The Confident Undergrad (Formerly Ten Minutes Before Class)

I've divided topics related to asking for letters of recommendation into four categories:

Category 1: Who to Ask
1. Someone who can write positively
2. Someone with relevant experience for your application
3. Someone you know

Category 2: How and When to Ask
1. Contact the professor, by email or in person
2. Ask at the time you’re applying

Category 3: Providing Information
1. Make it easy for the recommender 
2. Watch email for additional requests 
3. Identify deadlines

Category 4: Follow Up Communications
1. Thank yous
2. Reminders


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Hosted by me, Professor Diascro (she, her, hers)! Be in touch with questions, concerns, thoughts about college by DM @10mbc_pod on Twitter or email at [email protected].
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Art by ORCSAID
Produced and music by Matthew Diascro

·      Jelani Cobb (Twitter: jelani9): professor of journalism at Columbia; staff writer for The New Yorker.
·      Jack Goldsmith (Twitter: @jacklgoldsmith): professor at Harvard University, expert on national security, and co-founder of Lawfare.
·      Joanne Freeman (Twitter: @jbf1755): professor of history at Yale University. Her recent book is about violence in Congress during the Civil War period and she recently published an op-ed in the New York Times on the same topic. She has a lecture series called History Matters that is online and open to the public.
·      Rick Hasen (Twitter: @rickhasen): professor of law at the University of California Irvine; expert on election law and has a blog on the same topic.
·      Sherrilyn Ifill (Twitter: @Sifill_LDF): President of NAACP Legal Defense Fund, she’s an expert on civil liberties, most notably voting rights. Her guest appearance on Chris Hayes’s podcast Why Is This Happening last summer was one of the most compelling discussions about race I’ve experienced.
·      Orin Kerr (Twitter: @OrinKerr): professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley, he’s an expert on computer crime law and internet surveillance. I know almost nothing about these topics so following him has been eye opening.
·      Harry Litman (Twitter: @harrylitman): a former federal prosecutor, columnist for LA Times. His podcast, Talking Feds, includes a rotating group of former federal employees, journalists, and others to talk about current legal issues. His has a patreon too.
·      Barb McQuade (Twitter: @BarbMcQuade): professor of law professor at the University of Michigan, she’s a former federal prosecutor and expert on national security.
·      Dan Rather (Twitter: @DanRather): former news anchor, investigative journalist, and writer.  His has a Substack newsletter called Steady.
·      Heather Cox Richardson (Twitter:  @HC_Richardson): professor of history at Boston College with a Substack newsletter, Letters from an American.   
·      Adam Serwer (Twitter: @AdamSerwer): staff writer for The Atlantic Magazine. 
·      Zoe Tillman (Twitter: @ZoeTillman): journalist for Buzzfeed News, she is my go-to on courts and justice issues. 
·      Joyce Vance (Twitter: @JoyceWhiteVance): professor law professor at the University of Alabama and a former federal prosecutor.
·      Steve Vladeck (Twitter: @Steve_vladeck): professor of law at the University of Texas at Austin.


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Hosted by me, Professor Diascro (she, her, hers)! Be in touch with questions, concerns, thoughts about college by DM @10mbc_pod on Twitter or email at [email protected].
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Art by ORCSAID
Produced and music by Matthew Diascro

Hosted by me, Professor Diascro (she, her, hers)! Be in touch with questions, concerns, thoughts about college by DM @10mbc_pod on Twitter or email at [email protected]. 

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Art by ORCSAID
Produced and music by Matthew Diascro

2020 Election Litigation Tracker at SCOTUSBlog

Here are the GOP and Trump Campaign's Allegations of Election Irregularities at Washington Post
Trump's Path Electoral Victory Is Disappearing. So Are His Legal Avenues at Washington Post
ProPublica's Guide to 2020 Election Laws and Lawsuits at ProPublica
The Supreme Court's Pennsylvania Cleanup at WSJ
Trump Suits Aim to Block Certification in Key States at WSJ
Few Courts Have Intervened in Elections in Ways Sought by Trump Campaign at WSJ
Trump Campaign Files Lawsuit on Pennsylvania Election Result. Does it Have a Case? at NR

Amicus Podcast by Dahlia Lithwick: Empty Suits: Do Trump's Lawyers Have the Goods? at Slate
Election Law Blog by Professor Rick Hasen

Booth, Wayne C. et al.  2016. The Craft of Research, Fourth Edition. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL.

