Survive and Thrive

ACADEMIC SKILLS CENTRE (ASC)

Survive and Thrive A Guide to Your First Term at University

Peterborough • Oshawa

Contents Welcome to University What to do before you arrive What to do during the first week What to do during the first month What to do during the first term

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Thanks to Dana Capell, Mary Ann Armstrong, Erin Stewart Eves, Paul Gamache and Ruth Brandon for their suggestions.

For information on this or any of our services, contact the Academic Skills Centre, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8

Phone (705) 748-1720 Fax (705) 748-1830 e-mail: acdskills@trentu.ca www.trentu.ca/academicskills

Welcome to University So, you have finally made it. Congratulations! Feeling excited? Nervous?

Wondering what’s ahead, and how you will do? University life can be exhilarating, nerve-wracking, confusing, illuminating, and, yes, sometimes boring. But no matter what happens, you will be forever changed by the experience.

You want to do well, right? Naturally. It is also natural to keep on doing what has worked for you in the past; after all, you have reached university because you learned the skills and habits that brought success in high school. But the game has changed, and there is a new set of rules. University is a different sort of school, with its own way of working and its own set of expectations. You must learn the ways of university and learn how to meet these expectations if you are to survive—and thrive—here.

This e-book will help you start off on the right foot. We have drawn upon our own experiences (we’ve been hanging around universities most of our adult lives) both as students and as teachers, and collected the advice of thousands of students to help make the transition to university as smooth as possible.

While there is no formula for success at university or anywhere else, we will show you the problems that other students have encountered and the strategies that worked for them. Think about what we have to say; try things out. But, ultimately, you will have to figure out what works for you. Remember, there is no one “right” way to do anything: there are many ways.

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What is University Anyway?

“University” is as much a state of mind as it is a place. When you become a university student, you do more than attend a particular institution; you enter into the world of scholars, a world that engages many cultures and reaches through time. You will be engaging with an intellectual community that has deep roots, and just as you will build on the work of others, future scholars may one day build upon the work you do.

This is serious business!

But it is also fun. University is the place where you finally get to learn about things that interest you instead of just “giving them what they want.” And, herein lies the first key to how you can survive and thrive: figure out what interests you and work on that. The best part is that by working on what interests you, you will be doing something that you really enjoy!

How Does University Differ From High School?

As mentioned, university is a different world. Think about it: you have chosen which university to attend; you get to choose your own course of study; you have actually paid to be here. The amount and type of work differ from that of high school, as does the pace, purpose, and style of your studies. These differences provide a wealth of opportunity but also a range of challenges. Let’s explore these differences along with the keys to successfully taking advantage of the opportunities and meeting the challenges that university will bring.

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A Difference in Attitude: Independence and Responsibility Everyone at university will assume that you are an adult. “Good,” you’re thinking. But with independence comes responsibilities. You will be expected to manage your own affairs. No one will make you come to class or hand in your work. You skipped class? You did not hand in a major paper? You missed the deadline to drop a course? Unlike in high school, no one will contact you to find out why or to make sure that you stay on track. No one will contact your parents and express concern. Instead, they will allow you to make your own decisions and to face the consequences of those decisions.

What this means is that you need to make decisions that are in your best interest. You are now responsible for your own education and your own life. There are many qualities that can help you to make good decisions about your education.

Key Qualities For Success A Sense of Responsibility - You have a responsibility to yourself.

You must take control of your education, choosing the right courses, making the right decisions, and acting in a way that is in your own best interest.

Self-Direction - Too often, students see education as “jumping through the hoops,” or doing what they’re told so that they can get that elusive piece of paper – a degree. Certainly you must

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satisfy the requirements of the institution: pay your fees, do the work, satisfy the course and discipline requirements, and so on. But academically, you should be setting the hoops, deciding through your course selection and actual topic choices what ideas you will pursue and what paths you will follow. In other words, your university education must be self-directed, the result of your choices, your abilities, and your desires.

An Open Mind - University will expose you to new ideas and ways of doing things. Consider these new approaches carefully and completely instead of dismissing them right away. At times, you may find yourself disagreeing; this is natural. But resist the impulse to reduce disagreements to merely “a matter of opinion.”

When these “opinions” involve a discipline, fellow students’ and professors’ views are based on training, experience, and study; theirs are “informed opinions.” This is what you have come to university to get: the training that is needed for you to develop educated and informed views. And you will – if you keep an open mind.

