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LSU Learning Skills Unit
by Tran Thuong Huyen
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Perhaps you have been told so many times during your life as a Profcommer that GPA doesn’t really matter, especially in the communication industry, where employers don’t judge your skills and qualification based on your grades. You may have also been advised to choose electives that are said-to-be easy to get good grades and how some of the courses offered in the program are completely irrelevant to your career. Furthermore, you may somehow believe that your career choices are only limited to either advertising or PR. Well, although these beliefs might be true to a certain degree, it won’t hurt to look at them under a whole new perspective. It’s our Profcommers’ specialty to be creative and think outside of the box, after all. Let’s face it! It’s not that easy to get a high grade. To obtain such a result, there needs to be lots of efforts and time spent as well as skills put into practice. Put your GPA aside and look back for a bit, you will be surprised at how much you have grown - all thanks to these assignments and projects. Not to mention the tons of skills you have learnt and developed throughout your journey as a Profcommer, such as working under pressure, working in teams, time managing, researching, public speaking, report writing, critical thinking, conflict solving, negotiating, interpersonal skills, completing assigned tasks within deadlines and so on. Therefore, although a decent GPA may, unfortunately, not get you noticed that much in the eyes of recruiters, it still can be a good indicator of your skills and qualification. Letting the chance to practice and sharpen these skills slip away, while you can take advantage of it and push yourself to develop further, would be such a waste.
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The irony here is how students often believe having a decent GPA won’t be that beneficial to them, yet most would choose electives that are said to have a higher chance of getting good results. Nah, seriously don’t do that. It’s better to choose something you like, or something more relevant and would-be advantageous for your future career instead. Or even better, choose something you dislike – a course that would make you think you are not capable of handling it. Challenge yourself, and work your ass off on that course. You will realize how much you could learn from doing something you’re not confident in or even comfortable with. Besides, at the end of the day, at least you’ve tried your best and there’s no regret - just pure pride. In terms of courses, students may find some of the courses in the program irrelevant or useless for their intended career. Well, they will stay irrelevant and useless if one believes that they are irrelevant and useless. Don’t forget that there’s a reason why they were a part of the program in the first place. All the courses about media and communication theories are not only there to expand our knowing of the world but also help us open our mind and see things
in different ways, explaining certain patterns of human perception and behavior. After all, the advertising/PR industry is all about human perception. Speaking of the advertising/PR industry, what if it’s not for you? Maybe you don’t like it, or maybe you don’t find it suitable for you, or maybe you just want to do something else? Then just forget it. Seriously, go out and do something else that you prefer. If you haven’t found one yet, then search for it - maybe it’s already there but you haven’t noticed it yet. The beauty of the Professional Communication program is that it’s not just about advertising or PR, it covers a whole lot more about communication and one could certainly take on all kinds of imaginable job obligation and responsibility with just that. We Profcommers are creatives. We don’t think inside boxes, we certainly dislike boxes, and that’s what sets us apart from the crowd. Therefore, maybe it’s about time to get rid of these old school beliefs and all these boxes. So what are you waiting for? Break them!
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slides. Then, you read all the pages that are related to the term. Finally, you go to the lecture with confidence.
Macroeconomics 1 (Macro 1):
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Many students find this course a little bit challenging because they are not familiar with the most basic principle of Economics, which is the Law of Demand and Supply. Therefore, I suggest you take Prices and Markets (P&M) before dealing with Macro 1. Although P&M is in the same level as Macro 1, its content is less heavier than Macro 1. Hence, you should take P&M first to be familiar with basic principles of Economics.
If you do not understand any topic, please approach your lecturers or seniors for help immediately. Do not leave it until the end because it will create a domino effect, which means you will not understand the rest of Macro 1 because you have skipped previous topics. Of course, you should review and do all exercises before going to the tutorial classes.
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Two years ago, I took Macro 1 in my 1st semester. I was in shocked and almost cried. I even when I had difficulty in recognizing the slope of a demand or a supply curve, and I had to memorize them in a childish way: Demand curve is “dấu huyền” and Supply curve is “Dấu sắc”. Please, don’t be silly like me! Take P&M first!
Macroeconomics 2 (Macro 2): Personally, I do not think you have to remember every single thing from Macro 1 to study Macro 2, even though they are interlinked. If you forget any term in Macro 1, lecturers will repeat it. I took Macro 2 after studying Macro 1 one-and-a-half year ago, and forgot almost all of it. If I forget any Macro 1 term, I asked Mrs.Cleo and she replied to me within 30s, so don’t worry!
