Academic Skills Defined
How different is studying at university to studying at school?
Well the first difference, really, is that you have to be an independent learner, and at school you may find that you've been given coursework and you know how to do it, within a certain time. You're told exactly which books to read and your time table from the minute you come in the morning from the time you go out in the evening (late afternoon, I should think for a school). But at university you will have firm lectures – you may have three in a week – and in the rest of the time you have to be an independent learner and you have to be able to learn how to manage your time. That's very, very important. If you can't do that, you basically can't really use all this free time effectively.
What role will my tutors play in my university career?
At university, you'll have many tutors and they will be tutors that give you lectures, and you will know them as lecturers. But you will also have tutors that could be your personal tutors, so if you've got any problems, you could go and see them. You also have people that will provide advice to you on, let's say, academic skills. You'd have postgraduate teaching assistants as well. They often help out the lecturers in lab work. So there's a variety of lecturers. And for each of the courses, you'll probably have different lecturers.
How much independent learning will there be?
While you're at university, there will be a lot of independent learning, because one of the main aims is that you become an independent learner. So you will have schedule classes, either lectures or tutorials or lab work. But the rest of the time, it's independent, and you have to organize that time yourself. You will have coursework, and you can use that free time for coursework, for reading in the library, for doing some group projects. But it's your own time, it's independent, and you've got to manage it.
Who can I ask for help if I am having trouble with my studies?
If you have problems with your studies, the first port of call will be your personal tutor. You will be allocated a personal tutor when you first enter the university. Although I must say, not all universities have this system. But if you do have one, then use your personal tutor first. You could also go to the student services, and they have a variety of services, such as mentoring, counseling, and financial help. In addition to that, there is always the students' union. They used to be on the periphery of the university, but now they're quite central and really part of the university infrastructure, so they really are sort of key people to go and see. So get to know your students' union as well.
What teaching methods are there?
There are a variety of teaching methods at university. Probably the ones that you will know about are the lectures. And you may be in a lecture hall with 200 people, so you might actually feel quite anonymous, but that is just how it is at university these days with a large number of students. So you've got lectures. But you might have smaller seminars. And there you'll be able to discuss topics. You may have to come and present an idea yourself, but you're in smaller groups, and you can discuss topics in much more detail. Other kind of learning and teaching methods are fieldwork, if you're in a geology or geography course. You've got laboratory work. You may have to go to site visits, if you're doing something like civil engineering. So there are a variety of methods that are there to help you learn, and you should use them as much as you can.
How will I be graded?
You may want to know how you are going to be graded. Now this will depend on your university and on the course that you're on. You usually graded on formal pieces of course work. And this can be a laboratory report, it could be an essay, it could be an evidence from a field trip or it could be an exam. So that's a variety of reasons how you'd become graded. And the grading might take a form of a percentage mark, it might take a form of a letter, ABCD, or you might just be given to first through third. So rate depends on the tutor and on the course. Also, the grading should depend on certain criteria for the assessment, so may want to ask the tutor how you are going to mark me, what are criteria of this mark, and how will I know how did you've graded me.
How many essays will I be expected to write?
When you're at university, you'll have to write essays, but the number of essays you write will depend on the course you're on. So if you're in the arts and humanities, you probably will have to write more than if you're in the engineering or science faculties. Now, when you're in the first few years, you will write less essays than if you're in years three and four. Years three and four, you will see more essays and they'll be much longer. You need to check with your tutors how long the essays will be, and make sure that you are developing your writing skills so that you can actually produce good essays. But the number you do will depend on the course you take.
How many exams will there be?
Every course you take is formally assessed, and this can be as an exam or formal coursework or assignment. You need to check with your tutor, or check your student handbook, if the course is going to be assessed solely on exam or solely on coursework or a mixture of the two.