Openness to Taking Risks and Making Mistakes - “We often discover what we will do, by finding out what we will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery,” said Samuel Smiles. Don’t be afraid of making errors; just be sure to learn from them. Instead of thinking solely about marks, concentrate on doing your very best work; the marks will follow.

Persistence - In university, you will encounter challenges and sometimes obstacles. When you do, persist. Keep trying, keep learning, and keep asking questions, even when you feel like giving up. You will find that reward comes from hard work and dedication.

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Remember that the most important factor in your success at university is your attitude. Take responsibility for your actions and for the shape of your education. Keep an open mind and explore this new world openly and honestly, using the methods taught by your professors. Above all, do what you enjoy, and enjoy what you do.

A Difference in Time: Managing Your Time and Workload Without a doubt, you will spend less time in class and yet do more work in university than you did in high school.

The First Year Workload On average, a Trent first year student • spends 15-20 hours a week in lectures, seminars, or labs • is assigned approximately 250 pages of reading per week • spends approximately 15 hours per week completing weekly reading assignments • writes up to 64 pages per term for which he or she completes additional reading and research

In high school, you probably completed many small assignments throughout the year. In university, you will find that the work tends to be less evenly distributed throughout the term. This means that you may not have any assignments due until the end of term, but then you will have five essays due on the same day (plus exams!).

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What to do? Somehow, you will have to organize your time so that you can get your class work done, get your assignments done (on time!), and have a life too. The solution is to develop good time management skills. Plan ahead; know when your crunch periods are and make them easier by spreading work out throughout the term. Later we will discuss specific time management tools that will help you to make an effective plan.

How Can I Survive and Thrive?

The following pages contain a variety of tips that can help you adapt to the different academic environment that you will find at university.

There are four sections: • What to do before you arrive • What to do during the first week • What to do during the first month • What to do during the first term But please remember that these are not “recipes” to be followed slavishly; they are suggestions that have worked for some students in the past. You must always discover what works for you.

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What To Do Before You Arrive Seek Out Academic Advising and Choose Your Courses Trent offers New Student Advising days throughout the summer.

Attend one if you can as they will provide you with valuable information about choosing courses and preparing for university.

Please visit: www.trentu.ca/nsa You should also spend some time familiarizing yourself with the academic calendar. Know degree requirements for your program: B.A., B.Sc., B.B.A., B.Sc.N., B.Sc.F.S. For some programs, your path is determined, but you may have some choice in your courses. For other degrees, it is wide open. Make choices for yourself based on your interests and goals; be aware of course material, look at outlines, see the reading list: Cultural Studies may not be what you expect or Astronomy may require more math than you expect. Ask about courses, consider long term planning, but be open: you may take ERS because you like the environment, but it could become your major!

Prepare Yourself Universities are not designed to do the same things as high schools, which are supposed to give you the basic skills of communication, thought, and expression. University, as the next step, will teach you the methods of your chosen discipline(s), so you can begin to make sense of the world at a more complex level. Your professors are expecting that you will have already mastered the basic skills of reading, writing, and speaking. As a result, they will spend little, if any, time showing you grammar and punctuation or the paragraph, essay and bibliographic formats that you will need.

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Have you mastered these things? Are your skills good enough for the next level? Are you confident that you know how to write well? If not, consider what you can do about it.

Start Preparing From Home!

The Academic Skills Centre offers free online materials on topics ranging from essay writing, critical reading, and notetaking to mathematics and exam preparation. Check out www.trentu.ca/academicskills to start preparing for university from home!

Summary: Before You Arrive 3 3 3 3

Attend a New Student Advising day.

Register for classes.

Find resources that will help you improve your reading, writing, and thinking skills.

Get a feel for what is ahead and what will be required of you.

What To Do During the First Week Check Out Your Courses 8

Introductory Week is the time to check out all of the courses that you’re thinking of taking. Go to the information sessions, listen, gather the handouts, and ask questions. Many course outlines are available online.

Check them out to see what you’re getting into. Look at them carefully: How much reading is expected? How much writing? What topics will be covered? How many essays, exams, and other assignments are required?

Knowing this information before plunging into a course will help you to think about its place amongst your other choices.

