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7. Improve your Writing Skills

Much like reading, writing is something you develop over time. Here are some suggestions that can help you improve some aspects of your writing in online courses right away:

• Always organize your ideas before you start writing anything. For example, when you identify keywords in your assignments, organize your writing around them to ensure you include everything you need to address in your answer. This works for anything you write: short emails, short answers, longer paragraphs, essays, and so on.
• Work from simple to complex sentences. When you start writing using very complex, convoluted sentences, sometimes you end up with difficult-to-read, confusing, unclear sentences. Then you have to fix them when you edit your work. It is easier to start out by writing simple sentences, making sure all your ideas clear, which you can then combine into more complex sentences.

8. Adjust your Study Environment

Depending on people’s personal situations, setting up a “great” study environment for remote learning may be difficult because they may not have the financial means to do so. However, an appropriate study environment does not need to be expensive.

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As much as you can, do the following:

• Find a quiet place that you can always use as your study spot. It can be a separate room or just a corner or a table in a room that is just for your study time.
• Make sure you have comfortable furniture and needed equipment: desk or chair, keyboard, mouse, printer, etc.
  Note. Instructors often list required and suggested materials. If there is no such list, ask the instructor as soon as a new course starts.
• Use appropriate lighting.
• Remove distractions (e.g., electronic gadgets and games, TVs) from your study spot. If you have a smartphone, leave it out of sight so you are not distracted by pop-up messages flashing on the screen.

9. Re-Evaluate your Mindset and Work Toward Your Long-Term Goals

Think about your mindset as a learner. Are you positive or negative? Are you a complainer or a problem solver? Do you ask for help after trying to solve problems yourself, or do you give up?

If you identify areas you can improve, be positive about it, and work toward replacing negative attitudes and characteristics with positive, more beneficial ones. Change takes time, but taking that first step can make a big difference in the long run.

As mentioned earlier, certain skills such as reading and writing take time to improve. In addition, if you have difficulties working independently, you may need to learn to be self-sufficient over time. Nonetheless, by trying to take steps in the right direction, you will be able to either overcome difficulties or, at a minimum, learn how to work around them.

10. Enjoy Learning

Always.

 Related Topics

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Works Cited

Franco, Marc. "How to be an effective online learner." Snap Language Channel on YouTube. 05 November 2020. Web. https://youtu.be/iiwn1o1gKhM

Gannon University. “Online Learning Readiness Self-Assessment.” Gannon University. N.p. Web. https://www.gannon.edu/uploadedfiles/content/academic_offerings/online_programs/gannon%20online%20questionnaire.pdf

Lane Community College. “Are Online Courses for Me? Questionnaire.” Lane Community College. N.p. Web. https://www.lanecc.edu/laneonline/are-online-courses-me-questionnaire

Minnesota State. “What Makes a Successful Online Learner.” Minnesota State CAREERwise. N.p. Web. https://careerwise.minnstate.edu/education/successonline.html