Procrastination at its finest is found on the internet. Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Netflix, Youtube, games, news websites, shopping websites ect. All of this is just so tempting, especially on those days where studying feels harder than normal anyway. You need to be strict with yourself and switch it off. At the end of the day when you have finished your work you can surf the web as much as you like. Tumblr is great way to empty your mind at the end of the day, but it needs to be left until the end of the day. And if you’re really concerned use a queue to keep your blog active.
Don’t compare your self to others
Until recently, this was a major issue of mine. ‘I am working harder than him/her, how is s/he getting better grades?’ - One thing to remember is you may never know the truth of how hard your peers are working. They might either exaggerate how hard they work OR tell you they do nothing when really they work their bottoms off. Yes, even your closest friends might feed you lies about their studying. Focus on your own achievements and your own progress. I might get a B+ on an essay whilst friends of mine come out with an A-. Often they blow it off likes its nothing, or sometimes they appear to be be disappointed with the grade. This is becasue they know that previously they have done better and that they can do better. But for me, if previously I was getting a B and I have improved my grade, why should I be sad they got a higher grade when I am improving? Celebrate YOUR achievements, and don’t let anyone else bring you down!! There is always someone proud of you, my family are always so happy when I tell them my grades, and I have found my lecturers are also extremely supportive and will make me feel good about the grade I got, regardless of how well anyone else did.
Know what you are being tested on
Listen to the hints your lecturers give you throughout the year about what may or will be on the exam. Learn the marking scheme so you know what they’re after and ask questions if you want to clarify what is happening. Make sure you attend the revision lectures. Revision lectures can be so useful its as good as cheating. Hints and tips from your lecturers during these sessions can save you time and boost your grade. Missing them is a terrible idea, no matter how comfortable your bed feels that morning.
Attend everything (and listen)
I have friends who only turn up half the time, and they do not know their stuff like I know mine. This too counts for people who turn up to lectures and spend the entire time on Facebook or playing games or doodling. What’s the point of turning up if you’re not going to listen. No amount of catch up can replace the usefulness of a lecture. Your lecturer will explain things in more detail than you can get from a book and you are much more likely to retain the information if you can think back to the lecture itself. This, too, goes for seminars or tutorials. They may not feel as useful as a lecture, but a lot of learning goes on in these sessions and ideas will flow like in no other situation. I often find the seminar questions are the same as they exam questions. I missed many seminars in my second year of uni, and this year I was kicking myself after I needed some information I missed that day. Seriously, no matter how nice your bed may feel, you are paying to learn, don’t waste it. University is expensive, do a quick sum of how much you pay per hour and you’ll think twice before hitting the snooze button!
Do your readings, turn up to your seminars/tutorials and participate. Ask questions, express your thoughts on the subject, be challenged by others and challenge them in return. Take a note book and take basic notes of what’s being said. Participating in seminars reinforces everything you have learnt and raises your confidence in expressing what you think. We all have our off weeks where our brains do not want to function. But try your best and you will see results.
Learn that asking the right question is as important as answering the question
This is something one of my favourite lecturers said to me one day in her office. She told me this is one of the most important thing that students don’t understand. During this year (my final year of uni) we have had to come up with our own essay questions. My lecturer was telling me that asking the right question is key to a good answer. It sounds obvious to me now, but before she said this I’d never thought about it.
Learn that thorough editing is important
This year I’ve been told by three separate lecturers that what has stopped me achieving the top grade in my work has been my editing. One even said the most irritating thing for a marker is poor editing. I generally thought I was good at editing because I had good grammar and spelling. But I realised there’s a lot more to it. It’s all about sentence structure, not using more words than necessary to make a point and having everything link together effortlessly. Asking for help on this will be beneficial if you’re struggling. It’s the only way I got better. It will also help to critically read the work of scholars in your field to see how your work needs to look and read.
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