Tips for Students

This page contains (hopefully) useful hints for students, including how to organise your time, prepare for exams, write technical papers, make presentations, and, of course, relax!

General

University education aims to give you the necessary technical and social skills to enable you to pursue your chosen career and make meaningful contributions to society (wow!) While there is an obvious emphasis on studying for lessons, learning to interact with others is also a vital part of your education. As the old saying goes, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Therefore, take time to mix. Join student union clubs, go to the cinema or theater, attend seminars and discussion groups, joi n in sporting activities. BUT remember, you must achieve a balance, don't neglect your lessons!

Coming to university is an exciting yet daunting experience. Probably it is the first time you will be on your own, away from home and family. You have to find your own way. You have to take charge of your life. Adjusting to the new environment may take some time. It is up to you to make the most of it. Nobody is going to force you get-up, to go to lectures or to study. You are responsible to yourself now! But don't worry and definitely don't panic. If you need help there are lots of people/places you can turn to. First and foremost, try talking to your fellow students, you'll probably find they're as lost as you are, so you can help each other. If you are having difficulty with particular lessons talk to the instructor. If you are having problems settling down or studying in general, try talking to your academic advisor or go along to the psychological counselling center. Other useful sources include the Dean of Students, the Foreign Students Office, your department secretary, the health center and even th e library. Important: don't leave it too late before asking for help; e.g. the day before the final exam!

By far the most common problem students (and faculty!) face, is finding enough time to do all the things required of them. You have to learn to manage your time effectively. Divide your time between the things you have to do. Plan to spend say the next hour on one particular subject, then have a short break before spending some time on a different subject and so on. When the time for a particular subject is up, leave it, even if you haven't managed to finish it. Just do whatever you can. Don't worry if you can't complete everything and above all don't panic. The time you spend thinking and worrying about the things you have not yet done is wasted time. Worrying simply distracts you. It stops you working/thinking efficiently. Concentrate on now and the future will take care of itself!

Some simple yet vital points to remember when...

Writing Reports/Essays

- Make sure you explain things in a logical order (structure)
- Use your own words, do NOT copy sentences/paragraphs
- Use a spelling checker!!
- Learn to be self critical. Rewrite it from scratch if need be.
- Get a friend to read your work and comment on it (& you read theirs!)
- Include proper references ( with title, author, publisher & date)

There are lots of books in the library, use them!

Some simple yet vital points to remember when...

Making Presentations

- Preparation: Prepare early, don't leave it until the last day!!; Decide what you need/want to say; Set the broad context first, before going into details; Only explain things the audience is unlikely to know; But, introduce new concepts before using them (preconditions!)
- Transparencies: Have an title slide which includes your name & affiliation; Have a conclusions slide, so the audience know when you finish!; Max. 7 items on each transparency; Each item is a word or very short phrase; Pictures/diagrams are easier to understand/remember than words; Use a spell checker
- The talk itself: Make sure you use the allocated time but no more!; Practice beforehand, get friends to listen & comment if possible

A clear concise paper on how-to-give-a-talk

Some simple yet vital points to remember when...

Reading research papers/books

- Always have pen & paper handy to make notes as you read
- Make notes as you read!

Some simple yet vital points to remember when...

Submitting/reviewing papers for publication

- Significance: How important is the work reported?; Does it attack an important/difficult problem or a peripheral/simple one?; Does the approach offered advance the state of the art?
- Originality: Has this or similar work been previously reported?; Are the prolems and approaches new?; Is this a novel combination of familiar techniques?; Does the paper point out differences from related research?; Is it reinventing the wheel using new terminology?
- Quality: Is the paper technically sound?; Does it carefully evaluate the strengths & limitations of its contribution?; How are its claims backed up?
- Clarity: Is the paper clearly written?; Does it motivate the research?; Does it describe the algorithms involved?; Does the paper properly situate itself with respect to previous work?; Are the results described & evaluated?; Is the paper organised in a logical fashion?
- Layout: Is the paper visually appealing?; Is it easy to distinguish sections, sub-sections, lists, etc.?; Is it in the required format?; Are references to previous works made in the specified manner?

The above was culled from an unknown source, except for section on layout which is mine (although I believe content should be more important than presentation!)

Some simple yet vital points to remember when...

Managing people

- complement on things done right
(don't concentrate on failures, don't try to find faults all the time!)

- plan ahead, don't get caught up in today.

- let everyone know what's in your mind.

- don't try to do it all yourself, you can't! (delegate and trust!)

- promote above expectations (Richard Branson philosophy.)

Please send suggestions/comments to David Davenport [HomePage].
{This document last updated: 14 February 1998}