Prichard(studying)-Prelims:Prichard(studying)-Prelims.qxd 2/8/2008 6:32 PM Page i Studying and Learning at University Prichard(studying)-Prelims:Prichard(studying)-Prelims.qxd 2/8/2008 6:32 PM Page ii Prichard(studying)-Prelims:Prichard(studying)-Prelims.qxd 2/8/2008 6:32 PM Page iii Studying and Learning s l El i k at GS University Ay d Su t S Vital Skills for Success in Your Degree Alan Pritchard Prichard(studying)-Prelims:Prichard(studying)-Prelims.qxd 2/8/2008 6:32 PM Page iv © Alan Pritchard 2008 First published 2008 Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, or by any means, only with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers. SAGE Publications Ltd 1 Oliver’s Yard 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP SAGE Publications Inc. 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd B 1/I 1 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area Mathura Road, Post Bag 7 New Delhi 110 044 SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd 33 Pekin Street #02-01 Far East Square Singapore 048763 Library of Congress Control Number: 2007931481 British Library Cataloguing in Publication data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-4129-2962-2 ISBN 978-1-4129-2963-9 (pbk) Typeset by C&M Digitals (P) Ltd., Chennai, India Printed in Great Britain by The Cromwell Press Ltd, Trowbridge, Wiltshire Printed on paper from sustainable resources Prichard(studying)-Prelims:Prichard(studying)-Prelims.qxd 2/8/2008 6:32 PM Page v I would like to dedicate this book to the people who encouraged and allowed me to study and learn at university, and eventually to teach at that level. The list is long and includes Ruth and Alan, my Mum and Dad; Linda and Diane, my sisters; Jackie, Maria and Frances, the divine and delectable nuclear family; and Rog (Roger Bull, MSc) for the years of laughter, ideas, discussion, Speckled Hen, plumbing and other assorted repair work above and beyond the call of cousinhood. Prichard(studying)-Prelims:Prichard(studying)-Prelims.qxd 2/8/2008 6:32 PM Page vi Prichard(studying)-Prelims:Prichard(studying)-Prelims.qxd 2/8/2008 6:32 PM Page vii Contents Acknowledgements viii Introduction 1 1 How We Learn 5 2 Reading for Academic Purposes 28 3 Note-taking and Recording for Learning 45 4 Finding the Information You Need: Using Libraries and Library Systems 60 5 Computers and the Internet as a Source of Quality Information 79 6 Assessment: Essays and Dissertations 108 7 Other Forms of Assessment: Reports and Examinations 152 8 Giving Presentations 174 Appendix 1 – Transferable Graduate Skills 197 Appendix 2 – Concept/Mind-mapping Resources 200 Glossary 201 References 212 Index 214 Prichard(studying)-Prelims:Prichard(studying)-Prelims.qxd 2/8/2008 6:32 PM Page viii Acknowledgements My thanks must go to all of the students and my colleagues who have contributed, in many cases unknowingly, to this book. Thanks to Liz Coates and the ECS team for ask- ing me to become involved in their course way back in the beginning. Also thanks for the support and encouragement given by Patrick Brindle at Sage and to the anonymous referees who commented on the drafts. Thank you. Pritchard-Introduction:Pritchard-Introduction.qxd 2/8/2008 6:35 PM Page 1 Introduction You are probably looking at this book because you feel that you might need something extra to help you with settling into your role of undergraduate. You may be feeling anx- ious about the demands that will be made of you and perhaps feeling that everybody else will know already what to do, how to behave, how to get down to work and to take part in everything else that might be expected of you. The point to bear in mind at times like this is that everybody is new. Even the slightly older students, even those who exude confidence, even those who seem to have inside knowledge, are all new to the same things that you are new to. Whether they choose to discuss their worries and weaknesses is a different matter. Most, probably all, new students are anxious about how they will approach their work. They are not sure, no matter how successful they might have been in previous settings, whether they will be able to manage in their new setting. You should rest assured that in the same way as some people are ill at ease in some social situations, but manage not to show it, there will be an overwhelming major- ity who are anxious in their new guise of university student. This book cannot instantly resign your concerns to history, but it can provide many pointers, strategies and suggestions as well as a good deal of background, and even fore- ground, information that will help you devise a way of working which fits in with your new-found opportunities for socialising, which you really should capitalise on, in what can seem like a strange new world. The title of this book implies that universities are places of study, and also of learning. Both of these activities should be active and not passive. All too often, in supposed learn- ing situations the would-be learner is expected to remain passive and to internalise whatever is presented to them. This actually works for some; for others there is often only a partial absorption of what is presented. For the rest, the time spent as a passive member of an audience is not particularly beneficial. Most university teaching includes lectures; lectures can be times of passive loss of inter- est. The learner must take steps to stay awake and be actively involved in the proceed- ings. It is because some university teaching is not as good as it could be that a book of this nature can help those new to the arena to become active and receptive learners able to take full advantage of the opportunity for study at a higher level.