Don’t Let First Semester Grades Get You Down

Sue Altmeyer, Electronic Services Librarian, sue.altmeyer@law.csuohio.edu | January 16, 2008 – 09:12

Here is a bit of wisdom from Nancy Soonpa of the Legal Writing Professor Blog:

“I tell them [students] about what I remember most clearly from my first year after grades came out: the change in speaking patterns in the classroom. Suddenly some spoke with a voice of authority, and others stopped speaking entirely. Alas, neither change enriched the classroom experience. Getting good grades doesn’t make one’s comments inherently more valuable, nor low grades, less.”

Nancy Soonpa, first class of the semester, Legal Writing Professor Blog, Jan. 9, 2008.

For more inspiration, and great tips on how to improve grades (everything from getting a new roommate to a post-class review of notes), see: Betsey McKenzie Spring Semester Blues – Treating 1-Ls Right,Out of the Jungle Blog, Jan. 9, 2007.