Seek Advice Trent is a very friendly place, built on a personal scale. Take advantage of this by seeking advice from as many people as you can. Ask secondyear students about courses and professors and talk to the professors themselves. Don’t forget to consult your Senior Tutor or Academic Advisor for help with academic matters such as ensuring that you take the courses that will allow you to pursue your chosen field, explaining the sometimes confusing administrative requirements and deadlines, and helping you to fill out and submit all the required forms. Your academic advisor won’t know everything, but he or she will know how to find out for you. Visit: www.trentu.ca/advising

Explore Support Options In addition to academic advising, Trent offers many other support services. Either online or in person, take an opportunity to find out about the following: Career Centre, www.trentu.ca/careers/ Disability Services Office, www.trentu.ca/disabilityservices/ Health Services, www.trentu.ca/studentaffairs/healthservices.php Counselling, www.trentu.ca/counselling/ and the Academic Skills Centre, www.trentu.ca/academicskills/ The staff in these offices is committed to providing you with academic and emotional support as you make the transition to university. Do not be afraid to ask for help; indeed, asking for assistance early, before a situation has become critical, is a key way to survive and thrive!

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Get to Know the Library The library is the centre of the scholarly universe, its heart, if you will.

And like a heart, the library never stops, continually bringing in new information and ideas and pumping them out again into the real world (libraries even call this activity circulation). Material is available online via the library website and on the web at large. But, please note that the library houses many reference books, monographs, maps, government documents, archival materials and the expertise of trained librarians and researchers; these are not always available in an online format.

You may be used to doing all of your research online, but the librarians can help you learn to find appropriate materials with directed searches.

So, learn how to use the library. The library provides excellent online library skills tutorials that are available through the library website at www.trentu.ca/admin/library/help/skills/ You can also register for an in-person library workshop to see how the place works.

Find a Place Where You Can Work As soon as possible, stake out a physical space that meets your requirements. If you need isolation and quiet, look for that. If you need to be around people, search for that space. If you need food while you work, look around the cafeterias. Different people require different working conditions, so look for a place that offers what you need.

Get to Know Trent’s Technology After arriving on campus, you will want to get acquainted with Trent’s Information Technology department at www.trentu.ca/it/student.php Here you can find out how to configure your computer for Air Trent and how to access your campus email and MyTrent accounts. Use your Trent accounts; important information is often posted on MyTrent, and

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the administrative and academic departments at Trent often require email to originate from a trentu.ca account.

Many classes use MyLearning System to post course outlines, lecture notes, and assignments. Log on to the system at www.trentu.ca/mls and get familiar with its features. Make sure to note which classes have discussion forums as these are often places where students can post questions or organize study groups.

Summary: The First Week 3 Choose your courses carefully and be open to making a change – find the best fit for the year and your long-term plans.

3 Ask for advice from your academic advisor, upper year students, and professors – but weigh it carefully.

3 Explore the campus; find out where everything is.

3 Learn the important dates for drop-add deadlines, reading week and holidays; record them in your planner.

3 Explore the library; use the online tutorials.

3 Establish a workspace that will work for you.

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What to Do During the First Month Organize Your Courses Each course has a “course outline” (something called a “syllabus”).

READ IT! These outlines contain much of the crucial course information: the goals and themes of the course, the schedule of class readings, the seminar schedule, the lecture schedule, the assignment due dates (and often, the assignments themselves), the professor’s office hours, and much more. They serve as a type of “contract,” detailing what you will receive and what you are expected to give in return, as well as all of the deadlines. Often, professors will assume that you are aware of the assignments and deadlines listed in the course and, as a result, will never mention them in class.

As you get each outline, put it in a place of honour. Read each outline.

Then, compare outlines: are there a number of assignments due around the same time? If so, start planning ahead to deal with these crunch times.

Make a Plan to Manage Your Time Creating a time management plan can help you to meet the new demands of university. First, your time is no longer as clearly organized and structured by school as it has been in the past. Second, you are responsible for figuring out what is expected of you and how you will meet those expectations. Third, you need to have balance in your life; it is important to have a great social experience that does not come at the expense of your learning experience at Trent. So, consider how

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you can adapt to university and succeed academically while having fun.

That is what time management is all about.

