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Managing your studies

Managing your studies. This unit aims to help you to:. 1- manage your studies more effectively, particularly in relation to your time. 2- prepare for exams and other forms of course assessment.

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Managing your studies

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  1. Managing your studies

  2. This unit aims to help you to: 1- manage your studies more effectively, particularly in relation to your time.2- prepare for exams and other forms of course assessment. • University lifeThe culture of university is very different from the culture ofschool, and the culture of a university in one country might be verydifferent from the university culture in another. So whichever ofthese transitions you make you are probably in for a culture shock! • Read task 1 school to university

  3. Time management: study time • You will remember from Task 1 that Jack suddenly realised at theend of the first term that he had very little time to prepare for theend-of-term,exams. He didn't know 'where the time went' This can easily happen it you do not monitor (keep track of) your study timeLook at Study Aid 1,

  4. study Aid 1 study timetable • Figure 6.1 is a blank personal timetable, which you have permissionto photocopy. You will need to make at least two copies, butprobably some spares would be useful. When you start your course,fill in all the times that are 'fixed' such as those for sleeping,travelling, meals and classes. • Then fill in the optional activities, • for example playing sport, going to the movies, watching favourite TVprogrammes. • Then shade in the time available for private study.How many hours is that in a week? How are you planning to spendthat time (for example reading set texts or revising notes)? Fill inthe projected use of your study time. • Then at the end of the dayquickly check on how the day actually went. • At the end of the weeKcheck over how that week went and, in the light of that expeneriencemake a fresh study-time plan for the next week, if you doconscientiously, by the end of the term or semester you will (unliKeJack!) at least know where your time has gone.

  5. Managing assessment • study Aid 2 Course assessment outlinein Figure 6.2 on p. 138, you will find a course assessment outline thathas been drawn up by a student who is just starting the first year ofa degree in Economics. You will see that the student has notedinformation concerning:�whether or not a pass in each subject is essential�the form of the assessment for each subject (e.g. '4 essays, 1 exam')�the nature of each task (e.g. project, essay)�in which term or semester the assessment occurs�the due date of the assessment�the length of the assessment (e.g. 2,000 words, 2 hr paper)�the weighting of each assessment (how much it contributespercentage-wise to the final assessment).You are advised to draw up a similar course assessment outline at thebeginning of each academic year, in some courses, such an outlinewill be provided for you, so all you have to do is study it very carefully.

  6. You are then advised to transfer this information to a work diary (an A5 Academic Desk Diary would be ideal, but any diary will do), in your work diary you should add information as to:�when assessment tasks are issued�when you intend to start work on them�when you intend to finish them. (Note: this may be sometime before the task is due, because of the need to avoid bunching when several tasks are due about the same time.)

  7. Exploiting assessment feedback • Assessing students' work usually takes up a lot of tutors' time, so it is important to take advantage of your tutors‘ efforts by paying attention to their conclusions.Most students concentrate on the grade or mark - understandably!But that alone does not always tell you much. Is B a good grade- it may depend on how many people got A, C, D... Is 40% a bad mark. It depends on the class average and on what you need to pass.

  8. study Aid 3: Routine for exploiting assessment • �When you get your assignment or test-paper back, note thegrade or mark in your work diary. • Make sure you know what the grade means (in terms of theaverage achievement of the class, for example).Study the tutor's comments carefully. • What kind of mistakes have you made? Do they relate to the:- information (wrong information, not enough, irrelevant)- quality of argument (thinking unclear/confused/illogical, lackof evidence, inconclusive, your own position unclear)- presentation (untidy, confusingly laid out, references omitted,mistakes in bibliography).

  9. - style and language (too informal, bad spelling, grammar,punctuation, typos (typing errors))- ownership of aspects of the work, that is plagiarism (other-writers' ideas passed off as your own, sources not properlyacknowledged). • Exploiting the assessment - remedial work can be done inresponse to mistakes in the:- information: check the facts and memorise them- argument: make sure you understand exactly where yougone wrong. Make a checklist for your next assignment- presentation: add this item to the checklist- style/language: check the facts. If necessary, add it to thechecklist .- ownership of aspects of the work, that is plagiarism: make sure you understand exactly what this term means

  10. Revision • Study aid 4: Revision routines�There is evidence that about 80 per cent of what is learned maywell be forgotten unless revision/recitation takes place. Even ifyou don't have time to sit down and revise, the simple act oftrying to remember ('recitation') will substantially helpremembering.�Most forgetting takes place within 24 hours. So try to revisenew material on the same day - the sooner, the better!�The more frequently revision/recitation is done, the more slowlyforgetting takes place. Revise frequently.�Don't leave revision to just before the exams. By that time youwill actually have to relearn much of the material, which willtake much more of your time than if you had revised itpromptly.

