First year survival tips:
Leah Hartmann
- Print out your lecture slides before going to the lecture: Otherwise you will find yourself in the lecture trying to write down everything on the screen, and not listening to a word the lecturer is saying. If you print the slides out you can make notes about what the lecturer is saying and still have the information on the screen.
- Be vigilant with referencing: Do not underestimate how important it is. Tutors will fail you for inaccurate referencing. It is often helpful to do all your referencing before you start writing your assignment, so at the end you can just delete which ever sources you did not use. At the end of a long essay writing session the last thing you will feel like doing is spending another 2 hours on referencing.
- Go on a library tour: You may feel like a bit of a geek, but a tour of the library will save you hours of research time. Learn about the online databases and journals, which are fantastic resources when doing an assignment. If you know how to use the virtual library, your research time will be halved.
- Go to your tutorials: If you cant make it to lectures, you can always listen to them on line and read the slides. But if you miss tutes, you are missing out on really valuable information from your peers. Listening to the ideas and opinions of your class mates will often make the topic a lot clearer in your own mind. Talk lots in your tutes to make the most of them (but don't put your hand up, you don't need to).
- Make friends! Talk to people. Go to all the parties and events, but not with a big group of people that you went to school with! First year uni is all about new experiences and having a good time so make the most of it before the work load gets bigger.
I am studying a Bachelor of Arts (Journalism), which I chose because I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do. It turned out to be a great choice, because studying Arts subjects allows you to have an opinion and argue it. Arts means there is no right or wrong, as long as you can back up your point with evidence. And the journalism subjects are all fantastic, especially radio journalism, as you get to produce your own one hour radio show for radio Monash. So enjoy the year, make the most of it, and good luck to all of you.