How to: Survive a School Project by Abi

How to: Survive a School Project by Abi - December 2017 Scholarship Essay

I’ve always find myself emotionally conflicted when a teacher assigns the class a project. Should I be excited to use my creativity or should I be worried that I may have to spend a lot of time on it? Although each project I’ve ever been assigned has been completely different, I still find myself following the same thought process each time.
First things first, I always read through the rubric -if given the opportunity of course- because I know that by following the rubric, I can guarantee myself a decent grade on the overall project itself. Knowing exactly what the teacher is looking for and grading by keeps that constant guessing game of “Am I doing this right?” at a minimum and allows me to assure myself that I know exactly what to do. Second, I grab a pen and paper and start pouring ideas on to the page, different topics, picture ideas, PowerPoint or picture board, all the way down to the color scheme. As a visual learner, I found that any project goes substantially smoother when a visual picture of the project can pop into my head at any given moment.
After a couple of days of planning out my project, I finally begin to do the research and any other additional steps I may need to take in order to correctly follow the rubric. When going through this process I make sure I have a complete comprehension of the research I am including in my project because what’s the point of doing the work if you don't understand it or learn from it? From past experience, most teachers enjoy the fact that you actually understand what you've been working on for the past week or so and it can help me prepare for any additional questions my teacher may have for me in regards to my work.
Finally I start to put together all my ideas and research and put together the work I had envisioned. When the majority of the work is done, I stop and read through the rubric one last time and double check that I have met all the requirements, because of course the goal is to get the best grade possible. The final touches are made and just like that the project that I was so conflicted over is complete and any apprehension about the project is in the past. Only thing left to do now, is await my final score.