Short-Term Planning Short term planning involves creating a weekly schedule that allows you to complete your work. Creating a 24-hour schedule is an excellent way to start your planning. A 24-hour schedule sounds daunting, but it allows you to be flexible and to work at times which suit you best, whether you prefer the moonlight or early morning sun for study. The ASC provides free, downloadable schedules like the one below, online at: www.trentu.ca/academicskills

24/7 schedule SUN

MON

TUES

WED

THURS

FRI

SAT

7 AM 8 AM 9 AM 10 AM 11 AM 12 PM 1 PM 2 PM 3 PM 4 PM 5 PM 6 PM 7 PM 8 PM 9 PM 10 PM 11 PM 12 AM 1 AM 2 AM 3 AM 4 AM 5 AM 6 AM

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Making a 24-Hour Schedule Block off all of your class, seminar, and lab times.

Block off your paid work hours, volunteer commitments, or program placement.

Block off times for socializing, shopping, eating, and exercise.

For each course, start off planning for three hours a week per course of “keeping-up” work such as weekly readings or exercises.

As time goes by, you may have to add more time or subtract time.

These can be in one large block or in three one-hour chunks of time; you may adapt this as you work through your courses.

Schedule in “major assignment” time. This is time that you can focus on research, writing, and preparation for essays, labs, projects, or exams. Each week, you can decide which major assignments you need to focus on based on your long term planning.

Long-Term Planning In addition to having a weekly schedule, it is essential to create a long term plan that will allow you to know when your major assignments are due and whether you have crunch periods during which you have many assignments due at once. A 4-Month Planner can be an excellent tool to use. Again, the ASC provides free downloadable calendars like the one on the following page, online at www.trentu.ca/academicskills/resources.php. The bookstore also sells poster-sized “Term at a Glance” calendars that you can write on with a dry erase marker.

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Making a Long Term Plan Go through the course outline for each class and carefully note all assignment due dates and exams.

Put these dates onto your 4-month calendar. You can use a different colour for each course if this helps. Keep this calendar in plain view for quick reference. Don’t forget important birthdays and planned trips home as you often need to work around them.

Block off reading week and know that you will have this time to prepare assignments.

Indentify your “crunch times,” periods when you have multiple assignments or exams.

Plan for these times by deciding when you need to start each assignment in order to get it done in time.

You may want to make intermediate deadlines for different stages of each assignment and put these on your calendar.

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Having a time management plan can give you control over your work and your life. Review your plan constantly; update it often. If you fall behind, don’t worry, simply rearrange your schedule. If something unexpected happens, go with it and rearrange your plan later.

Remember, you control it; it doesn’t control you.

The Academic Skills Centre offers many time management resources on our website. You can also book an appointment with an instructor to create a personal time management plan.

Get to Class As mentioned, one of the big differences between high school and university is the difference in attendance requirements: in university, you are often not required to attend class. You may be tempted to skip a class or two for one reason or another, but don’t do it! Skipping class has a number of repercussions.

You will create a bad impression with your professors and tutorial leaders, implying that you have something more important to do than to attend class. You will also miss the chance to participate and to ask questions.

You will miss both information and learning. The information can be provided by a classmate, but the learning is gone for good.

Another law of life says that whatever is discussed in the one class that you miss will make up the bulk of the exam!

Speak Up – Don’t Be Intimidated For many students, university can be quite intimidating. Everything is new and confusing, and the other students seem so much more at ease and so much more knowledgeable about what’s going on. Everyone else must be much smarter, you may think. Wrong!

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Actually, everyone is in pretty much the same boat; it’s just that some people are better at hiding their insecurities than others. Don’t be intimidated! Forget about everyone else and concentrate on learning what you need to know.

If you don’t understand something or have questions, ask! If you find it difficult to participate in seminars, try writing out some ideas of interest or questions before you arrive. Having something written down may help you to speak with more confidence.

Develop Your Listening/Notetaking Skills University lectures can be quite different from what you are used to. Basically, a professor will stand at the front of a big room and talk to you for an hour or so, trusting that you will be able to listen to what is being said, figure out what is important enough to write down, think about the ideas being discussed, and develop questions. Often, the lecturer will also use PowerPoint, requiring you to read as well as listen. There will be few, if any, hand-outs and only some indication of what the main points are. Welcome to the university lecture.

