“Chapter 1. How to Succeed in Your University Studies” in “Read, Think, Write”
Chapter 1 How to Succeed in Your University Studies
Learning Objectives
- • Identify some differences between high school and post-secondary studies
- • Set short-term and long-term educational goals to help you focus and succeed
- • Develop time-management strategies that will help you use your time effectively
- • Consider the role of your learning preferences in your studies
- • Develop effective and efficient strategies for taking notes on lectures or readings
- • Identify university resources that can help you succeed in your post-secondary studies
This chapter introduces some of the differences between studying in high school and post-secondary contexts. Understanding these differences will help you succeed in your studies. You will learn a variety of strategies for tackling this transition, including setting goals, managing your time, identifying your learning preferences, taking good notes, and using resources. With these tools in your toolbox, you will become a more confident student.
Learning in a Post-secondary Context: The Transition from High School to University
In a post-secondary environment, you will likely find that academic expectations have changed from high school. For one thing, the quantity of work you are expected to do is higher. When instructors expect you to read pages upon pages of a textbook or study hours upon hours for one course, managing your workload can be challenging.
The quality of the work you will be expected to do also changes. It is no longer enough to simply memorize course material and regurgitate it on an exam. You will now be expected to seriously engage with new ideas by reflecting on them, analyzing them, critiquing them, making connections, drawing conclusions, and finding new ways of thinking about a given subject. Table 1.1 summarizes some of the major differences between high school and university.
The transition from high school to university can seem daunting, but keep in mind that you are not alone. Most other first-year students are feeling the same way, and your institution and instructors can offer many resources to help you succeed. You can do your part by practicing the skills and strategies that will be introduced in this chapter, which are essential for success in a post-secondary setting.
To understand the root of the differences between secondary and post-secondary education, it will help to know more about the history of universities. According to Amy Guptill in Writing in College,
In their original ancient and medieval forms, universities were centers for scholarship, existing at the pleasure of the crown, church, or state. While centers of study go at least back to ancient Mesopotamia 2500 years BCE, the Islamic and European universities of the first and second millennium CE are usually considered the first of the modern model. Highly privileged people went to these universities as students, but they didn’t really attend classes, write papers, and take exams like college students today. Instead, they acted as independent, though novice, scholars: they read everything they could find in their areas of interest, attended lectures that expert scholars gave, and, if they were lucky (and perhaps charming), got some feedback from those scholars on their own work or assisted scholars in theirs. Students were simply the most junior of scholars at a university, enjoying the extraordinary privilege of interacting with the revered academic superstars of their day.1
In recent decades, post-secondary institutions have certainly become more student centered; however, students are still expected to be much more self-sufficient and self-reliant than they were in high school. Unlike your high school instructors, your university professors are unlikely to have much, if any, formal training as teachers. Professors are experts in their area of study, but that does not make them expert teachers. That is certainly not to say that there aren’t excellent teachers among them, but teaching is only one of the competing roles that many post-secondary professors have. They also have to remain informed about what is happening in their areas of study, conduct research in their fields, publish the findings of their research, communicate with the public about their research, and participate in the daily administration of the university through committee work. For most, however, the main passion will always be their area of study.
High School | Post-secondary |
---|---|
Reading assignments are short or moderately long. Teachers may set aside class time for reading and reviewing the material in depth. | Some reading assignments are very long. You will be expected to read on your own time and come to class prepared to discuss the reading. |
Teachers often provide study guides and other aids to help students prepare for exams. | Preparing for exams is primarily the student’s responsibility. |
Your grade is determined by your performance on a wide variety of assessments, including minor and major assignments. Not all assessments are writing based. | Your grade may depend on just a few major assessments. Most assessments are writing based, though that depends on your area of study. |
Writing assignments include personal writing and creative writing in addition to expository writing. | Outside of creative writing courses, most writing assignments are expository, argumentative, analytical, or critical. |
The structure and format of writing assignments are generally stable over the high school years. You may have been taught to use a five-paragraph essay structure for all essay-writing tasks. | Depending on the course, you may be asked to master new forms of writing, choose essay structures based on the topic and task, and follow standards within a particular academic or professional field. |
Teachers often go out of their way to identify and help students who are performing poorly on exams, missing classes, not turning in assignments, or struggling with the course. Often, teachers will give students many second chances. | Although teachers want their students to succeed, because they have much less direct contact with individual students, they may not always realize when students are struggling. They expect you to be proactive and take steps to help yourself. Second chances are less common. |
Unlike in the past, in today’s universities, the teaching staff does not comprise only professors. You may receive instruction from teaching assistants, research assistants, sessional instructors, lecturers, industry professionals, and/or tutors. Some of these instructors will bring valuable professional or academic experience to their teaching, while others will bring a devotion to teaching itself. This richness in the teaching staff benefits students.
