Paolo Sebastian spring 2017 couture
ok so i go back to school v soon (august 7th to be exact) and here are some of my tips that i use to help prepare myself for going back to school.
start your routine. now. at least a week before your first day of school, get into your routine. get up when you’re supposed to and go to bed when you should (11 for me at the latest). as for the “school day,” busy yourself with reading, playing video games, working, the like. but try to get home when you would from school and kinda pretend like you’re back in school and “do homework” or workout or whatever you would do when you get home. starting that routine now will make it soooo much easier when the school year actually starts
figure out how much sleep you need to function and fix your sleep schedule. do i have to explain this one??? just don’t stay up until 2am the night before you’re first day of school because you’ll be screwed for the rest of the year :)
get your supplies. ok this one is a given. whether you’re paperless or not, get at least a folder to keep stray papers. i would also recommend having a separate folder just for lined paper bc you never know when you need it and idk about you but i hate ripping papers out of notebooks
get new clothes. you don’t necessarily ~have~ to do this one but it’s nice to have a semi-new wardrobe before you head back to school. when i wear something new, i feel more confident and i’m more excited for the day so it kinda makes me excited to go to school.
pick out your outfits for the first week. this relates to getting new clothes. i like doing this (every week) because it’s one less thing i have to do/think about in the morning. plus it should make you excited for going to school because you get to wear your (hopefully) new clothes.
get your food!! i bring my lunch to school every day (yup, 180 days a year times 12) so before that first day rolls around, get some food for your lunch! whether that be a nice drink, some snacks, a fancy salad, or the like, just get it because it will also make you more excited for school
whiten your teeth. gotta have those nice pearly whites when school starts to show every how you glowed up over the summer
speaking of glowing up…skincare!!!! having clear skin makes everyone so much more confident so make that first day so much better by having clear skin. you won’t feel nearly as self-conscious and you’ll actually (maybe) enjoy the day.
set out everything the night before. again, makes your mornings *that* much easier/better so you won’t be running late
have a positive attitude. yes it’s school and no one really likes going back to school but try to have a positive attitude about it. you’re one year closer to graduating, it’s a fresh start, you get to meet new friends, (hopefully) you’re taking classes you enjoy, and you’re getting back into a routine. yes school can be very stressful but hopefully, if you follow some of the tips above, it won’t be as stressful as it could be.
best of luck everyone. i’m rooting for you :)
xo- gg
8 Magical And Delicious Harry Potter Cocktails Source: Buzzfeed
Where food lovers unite.
General Plan:
Weeks 1 and 2: Purpose:
Learn the fundamentals sentence construction
Learn how to spell and count
Start building a phrase stockpile with basic greetings
The Alphabet
Numbers 1 - 100
Subject Pronouns
Common Greetings
Conjugate the Two Most Important Verbs: to be and to have
Basic Definite and Indefinite Articles
Weeks 3 and 4: Purpose:
Learn essential vocabulary for the day-to-day
Start conjugating regular verbs
Days of the Week and Months of the Year
How to tell the time
How to talk about the weather
Family Vocabulary
Present Tense Conjugations Verbs
Weeks 5 and 6: Purpose:
Warm up with the last of the day-to-day vocabulary
Add more complex types of sentences to your grammar
Colours
House vocabulary
How to ask questions
Present Tense Conjugations Verbs
Forming negatives
Weeks 7 and 8: Purpose:
Learn how to navigate basic situations in a region of your target language country
Finish memorising regular conjugation rules
Food Vocabulary and Ordering at Restaurants
Money and Shopping Phrases
Present Tense Conjugations Verbs
Weeks 9 and 10: Purpose:
Start constructing descriptive and more complex sentences
Adjectives
Reflective verbs
Places vocabulary
Weeks 11 and 12: Purpose:
Add more complex descriptions to your sentences with adverbs
Wrap up vocabulary essentials
Adverbs
Parts of the body and medical vocabulary
Tips for Learning a Foreign Language:
Learning Vocabulary:
What vocabulary should I be learning?
There are hundreds of thousands of words in every language, and the large majority of them won’t be immediately relevant to you when you’re starting out.Typically, the most frequent 3000 words make up 90% of the language that a native speaker uses on any given day. Instead try to learn the most useful words in a language, and then expand outwards from there according to your needs and interests.
