Dear Readers,

    I heard that most of you have just started your vacation from school. I am envious of your upcoming blissful month of family, friends, strolls down the festive aisles of the “flower market” and Chinese Lunar New Year get-togethers.

    I hope you all enjoy your time off, but don’t forget to put a little bit of time aside every day for some reading or studying or other form of self improvement. A little always goes a long way, and I am sure you can all resist the temptations of television, Internet, shopping and games for at least half an hour a day.

    As for myself, Princeton’s three week winter break just flew by. In fact, I just got back to campus this afternoon. Luckily, we have a one-week break before the next semester starts in late January.

    In the meantime, however, we must tackle writing papers to hand in on a day called Dean’s Date in a week’s time, as well as study for our final examinations that commence shortly after.

    My schedule looks sound: four days to churn out my second essay (I completed my first over the last few days of winter break), and an average of two or three days to study for each of my four courses. My finals are spread out over a two-week period, allowing me the chance to take them on one at a time, with “breathers” or short breaks in between.

    I have just started my remaining essay. Usually, I spend a lot of time constructing a mental outline of my paper before I start to write it up. I find that this method allows me to pinpoint my main ideas and better articulate my thoughts.

    After I have written a rough draft for my paper by incorporating my thesis and arguments, I search for support in academic literature to strengthen my points. This time around, though, I have avoided that approach. Although I still took the time to flush out my ideas in my head and have a written outline with feedback from my professors, I took to finding academic resources relevant to my topic first.

    I intend to piece my essay together as I write out my thoughts. Well, back to writing that paper, then!

    Sincerely, Laiyin