Set Goals
To succeed in university, it’s essential to set goals. By planning carefully and following through on daily and weekly goals, you will be able to achieve your goals for the semester.
To do well in the post-secondary environment, it is important to stay focused on how your day-to-day actions determine your long-term success. You may not have chosen a major or a career yet. Even so, you probably have some overarching goals for your studies. For example, you may want to expand your career options, to qualify for a graduate or professional program, or simply to learn something new. In time, you will define your long-term goals more explicitly. In the meantime, doing solid, steady work, day by day and week by week, will help you meet those goals.
Manage Your Time
In university or college, you have increased freedom to structure your time as you please. With that freedom comes increased responsibility. High school teachers often take it upon themselves to track down students who miss a class or forget an assignment. Your university instructors, however, expect you to take full responsibility for managing your schedule and getting your work done on time.
Students must find ways to balance their time effectively to get the most out of their studies. Some students are fresh out of high school, many students have part-time or full-time jobs, and many students have family or community commitments. Each student’s schedule will be unique depending on personal circumstances, but it is important to plan your time in a way that makes sense in your situation, and it is important to establish routines that will enable you to achieve your goals.
Getting Started: Short-Term and Long-Term Planning
At the beginning of the semester, establish a weekly schedule that allocates sufficient time for your schoolwork. A general guideline is that for every hour spent in class, you should expect to spend another two to three hours on reading, writing, and studying for tests. Therefore, if you are taking a biology course that meets for three hours a week, you can expect to spend six to nine hours per week on biology outside of class.
A typical full-time schedule of fifteen university credits per term translates into thirty to forty-five hours per week spent on schoolwork outside of class. All in all, a full-time student spends about as much time on school each week as an employee spends at work. That may sound like a lot of time, but if you plan your time carefully, it is manageable.
The two- to three-hour rule is only a guideline. Realistically, some courses will be more challenging than others, and the demands will ebb and flow throughout the semester. You will likely experience some stress-free weeks and some stressful weeks.
In addition to allocating weekly time slots for schoolwork, you will need to plan ahead to schedule extra time to help you handle more intense demands, such as studying for exams and writing major papers. At the beginning of the semester, go through your course syllabi and mark all major due dates and exam dates on a calendar. Use a format that you check regularly, such as your smartphone or the calendar feature in your email. (In Chapter 3: Managing Writing Assignments, you will learn strategies for planning major writing assignments so you can complete them on time.)
Practice 1.1
Now that you have learned some time-management basics, it is time to apply those skills to develop a weekly schedule and a semester calendar.
First, decide where you will keep your schedule: On a wall calendar? In a paper agenda book? On your phone? On your laptop? Which one will you check regularly? Once you’ve chosen a location, stick to it. Jotting events in multiple places is a sure way to miss a deadline.
Working with your class schedule, map out a week-long schedule of study time, applying the two- to three-hour rule. Be sure to include any other nonnegotiable responsibilities, such as work duties or childcare duties.
Use your course syllabi to record exam dates and due dates for major assignments in your calendar. Use a star, highlighting, or other special marking to set off any days or weeks that look especially demanding.
Staying Consistent: Time Management Dos and Don’ts
Setting up a schedule is easy, but sticking with it can be challenging. A schedule that looks great on paper may prove to be unrealistic. Sometimes, despite students’ best intentions, they end up procrastinating or pulling all-nighters to finish a paper or study for an exam.
Keep in mind, however, that your weekly schedule and semester calendar are time-management tools. Like any tool, their effectiveness depends on the user: you. If you leave a tool sitting in the box unused (e.g., you set up your schedule and then ignore it), it will not help you complete the task. And if, for some reason, a particular tool or strategy is not getting the job done, figure out why and try something else.