Moreover, I suggest you read the textbook before going to the big lecture. Mr. Charles teaches very quickly because we cannot cover everything within 2 hours at the normal lecture speed. Macro 1’s slides are super useful for the final exam, but not for reading in advance because they are very brief, therefore, you would not understand them clearly. The textbook does not follow the course’s slides. Hence, I recommend that firstly, you go to the index at the end of the textbook. Next, you search for the page number of the terms that appear on the
Again, be an active student! I may recommend you have a look at the course slides before going to class. You should at least know what to learn on that day, and identify the problems of the new topic before going to class for help. Lecturers are not gods; they cannot identify your problems and deal with it within 1 hour and 30 minutes for you. Furthermore, you should
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not skip any class in Macro 2. If you do so, you will miss tons of knowledge due to its extremely heavy content. Moreover, you should work on all MCQs and approach lecturers for help if any trouble occurs, because practice makes perfect.
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The first half the course requires some simple linear regression knowledge. Hence, you may want to remind yourself of it from the last chapter of Business Statistics 1. Linear regression is used only for supporting the logic of the first half of Macro 2 and you are not required to do tons of calculation. The second half of Macro 2 is all about theories. I would not recommend you to try to memorize all this stuff. You should try to recognize the logic behind each theory. The useful tip here is that you should do the worksheets right after class. Worksheets are your hand-made materials for organizing and arranging your understanding of theories. It is provided and standardized by lectures. Hence, completed worksheets are extremely helpful for the final exam. Through the process of completing these worksheets, you may notice some logic or principle behind these theories. My personal tip for the second half of Macro 2 is that I learnt the diagrams of theories, not the theories themselves, because a diagram says many things. All I had to do in my exam was to describe the diagram after drawing it. To me, learning and comparing diagrams is easier than doing these with theories. In addition, when the time for final
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exam comes, you have to be strategic. Before the finals, you should draw mind maps for comparing, linking and reviewing all theories. Two or three days before the final exam date, I do not suggest you try to study the whole course. Instead, you should focus on the topics which are your strengths, because the final exam is a mix of questions which means you are able to choose any 6 out of 10 questions to deal with. I focused a little bit on the first half and the whole second half of Macro 2. What about you? Have you used any strategies yet? Macroeconomics is not boring. In Macroeconomics, everything has its own logic. After reading this article, I hope that you are ready for tackling Macro 1 and 2. Best wishes to you!
“Macroeconomics is not boring. In Macroeconomics, everything has its own logic.�
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The most common impression students get when enrolled in QA (Quantitative analysis) is that they were bad at mathematics in high school and they will face a similar extremely hard time dealing with this course. Actually, in order to solve a maths problem in general problem. In this article, we will attempt to solve a possible QA question using this framework:
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“Nothing happens until something moves” – Albert Einstein, in our context it means that if you do nothing to your problem it will remain unsolvable. What better way to make our question look a little bit prettier than
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After a simple check with our calculator by solving the numerator of this expression we get x=-1 and x=-4 which mean x2+4x+5=(x+1)(x+4). Therefore:
2. Find relevant knowledge: We can apply the 3rd and 5th rules to this problem and our expression will become:
Usually in this step, we’ll focus on the requirement of the problem and choose from our problem.
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formula.
3. Apply relevant formula: This usually is the easiest step among the three if you attend lectures and tutorial classes frequently. All the rules have been demonstrated clearly by your QA teacher. If you miss the lectures and tutorials, follow the formula exactly step-by-step and you’ll get the
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By Tran Ha Khoa
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~ Best regards to those freshmen/students out there who are somehow struggling with Commercial Law or worried about taking this course. Rest assured that it is not as bad as you think it is. In fact, you can even pass with flying colors if you apply a good study approach to this subject. Below are some of the tips I want to share with you that you can use throughout the course:
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1/ Do not miss tutorials
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This is where you get to check your understanding of the lecture. For those who miss the lecture, tutors will be able to help you as they go through concepts and notices of the topic along with correcting tutorial questions.
You have enough when you feel you have enough. Try not to prepare as many cheat sheets as you can because they can confuse you during test hours.
2/ Prepare your own cheat sheet
3/ If writing is not your strength, then try to write more
You can not count on your peers’ cheat sheets. For most of the time they are not of great help anyway. Have your own cheat sheet as you go through each topic with their own rules and further elaboration ( i.e exception, defences). Furthermore, you will not have enough time to look through every page of the textbook for referential cases, so you will have to prepare a list of relevant cases for each topic (remember to read through all of them in the textbook first!).