Choose the words you want/need to learn.
Relate them to what you already know.
Review them until they’ve reached your long-term memory.
Record them so learning is never lost.
Use them in meaningful human conversation and communication.
How should I record the vocabulary?
Learners need to see and/or hear a new word of phrase 6 to 17 times before they really know a piece of vocabulary.
Keep a careful record of new vocabulary.
Record the vocabulary in a way that is helpful to you and will ensure that you will practice the vocabulary, e.g. flashcards.
Vocabulary should be organised so that words are easier to find, e.g. alphabetically or according to topic.
Ideally when noting vocabulary you should write down not only the meaning, but the grammatical class, and example in a sentence, and where needed information about structure.
How should I practice using the vocabulary?
Look, Say, Cover, Write and Check - Use this method for learning and remembering vocabulary. This method is really good for learning spellings.
Make flashcards. Write the vocabulary on the front with the definition and examples on the back.
Draw mind maps or make visual representations of the new vocabulary groups.
Stick labels or post it notes on corresponding objects, e.g when learning kitchen vocabulary you could label items in your house.
How often should I be practising vocabulary?
A valuable technique is ‘the principle of expanding rehearsal’. This means reviewing vocabulary shortly after first learning them then at increasingly longer intervals.
Ideally, words should be reviewed:
5-10 minutes later
24 hours later
One week later
1-2 months later
6 months later
Knowing a vocabulary item well enough to use it productively means knowing:
Its written and spoken forms (spelling and pronunciation).
Its grammatical category and other grammatical information
Related words and word families, e.g. adjective, adverb, verb, noun.
Common collocations (Words that often come before or after it).
Receptive Skills: Listening and Reading
Reading is probably one of the most effective ways of building vocabulary knowledge.
Listening is also important because it occupies a big chunk of the time we spend communicating.
Tips for reading in a foreign language:
Start basic and small. Children’s books are great practice for beginners. Don’t try to dive into a novel or newspaper too early, since it can be discouraging and time consuming if you have to look up every other word.
Read things you’ve already read in your native language. The fact that you at least know the gist of the story will help you to pick up context clues, learn new vocabulary and grammatical constructions.
Read books with their accompanying audio books. Reading a book while listening to the accompanying audio will improve your “ear training”. It will also help you to learn the pronunciation of words.
Tips for listening in a foreign language:
Watch films in your target language.
Read a book while also listening along to the audio book version.
Listen to the radio in your target language.
Watch videos online in your target language.
Activities to do to show that you’ve understood what you’ve been listening to:
Try drawing a picture of what was said.
Ask yourself some questions about it and try to answer them.
Provide a summary of what was said.
Suggest what might come next in the “story.”
Translate what was said into another language.
“Talk back” to the speaker to engage in imaginary conversation.
Productive Skills: Speaking and Writing
Tips for speaking in a foreign language:
If you can, try to speak the language every day either out loud to yourself or chat to another native speaker whether it is a colleague, a friend, a tutor or a language exchange partner.
Write a list of topics and think about what you could say about each one. First you could write out your thoughts and then read them out loud. Look up the words you don’t know. You could also come up with questions at the end to ask someone else.
A really good way to improve your own speaking is to listen to how native speakers talk and imitate their accent, their rhythm of speech and tone of voice. Watch how their lips move and pay attention to the stressed sounds. You could watch interviews on YouTube or online news websites and pause every so often to copy what you have just heard. You could even sing along to songs sung in the target language.
Walk around the house and describe what you say. Say what you like or dislike about the room or the furniture or the decor. Talk about what you want to change.This gets you to practise every day vocabulary.
Tips for writing in a foreign language:
Practice writing in your target language. Keep it simple to start with. Beginner vocabulary and grammar concepts are generally very descriptive and concrete.
Practice writing by hand. Here are some things you can write out by hand:
Diary entries
Shopping lists
Reminders
What could I write about?
Write about your day, an interesting event, how you’re feeling, or what you’re thinking.
Make up a conversation between two people.
Write a letter to a friend, yourself, or a celebrity. You don’t need to send it; just writing it will be helpful.
Translate a text you’ve written in your native language into your foreign language.
Write a review or a book you’ve recently read or a film you’ve recently watched.
Write Facebook statuses, Tweets or Tumblr posts (whether you post them or not will be up to you).
