NEW STUDENT ISSUE: Essential guide to study aids

Classes at Penn are no walk in the park. Here’s a list of helpful hacks that can help with everything from Writing Seminar to problem sets.

WRITING AIDS:

Written? Kitten!

http://writtenkitten.net/

For students struggling to find the strength to write those last 300 words, cute kittens can provide instant motivation. This website lets you set the parameters for how many words you’d like to write, and a photo of a cute kitten appears when you reach your goal. It’s a great app if positive motivation is your modus operandi.

Write or Die

http://writeordie.com/

On the other hand, if you’re more a fan of negative motivation, Write or Die can help. The app uses both positive and negative reinforcement to maximize writing efficiency.

Citation Machine

http://www.citationmachine.net/

Essentially a plug-and-chug citation maker, this app will take the work out of work cited sections.

Reading aids

https://www.gutenberg.org/

http://openbookproject.net/

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/search.html

All three of these websites have free books for download and viewing, ranging from fiction to textbooks. In this case, ebooks are free, which is much less expensive than buying everything at the Penn Book Center. They’re also much easier to copy and paste quotes from.

ORGANIZING YOUR LIFE:

Evernote

https://evernote.com/

A useful app for organizing notes and pictures and writing, as well as syncing them across multiple devices. Essentially good for major organization across mediums.

Mac Freedom

http://macfreedom.com/

Turn off the internet for intervals of time on your Macbook so that you aren’t sidetracked by Facebook, Reddit, Tumblr, Twitter or the countless other distractions lurking on the interwebs.

Habit RPG

https://habitrpg.com/static/front

Your daily routine is now an RPG game, and you are the protagonist. Get points and gold for doing real-world tasks, as well as level up and fight monsters. On the flip side, if you neglect to do your errands, or homework, or go to class, you lose health.

OLDIES BUT GOODIES:

Sparknotes

http://www.sparknotes.com/

Quick, easy-to-access information on a lot of subjects across many disciplines. Good if you need a quick refresher on a certain subject or a book, or if you don’t have time to do an entire reading for your English class.

Khan Academy

https://www.khanacademy.org/

Learn the basics about a lot of different subjects, or brush up on your prior knowledge. Khan Academy provides helpful instructional videos across countless disciplines.

Quizlet

https://quizlet.com/

Create virtual flashcards, or access flashcard sets that other people have made. Great for language or vocabulary studying.

Penn Course Review

https://penncoursereview.com/

Most Penn students consider Penn Course Review to be their course registration bible. With student-sourced ratings of professors, course difficulties and overall course quality, the website is a necessary stop before signing up for any classes. Some courses have more complete reviews than others.

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