Another writing style is American Psychological Association (APA). This is the style that many instructors prefer when teaching in the social sciences, like psychology and social studies.

Teachers aren't being picky when they prefer different writing styles; there are reasons for the different types of paper styles. Turabian Style fits with history papers because it allows for footnotes, and history papers require the use of many explanatory footnotes or endnotes.

APA is appropriate for social sciences, because it is designed to allow for highly structured reports, and that is perfect for describing the experiments and results that you often find in this type of scholarship. APA papers contain specific sections and subsections, according to the process used in research.

When a student visits my office for academic counseling, I always pull up a copy of the student's schedule on my computer. Once in a while I notice that the student is sitting in my office when he or she should be sitting in class. The conversation that follows goes something like this:

Me: "Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?"

Student: "Yes, but I am allowed three free days off."

Me: "There's no such thing!"

Instructors often allow students to miss a few days of class, and they will state this allowance in a syllabus, because instructors know that emergencies happen. The important thing to note is that those three or so days are set aside for emergencies; they're not free pass, sleep-in days! Skipping class and using up those allowances that fit within the teacher's guidelines will cost you in the long run.

First of all, you always miss a lot of valuable, testable information when you miss a class. It's hard to catch up from that!

Secondly, when you use up your absent days, you are asking for trouble. A flat tire, a bad cold, or a family situation will certainly pop up to cause you to go over your limit of absences.

If you are "allowed" a certain number of absences in a class, don't think of these as "free pass" days to be used at your leisure. This is a recipe for disaster.

It can be so annoying to lose your place in a book. Even if you use a bookmark to mark your page, it can take some time to figure out exactly where you left off. But there is a method for finding your place in a book right away, every time you return to it.

The trick is using a small card, like a research note card, for a bookmark. The card should have writing on one side, so you could decorate it to suit your style.

When you stop reading, place the card on the line where you stopped reading--not at the top of the page. This way it will line up with the last line that you read.

If you left off on the odd-numbered page, always place your card front side up. If you left off on the even-numbered page, always place the card bottom side (blank side) up. Once you get used to using this trick, you'll never have to worry about finding your place in a book you're reading.

There are a number of steps you could take to really improve your performance in school, so this is a perfect time to pick one or two great study habits and resolve to work on them. You'll find that you don't have to change your whole personality or your whole life to improve your grades; one or two small changes in your habits will make a huge difference.

• Resolve to read your assignments. Many students choose to skip this step and rely on teacher lectures. Most of the time you can get away with this to maintain an average GPA. But is that really your goal?
• Resolve to record every assignment and due date in your planner. This action, alone, will improve your performance.
• Resolve to read classic literature outside your assignments. This will increase your vocabulary and expand your mind.
• Resolve to be on time every day. Tardiness can lead to many more problems.
• Keep a journal. Journal writing is good for your brain, good for your emotional health, and good for your writing skills.

Can you think of another resolution that will improve your grades?