With that in mind, read the list of time management dos and don’ts. Keep this list handy and refer to it throughout the semester to troubleshoot if your schoolwork is getting off track.
Do
- ✔ Set aside time to review your schedule and calendar regularly and update or adjust them as needed.
- ✔ Be realistic when you schedule study time. Do not plan to write your paper on Friday night when your friends will be out socializing because when Friday comes, you might end up abandoning your plans and hanging out with your friends instead.
- ✔ Be honest with yourself about where your time goes. Do not fritter away your study time on distractions like social media. Reduce distractions by turning off phone notifications and other alerts.
- ✔ Accept that occasionally your work may get a little off track. No schedule is perfect.
- ✔ Accept that sometimes you may not have time for all the fun things you would like to do.
- ✔ Recognize times when you feel overextended. Sometimes you may just need to push through an especially demanding week. However, if you feel exhausted and overworked all the time, you may need to scale back on some of your commitments.
- ✔ Make a plan for handling high-stress periods, such as final exam week. If possible, reduce other commitments during those periods—for instance, by scheduling time off from your job or arranging for childcare. Build in some time for relaxing activities too.
Don’t
- ✘ Don’t procrastinate on challenging assignments. Instead, break them into smaller, manageable tasks that can be accomplished one at a time.
- ✘ Don’t fall into the trap of “all or nothing” thinking (e.g., “There is no way I can fit in a three-hour study session today, so I will just wait until the weekend”). Extended periods of free time are hard to come by, so find ways to use small blocks of time productively. For instance, if you have a free half hour between classes, use it to preview a chapter or brainstorm ideas for an essay.
- ✘ Don’t let things slide and then promise yourself, “I will do better next week.” When next week comes, the accumulated undone tasks will seem even more intimidating, and you will find it harder to get them done.
- ✘ Don’t rely on caffeine and sugar to compensate for lack of sleep. These stimulants may temporarily perk you up, but your brain functions best when you are rested.
Practice 1.2
For the next two weeks, focus on consistently using the time-management system you set up in Practice 1.1. Check in with yourself daily and weekly, stick to your schedule, and take note of anything that interferes with your work. At the end of the two weeks, review your schedule and determine whether you need to adjust it.
Understand Yourself as a Learner
To succeed in your post-secondary education—or any situation in which you must master new concepts and skills—it helps to know what makes you tick. For decades, educational researchers and organizational psychologists have examined how people take in and assimilate new information, how some people learn differently than others, and what conditions make students and workers most productive.
Here are a few questions to think about:
- • What is your learning style? For the purposes of this chapter, learning style refers to the way you prefer to take in new information: through seeing, through listening, or through some other channel.
- • What times of day are you most productive? If your energy peaks early, you might benefit from blocking out early morning time for studying or writing. If you are a night owl, set aside a few evenings a week for schoolwork.
- • How much clutter can you handle in your workspace? Some people work fine at a messy desk and know exactly where to find what they need in their stacks of papers; however, most people benefit from maintaining a neat, organized space.
- • How well do you juggle potential distractions in your environment? If you can study at home without being tempted to turn on the television, check your phone, or fix yourself a snack, you may make home your workspace. However, if you require a less distracting environment to stay focused, you may be able to find one on campus or at a public library.
- • Does a little background noise help or hinder your productivity? Some people work better when listening to quiet instrumental music or the low hum of conversation in a coffee shop. Others need total silence.
- • When you work with a partner or group, do you stay on task? A study partner or group can sometimes be invaluable. However, working this way takes extra planning and effort, so be sure to use the time productively. If you find that group study sessions turn into social occasions, you may study better on your own.
- • How do you manage stress? Accept that at certain points in the semester, you will feel stressed. In your day-to-day routine, make time for activities that help you reduce stress, such as exercising, spending time with friends, or relaxing.
Learning Styles
Many people have one or two preferred “channels” for effectively taking in new information. Knowing your preferences can help you develop personalized strategies for studying, time management, and note-taking.
