Oh, how professors dread studying apps. “Before – students had to read the actual book. Now they’ve got that SparkNotes thing!”
For years now phone apps have been taking the edge of academia. With a swipe and a tap, any student can get the summary and analysis to Brave New World on a bus ride. Ain’t that neat?
It’s effortless for students to perform better academically when they have the world’s biggest library in the palm of their hand.
So what are these apps that create straight-A students?
Plot Summaries With SparkNotes
The notorious SparkNotes has been the dread of literature professors since 1999. The mobile app is a simplified version of the famed website. Students can easily find titles by looking up author, book, or character names. SparkNotes isn’t limited to just summaries. It also provides critical analysis of characters, events, objects, and “hidden” metaphors in any title.
As for historical facts, quick recaps and study guides – you can’t go past YouTube. Many educational channels are teaching the same things you’ll learn in class…
- CrashCourse
- Vsause
- The School of Life
- Minute Physics
…and that’s to name a few!
Taking Notes and Storing Homework
The most basic app on every student’s phone is Google Drive. It helps you store any information: notes, homework, presentations, pictures, sources, music, etc. This app has eliminated the need to carry notebooks to school. Most students walk around with their iPads.
The other obvious choice is Evernote. It’s a handy way to take notes and organize them in simple, accessible templates.
Although if you’re more into future technology, Dragon Dictation is a revolutionary app converting the spoken word into text. Just put it on your desk in class, and you’ll have the whole lecture in text format!
Academic Writing Helper EssayPro
There is no quicker way to get an essay off your hands than EssayPro’s app.
Writing essays can be harsh and unforgiving, especially for international students. Most courses end with a final essay assignment which can complicate studying for exams. One of the biggest benefits of essay writing services like EssayPro.com is the option of checking your essay before paying for it.
The app allows you to browse through a catalog of professional writers quickly. You can employ any available one to complete any writing assignment. These writers are allegedly university graduates handpicked by the EssayPro team.
It’s a perfect choice for students who need to get a pesky essay out of the way.
Quick Help With Sources and Citations
Google Scholar and JSTOR may not be available on the app store. Resolving this is a paid app called Go Scholar. It allows students to access academic sources for their writing. Locating sources on the go is a valuable asset, as it gets about fifty percent of the job done.
To cite these sources in proper MLA format, no student can go past EasyBib. As the name suggests, this app offers an easy way to create a bibliography for an academic paper. Bibliographies are always “yawny” part of writing. Everyone leaves them for last. With EasyBib, most of the work is done for you.
Write or Die – Experimental Writing App
There’s one thing that will help students perform academically – and that’s writing. Unfortunately, most students don’t practice writing. So whenever they’re faced with an in-class assignment or an essay, they become anxious and unwilling.
If only there were an app which could force students to practice writing more…
Meet the crazy experimental app Write or Die. Without giving too much away – it helps student fight writing procrastination and distractions by imposing harsh consequences on them. The app harasses you into writing until you get comfortable with the pen – or die. Try it out and please let us know what you think!
Final Thoughts
Phone apps can help any student perform better academically. They’ll find sources or write an entire essay for you. They’ll provide plot summaries and analysis to any book ever taught in college.
However, academia is not about taking the easy path. University is the time for a student to flourish intellectually; a time to train their critical thinking abilities and absorb knowledge. Yes, anybody can read the plot on SparkNotes.
But to take full advantage of your college years, you may have to walk to extra mile.
