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The Student Learning Commons blog is your online writing and learning community


Flowery Language: Does it really make your writing more beautiful?

Published by Julia Lane

Former Writing and Learning Peer Deeya B. returns with another post to help you do well in your writing courses this semester. 

In this post, Deeya debunks myths about "flowery language' and the value of such language in academic writing. 

As Deeya explains, flowery language occurs when elaborate words are substituted for simple ones and longer sentences are used to try to convey multiple ideas. However, flowery language often backfires and makes students sound less confident in their understanding of a subject.

In this post, Deeya will explain more about what flowery language is, why students choose to use it, and why it often has the reverse of the intended outcome. 

How to get your writing done this semester...

Published by Julia Lane

Imagine this: you’re typing away ferociously with the little time left for you to hand in your term paper. It’s due tonight, and although you had three weeks to write it, there were other more important assignments on your plate. It’s not that you didn’t know you had to write this paper too, but you were pretty confident you knew what you wanted to say and could put all of your ideas into words in one afternoon. It is now the afternoon of your paper’s due date. You’re scrambling, fumbling over the keyboard, ideas circling in your head but all of them sounding like a thought vomit on paper. You’re tired, overwhelmed and unable to comprehend your own words. You rush to the SLC for a drop-in session, praying that your peer educator can work a miracle and save your grade...

In this post, Writing and Learning Peer Deeya B. shares pro tips to help you get your writing done this semester and get the most out of the Student Learning Commons. 

It isn't a miracle, a magic spell, or a silver bullet, but if you follow these steps, you may find that your writing process this semester is that much easier (or, at the very least, slightly less painful). 

5 Steps to Help You Recover from Midterm Season

Published by Julia Lane

Communications major and SLC Writing and Learning Peer,  Ayomide G. is back with a companion piece to her post on having a successful midterm season

We at the SLC hope you have all come through the midterm season well, and hope that you enjoy these 5 steps for effective midterm-recovery! 

(and we promise not to mention how close finals are now... okay, maybe we'll mention it once...) 

How they raised Their GPAs

Published by Julia Lane

SLC Learning Services Coordinator Ruth Silverman shares notes from the recent session "How I Raised My GPA." The event was wildly popular and invited current students to listen to their peers' stories about raising their GPAs. Stay tuned for the next iteration of this event, coming soon! 

5 Steps to have a successful midterm season

Published by Julia Lane

This week, Communications major and SLC Writing and Learning Peer,  Ayomide G., shares 5 tips on making it through midterm season. 

We are looking forward to seeing calendar sales spike at the bookstore after this ;) 

5 popular time management strategies

Published by Julia Lane

Do you sometimes find yourself in ‘busy mode’ but not accomplishing much? Do you feel you could be more organized or productive? With the start of the fall semester, it's the perfect time to set some intentions about how you want to spend your time and get prepared!

Exams are over! More learning?!

Published by Julia Lane

Hooray! Exams are over and you have 2 weeks until fall term classes start! Time for travel, a staycation on Metro Vancouver’s many beaches, or just an opportunity to catch up on the other life things that you had to put aside during the exam period.

Summer time, exam time

Published by Julia Lane

When Ella Fitzgerald sings "summer time, and the living is easy", she clearly isn't singing about students who are preparing for summertime exams! But, with the summer exam period one week away, the SLC team is here to offer you some helpful tips and tricks. They may not make your exams feel easy, but hopefully they will make your whole exam experience a bit easier