You may also want to consider what distractions might be in your mind or setting that could keep you from the task at hand. If you try to work from home, will you be distracted by household chores? Are there other assignments that you find more pressing at the moment? Do you have something scheduled for today that’s pulling your attention away? Do you need to let someone know you’ll be busy? If you find that you are having trouble staying focused, you may want to deal with those distractions first. That may mean anything from leaving the house to escape the dishes piling up to knocking out that pesky seminar paper that keeps nagging at the back of your mind. Your mindset and setting go hand in hand. If you struggle with focus, or if you are a person with learning disabilities, you may benefit from working with the Assistive Technology Lab to discover awesome new tools and techniques to support you in addition to using the Writing Center. Check out www.evergreen.edu/access/ assistive-technology for more.
When to Write: When and how long should I work on my Academic Statement? How much time you spend on this process is up to you. Ideally, the Academic Statement is something you will work on intermittently over your entire time at Evergreen. While it may seem daunting to work on one piece of writing over multiple years, realistically, you will only spend a few days from each quarter working on your Annual Academic Statements until you start working on your Final, when we recommend you spend several weeks, at least. Most students work through many iterations over the course of several years in order to write an effective Final Academic Statement. This process is for you; let yourself be in it. Here are some ideas for how you might approach managing your time: • Make it a routine. If you spend time during every quarter adding onto your Annual Academic Statement, then reflecting in the spring will be much easier. You could do this during evaluation week, maybe even with a friend, and reward yourself by doing something fun afterwards.
Hours Contracted for Academic Statement Work in Fall Full time program (12-16 credits) = Six hours of class time Part time program (8-11 credits) = Three hours of class time Less than 8 credits = No time required, but ask anyways! They may be willing to set aside some time to support you and your education.
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