Just like school, all your subjects assessments at Uni have a wonderful habit of being due at the exact same time each semester, leading to some very long nights and one very tired student. So do what I do, make the system work for you! You can do it!
Well, first things first, juggling is an important skill. I started with two balls to get the feel right before doing three. Oh yeah, sorry, this is about how to juggle assessments. Good thing I didn’t start writing about how the Uni-cycle goes.
The first week of Uni is really important as you will get the due dates for all your assignments. The first thing I do it put them all down in my diary so I understand where they’re going to fall, and how close they are. If they’re pretty close together, then I make sure that I start doing work for them early, so that I don’t get stuck doing everything all at the one time.
The one area where planning is most important is with Tutorial presentations. I find that these are often the most annoying little things that pop up, especially if its during the week when another assessment is due, and you have to hand in a Tute paper the week after on your presentation. My personal secret is to take the presentations as early as possible, to get them out of the way. If you do have Tute papers too it’s a good chance to write one early to judge how you’re going to be marked, and what the markers are looking for. They’re generally not worth much of your overall assessment, so its good to do poorly in these ones early instead of bombing out on a big essay!
Lots of people are scared of doing tute presentations, so I think its better to do them early and get them out of the way too. You can set the bar for the rest of the class (I like to establish it at knee hight), so it takes some of the pressure of you too.
Uni is all about independent work and time management, so get yourself into good habits early, and believe me, uni will be a lot easier and more enjoyable (I get everything done so I can have fun. Works quite well!).
So that’s it in a nutshell. Its not geeky to get a head start on work, its actually the best way to have a good time!
Hope all is hunky dory, stay tops,
Brendon
Comments
Hey guys,
I hate to say it, but Brendo is spot on with this one! (Especially the part about tute papers - I left mine till Week 11 last semester and I think my family saw a side of me they'd rather not....) You'll also probably be given an outline of readings for the whole semester in week one - it's a good idea to check them out early...it can be a little difficult trying to read the Magna Carta in two hours before class!
Cheers, Loz
Posted by: Lauren | January 7, 2006 06:03 PM
I've always found another reason to get started early is that I often found in a first or second year arts course with, say, 100 or 200 students, even the fantastically broad and numerous holdings of the University Library were tied up by other students by the end of the semester. And, take it from me, there is nothing more heart breaking than to go to the library a week before a final essay is due and discovering that all six copies of Neal Grange's "Historical Perspectives on the French Revolution" in existence in Australia have already been borrowed by other students.
Posted by: Sikeli | January 13, 2006 11:17 AM