Sit Downs or Projects?
By EMMA BRADLEY ‘20
Every January, I come back from Winter break feeling ~refreshed,~renewed, and calmer than ever. And every year, I forget that January is a straight sprint to exams, every teacher cramming an entire unit or test into the same six-day period before review week. By the time exams actually roll around, all the last-minute preparations have me feeling #hopeless! In thinking about this upcoming month and exams being in T-10 days, I realized that this is the first year I won’t have five sit down exams, and, instead, I will have one paper and three sit downs. While many people would prefer having papers to actual exams, I feel the absolute opposite.
Having sit down exams allows me to fall into a comfortable pattern; I study for each exam more and more as the exam day approaches, I take the exam, and then I have the whole day to study for the next one. Having projects complicates this process. When you take sit down exams, you don’t need to spend time agonizing over every last word; instead, you have two hours to do your best, and then you’re done. With projects, especially ones as important as exams, you feel pressured to work on it constantly and perfect it.
Additionally, working on projects is not as structured as studying for an exam. Oftentimes, the process of creating a project takes time. Sometimes, you don’t know how to proceed with an essay or don’t have a creative idea to start a project. However, studying for an exam is much more structured; you review your notes, draw diagrams, quiz yourself, etc. You don’t necessarily need an inspiration to get started—you just need to spend the time actually doing the work of studying.
As someone who loves organization, I prefer blocking out time to study for sit down exams and making a set schedule. However, I know that this year is the first time I’ll experience writing a paper for my English class instead of having a sit down exam. Regardless, I feel that having sit downs prevents me from procrastinating and allows me to organize my studying better.