and even paragraphs and sub-paragraphs - see How to Write a Thesis’ own table of contents as an example at the end of this document) (if the first drafted table of contents is good enough, it will not be necessary to start the writing from the beginning).
• Do a first draft of the introduction.

• Use Google Scholar to make sure you do not miss important sources.
• Keep the table of contents in mind when researching and take notes of which sources could go where.
• While note-taking, differentiate which parts could be used as quotations from the ones that are simply important for the argument.
• Eco underlines the importance of what he calls reading sheets, which can be understood as your notes on your readings. According to him, these should contain:
• information about the author if he is not a well-known figure;
• a brief (or long) summary;
• they should mostly consist of quotations (accompanied by all the corresponding page numbers)
• any commentaries you might want to add;
• an indication of which part (or parts) of your table of contents the information mentioned belongs to.
• Keep reading sheets on primary sources (which should be the longest) separate from those on secondary sources (which should only be 1-2 pages long).
• In the end, re-read the notes and color-code all the different parts according to where they would fit in your table of contents.

• A good place to start would be by redrafting the introduction.
• Define every key/technical term used/mentioned unless indisputably obvious.
• General writing tips:
• keep sentences short;
• do not be afraid to repeat the subject twice (ex: Roberta went to the shop (…) Roberta bought carrots and tomatoes);
• avoid excessive details;
• avoid subordinate clauses (orações subordinadas);
• avoid vague language;
• avoid unnecessary adjectives;
• avoid the passive voice.
• While drafting, write everything that comes to mind. Leave the editing for the end.
• Use your tutor as a Guinea pig. Make them read your first chapters (and, progressively, all the rest) well before delivery is due. 
• Ask for as much feedback as possible. Ask colleagues, friends and/or family to read your work. They will provide you with more diversified feedback, as well as allowing you to know if your writing is clear to anyone.
• Stop playing ‘solitary genius’.
• Don’t insist on starting with the first chapter. Start with what you know best and feel more comfortable writing about, then fill in the gaps.
• Leave time for editing and try to take at least a one or two days long break in between writing and editing. 
• Do not forget to fill in the gaps. When you revisit your writing, go through it with all these writing tips in mind as well as a conscience of what your most common mistakes are.
• Use Hemingway in the final editing phase.

• Since there are two kinds of sources (primary and secondary), there are also two kinds of quotations: either we quote a text which we will interpret, or we quote a text which supports your interpretation.
• Some quotation rules to know:
• “Quote the object of your interpretive analysis with reasonable abundance.”
•  “Quote the critical literature only when its authority corroborates or confirms your statements. (…)  when quoting or citing critical [aka secondary] literature, be sure that it says something new, or that it confirms authoritatively what you have said.”
• “If you don’t want readers to presume that you share the opinion of the quoted author, you must include your own critical remarks before or after the passage.”
• “Make sure that the author and the source of your quote are clearly identifiable.”
• “When a quote does not exceed two or three lines, you can insert it into the body of the text enclosed in quotation marks. (…) When the quote is longer, it is better to set it off as a block quotation. In this case the quotation marks are not necessary, because it is clear that all set-off passages are quotes, and we must commit to a different system for our observations. (Any secondary developments [like the quote’s reference] should appear in a note.) (…) This method is quite convenient because it immediately reveals the quoted texts; it allows the reader to skip them if he is skimming, to linger if he is more interested in the quoted texts than in our commentary, and finally, to find them immediately when need be.”
• Some footnote rules to know:
• “Use notes to add additional supporting bibliographical references on a topic you discuss in the text. For example, ‘on this topic see also so-and-so.’”
• “Use notes to introduce a supporting quote that would have interrupted the text. If you make a statement in the text and then continue directly to the next statement for fluidity, a superscript note reference after the first statement can refer the reader to a note in which a well-known authority backs up your assertion.”
• “Use notes to expand on statements you have made in the text. Use notes to free your text from observations that, however important, are peripheral to your argument or do nothing more than repeat from a different point of view what you have essentially already said.”
• “Use notes to correct statements in the text. You may be sure of your statements, but you should also be conscious that someone may disagree, or you may believe that, from a certain point of view, it would be possible to object to your statement. Inserting a partially restrictive note will then prove not only your academic honesty but also your critical spirit.”
• “Use notes to provide a translation of a quote, or to provide the quote in the original language.”

• The Prince: Machiavelli- do I NEED to explain this one. Its a seminal text in politics and political philosophy and when you listen to the ideas described in it they can sound a little crazy but once you read it you realise they are still crazy but grounded in something very real. Also its short as heck and an easy read.
• Politics among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace- Hans J Morgenthau. I had to pick this one up for my coursework last semester and I thought it would be a snooze fest but no. I was drawn in and I haven’t finished it since but I do plan to get back to it at my leisure.
• The End of History and the Last Man: Francis Fukuyama- YES, I fundamentally disagree with Fukuyama on so many points. YES, it is still one of my favourite books of all time. it is a very riveting discussion of political philosophy, history and international relations. If you are interested in any of those topics, pick it up. You won’t regret it.
• How Democracy Ends: David Runciman- captivatingly written, great arguments, and a very unique voice. Super relevant in today’s international political atmosphere and if you are interested in studying the rise of right wing authoritarian governments across the globe, this is a great place to start.
• Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan- another one that I just feel like i don’t need to explain. Again haven’t read it fully yet, but its quite chill inducing and the basis for most of the contemporary discussion on state, liberalism, authoritarianism, rights and so forth. 

• growing up in a rough neighbourhood can shape kids’ brains, so good parenting and schooling is crucial
• has a football scandal exposed endemic racism in the czech republic?
• inequality has a geographic dimension - between and within neighbourhoods in singapore
• what a bad day means to me (usa)
• why aboriginal people are still dying in police custody (australia)

• china promotes education drive to make boys more ‘manly’
• why have we failed women so badly during covid?
• damage: the silent forms of violence against women
• politicians need expert help to change culture of sexual violence and impunity. we don’t need yet another review to tell us that (australia)
• in nairobi, female coders are flipping the silicon valley trope on its head (kenya)

• germany and namibia: what’s the right price to pay for genocide?
• lives for sale: booming market for bulgarian babies in greece
• covid-19 is taking a devastating toll on filipino american nurses
• how legalising prostitution has failed (germany)
• seed monopolies: who controls the world’s food supply?

• mr brightside: the hit that just won’t die
• yuna opens up about the secret to songwriting, superstardom and repping southeast asian women (malaysia)
• singapore’s endless pursuit of cleanliness
• harold lloyd’s sleight of hand
• city of lost mosques: how suzhou tells the story of china’s islamic past