Write a short story or poem.
Writing is one of the hardest things to do well as a non-native speaker of a language, because there’s no room to hide.
There are lots of ways to improve your writing ability, but they can be essentially boiled down to three key components:
Read a lot
Write a lot
Get your writing corrected
I was going through some old papers from freshman year and I was thinking about what I was doing wrong when I didn’t achieve the grades I wanted, even though I got As in my classes. What things could I have done better to get a 100 instead of a 96? I don’t ask myself this so much as to be a perfectionist (even though I am one). I ask myself these questions because: 1) I must not have had a completely solid understanding of the material if I couldn’t get a 100 on it. 2) Maybe my less-than-stellar test-taking skills got in the way. 3) I’m a tutor, so I want to be sure I understand everything thoroughly enough to help others with the material.
I may add to this later, so you can always check out the original post here. As always, feel free to comment or message me if you want to add something to this list!
General:
Don’t simply read over your notes to study. It doesn’t work. You might pick up pieces here and there or even memorize certain things verbatim, but reading something 20 times is very inefficient. Your brain learns by making connections, so if you’re only straight reading the material you’re not making extra connections. You’re much better off going through your notes to make your own questions and quizzing yourself on them, marking down connections as you read (either in the margin or by literally connecting them in the text with a pen), or creating a study sheet (whether in text format or a mind map).
Don’t simply highlight, either. While there is a proper way to highlight, most people I see using a highlighter are doing it wrong. If you’re the person who highlights 90% of the paragraph, I’m talking about you. Okay, so highlighting is physically more active than glancing over your notes 20 times, but it’s about equally as effective if you’re highlighting everything. I recommend instead highlighting (or marking with eraseable pencil) things you want to go back to later. But, again, highlighting and reading alone is not useful. Go back to your highlighted parts to reread something that was hard to understand the first time, a topic you want to revisit to make a review sheet, etc. Whatever you use it for, make sure the purpose is to quickly find information later, not simply so you can read those things again. Try making a study sheet, in your own words, based off of your highlighting.
Don’t forget to write things down. And I don’t mean just in your planner when you have homework or papers due. This isn’t so much about getting absolutely everything down in terms of notes, either, I have a separate post regarding that. But in class you should always write down questions you have and the answer. If you don’t get a chance to ask during class, ask ASAP whether it’s directly to your teacher or asking a classmate. If it’s that important, do some research on it, too. Also, make sure you write down information on due dates or paper topics. You probably already do that, but I would recommend having a piece of paper with you every day where you can write anything important down like dates and to-dos to organize all in one shot. If you simply write down “paper due” in a block in your planner before rushing to the next you may not see that reminder until close to the due date. I like to take all of the information on the piece of paper (which also has my day planned out and a to-do list) right when I get up in the morning so I’m prepared for the day and don’t forget anything.
What I Did Wrong:
Don’t take it easy at the start of the semester. To be perfectly honest, I’ve pretty much always done that, but my freshman year of college it wasn’t a huge deal since I pretty much already took those classes. Sophomore year, however, everything was new, so memorization and understanding didn’t come quite as easily. The harder your classes are, the more essential this is, especially if you actually want to sleep during finals week. The best thing you can do is start doing work before the semester even starts if you have a syllabus handy, or even just looking through your books to see what’s ahead. While everyone else is doing fun things the night of that first day, make sure you get some work done first before you have your fun. This sets the tone for the rest of the semester and gets you into the habit of working. Don’t let yourself get behind! It’s easier to stay ahead than it is to struggle catching up.
Don’t leave your notes to rot after class. Meaning, do something with them right after class! … or at least ASAP. Mark them up, edit them, rework them, copy or type them (if your handwriting sucks like me), or, best of all, write a short summary. Take the several pages of notes you have and condense them into one or two paragraphs. Don’t worry about the details, just make sure you’re hitting on the key points. As a bonus, you can type up some questions based off of your notes to save for later studying (details are allowed here). Everything will be fresh, making this a much easier process than if you did it right before the test. At the end of the week, make a summary of your summaries and quiz yourself on the questions you made. You’ll probably want to use those questions again, so try to reword them or even combine them into bigger questions that cover many topics. That way you’re being active with the material and will actually understand what you’re answering as opposed to parroting.
