Part I
Study Skills Basics
In this part . . .
So now you’re a student. What do you do now? This part gets you up to speed on the essentials of student life. In it I cover the people and places you need to know, the ways in which you need to organise yourself and both your responsibilities as a student and those of others towards you.
I also talk about the very basic skills you need to acquire to be a successful and engaged student. Not just the techie stuff, although I cover that, but the crucial skills of critical and analytical thinking which underpin your time as a student – and set you up for life.
Chapter 1
Planning for Success
In This Chapter
How course elements fit together – who’s who and what’s what Reviewing rules and behaviour What’s in store and taking control Balancing work and leisure A very exciting phase in your life is about to start – new teachers, new classmates, new things to study about your chosen subject. If you’re away from home for the first time, you need to work out new strategies to get yourself up on time without the person or pet that used to perform that function. You’ll discover, sadly, that the washing fairy who used to transform piles of discarded clothes into sweet-smelling, smoothly ironed wearable articles is a myth – or didn’t accompany you to your new address. You’ll learn a lot about yourself. You might turn out to be a highly talented omelette maker, write the best essay on fluoridisation and freedom in your study group or score a hat trick at hockey, a sport you never played at school.
Some things you can do nothing about, like not growing another six inches if it’s not in your genes. However, there are plenty of things you can improve by developing strategies and planning, and the good thing about planning is that it doesn’t take very long. You can do it in small doses, and it can make a big difference. In addition, planning will save time so that you can have more fun, and some planning will itself be fun and certainly a lot more interesting than watching paint dry. Knowing how to do things – having good study skills – is just as important as knowing what’s what!
Getting to Grips with Student Life Basics
When you arrive at your college, you will normally be given a student information pack which will include:
General information about student life at your particular university or college, such as: • A campus map
• Significant term dates
• Information about the library
• Details of shopping and banking facilities
• An introduction to the sports centre
• All you need to know about the health centre
• Information on campus safety and security
• A guide to the Students Union
• General academic rules and regulations relating to exams, handing in work late, and plagiarism
Specific information about your course, including: • The names of tutors, (note your year tutor in particular)
• The academic school office that deals with you subject area
• Contact numbers and emails for help and support
• The term or year programme of topics for each course of study
• The recommended reading, probably on a weekly basis
• The methods of on-going assessment
• The dates of examinations
A lot of the information is useful to consult as the need arises, so keep it safe. In study terms, your timetable for the term is your road map showing how much of your time is structured by the formal elements of your couse. The weekly elements consist of timetabled classes, ranging from wholly taught lecture courses and seminars (which probably include contributions from class members) to workshops and laboratory work, which may take the form of supervised group or individual work. Each class will be allocated a particular room and tutor. If you are lucky, your weekly timetable may be set out for you by your subject office. If not, the school office will give you the code numbers for the classes you have to attend so that you can find the time, place and tutor from the overall room allocations timetable, normally available in the reception area of most campus buildings or with the porters.
Finding your way around
The academic department in which you study may be part of a school or a faculty, depending on which is the preferred term in your university. The school (faculty) or department office will supply you with a blank timetable so that you can fill in your classes and don’t need to carry all the room bookings information round with you.
You also need the campus map (ask the school (faculty) or department office for one if you aren’t given one). This should at least give you the building names or numbers, if not the room numbers. Room numbers are usually allocated like for hotel rooms – 102 means first floor room 2, and 210 second floor room, though this may vary. Lecture theatres usually have a name or code to indicate what they are and seminar rooms may just have a building code or name and number. See Chapters 5 and 6 for more on lectures and seminars.
Take your timetable and campus map and spend an hour or so finding all the rooms you will use or visit using the checklist which follows this paragraph as a guide. The teaching rooms can be in different buildings and some distance from your subject home base area, so note the loos and cafes in passing. There is normally a ten minute gap between classes, so knowing where you have to get to when you have one class immediately after another will tell you if there is only time for a loo break, not a coffee break.
Tutors’ offices (get the room numbers from the school office) School office and secretaries or admin. staff offices Common rooms and cafes near the teaching rooms Locker space near teaching rooms Toilets near the teaching rooms Laboratories, including computer labs or clusters (groups) of computers available for students to use in open plan areas and the Language lab Main library, departmental library and places for self-study (check opening hours) Sports centre and gymnasium Student Union and other shops – grocery, launderette, stationery Student bars and Refectory Checking out who’s who
When you have found each tutor’s office, check the important information pinned to the door: the time of their office hour and the name of the person who provides their secretarial or administrative support, each with their internal phone numbers and email addresses. This is important information to get in contact or leave a message at short notice, if you are ill or get held up. The teaching staff will be out of their rooms teaching for much of the time, so messages are best left with or at least copied to their secretary, probably working in the school office or nearby. Tutor’s office hours are a guaranteed time when tutors will be in their offices and available to students. Find out more about what tutors do in Chapter 2.
Although appointments may not be necessary, it’s worth either suggesting a time to call within the office hours (by email or internal phone) in case the tutor is expe... 
