This book provides a vital guide for students to key study skills that are instrumental in success at university, covering time management, academic reading and note-taking, academic integrity, preparation of written assignments, teamwork and presentations. With each chapter consisting of sub-sections that are titled with a single piece of fundamental advice, this is the perfect ‘hit the ground running' resource for students embarking on their undergraduate studies. The book uses evidence from psychology to account for the basic errors that students make when studying, illuminating how they can be addressed simply and effectively. Creating an ‘insider's guide' to the core requisite skills of studying at degree level, and using a combination of research and practical examples, the author conveys where students often go fundamentally wrong in their studying practices and provides clear and concise advice on how they can improve. Written in a humorous and irreverent tone, and including illustrations and examples from popular culture, this is the ideal alternative and accessible study skills resource for students at undergraduate level, as well as any reader interested in how to learn more effectively.
Author(s): Paul Penn
Publisher: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 245
Tags: Study Skills, Study Skills: Psychological Aspects, Study Skills: Textbooks, Effective Studying
Cover
......Page 1
Half Title......Page 2
Title Page......Page 4
Copyright Page......Page 5
Dedication......Page 6
Table of Contents......Page 8
Preface......Page 12
Chapter I: Introduction: Metacognition, the foundation of successful studying (or at least how to avoid being ‘that person’ on the TV talent show)......Page 18
Delusion comes in many forms, usually quite flattering......Page 21
The enemy within......Page 26
Preaching to the (hopefully now) converted......Page 28
References......Page 30
Chapter II: Conquering procrastination: Why it’s so hard to DO IT. JUST DO IT!......Page 32
Procrastination: first, know the enemy of time management......Page 34
The theory of everything (about doing nothing constructive)......Page 39
A procrastinator’s guide to fiddling the numbers......Page 41
Increasing the value of a task......Page 60
Reducing delay......Page 61
References......Page 62
Chapter III: Academic reading and note-taking: What we can all learn from 50 Shades of Grey......Page 66
What you need to know about memory: it doesn’t work like a camera, so you might want to stop studying as if it did......Page 68
Maximum effort, minimal gains: why the most popular method of studying is not what it’s cracked up to be......Page 70
Never mind the width, feel the quality: elucidating meaning from your reading......Page 72
Take note: your note-taking might not be working for you as well as you think......Page 75
Marker pens aren’t magic......Page 79
Treat yourself, test yourself......Page 81
The read, recite, review method of studying......Page 85
Never mind the breadth, check out the depth......Page 88
References......Page 90
Chapter IV: Academic integrity, citation, quotation and referencing: Credit where credit is due......Page 92
The fundamentals of citation, quotation and referencing......Page 97
Quotation......Page 98
Citing and referencing secondary sources......Page 99
Citation, quotation and referencing in practice: the thorny issue of paraphrasing......Page 100
Version one......Page 101
Version two......Page 102
Version four......Page 104
Engineering out study practices conducive to inadvertent plagiarism......Page 105
Taking responsibility for the academic integrity of your work......Page 113
References......Page 115
Chapter V: Producing high quality written assessments at degree level: It doesn’t have to be rocket science, even if you’re studying rocket science......Page 118
Know the enemy......Page 119
Making your (research) connection more reliable......Page 122
Prior planning and preparation prevent pretty poor performance......Page 132
Elements of guile......Page 136
Proofreading: measure twice, cut twice, then measure again......Page 142
Feedback: live it, especially if you don’t love it......Page 146
Obtaining and evaluating sources......Page 149
Using feedback......Page 150
References......Page 151
Chapter VI: Working collaboratively: There is no ‘I’ in team, but there is an ‘I’ in “I really hate teamwork”......Page 154
Natural born loafers......Page 156
Communication: is this thing on?......Page 162
Collaborative decision making: that’s another fine (cohesive) mess we’ve gotten ourselves into......Page 168
Interpersonal conflict: there is always one; possibly you......Page 172
Co-ordinating team efforts: the blind leading the blind......Page 177
Improving communication by reducing the spotlight effect......Page 180
Establishing effective teamwork processes......Page 181
References......Page 182
Chapter VII: Delivering an effective presentation: It’s not about you......Page 186
Presentation goals: back to the basics......Page 189
Death (of bad presentations) by PowerPoint......Page 199
The seven deadly sins of slideshows (and how to atone for them)......Page 205
Improving your slideshows......Page 214
References......Page 216
Chapter VIII: Revision: Cleaning up a dirty word......Page 220
Jamais vu: it’s what happens when you cram......Page 222
Harnessing context: it’s all relative, relatively......Page 227
Master the ordeal by re-creating it......Page 234
Making revision count, by making your life a little harder......Page 236
References......Page 238
Index......Page 242
