Spine: 20.4mm (0.8031”) Education ™ Discover the time-saving tips and UK Edition Making Everything Easier! expert techniques that will keep UK Edition you on top of your studies Open the book and find: Want to transform yourself from rough diamond into • What makes your tutor tick Study Skills Study model student? Whether you’re embarking on A-levels or • Internet research methods that heading for university, this easy-to-use guide explains the save you time essential skills you need to achieve academic success. From • The ingredients of a compelling note-taking tips to advice on structuring essays and disser- presentation tations, Study Skills For Dummies is packed with all the stuff • Advice on tackling an ever- Study Skills they don’t teach you in class. expanding reading list • Prepare for the year ahead confidently – become an effective planner and critical thinker, and develop your ICT skills • What statistics do (and don’t) tell you • Maximise on class-time – develop note-taking and learning habits that help you get the most out of seminars and lectures • Tips for brainstorming and writing creatively • The fundamentals of research – use the library and the Web to find the information you need, fast • How to steer clear of plagiarism • Write killer essays – turn your ideas, notes and research into • Strategies for exam success well-written assignments • The key to balancing work and • Ace your exams – focus your revision and maximise your mental play preparation to nail your exams Learn to: Go to dummies.com® • Organise your studies, plan your time and for more! improve your performance • Be an effective researcher and find the answers you’re looking for • Polish your critical thinking and writing skills • Boost your memory and prepare for £14.99 UK / $27.99 US exams with confidence Doreen du Boulay is a learning advisor and former student tutor in Study ISBN 978-0-470-74047-7 Skills Support at Sussex University. She has also worked as a teacher, essay examiner and MA dissertation marker. Doreen du Boulay du Boulay Study Skills Support tutor and essay examiner Study Skills FOR DUMmIES‰ by Doreen du Boulay A John Wiley and Sons, Ltd, Publication Study Skills For Dummies® Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd The Atrium Southern Gate Chichester West Sussex PO19 8SQ England E-mail (for orders and customer service enquires): [email protected] Visit our Home Page on www.wiley.com Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Chichester, West Sussex, England Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Chichester, West Sussex All Rights Reserved. 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For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data: A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-0-470-74047-7 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Bell & Bain, Ltd., Glasgow 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 About the Author Doreen du Boulay taught undergraduate and postgraduate subject courses in Education and Applied Linguistics, study skills and skills for specifi c sub- jects at the universities of Aberdeen, Warwick and Sussex for longer than she cares to remember – over twenty years. She taught students from a range of backgrounds and with many different needs, and wrote the Sussex University study skills web pages. She was an assessor of pre-university courses for overseas students in British universities for BALEAP (British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes) for ten years, a consultant with the British Council for training courses in Algeria, Poland and Zambia and for Banque Indo- Suez training courses in English for employees. She was seconded by the University of Aberdeen to work in local oil and gas companies with their overseas employees. Having begun her career as an organisation and methods analyst, she turned to secondary school teaching, fi rst in Zambia, then in Shropshire and Scotland, before becoming a university teacher. She has always benefi ted from having several feet, centipede-like, in several camps – as a subject tutor, skills tutor and course assessor, and working in industry – and has always tried to pass on insights from this mixture of experience. She took early retirement due to vision problems and now works freelance. Dedication To Zoe, Jan and Huw, my children: always an inspiration. Acknowledgements I would like to thank all the colleagues and students over many years who taught me so much, especially Godfrey Yeung, Scherto Gill and Earl Kehoe, who allowed me to refer to their work. I would also like to thank editors Simon Bell and Wejdan Ismail for their sup- port and suggestions in producing this book during a diffi cult time in my life. Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Composition Services Development Project Coordinator: Lynsey Stanford Development Editor: Simon Bell Layout and Graphics: Christin Swinford Content Editor: Jo Theedom Proofreader: Laura Albert Commissioning Editor: Wejdan Ismail Indexer: Claudia Bourbeau Publishing Assistant: Jennifer Prytherch Copy Editor: Anne O’Rorke Technical Editor: Eileen Lafferty Executive Editor: Sam Spickernell Executive Project Editor: Daniel Mersey Cover Photos: © Somos/Veer Cartoons: Ed McLachlan Contents at a Glance Introduction ................................................................ 1 Part I: Study Skills Basics ............................................7 Chapter 1: Planning for Success ......................................................................................9 Chapter 2: Tutors and Student Support ........................................................................27 Chapter 3: Becoming a Critical Thinker ........................................................................41 Chapter 4: Embracing ICT Skills .....................................................................................53 Part II: Becoming an Active Learner ........................... 65 Chapter 5: Learning Actively in Lectures, Seminars and Tutorials ...........................67 Chapter 6: Grappling with Group Work: Workshops, Seminars and Presentations .........................................................................................................83 Chapter 7: Taking Notes During Lectures .....................................................................99 Chapter 8: Making Use of Feedback ............................................................................113 Part III: Gathering Your Evidence ............................. 125 Chapter