Many first-year students have trouble getting the most out of lectures, especially at first. There seem to be two main problems that can cause this difficulty: 1. Information goes by once, usually very quickly. If you miss something (say, you are writing instead of listening), it’s gone.

2. It’s difficult to separate what is important, the main points that you need to note, from secondary points.

One of the best ways to meet the challenge of understanding and taking good notes during lectures is to think of the lecture as more than a one-shot, fifty-minute experience. Instead, think of it as a three-part experience, and realize that you will need to participate actively in each part in order to get the most out of lectures.

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The Lecture Experience: A play in three acts

Act I: Before

Act II: During

Act III: After

Prepare for lectures before they begin and try to anticipate what they will cover

Listen actively and find a note-taking system that works for you

Review and respond to your notes

Part I: Before the Lecture • Read the syllabus to see what the unit is about and what the title of the lecture is. Think about where the lecture fits into the course.

• Consider what you already know about the topic and try to anticipate what might be covered.

• Review your notes from previous lectures to further re-establish the context of the course in your own mind.

• Do assigned readings. Anticipate how they might relate to the lecture ahead.

• If they are posted ahead of time, download and copy any outlines or list of key terms for the lecture ahead. If PowerPoint slides are posted, print them in handout form so you can make additional notes, identify key information and indicate connections.

• Make a list of questions you would like to have answered by the lecture.

Part II: During the Lecture • Listen Actively; it is not necessary to record the lecturer’s every word or idea. Not only is this physically impossible, but excessive writing can become a barrier to listening. What good is writing down things that you don’t understand, anyway?

• Listen for important points.

• Listen for relationships between ideas in texts, class discussions and the lectures.

• Listen for cue words; they help you cluster and prioritize information.

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Cue Words Words that signal emphasis or importance

Words that signal the order or scope of a topic

- essential - crucial - significantly - vital

first, second, third initially finally for instance an illustration of this

Words that indicate the lecture is moving in a new direction

Words that signal that parts of the lecture are not relevant and may NOT need to be written down

however nonetheless whereas in contrast

incidentally by the way

Know What to Write Down • Record new or unfamiliar facts and ideas.

• Include things that come in lists: if the lecturer has created a list to categorize facts, reasons, themes, etc., it’s a good indication that the information is important.

• Note the lecturer’s reasons for questioning or favouring a particular approach or theory.

• Underline points which the lecturer pauses over or repeats: people lecture with certain goals in mind, and usually when they convey a point which is crucial to their thesis they repeat it.

• Don’t write down what is on the PowerPoint slide if you have access to it later. There is no need to repeat information.

Develop a Notetaking System • Develop your own short-hand of abbreviations and symbols.

• Write in point form.

• Leave lots of white space to fill in later when you complete your comments on the lecture or fill in gaps.

• For laptop notetaking, make sure to save often.

• For tape-recording: ask for the instructor’s permission, sit near the front of the class, and take notes as well if possible.

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The Cornell Method The Cornell Method is one of the most common and popular notetaking systems. In this method of note-taking, you begin by drawing a line down the length of your paper about one-third of the way through the page. On the left side of the page, write only key terms or ideas. Leave most of the space blank. On the right side of the page, take notes on the lecture in point form.

Later, the space on the left side can be used to add in or expand on information, highlight key points, or raise key questions.

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Part III: After the Lecture Just as the lecture experience begins before the professor begins speaking, it continues well after he or she is done. Many students leave the lecture hall and file their notes away until exams. Unfortunately, research shows that in doing so, they lose a significant amount of what they just learned. Instead, review your notes soon after the lecture ends.

• Read through your notes as soon as you can after the lecture ends. Highlight or underline main points. Put stars next to key information. Try to fill in any gaps in your notes.

• Respond to and reflect on your notes in the margins of the paper.

You can use one margin to make a list of terms that corresponds to the information in the body of your notes. You can use the other side of the margin to write a short summary of a key idea or make a connection between the point made in lecture and ideas from readings or seminars.

• Discuss your notes with a friend or study group. This can help you to process information, fill in gaps in your notes, and deepen your understanding of the main points.

• Make flashcards or lists of key terms. You don’t need to wait for the end of the term to start preparing for exams. Take a few minutes to put key vocabulary terms or concepts on index cards or a list of terms with a brief definition.