To begin to identify your preferred learning styles, think about how you would go about the process of assembling a piece of furniture. Which of these options sounds most appealing to you?
- 1. You carefully look over the diagrams in the assembly manual first so you can picture each step in the process.
- 2. You silently read the directions through, step by step, and then look at the diagrams afterward.
- 3. You read the directions aloud under your breath or have someone explain them to you.
- 4. You start putting the pieces together and figure out the process through trial and error, consulting the directions as you work.
Now read the following explanations of each option in the list above. Again, think about whether each description sounds like you.
- • If you chose 1, you may benefit from visual approaches to learning. You might understand some ideas best when they are presented in a visual format, such as a flow chart, a diagram, or text with clear headings and many photos or illustrations.
- • If you chose 2, you may benefit from verbal approaches to learning. Perhaps you understand some ideas best through reading and writing about them and taking detailed notes.
- • If you chose 3, you may benefit from auditory approaches to learning. You might understand some ideas best through listening. You might learn well from spoken lectures or books on tape.
- • If you chose 4, you may benefit from kinesthetic approaches to learning. Perhaps you sometimes learn best through doing, and you prefer hands-on activities. In long lectures, fidgeting may help you focus.
Your learning preferences do not completely define you as a student. Auditory learners can comprehend a flow chart, and kinesthetic learners can sit still long enough to read a book. However, if you do have one or two dominant learning preferences, you can work with them to get the most out of your classes and study time. Having said that, a well-rounded approach to learning, with the incorporation of different techniques as different tasks require, will lead to success. Table 1.2 lists some useful techniques based on learning preferences. Think of these techniques as strategies that you can add to your toolbox and pull out when needed.
Learning Preference | Strategies |
---|---|
Visual | • When possible, represent concepts visually—in charts, diagrams, or sketches. • Use a visual format for taking notes on reading assignments or lectures. • Use different coloured highlighters or pens to colour code information as you read. • Use visual organizers, such as maps and flowcharts, to help you plan writing assignments. • Use coloured pens, highlighters, or the review feature of your word-processing program to revise and edit writing. |
Verbal | • Use the instructional features in course texts—summaries, chapter review questions, glossaries, and so on—to aid your studying. • Take notes on your reading assignments. • Rewrite or condense reading notes and lecture notes, and then study from your notes. • Summarize important ideas in your own words. • Use informal writing techniques, such as brainstorming, freewriting, blogging, or posting on a class discussion forum, to generate ideas for writing assignments. • Reread and take notes on your writing to help you revise and edit. |
Auditory | • Ask your instructor’s permission to record lectures to supplement your notes. • Read parts of your textbook or notes aloud when you study. • If possible, obtain an audiobook version of important course texts. Make use of supplemental audio materials, such as CDs, DVDs, or podcasts. • Talk through your ideas with other students when studying or when preparing for a writing assignment. • Read your writing aloud to help you draft, revise, and edit. • When an idea for an essay comes to you, record a voice memo on your phone. |
Kinesthetic | • When you read or study, use techniques that will keep your hands in motion, such as highlighting or taking notes. • Use tactile study aids, such as flash cards or study guides you design yourself. • Record your ideas on Post-it notes and physically rearrange them to help you determine how to shape an essay. • Engage in physical activity, such as running or swimming, to help you break through writing blocks. • Take breaks during studying to stand, stretch, or move around. |
Take Notes Effectively
By now, you have an idea of what to expect from your post-secondary courses. You have established some educational goals, explored time-management strategies, and identified some of your learning preferences. One more valuable tool to have in your toolbox is a good note-taking system.
Taking Notes During a Lecture
In most post-secondary courses, you will be required to attend lectures, seminars, and talks in which you will receive a tremendous amount of material. The act of converting a spoken lecture to notes helps you organize and retain knowledge. It’s essential to have good note-taking skills so that you can efficiently record the most important information.
On the other hand, it’s important you don’t become so distracted by your note-taking that you stop listening to the lecture. Therefore, it’s important to develop a set of strategies and techniques that work for you and that you can use consistently. As you become more skilled in using your system, you will find you can take efficient notes while still paying close attention to the lecture.
Although taking good notes is an essential study skill, many students have never received guidance on how to take good notes. Below are strategies you can use to take notes efficiently and effectively. Like any skill, note-taking becomes easier with practice.