Don’t make study sheets by copying off of something else. Yes, I made this mistake. I wasn’t copying initially, but rather, using a review book as a reference to make study sheets. However, the more I was pressed for time the less I started putting things into my own words. Now, this wasn’t a big deal in terms of legality, since I kept them to myself, but it didn’t turn out to be all that helpful in the end. If you want to make study sheets, you could either take concepts you’ve been learning and put them together in different ways or make a summary in your own words. I recommend both, but whatever you do, make sure you’re actually creating something new or else you’re not going to remember it. For example, in organic chemistry I took the reactions and grouped them in different ways (by subtstrate, reactants, products, etc.) as a reference while studying. The act of sorting and looking through the reactions in order to make the sheets helped me remember them, then I had the sheets to look at while doing practice to help me memorize them further.
Don’t save the bulk of lab work for after the lab and don’t wait to write your report. By this I’m referring to the post-lab report. Spend the extra time while prepping your pre-lab materials to start your report! You’re expected to know the theory behind your labs before you perform them, so writing the introduction to your report should not be a problem. If it is, then you’ll be glad you took the time to understand the lab before you tried actually doing it. By doing this you may also find that you have questions that can be answered by the professor before you get confused in the middle of a procedure. Also make sure you have data tables prepared (not just in your notebook, but in the report file to fill in after) and anything else you’ll need to take down data. Once the lab is finished do the report immediately. Everything you did will be fresh and you’ll be glad you finished it well ahead of the deadline. At this point you can show your lab to your professor and get any corrections fixed so you’re ashooin’ for an A!
Don’t try to write a paper in one shot. I understand if you feel like your papers flow better if you do it all in one shot, but at least make sure you plan it out thoroughly ahead of time before you actually write it all out. But even then, you will likely benefit from splitting your paper into chunks to tackle one day at a time. If you have a research paper that’s double-digit pages then you’ll be forced to do that anyway, but be sure you’re splitting up the work for small papers, as well. It may not seem like a big deal to do a short paper in one day, but if you end up having other assignments or tests due around the same time it might up your stress if you’re crunched for time trying to finish that “insignificant” paper while juggling a few other assignments as well as some test prep.
Advice Suggested By Others:
Don’t listen to distracting music while studying. To some degree, the types of music that are considered “distracting” vary when it comes to the subject you’re studying and personal preference. However, the general rule of thumb is that you avoid any sort of music with lyrics if you’re studying a subject that involves language. Art, math, and certain sciences are an exception if you’re working with pictures or numbers, since language usually doesn’t interfere with those things in the brain. But if you’re reading anything, even if it’s worded directions to a math or science problem, lyrics will probably be distracting. Some people suggest that listening to new music with lyrics is okay because you won’t be tempted to sing along with something you don’t know while others get distracted by hearing any type of language. Again, it’s truly up to you, but genres such as classical, jazz, and nature sounds are usually recommended. Heck, if you’re a musician and get distracted by any type of music, silence or brown noise may be the better option for you. (Suggested by aslongasitsfiction)
Don’t study in bed. Scientific studies have shown that doing anything in your bed that isn’t sleep or sex-related affects your ability to fall asleep in your bed. When your brain primarily associates your bed with sleep, it’s much easier to fall asleep. But having trouble sleeping in your bed isn’t the only part of the problem. While studying in your bed is really comfy, you’re also more likely to fall asleep if the association with sleep is strong enough. It’s generally recommended that you don’t even study in the same room as your bed, but as college students this may not be possible if you want to use your desk. So if you don’t want to make the trek out to a more secluded study space, at least try to make sure your desk doesn’t have your bed in view. Because let’s be honest, if you’re exhausted, simply seeing your bed might be enough to make you nod off. (Suggested by rare-footage and ane-mia)
Don’t go on tumblr. Okay, this may seem obvious, but sometimes a reminder is all you need to get off your computer! I suppose it’s better that you’re looking up information to help you study, but I think we both know what the better choice would be. (Suggested by oneofakindgizibe)