Develop Your Reading Skills Academic reading is almost always difficult reading. It is usually densely packed with ideas and implications that need to be thought out and considered. The result is that your reading will take time – lots of it.

It will also require that you read actively and critically. Critical reading involves breaking the argument down into its parts to see how well each part works and how parts of the argument work together. In high school you developed the ability to determine what the text says. Your post-secondary reading will challenge you to determine what a text does and how it does it.

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Like lectures, one of the best ways to approach university reading is to see it as a three-part experience: before, during, and after. And, what you do before and after you begin a reading is as important to your comprehension of it as what you do while you read.

Part I: Preview Before You Read Critical reading is far easier if you have a sense of the purpose and main point of a text before you begin reading it in depth. Having this in your mind can help you to follow the author’s argument more clearly and to separate essential ideas from supporting details. One way to develop a sense of the purpose of the source is to preview before you read.

• Read and understand the title.

• Examine the table of contents and/or section headings.

• Read the introductory sections(s).

• Skim through the text looking for main ideas; read topic sentences, transitional sections, bolded elements, captions, boxes.

• Read concluding sections(s).

• Read text summary and summary questions (if they are provided in your text).

• Determine the thesis of article or book.

By the down:

end of your preview, you should be able to explain and write 1. The main topic or question that the text will address 2. The author’s main argument or thesis 3. The structure of the reading or how the author has organized his or her ideas

Part II: As You Read Once you have previewed a text, you can begin reading it in detail, confident in the knowledge that you know where the text is going. To read critically, you must read actively. Ask questions as you read: How is the author supporting his or her argument? What assumptions are made? What types of evidence are used? How do the ideas compare to

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other texts that you have read or to what you have heard in lecture?

What do you find intriguing or puzzling? Are you convinced by the argument?

As for lectures, you will also need to find a good notetaking system so that you can record the information and ideas that you will need for seminars and exam preparation. There are many systems to explore, including reverse outlining, concept mapping, and the Cornell method.

You can explore these methods in detail through the Academic Skills website at www.trentu.ca/academicskills You may need to experiment to find the method that works best for you.

Tips for Effective Notetaking During Reading • Before you begin taking detailed notes, write down the topic or question the text focuses on and the author’s thesis or main point.

• Read a text in small chunks, the length of which will depend on the length of the text. Take notes after you read a paragraph, section, or chapter. This will ensure that you write down only the most important information.

• Use point form. Avoid recopying the text.

• After you complete your reading, make a list of the 3-5 most important points.

Part III: Review and Reflect After You Read Just as we suggest you do after a lecture, take some time after completing a reading to review your notes and reflect on them. If there are review questions, answer them. If there are key terms listed at the end, define them. You can even write them directly onto flashcards to aid in exam preparation. If review exercises are not provided, make your own. What 3-5 questions would you ask about the reading? What

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terms do you think are most important? What questions will you ask or points will you make about the reading during seminar?

Reading is a large and complex topic, and we have just touched on the basics here. If you find that you need help, don’t wait! Check out the resources on the Academic Skills website www.trentu.ca/academicskills or book an individual appointment with a skills instructor by calling 748-1720.

Develop Your Math Skills and Keep Up With Problem Sets Don’t expect math in your studies at Trent? Think again; students are often surprised to discover the importance of math in many disciplines: statistics are integral to research in psychology, geography, and environmental and resource studies; economics is discussed in international development studies, politics, and history; and math basics are necessary for nursing, accounting, and forensics.

Particularly for classes in mathematics, but also for problem-based courses like economics, statistics, physics and chemistry, you will be required to complete weekly exercises, which may be in place of or in addition to text or online reading. Your success in these courses depends on your commitment to completing these exercises; working through problems, using formulae, and developing a mathematical vocabulary and skill base through practice will help you to make sense of course material that is more abstract and theoretical than the math you know from high school.

Another difference you may not expect: there is no in-class time to work on exercises; however, in some classes, voluntary workshop time is available. Lecture time is usually spent copying notes from the blackboard or overhead projector screen. As soon after class as possible, re-read your lecture notes and the section of the text that covers that

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topic. Use the margins to indicate important points and trouble spots.

Then, work your way through the exercises assigned in the lecture, using the solved examples as a model. Although many exercises are designed to develop skills, there are other types of exercises as well: some ask for proofs, some have a number of correct answers.

