Studyingasan Internationalstudent
JohnShanahan
StudySkillsAdviser
StudyingasanInternationalstudent atExeter
ExeterUniversityhasathrivinginternationalcommunitywithover5,000studentsfrom morethan130differentcountries,butweunderstandthat,studyingheremightmean adaptingtoadifferentlanguageandperhapsadifferentacademicculture.
Perhapsthemaindifferenceyou’llexperienceisthatyou’llbeexpectedtodoalotof independentstudyofyourown.
StudyingintheUK
UKuniversitiesuseanumberofdifferenttypesoftaughtsessionstohelpyou learn:
• Lectureswhicharedeliveredbytutorsandgenerallycoverthemaintopicsin yourmodules. Lecturescanbeattendedbyalargenumberofstudents.
• Seminarswhicharenormallysmallergroupsizesandledbyatutorbut involvealotofstudentparticipation.
• Tutorialswhichusuallyonlyinvolveyouandyourtutor.
Lectures
•Lectureswillintroduceyoutokeyconcepts andideas,butyouwillbeexpectedtotreat thisasastartingpointandtodofurther readingonthetopicbeyondthelecture.
•Trytoprepareforlectures,usethemodule readinglisttodoabitofreadingaboutthe subjectbeforethelecture.Sometimesyou mightbegivensomereadingtodobeforea lecture.
Seminars
•Youwillbeexpectedtoactively participateinthese. Thetutormightlead thediscussion,butwilloftenaskquestions togetyoutothinkaboutthesubjectyou arediscussing. Sometimesseminarsare studentled.
•Youmightbeaskedtoreadsomething beforeaseminaraspreparationand, sometimes,mightevenbeaskedtoleada seminareitheronyourownoraspartof agroup.
Tutorials
• Usually justyouandyourtutor.
• Usuallybookedinadvanceorarrangedduringatutor’sofficehours.
• Thesegiveyouanopportunitytotalktoyourtutoraboutyourcourseand anypartsofityouarefindingdifficultordidn’tunderstand.
Assessment
Someofthetypicalformsare:
• Essays • Reports
ReflectiveEssays
• Exams
• GroupWork
• Presentations
• Posters
• Dissertationsandprojects
•
Makesureyouunderstandwhatis requiredofyou
Lookinyourmodulehandbooksfordetailsabout:
• Howyouwillbeassessed(normallyavailableviaELE,theExeterLearning Environment)
• Format(fontsize,spacing,marginsizes)
• Structure(sometimesyouwillbegivenspecificheadingstoinclude)
• Referencingstyle(thereareanumberofdifferentstylesinuseacrossthe university)
• Examdates,assignmentdeadlinesetc.
Manageyourtime
• Comingtouniversityisanexcitingtimeandmakingnewfriendsand developingnewinterestsisanimportantpartofyouruniversityexperience, butyouwillneedtomanageyourtimewell.
• Settingupgood,regularstudyhabitsfromthestartwillbekeytoyour success.
• Whetheryouuseahandwrittenplanner,softwarelikeMicrosoftOutlookor otherapplications,doorganiseyour‘working’weeksothatyoucankeep trackofthedemandsofthedifferentmodulesyouwillbestudying.
• Thestartofyourfirsttermwillmeanyouhavealotofinformation, timetablesanddeadlinestocopewith,settingupaschedulethathelpsyou dealwithandmakesenseallofthis,willbeyourfirstchallenge.
ReadingsSkills
Youwillhavealotofreadingtodo,sothinkaboutyourreadingskills:
• Readwithintent-haveanideaofwhatyouarelookingforandwhy,when youread.
• Skimorscantextstofindthemostrelevantsections.
• Usethestructureofatexttohelpyouidentifyitskeypoints-index,contents, introductions,conclusions,paragraphsandtopicsentences.
• Reviewyourreadingafterwards-whathaveyoulearnt?Aretheregapsor areasyouareunsureaboutthatrequirefurtherresearch?
Notemaking
Notesareonlyusefuliftheymakesensetoyouatalaterdatesothinkaboutwhatyouare tryingtoachievewhenyoutakenotes:
• Don’ttrytocopyeverythingdowninlectures-lookforthekeypoints,dothesamein yourreading.
• Useanotetakingsystemthatsuitsyou(Cornell,OneNote,Linearnotes,Bulletpoints, MindMaps,FlowCharts,voicerecordings).
• Yournotesshouldbeaninvestigationofthelecture/book/articleyouarereading,not anattempttorewriteit-askquestionsofthematerial,highlightthebitsyoudon’t understandsowell,thinkabouthowtheyareusefultoyourunderstandingofatopic.
• Reviewyournotesregularly,it’llmakeretaininginformationandrevisionforexamsa loteasier!
Writingatuniversity
•Academicwritingisoneofthewaysthatyoucommunicateyourunderstandingofyour subjecttothewidercommunityofyourdiscipline.
• Adoptingaclear,logicalstructuretoyourwritingisanimportantskilltomaster.
• Youressaysshouldn’tjustbeasummaryofwhatothershavesaid-yourtutorswantto knowwhatyouthinkaboutwhatothershavesaid!
• Referencingisakeyelementofacademicwriting,itshowsyouacknowledgethework ofothersanddemonstratesthedepthandqualityoftheresearchyouhavedone.
• Twokeypoints:Answerthespecificsofthequestionandwrite
BasicEssayStructure
• Introduction@10%ofthewordcount,setsoutwhatyouressayisabout,whatyouwill trytodemonstrate,howyouwillapproachthetopicandwhyitisimportant.
• MainBody@80%ofwordcount,organisedbyparagraphs,eachparagraph contributingakeypointtowardstheoverallargument.Supportingyourargumentwith evidenceisimportanthere,butadoptingacriticalapproachtotheevidenceisalso important.
• Conclusion@10%ofwordcount,summarisestheargument,butalsodiscussesthe significanceoftheargument,whyitisimportant,howitmightbeusefulforfuture research.
• BibliographyorListofReferences
Whataretutorslookingforintheir students?
• Aquestioningapproachtothesubject,awillingnesstochallengeideas,testthemto seeiftheyholdup,andiftheydon’t,howyoucanchangethemsothattheydo!
• Theabilitytotakeininformationfromdifferentsources,evaluateitandsynthesiseit intoyourownwriting.
• Theabilitytothinkandwritecritically.
• Theabilitytopresentideasandargumentspersuasivelyandwithclarityanddetail.
• Reflectivestudents,studentswhothinkaboutthefeedbacktheyareofferedand adapttheirstudyskillsinlightofit.
FurtherSupport
https://universityofexeteruk.sharepoint.com/sites/StudyZone
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