Don’t study in a place you can’t focus just because your friends are there. Us humans are social animals. We like being around other people. But this can cause you problems if you’re trying to study. Unless you’re in a productive study group, make sure you separate study time and social time. You’re probably more likely to gravitate towards fun, social things over studying, so make sure studying is a priority and you get it done before seeing your friends. If you have a roommate or two, then your dorm room is probably not the right place to study. Find a few of your focus hotspots and go there for your study time. (Suggested by fitspoforever)
Don’t forget the little things you know you’ll need. This includes but is not limited to things such as chargers, books, snacks, and water. You don’t want to be in-the-zone and all of the sudden realize you need to run back to your dorm room to get a book. And then 10 minutes later realize you’re hungry and need to run to the cafeteria. If you don’t already have certain things that are always in your bag, simply keep a list of things you generally need to bring with you, leave it as a reminder on your desk, and check it over before you hit the library. (Suggested by fitspoforever)
Don’t take naps while studying without setting an alarm. Or even better, avoid naps all together. If you’re like me, 15-minute naps usually turn into 2-hour events. But regardless, if you need to get some extra sleep, get the extra sleep. It’s better to take a nap when you know you need it as opposed to falling asleep on your desk unexpectedly when you have a paper you need to get done for the next day. 15-20 minutes the recommended time for a short nap, but if you need something more robust, try for 90 minutes or use sleepyti.me to figure out the right time to wake up. (Suggested by fitspoforever)
Don’t wear uncomfortable clothes. I personally find that “dressing for success” works really well for going to lectures and virtually everything else, but terribly if you’re hitting the library for a long study session. You’ll probably wanna look cute if you’re heading somewhere public, but just make sure you’re comfortable. Yoga pants are fine for the occasion! (Suggested by fitspoforever)
Hi everyone it’s my first sharing and i’m so excited hope you like it 😊
I miss you so much…😢 r.i.p. my endless love Loki ❤ (? - 2018)
Hi everyone! I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression a while back, and these are my tips on how to manage to be a student while also having mental health problems. If you’re struggling too much, however, please please please see if you can take a break from school- your health is so much more important than anything else!!!!! However, if you can and want to keep going, I hope these tips are useful.
1. Be realistic about what you can do
When I’m in a really bad anxious/depressive spell, things take me so much longer than usual. It’s important to take that into account when planning out your tasks, so you don’t end up with an enormous unfinished to-do-list and a mental breakdown. For example, last week, I had an essay to finish, and I spent a full day proofreading it one final time, since I could only do one paragraph at a time. Make sure to give yourself enough time and only do the tasks that are absolutely essential!
2. Know your own signs
In my case, my mental health goes up and down- I might be having a great time for a few weeks but then it’ll all go downhill again (like right now, I’m in a particularly difficult bit currently). By now, I know what signs to look out for so I know when my mental health will go downhill again, so I can prepare myself. Learn these signs (if you can) and when you notice them, either try to prevent yourself from going bad (which obvs isn’t always possible- I tried real hard this time but here we are again), or plan for when you do!
3. Make lists
For me, I can’t do anything without a list. My brain is already so off the rails that, if I don’t make lists, I will forget to do things, or maybe I just can’t be bothered. If I’m in a really bad time mental health-wise, I’ll put even the small things on there (like showering or cooking), to make sure I do them and to make me feel like I got a lot of stuff done in a day even when I’m not able to be productive uni-wise.
4. Talk to your teachers!
You all probably know this, but your teachers are there to help you, and 99.9% of the time, they will be more than happy to. If you’re going through a bad time, tell them this so they know why you’re not as prepared as usual/ they may be able to give you some extra guidance. For example, I have to write my thesis over the summer, but want to do this at home rather than in my uni town bc it’s better for me to be at home rn. I told my supervisor (insert a bunch of anxious crying from my side here), and he was incredibly nice and understanding. If (like me) you have anxiety, this sort of stuff will be scary, but I promise, it’ll be worth it!
5. Be kind to yourself
This is important in general, but if you have mental health problems, you have to accept that you’re not going to be able to be as productive as you want to be (the perfectionist inside of me died a little as I was writing it). There will be days when it feels like you’ve been hit by a bus and you just can’t do anything, and that’s fine. Just wake up every day, determined to make the best of whatever the universe has decided to throw at you. Good luck!
I hope this helped some of you- if you have any questions/ just need someone to talk to, please feel free to message me!!!
Write down all study appointments. For example: Lectures, work groups, seminars, deadlines for essays and exams.