Working alone on exercise sets may prove frustrating, and you may find it hard to concentrate. Some students find it helpful to work with a classmate or a study group to discuss solutions. If you get stuck, ask for help at workshops and labs or during your instructors’ office hours.

Often, you may not find a solution to a question on the first attempt; but if you persevere, you will probably find the solution later. For this reason, you must not wait until the last minute to do assignments or to prepare for quizzes and tests. Train yourself to think logically.

Understand the procedure used to reach solutions. While it is unlikely that you will be able to memorize everything, you will be expected to know basic formulas and to understand when and how to use them.

Learning math takes much time and effort; indeed, the time you need to devote to studying math is comparable to the time required for reading and lab work in other courses. To prepare for tests and quizzes, you must try all the exercises suggested in lectures, even if you are not required to submit them. This will require self-discipline. If you do not stay up-to-date, you will quickly lose ground in the course, and it can be difficult to catch up. As you build your skills, you will develop more confidence and appreciate the beautiful challenge of mathematics.

Develop Your Writing Skills Most of your marks will come from your writing, either in assignments or exams. It makes sense, then, to focus on developing your writing skills. Many students find the writing assignments at university to be different and more challenging than high school writing.

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What is an essay?: Thesis and Evidence The essay or research paper is the most common university writing assignment, and the university essay differs considerably from many high school essays. In high school, your essays likely focused on providing detailed information to describe a topic. In a university essay, you will need to go beyond description to explain, analyse, and interpret a question, issue, or idea. This explanation or analysis becomes your argument, or thesis. You then need to provide detailed information, or evidence, that supports your thesis.

Thesis Statements A Good Thesis: • is a declaration of the direction and purpose of your essay • is clear and concise – generally 1-2 sentences • indicates an argument or answers a question • does something: answers a question or investigates an issue For example: Cable TV has not delivered on its promise to provide an educational alternative to network programming due to its reliance on major donors and sponsors within the business community.

The aging of the Canadian population will eventually create an economic crisis; unfortunately, because this problem is not immediate, the government lacks the political will to solve the problem.

The success of newspapers like the Sun, which focus almost exclusively on human interest stories and rely on simple language, indicates that Canadians want their news to be easy to read and entertaining.

A good thesis is NOT an announcement: “My essay will discuss whether cable TV is educational” is a topic, NOT a thesis.

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a factual statement: “The proportion of the Canadian population that is over 65 is growing” is a fact, NOT a thesis. a question: “How does the publishing industry cater to the taste of Canadians?” is a research question, NOT a thesis. A thesis is an answer to a question.

Moving Beyond the Five-Paragraph Essay In high school, you may have been taught one way to organize an essay: the five-paragraph model in which you make one point and provide three examples to support this point. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this organizational model, at university you will find that you will not be able fit every assignment into this pattern.

Indeed, the five-section model is just that – a model; it is one way to write an essay, but it is not the only way. It was adequate for one stage of your education, but now that you are becoming more intellectually sophisticated, you will need to develop more intellectually sophisticated ideas and methods.

Instead of relying on a set pattern, you will want to organize your essay based on your thesis statement. An outline can help you to order your ideas in an organized fashion. But an outline does not necessarily mean you need three separate points. Use the assignment requirements, your research, and your thesis to guide your outline. For more information on moving beyond the 5-pargaraph essay and organizing your writing, visit the Academic Skills Centre’s website: www.trentu.ca/academicskills

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Avoiding Plagiarism In any piece of writing, you will need to provide evidence to support your ideas. Your evidence might include events, data, or other information.

It will very often include arguments, ideas, or words that you came across in another author’s work. When using the ideas, information, or the actual words of another author, it is absolutely essential to use proper documentation in order to avoid plagiarism.

Plagiarism is the passing off of someone else’s words or thoughts as your own. All students must confront these questions: Is this material original (i.e. are these my own ideas)? If not, how should I use the material appropriately in my own writing? And finally, how do I show where I found this information? Failure to adequately deal with these questions may lead to plagiarism, which is a serious academic offence that may result in a failure of the assignment or the course. It can also lead to a notation on your transcript. For more information about plagiarism and its consequences, visit Academic Integrity website at wwww.trentu.ca/deanundergraduate/integrity_students.php and the Academic Skills Centre’s website: www.trentu.ca/academicskills

Tips for avoiding plagiarism: • Anytime that you summarize or paraphrase (put into your own words) an author’s ideas or information, you must cite your source.