More than often tutors will not have enough time to go through each tutorial questions elaborately. You will have to take the main ideas and go home to make a complete essay on the relevant case. After that all you need to do is to email your work to your tutor or bring it to SLAMs for proofreading and correction. I am sure by the end of the course, analysing a case will not be a problem for you anymore and those 3 final questions will be In your pocket!
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When I received my GCE A-Levels result, an equivalent of an university entrance exam, never in my life had I felt more disappointed and hopeless. Those were the dark days when I truly had to face the consequences of my actions. I started losing the passion for my schoolwork at the final year of high school, and it only went downhill from there. Skipping classes and forgoing studies were more frequent I eventually fell out with most of my teachers. Doom was waiting for me. I barely passed the majority of the papers, but it wasn’t enough for me to continue in Singapore. Quite frankly it was
hard for me to continue anywhere. I have hit an imposing roadblock with no paths to turn back. Not only did these events crippled my morale, but also have negatively affected the people around me too, those that matter to me.
I spent what felt like an eternity thinking about why, when and how I threw away a golden opportunity like that. All I had to do was persevere through the last year, obtain another scholarship of that dream
course at that dream university and I’ll be set for life. Yet I didn’t. Just thinking back about it hurts, a surge of regret fills me up everytime. Thankfully though, the future was not too bleak. After careful consideration, I have decided to join RMIT University. Truthfully it was the only viable option left that could salvage me from my sorry state of mind. Back then I had little expectations of the school. I thought of it only as a place for me to recover. I was even unsure of how was I going to adjust studying in Vietnam.
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Fortunately I was wrong, these past ten months have given me more than just knowledge to pass the courses. I have met many new personalities, each with a compelling life story of their own. After each conversation, I began to appreciate my own story.The hardships, while hard, have taught me to become more alert of my actions and decisions. I started to accept the past and the mistakes I have committed and constantly remind myself to not make the same errors again. The environment was very welcoming too; even from an academic standpoint, I took an instant liking to the quality and access of resources and materials. Perhaps it was the alarming past events and the ease of which I have adapted myself to the school that I started to do moderately well again. For the first time since forever I actually felt good about myself; I felt free from regrets; I found that lost confidence I once had. I began to aspire certain individuals for their qualities. In particular: I look up to Mr Kieran, my Marketing Principles lecturer, for his effortless charisma whenever he speaks; I appreciate the determination of Mr Minh who goes to great lengths to make sure the class understand every Business Statistics topics. Even among peers I am constantly surprised by the amount of talent and achievements that some students have obtained, at which I wish one day I can have the same honour. Being nominated to be SLAMs mentor meant alot to me at the time, it was an indication for me that I was heading in the right direction. Being a part of the SLAMs team has opened more doors of opportunity for me to improve and help others improve. Which is why I now cherish the interactions with my friends and lecturers at RMIT everyday.
However, this new journey of mine has only just begun. Harder hardships await, this time I will be more prepared. Here’s hoping when I look back at this reflection in the future, I will do so with more pride.
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1. Cheatsheet *What is a 'cheat sheet'? This term might be very unfamiliar to you if you don't have any friend or senior acquaintance who has studied this course before. In an open-book exam like Commercial Law, a cheat sheet is like your lifesaver (unless you are confident that you can remember every law and case very well) which I think most of you will choose to use over memory effort for any exam. *What is on the 'cheat sheet'?
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A cheat sheet is basically a written exemplar for solving specific cases. You only need to modify the names and details in the exemplar and transfer most of the answers to your exam. Because you have very limited time in the exam, and a lot to analyze and write, a cheat sheet helps you to eliminate the time thinking "should I write this first, or that first?". During exam, you may feel nervous and suddenly forget everything at the most important moment, having a cheat sheet keeps you calm and helps you to do your best at the test. *Tips for preparing 'cheat sheet'
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- Always prepare your own cheat sheet. Doing this will have you already review your lectures. Study smart, save
2. Textbook Never underestimate the power of a textbook, especially when you study Commercial Law. Although this is not a pure-theory subject, to understand the lecture, a quick look at the textbook is necessary. * Figures (charts, tables, diagrams) are the best summary of the topic. If you need to have an overall look of what you have studied, try to look for charts or tables. * Cases - not only for referencing, but as an exemplar for solving cases. You should feel lucky because we have case summaries in the textbook. Don't be afraid of them, treat them as bedtime stories.