  11. Remembering • study aid 5: Memorisation routines¦ whenever possible, after a lecture, tutorial, lab session, readingof a text for example, try to quickly go over in your mind whatthe main points were - use recitation frequently.¦ set aside a period every working day (at least 20 minutes) whenyou will quickly revise the notes and reading you have doneduring the day.¦ You are unlikely to remember what you don't understand.Before you attempt to memorise something, first make surethat you understand it.¦ Reduce the amount you have to learn by concentrating on mainideas and essential facts.¦ Organise your material in a concise way, by using one-pagediagrammatic summaries for example¦ Relate the things you want to learn to one another, and as far aspossible also to your own life and thoughts,if there are lists of things that you have to learn off by heart ortwo names/technical terms that you keep confusing, try to associate them in some meaningful way such as by using amnemonic

  12. Mnemonics • Are techniques for remembering specific pieces of information.

  13. Ways of using mnemonics • 1- By making up rhyme • (The example below is used in English, to remember the spelling of words like brief, believe, deceit and receive which are spelled using the letters ie or ei with the pronunciation /i:/) • i… before e • Except after c • (Some common exceptions to this rule are: weird, seize, counterfeit.)

  14. 2- By using the number of letters in a word to represent an actual number. • ( The example below is used in Mathematics to remember √2= 1.414. The first line gives the answer to the second. This mnemonic also uses rhyme.) • I wish I knew • The root of two

  15. 3- By using the initial letters of the words to be memorized • (The example below is used in Biology, to remember the parts of an insect’s leg, namely the coxa, trochanter, femur; tibia, tarsus and claw.) • Cockroaches travel fast towards their children. • This is probably the most popular kind of mnemonic, because it is usually easy to makeup. This example is especially good because the meaning of the sentence closely relatesto the meaning of what is being memorised.)(For discussion. Can you think of any other ways of memorising facts/details? Do youhave a favourite method?)

  16. preparing for examinations

  17. preparing for examinations • Most courses of study, especially at undergraduate level, involvesitting examinations. (Not all courses, though - if you are one of thlucky ones who does not have to sit an exam, then you can skip thisfinal section!)

  18. Preparing for examinations • � Find out the details of the time, date and place of theexaminations. Make a careful note of them in your work diaryand highlight them.� Nearer the time of the examinations, double-check the details� For each examination, find out:- the length of the examination- how the paper is organised- the number of questions on the paper- how many questions you have to do- the nature of the questions (e.g. essay or multiple choice).� Decide on how long you are going to allow yourself for eachquestion

  19. � Make a list of the questions you think you might be asked.� Prepare a one-page diagrammatic summary for each questionyou might be asked.� Prepare an exam revision timetable, especially noting studyhours per day.� If possible, make sure all major revision is completed two daysbefore the exam. Keep the last day for a quick overall revision.� Try to get a reasonable amount of rest on the night beforeexamination.

  20. Day of the examination routine

  21. Day of the examination routine • *Get up in plenty of time.. Make sure that any equipment you need (pens. calculators, etc is- in working order- located where you cannot possibly leave it behind ina lastminute rush.*There should be no last-minute rush! You will be at a greatpsychological disadvantage if you arrive late, or even just intime. * When you are allowed to look at the exam paper, check throughthe rubric (instructions) carefully. There may have been changessince the last examination.* Be sure about the number of questions you have to do, andcheck whether any questions are compulsory.* Tick the questions you intend to do. Decide when you ought tohave ended each question. Note the time down beside thequestion.

  22. * Allocate some time at the end (up to five minutes) for checkingover the paper.* Start with the easiest question. If it is an essay-type question jotdown ideas in any order that they occur to you. You may find ituseful to use branching notes at this stage. Organise your notes.You can spend between 10 and 15 per cent of your time on thisplanning stage.- Do each of the questions in turn, ending with the one you feelleast confident about.* watch your time, and make sure you write something onquestion.* If you have run out of time, it may be useful to write youranswer, or part of it, in note form. * Quickly check through the paper, if any words seem difficult toread, write them out again more clearly.

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