Friday, 9 December 2011

10.EFFECTIVE REVISION AND EXAM TECHNIQUES

 Effective exam and revision techniques are limitless there are so many and different ones suit differences people. Personally I study best in a quiet environment with my notes, books and spider diagrams to help me understand.  






Spider diagrams are helpful because I use lots of colour and this helps me remember things. I start with the topic in the middle and draw arrows to the key points then another arrow from the point to the explanation that I will remember also an example in my own words.


 This is what my diagrams would look like ....................

When exams are upcoming revision  is essential. There is nothing worse than exam stress. Lots of students get worked up about exams and sometimes it is for no reason. If they have studied and revised they should not have a problem. 

With exams I usually leave thing until the last minute which I found does not work for me or cannot work for anybody unless they are a genius. It causes stress and panicing and you cannot know the answers without some study. If there are revision and exam techniques in place for upcoming exams they usually go to plan unless there are unexpected things on the paper that were not revised.

Studying the night before or the morning of an exam does not help one bit, its all a fuzz and nothing is taken in. it is like an information overload and your brain does not remember much. - trust me!

7.COMPLILING A LITRATURE REVIEW


Compiling a literature review can be tough for some people as there is unlimited information for numerous topics that can be reviewed. A literature review is a critical, in-depth review of the topic you are researching. 


I found it hard to find the right information because there was so much information on why employees are demanding more from their workforce than ever before. I found a lot of reasons. Mainly it was because there is a recession and any business that is still running want the best employee’s that there is.


 I found the literature review time consuming because I had so much information to look through to identify the topic I reviewed. Firstly I read about the topic and had my own thoughts of what i was reviewing so I  knew what information I was looking for. I then found some websites, books and articles with the information i was looking for.





 In my literature review I had an introduction which outlined what I was going to review, I had a main body which was the main points I found interesting and finally my conclusion which I evaluated my findings from doing my review. Reviews are good to find out more about topics. Main points are only included, points that get the message across to the person reading the review and things that catch people’s attention. Interesting facts are good to put into reviews because it gives a good understanding of the topic.


If I was to do a literature review again I would keep a good record of the books I used and reference them as I was going along with my review because I feel I had to look back at the books I used and find out the references I had to use. I have only started using the Harvard style of referencing and found that hard. I have experience for the next time I will have to use it when i am reviewing.
 Tips for the future!


4.EFFICTIVE PRESENTATIONS


Presentations are very daunting for some people; some get very uncomfortable while speaking to groups, their voice’s shake, they fidget with things around them and lose concentration. I thought doing my presentation was daunting because I was standing in front of a class of people I only knew a short while speaking about the topic of my choice. My voice was shaking during the presentation but I don’t know if anyone noticed, but I did.

 I made a power point presentation on my laptop.  I thought making a power point presentation was helpful because I did not forget what I was talking about because it was on the screen in front of me. When you are doing a presentation firstly you have to research the topic you will be talking about and pick the points you will include that are important.


 When I was making my presentation I found loads of good information but I had to cut it down there was too much. Even though I cut it down I still had loads of points. If I was to do a presentation again I would just have one word key points and talk about them, not sentences about the point. I think presentations are a good experience because it brings peoples personalities out and makes them confident to speak to groups.


 I did not practice my presentation much so I think if I had of I would not have been so nervous. I kept good eye contact and spoke clear while I was presenting my information. Here is a link to a slide show to keep it simple. presentation slide !!

Failure to present effectively .........








9.TIME MANAGEMENT






Time management is very important in a student’s life. There is always a large amount of work to be done and it seem like there is little time. Assignments are always handed out with enough time to do them but finding the time is the problem. There are always other things to be done too.


 I have set out a timetable to study each evening and go over my lecture notes as I would forget what was said in the lectures if I didn’t revise that night. It is important to have a plan of study so there will be enough time for everything and when exam time comes around there won’t be cramming the night before.
I have a job at the weekends and I have to be on time for that the same as being on time for college and everything else. Being punctual is very important if I was late for work every weekend I would not have a job.


I’m in college and I have to be on time for that too. I car pool with four others and we all meet at the same time. If one is late we are all late so we organised to meet an hour before we have to be there to also allow for traffic and if one person gets delayed. If I was late for lectures I would not know what was going on in the classes. so therefore time revolves around everything and time goes by quick when nothing is being done.

1.EFFECTIVE NOTE TAKING




Effective note taking for students is very important for understanding what is learned in lectures. Some students find it hard to use the right technique for them; it sometimes takes a while to figure what is best. I find listing and understanding what is being said and then writing it in my own words. I find that if I write what is on the lecture slide in my own words it is useful because when I go back to look at my notes and lecture slides I have notes wrote that I understand. If there is a difficult word I would usually write them in my own words after they are explained to me.



Bullet points are good and bad they are no use to me because I still have to see why I wrote the point so I write short sentences with a good explanation for when exams come along. I think it is easier to remember things when I have a good example for them and an able to talk about them.

If I have time before lectures I sometimes print the lecture slides so I have them in front of me and I can take down expanded information for myself on them I find this useful when I am studying. i like o use colors while Im writing notes i think it helps me to remember things but every one is different. Here are some other tips i have found: Tips