How I Study

by Emily Watts
(Manchester)

Since I have been in my third year at university I feel my study practice has altered quite substantially compared to past habits.

For a start the work load has doubled. As a result my time management has become really important.

Once I am given a guideline of assignment deadlines, I am able to set out when I should begin the essays.

Clarifying this at the beginning and keeping record of if it enables me to have a decent amount of time to concentrate on each essay, especially as many of my assignments are due in within a week or so of one another.

Although most lecturers state we should do at least 4 hours reading per week for each subject (taking into account I have 6 modules), I find this very time consuming and cannot always get it all done. However, to counteract this I spend longer than is necessary on assignment to increase my understanding.

I weigh great importance in attending lessons, as my style of learning greatly depends on me fully understanding the topic.

To enable me to do this I print off the lecture notes from our personal web portals before the lecture takes place, then I write additional notes alongside in a form that I will understand when refering back to them at a later date.

These notes become the backbone of my assignments as they are structured in a way that the lecturer obviously thinks is suitable; they also highlight the key areas of the topic.

Furthermore, I focus on researching the key areas in detail, using various resources to get a broad reflection of the subject.

It is often hard to concentrate with all the distractions of student life around, so I find working in our university computer rooms much more effective than working at home.

Doing a little bit each day keeps on top of things and means it's not all left to the last minute.