Practical Advice for University Study

When you hear about studying at university, you may be thinking of tedious reading, long assignments, and other academic exhaustion. However, university needn’t be that hard, as long as you have prepared well. “Knowing how to study is like knowing how to fish,” once you learn, it will be knowledge for life.

Here are four key skills to successful university study.

I. Time Management
Have a small note book with you all the time so that you can record what you have to do each day of the week. Record all assignment deadlines, including date and time. Also note times for conferences, lectures and times for your private activities (movies, seeing friends, etc). Don’t just write these down and put your note book away. You need to keep it with you for easy reference.

II. Note Taking in Lectures and Tutorials
It would be almost impossible to succeed at university without any note-taking skills as you have lectures/ tutorials to attend, books/ articles to read/ review, conferences to attend and other academic or extracurricular events. Your notes form the basis of most of your work: seminar papers, essays and research projects, as well as revision for examinations.

Your notes need to be neat so you can read them. Use headings and numbered points and highlight or underline for emphasis. Leave spaces (for amendments and additions), use abbreviations (but spell out personal or place names legibly). Accurately note the authors, titles and other reference details (e.g. place and date of publication) of all works consulted, including page numbers where relevant.

You need to use an A4 or large notebook. Prior to the lecture, divide your page into two vertical columns. The left side column should be a third of the page wide and is used later for recall. After the lecture you can write the key words and phrases here.

During the lecture, record your notes in the right-hand column. Try to capture the general ideas. Use abbreviations, symbols, different color – whatever works for you!

Soon after the lecture, read through your notes. Use the left column to jot down any key ideas or words from the lecture. Reread the lecturer’s ideas and record your responses to these in your own words.

III. Taking Notes from Written Material
When reading, you should be constantly asking yourself: What evidence is used to support the argument? Note down what you need to remember. It helps if you have a question or set of ideas to direct your reading (such as a seminar or essay question). You need some ideas of what you are looking for in a reading as this is the basis of active reading.

The following suggestions should be of a help:

· Always make a note of the reference details (author, title, date of publication etc.) and page numbers before you start to read.
· Be discriminating. The content and index pages can help you identify which aspect of the text is most relevant to your question or subject matter.
· Read critically. Think and note down any objections you have to the arguments presented.
· If you own the book or if you are working from a photocopy, highlight and underline key ideas as you read. You can write your own response to these ideas in the margins of the text. (Do not do this if you are reading a library book!)
· Focus on the introduction and conclusion to the text. These often place the text in context and summaries the main arguments.

IV. Staying Motivated
Undergraduate courses usually take four years in Cambodia, so it is easy to get distracted from such a long course of study. It is vital that you stay motivated and committed.

Read a biography of your role model: Ask yourself what you want as a future career, whether it is to be a lawyer, airline pilot, engineer, businessperson, politician, banker or star; get yourself reading about those people whose steps you want to follow. Don’t just read about these people – get yourself thinking about them, to make you mentally motivated.

Ultimately, university is a life-changing experience. It is challenging and demanding, but the success and learning is likely to be the most valuable in your life and open doors that otherwise would remain closed forever.