• If you directly quote (use the exact words of) an author, you must put his or her words into quotation marks and cite your source.

• When you are researching a paper, make sure to take notes on sources in your own words. Avoid cutting and pasting. If you decide to quote an author directly, clearly note this by using quotation marks. Always keep track of the page number on which you find a piece of information.

• Different courses require different methods of documenting

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sources. Check your syllabus or assignment sheet to see which style you should use for an assignment. If no direction is given, use the departmental listing on the Academic Skills Centre’s Documentation Website at: http://www.trentu.ca/documentation/overview.php.

• The Academic Skills Centre’s Documentation Website at http://www.trentu.ca/documentation/overview.php provides complete information on what information needs to be cited and how it should be cited. Consult it often.

Further Resources for Developing Your Writing This e-book provides only a short overview of university writing. The Academic Skills Centre provides many other resources to help you develop your writing skills. The ASC’s website contains tip sheets and online resources on the writing process and avoiding plagiarism. We also offer a series of workshops on essay writing each fall. Finally, you can book an individual appointment with an academic skills instructor to discuss any aspect of the writing process. For info on all of these services, visit our website www.trentu.ca/academicskills Take advantage of these resources, and remember, learning to write is like running a marathon, not a 100-meter dash: pace yourself!

Summary: The First Month 3 3

Organize your courses; read your course outlines to know what work you must do, the topics, and the deadlines.

Make a time management plan for the term so that you can manage your time; include both your school work and your life.

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3 Get to class; establish good habits right away.

3 Speak up; don’t be intimidated by anyone; persevere.

3 Develop your listening and your notetaking skills; find a notetaking system that works for you.

3 Work on your reading and writing skills.

What to Do During the First Term Study Throughout the Term Leaving your studying to the night before the exam is a sure-fire recipe for disaster. Instead, spread your studying out over the whole term. The easy way to do this is to preview the reading before each lecture, review the lecture notes as soon as possible after each lecture, and review the previous week’s notes before the next lecture. Not only will this make cramming for exams unnecessary, but it will help you to fit the lecture and reading material into a “whole” and give the course shape in your mind, something which will also help you write your essays, participate in class, and make reading less daunting. The more often you read and re-read the material, the more sense it will make and the more useful it will become.

Review Your Progress and Adjust Your Plan Try to avoid living and dying with each class or assignment grade. Instead, take the long view from time to time, and realize that everything has its short-term ups and downs. But as circumstances demand, modify your

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work habits and your time management plan. After all, it’s meant to serve you; you don’t serve it. Always the question is what you need to do to improve, regardless of the actual grades you receive. There is no end to improvement, just as there is no end to learning.

Seek Help When You Need It Too many students make the mistake of thinking that they are in this alone. They are not, and you are not. Trent has numerous sources of support for students in need: Professors can be reached during office hours and by email: www.trentu.ca/advising. Senior Tutors and the Career Centre can help with majors, www.trentu.ca/careers the Disability Services Office can help with accommodations for disabilities: www.trentu.ca/disabilityservices. Health Services and Counselling provide personal help: www.trentu.ca/studentaffairs/healthservices. php and www.trentu.ca/counselling, and, of course, the Academic Skills Centre can help with reading, writing, math, and listening skills: www.trentu.ca/academicskills. Ask around. The help is probably there: you just need to find it.

Much research exists from psychology and education to suggest that student achievement cannot be solely predicted by previous performance or ability; rather it is the attitude of a student which is more closely linked to success at university. This means your approach to school, your willingness to participate and seek out assistance or advice, and your openness to ideas all affect how well you do in your studies.

Summary: The First Term 3 Review lecture and reading notes each week.

3 Review and modify your study habits and time management plan as needed.

3 Seek help if you need it.

3 Persevere if you face set-backs and challenges!

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ACADEMIC SKILLS CENTRE (ASC)

The Academic Skills Centre supports and empowers undergraduate and graduate students by providing flexible instruction in the skills necessary for them to succeed at university: the ability to think critically, communicate their ideas effectively, and take responsibility for their own learning.

Phone (705) 748-1720 Fax (705) 748-1830 e-mail: acdskills@trentu.ca www.trentu.ca/academicskills