In addition to helping you organize information, good notes also help you retain and review important concepts later. Review your lecture notes regularly throughout the semester—perhaps weekly—not just before exams.
Organizing Ideas in Your Notes
To be effective, a good note-taking system must help you differentiate among major points, related subtopics, and supporting details. It must visually represent the connections between ideas. To be efficient, a note-taking system must allow you to record and organize information fairly quickly. Although some students like to create detailed, formal outlines or idea maps when they read, these may not be good strategies for taking notes in class because spoken lectures may not allow time to create them. Instead, focus on recording content simply and quickly to create organized, legible notes.
Try one of the following organization methods for note-taking, and then evaluate its success. Note-taking is a matter of personal preference in terms of style and organization, so if the first format you try doesn’t work for you, try another next time!
Modified Outline Format
A modified outline format uses indented spacing to show the hierarchy of ideas without including Roman numerals and lettering. Simply use a dash or bullet to signify each new point. This format works well if you are attending a lecture for which you have not received an outline beforehand. It also works well for taking notes from a reading.
Read this example of a student’s notes from a developmental psychology lecture about an important theorist.
Notice that the margin for the main topic is at the left of the page. Subtopics are indented once, and supporting details are indented once more. To save time, the student used abbreviations for terms like development and example, dashes and ampersands to replace the words to and and, and numerals (5 instead of five).
Idea Mapping
If you are a visual learner, you may prefer to use a more graphic format for notes, such as an idea map. The next example shows how the lecture notes could be set up differently than in the modified outline format above. Although the visual format is different, the content and organization are the same. This method also works well for taking notes on a reading.
Table Form
If the content of a lecture falls into a predictable, well-organized pattern, you might choose to use a table to record your notes. This system works best when you already know, either before class or at the beginning of class, which categories you should include. It also works well for taking notes on a reading. The next example shows how this system might be used.
The Cornell Note-Taking System
In addition to the general techniques already described, you might find it useful to practice a specific strategy known as the Cornell note-taking system. This popular format makes it easy not only to organize information clearly but also to note key terms and summarize content. It can be used for both lectures and readings.
To use the Cornell system, begin by setting up the page with these components:
- • The course name and lecture date (or article title) at the top of the page
- • A narrow column (about two inches) at the left side of the page
- • A wide column (about five to six inches) on the right side of the page
- • A space of a few lines marked off at the bottom of the page
During the lecture or reading, record notes in the wide column. You can do so using the traditional modified outline format or a more visual format if you prefer.
Then, as soon as possible after the lecture, review your notes and identify key terms. Jot these in the narrow left-hand column. Later, you can use this column as a study aid by covering the notes on the right-hand side, reviewing the key terms, and trying to recall as much as you can about them so that you can mentally restate the main points of the lecture. Uncover the notes on the right to check your understanding. Finally, use the space at the bottom of the page to summarize each page of notes in a few sentences.
The next example shows what the notes would look like using the Cornell system.
The Dialectic Note-Taking System
As an alternative—albeit visually similar to the Cornell method—there is also dialectic note-taking, which is useful for taking notes on readings when preparing to write an essay, for example. The Word on College Reading and Writing describes dialectic note-taking: “A dialectic is . . . a dialogue, a discussion between two (or more) voices trying to figure something out” (Babin, Monique, et al. “Writing About Texts: Dialectic Note-Taking.” The Word on College Reading and Writing, Open Oregon, openoregon.pressbooks.pub/wrd/chapter/dialectic-note-taking/. Accessed 18 July 2023). Reading is like a dialogue with an author. The author wrote this material. Pretend you’re actually talking to the author.
Whenever we read new material, particularly material that is challenging in some way, it is helpful to take dialectic notes to create clear spaces for organizing these different sets of thoughts.
Creating Dialectic Notes
Start by writing down the full bibliographical information of the source you are reading. Then draw a vertical line down the middle of a fresh sheet of paper to make two long columns.