Write down the already planned and important social appointments. For example: Working hours for a (voluntary) job, sports, important parties, dinner appointments.
Write down necessary time to relax. We recommend keeping at least one day free of study of study tasks, for example in the weekend. Also, take into consideration: Mornings after a late-night activity, and evenings after a long day of work.
Write down self-study time. When will you be able to study? Study appointments + self-study should comprise about a full-time job (40 hours per week). What will you do during this study time? When will you have breaks?
Now write down some buffer time. Life is full of surpries. In all lives unexpected events will occur. So, it’s absolutely necessary to plan in buffer time. In the time you plan in ‘in reserve’ you can complete tasks that have been delayed. If there is no (study) delay, buffer times becomes free time.
Think about the time-slots that are still empty. Are there specific things you would like to do in this time? If not, name them: ‘free time’. Especially if you’re a perfectionistic person, it’s good to also make your ‘free time’ SMART so you know when you are NOT going to worry about your studies.
Motivation is one of the biggest issues for students and it is always great to find a few things that can keep you feeling inspired. Here are my top ten ideas:
start small - set yourself a challenge to work for five to ten minutes. Yes, just five minutes can be enough to get started! If you can get through that five minutes, you will start breaking down that feeling of disinterest and begin to get more into working. A fantastic application that will keep you from using your phone and on a time limit of between 10 minutes and two hours is Forest! However, here are some free alternatives.
plan tomorrow today - I find planning my day - or at least writing down a couple of tasks - before bed is extremely beneficial. In the morning I wake up with intent and get see my main priorities. They don’t have to full-fledged plans or written nicely in my planner but even just small reminders on a post-it note are enough for me to feel more organised.
give yourself a bit of structure - as mentioned, having a plan is a great way to start the day. You might use a planner, a bullet journal or a free printable from me to organise! Set yourself up with 3 key things to finish or do during the day. Give yourself a goal and a reward upon completion. Put time limits on tasks and use a schedule to stay on track.
utilise a studygram/studyblr - basically, the communities on Tumblr and Instagram act as amazing accountability partners! I am constantly motivated by my blog and being able to share my day to day life on Instagram or Snapchat. I definitely have become incredibly motivated and disciplined because of these two communities. If you’re thinking about starting a studyblr, read this. If you’re thinking about starting a studygram, read this. If you already have either, here is how you can use it to further motivate yourself!
set up an inspiring workplace - dedicating a space to work, and only work, is a great way to build a mindset of motivation which kicks in when you sit down. This Pinterest board has loads of inspiration for setups and organisation! You can also add a cute plant, a bright study lamp and some motivational printables for added encouragement!
externalise your short and long-term goals - by making a verbal or written commitment to your goals, you are much more likely to take steps to follow them through. You might want to have a really productive week catching up on all your work, improve your GPA or pass your semester with flying colours. At the start of each week think of the ways you can put your goals into actions. Then at the end of the week reflect on how you did. Track your progress and keep up your motivation by seeing things get a step closer each time!
listen to some music - putting on my favourite songs always put me in a better mindset and feeling more positive. Before a study session or during a break, I will sometimes put on a few songs I’m loving and take a moment to refocus.
don’t force it - if you’re feeling unmotivated to study, try doing something else for a short amount of time. Avoid things that could distract you like browsing Facebook or Instagram. Instead, try tidying your bedroom, organising your upcoming week, read a chapter of a book, or get a drink of water. Alternatively, make an action plan for what you need to do with your next few tasks. That way you’re still making progress with your work but aren’t sitting feeling too unmotivated to actually study.
find some inspiration - there is no shortage of amazing people with incredible stories of success! Podcasts such as The Daily Boost, The Tony Robbins Podcast and The School of Greatness are great examples. Ted Talks are often incredibly insightful and motivating! Search for quotes or stories from your favourite people!
change your mindset - one of the biggest challenges in motivation is adjusting your own perspective. For instance, instead of thinking “I am terrible at this” think “How can I learn this differently to really understand?”. “I made a mistake” think “What can I take away from making this mistake?”. “It isn’t perfect” think “These perfectionist tendencies are only making this more difficult, I can be content with my work”. Having a more positive outcome to each situation should help boost your confidence and motivation!
I hope these few tips are useful and help improve your motivation! If it helps, I would love to hear about it :-)
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