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Hosted by me, Professor Diascro (she, her, hers)! Be in touch with questions, concerns, thoughts about college by DM @10mbc_pod on Twitter or email at [email protected]. 

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Art by ORCSAID
Produced and music by Matthew Diascro

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Hosted by me, Professor Diascro (she, her, hers)! Be in touch with questions, concerns, thoughts about college by DM @10mbc_pod or email at [email protected]. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Art by ORCSAID
Produced and music by Matthew Diascro

Writing Tools and Resources:

Purdue Owl PurdueOWL (Online Writing Lab) :
For Grammar
For Punctuation
For Research and Citation

The University of North Carolina Writing Center
For Plagiarism
For Citation Resources
For Thesis Statements
For Evidence
For Arguments
On Reading Aloud

Grammarly
GrammarCheck 

There might be an F-bomb dropped early in this episode. I did warn you in Episode 1 that I curse at times … 

If you can get past that, let me know about the little things you do to mitigate the stress and anxiety you feel these days. 

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Hosted by me, Professor Diascro (she, her, hers)! Be in touch with questions, concerns, thoughts about college by DM @10mbc_pod or email at [email protected]. 

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Art by ORCSAID
Produced and music by Matthew Diascro

In the last several days, I've read and listened to a few sources of wonderful information about Justice Ginsburg and her legacy. I encourage you to check them out, and to let me know what sources you've used to learn more about her. 

• Totenberg, Nina. "A 5-Decade-Long Friendship That Began with a Phone Call," NPR.
• Lithwick, Dahlia. "RBG's Prophetic Warning on Roe v. Wade Went Ignored."Slate.
• Talking Feds Podcast. "Before She Was Notorious: Clerking For Ruth Bader Ginsburg."
• Gresko, Jessica. "A Rapper, An Elevator, and An Elephant: Stories Ginsburg Told." AP. 

Earlier this summer, Dahlia Lithwick produced a two-part series on Justice Ginsburg's life and an interview with the Justice herself, on the Slate podcast, Amicus. 

• The Class of RBG, Part 1
• The Class of RBG, Part 2 
• An Interview with Ruth Bader Ginsburg 

Quotes by Justice Ginsburg

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Hosted by me, Professor Diascro (she, her, hers)! Be in touch with questions, concerns, thoughts about college by DM @10mbc_pod or email at [email protected]. 

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Art by ORCSAID
Produced and music by Matthew Diascro

The Big Ten has reversed its decision to play football this Fall. Here's the Ohio State statement.

Report on heart injuries from COVID among college athletes.

Pac-12 statement about Fall football season.

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Hosted by me, Professor Diascro (she, her, hers)! Be in touch with questions, concerns, thoughts about college by DM @10mbc_pod or email at [email protected]. 

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Art by ORCSAID
Produced and music by Matthew Diascro

College Student Voter Turnout
Tufts University, National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement

Government/Party Voting Information
Vote.org: voter id laws for each state, among other information
USA.gov: links to state election offices/Secretaries of State for information on registering
VoteGOP: Republican National Committee registration site
I Will Vote: Democratic National Committee registration site

College GOTV Organizations
Campus Vote Project
Alliance for Youth Action: Our Vote, Our Future
Check your campus for Republican and Democratic groups

Other GOTV Organizations
When We All Vote
Rock the Vote
Human Rights Campaign Voting Center
League of Women Voters
NAACP: Our Vote, Our Voice
Voto Latino
Spread the Vote
VoteAmerica
Vote Save America

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Hosted by me, Professor Diascro (she, her, hers)! Be in touch with questions, concerns, thoughts about college by DM @10mbc_pod or email at [email protected]. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Art by ORCSAID
Produced and music by Matthew Diascro