3. Critical thinking While Commercial Law is a LAW subject (requiring the very least, your creativity), it is still very different from Math (which require preciseness and use of formulae). There is no absolute right or wrong answer in Law. Anything can be possible as long as you have legit arguments. There will always be counter-arguments to your argument. Release your inner child and ask any possible question even when it seems impossible. You can discuss with your friends, or your lecturers (I'm sure they will be happy to hear your opinion). Use it as a
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There are 3 things that you should never forget to prepare and make the most use of: your OWN CHEAT SHEET, the TEXT BOOK and a CRITICAL MIND.
your time, kill two birds with one stone. - Attend every tutorial session. From my experience, when you carefully listen to lecturers solve a case in tutorials, you will slowly find a pattern, the steps in solving a case. (The first sentence is always, "The legal issue here is whether...", remember?) - Use your cheat sheet to write the case (a full long case is the best, maybe a question from the previous semester). Then bring it to your lecturer. They will help you to point out where you should improve. - Never forget CASE REFERENCES. These may be a small thing, but are very important in contributing to your mark such as - Donoghue v Stevenson (1932) or Romeo v Conservation Commission of Northern Territory (1998)
chance to practice your critical thinking. It will be very helpful not just in this course but in your long-term future. Last but not least, people like to say, the more effort you exert, the greater reward you receive. It's true, but use your effort wisely and effectively. Make the most out of it. And remember to practice writing cases, at least once per week. Use your pen and write on paper to calculate the time. I used to be lazy and type on the computer, but guess what? In the 2nd midterm I only have enough time to answer 1 out of 2 questions! I didn't even have enough time to polish my answer. That was one painful experience I hope you won’t go through!.
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he most difficult task that I have to deal with in university life is time management. Time management simply means controlling and planning your time for specific activities with high efficiency and productivity. University environment is not similar to high school and it opens a plenty of new experiences. At school, we have schedules, exercises, teachers and the most important thing is we are all under 18. At university, we are all 18 or older. Thus, other people always say “you are not a child anymore, you are 18�. Eighteen is always a special marker and you will do and be responsible for many things by yourself. University gives you more time to arrange and control these and it also requires you completing much more tasks. Designing your own academic schedules, doing assignments, leisure, building relationships, participating in clubs and social activities and many others stuff are necessary to prepare for your future life and career. All of those things above are not really the planned tasks for most students. In a nutshell, time management in university is just to balance time between studying and relaxing. Either too much leisure or studying will definitely lead to negative outcomes. Thus, this balance is the biggest goals of most students. In the first year in RMIT, I used to think of designing my own time table for every hour in detail but I forgot it immediately later; however, until I studied Business Communication, which has a time management assignment requirement, I realized the role of self-designed schedules. Firstly, you play many roles in your real life such as a student of RMIT, a child of your
parents, a member of your club, etc. You need to determine and understand each of your roles. Then, for every role, you should think of your responsibility, required tasks and deadlines. Deciding which is priority also helps you arrange these more effectively. This way, you can easily determine the work that you need to do without wasting much time for unimportant stuff. Besides this, entertainment activities should also be in your list of to-dos so you can control your free time and will ensure that you will not have a nervous breakdown due to many tasks on your timetable. Secondly, a calendar should be used to put your planned work on. Google Calendar may be a great choice. The tasks have to be arranged in every detail. You should follow these questions: What activities need to be done? When you do it and what time? Where? The final concern is also very necessary: the goals of these tasks. These questions will provide the motivation and the overview of you planned activities. Finally, the most important step is to act on your schedule and you may need a notebook to record the status of your tasks every day. It requires patience and discipline. During this process, you may sometimes feel daunted and discouraged; however, at the end of the day, you will feel free and satisfied because you finished all necessary tasks and still have time to relax. In the long run, it will become your habit. As a result, you can work very efficiently and productively and the opportunities for you missing deadlines will be so rare. Do your best and enjoy your university life, good luck! ^_^
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Writers and Editors
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Nguyen Thanh Tung Le Minh Thai Nguyen Duc Dung Pham Ngoc Vy Pham Khac Thanh Dang Minh Tuan Dinh Thi Thuy Tien Vo Khanh Tung Tran Ha Khoa Tao Huyen Trang Pham Khac Thanh Le Hoang Anh Tran Truc Tien Tran Quang Hoang Long Tran Thuong Huyen
Art Director Phan Hoang Thai Chau
Designers Truong Phung Linh Nguyen Ngoc Phuong Uyen
What do you want to read in the next edition of the SLAMs newsletter? Let us know what should be featured or if you have any articles, tips, stories or puzzles to contribute
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