The Left Column
This column will be a straightforward representation of the main ideas in the text you are reading (or viewing). In it, you will note things like
- • the author’s main points in the section
- • the kind of support the author includes in the section
- • other points of significant interest
- • the page number, if any (or create an identifier so that you can find it later)
You can directly quote these points, but do write them down as you encounter them, not after the fact. If you quote directly, use quotation marks, and note the page number; if you paraphrase, do not use quotation marks, but do jot down the page number. Be consistent so that you don’t make more work for yourself when you return to your notes.
The Right Column
The right column includes the questions and connections you make as you encounter this author’s ideas. This might include
- • questions you want to ask in the next class
- • bigger-picture questions you might explore further in writing
- • connections to other texts you’ve read or viewed for this class
- • connections to your own personal experiences
- • connections to the world around you (issues in your community, stories on the news, or texts you’ve read or viewed outside of this class)
Bottom of the Page
It is often a good idea to leave space at the bottom of the page (or on the back) for additional notes about the assigned reading based on what your instructor has to say about it or for comments and questions your peers make about it during class discussion.
Practice 1.3
Set a short-term goal of establishing a note-taking system that works for you.
If you are not already doing so, try using one or more of the note-taking techniques described in this chapter. (Remember that the Cornell system can be combined with other note-taking formats.)
It can take some trial and error to find a note-taking system that works for you. If you find that you are struggling to keep up with lectures, consider whether you need to switch to a different format or be more careful about distinguishing key concepts from unimportant details. If you still find that you are having trouble taking notes effectively, make an appointment with your school’s academic resource centre.
Make Use of Resources
One reason students sometimes find post-secondary courses overwhelming is that they do not know about or are reluctant to use the resources available to them. Your student fees pay, in part, for resources such as the health centre, the writing centre, tutoring services, and counselling. If you need help, consider asking for help from the following:
- • Your instructor: If you are making an honest effort but still struggling with a particular course, set a time to meet with your instructor and discuss what you can do to improve. They may be able to shed light on a confusing concept or give you strategies to catch up.
- • Your academic advisor. Many institutions assign each student an academic advisor who can help them choose courses and ensure they fulfill degree or diploma requirements.
- • The academic resource centre: These centres offer a variety of services, which may range from coaching in study skills to coaching for specific courses. Find out what is offered at your school and use the services that you need.
- • The writing centre: The writing centre employs coaches to provide feedback on students’ writing. They will not write or edit your paper for you, but they can help you through the stages of the writing process. (In some schools, the writing centre is part of the academic resource centre.)
- • The library: University libraries not only contain thousands of articles and books, but they are also home to reference librarians. A reference librarian’s job is to help students conduct research effectively. Reference librarians may offer in-person or online courses in research skills or documentation strategies. They are also available to help individual students one-on-one with finding research sources for a particular topic or assignment.
- • The career resource centre: Visit the career resource centre for guidance on choosing a career path, developing a résumé, or finding and applying for jobs.
- • Counselling services: Many schools offer psychological counselling for free or for a low fee. Use these services if you need help coping with your course load, with school-life balance, or with exam anxiety.
Students sometimes neglect to use available resources due to limited time, unwillingness to admit there is a problem, or embarrassment about needing to ask for help. Unfortunately, ignoring a problem usually makes it harder to cope with it later on. Waiting until the end of the semester may also mean fewer resources are available, since many other students are also seeking last-minute help.
Key Takeaways
- • The transition from high school to post-secondary studies seems daunting, but you can develop skills that will help you make this adjustment successfully.
- • It is important to set goals to keep you focused and motivated.
- • Plan for both the short term (daily and weekly schedules) and the long term (major semester deadlines).
- • To manage your time effectively, be consistent about maintaining your schedule. If your schedule is not working, make adjustments.
- • Understanding your individual learning preferences can help you identify the study and time-management strategies that will work best for you.
- • Note-taking is one of the most important skills a student can develop. Effective note-taking helps you focus on key ideas, prepares you for exams and essays, and saves time.
- • Most post-secondary institutions have many resources available to students. Become aware of your university’s resources, and use them to help you succeed in your studies.
1 Guptill, Amy. “The Origins of Higher Education.” Writing in College: From Competence to Excellence, Open Sony Textbooks, Milne Libraries, 2013, https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/writing-in-college-from-competence-to-excellence/chapter/really-writing-again/.
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