FAQ: Passing at UoW (1 Viewer)

poloktim

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This is a work in progress, please note.

I said I would, even if the comment telling me to was facetious, so here it is. I know this helps everyone who doesn't write much essays. For those of you who need to do CSCI102 in Spring, lucky you, you get to learn this properly, not just figure it out.

All details are taken from http://unilearning.uow.edu.au and http://learning.uow.edu.au/resources/ with the latter one, you will need to authorise yourself to the system using your UoW username and password.

Lecture notes
- What's the point of having lectures?
Lectures are the main part of many subjects at university. In these lectures you will receive the vast majority of information related to the subject you are doing.

- OK then, what about tutorials? Why can't we be given that sort of information in small tutorials so that the tutor can ensure everyone knows everything?
Lectures are for students to be drenched with new information, while tutorials are for the students to discuss, explore and analyse information that may be important, or information that you don't quite understand. Also, it is important to note that any compulsory readings for the week might be discussed in tutorials. Your lecturer is more knowledged in the field than a student, so it's much more desireable to have him/her give you the information.

- Are lectures compulsory?
Not really. Many subjects have a policy such as "It is up to the student to attend classes and catch up with appropriate work/content if a class is missed." which generally means lectures aren't compulsory. However a lot of lecturers notice if you don't turn up. It's pretty amazing actually, one of my lecturers was able to learn all her students' names, even though she was the lecturer, and not a tutor. So they do know, and it's better for you if you turn up.

- How would I take notes?
One thing you shouldn't do is take down everything the lecturer says. That not only canes your hand, but it makes summarising afterwards rather undesireable. If you wish to listen to what the lecturer has to say again, then s/he might release audio files of lectures (which are very large, and great if they don't rely on lecture notes), or you can bring in a little tape recorder and tape their voices. Again, you'll have to signal when to change slides, or hope that s/he doesn't rely on notes.
Ensure you write your notes neatly enough so that you can read over and rewrite them (or summarise them). Also, use notetaking skills to keep up with the lecturer. Please remember, you only do this for your own quick notes, and try and rewrite properly when you're doing personal study.
Notetaking skills inclue:
--- Abbreviations:
---- i.e. - That is
---- eg. - For example
---- etc - et cetera
---- use numbers instead of writing the word (say one o'clock can be written as 1:00, forty million can be written as 40,000,000).
---- cutting a word short to the point of understanding (vol. is volume)
---- using recognised first letters for abbreviations such as m for metre, and cm for centimetre, and L for litre et cetera.
---- Acronyms
--- Symbols:
---- @ - at (used for price/distances)
---- > - greater than / < - less than
---- + - in addition
---- & - and
---- .'. - therefore (the apostrophe is really a dot)
---- Because is written as an upside down therefore sign
---- K - used for one thousand
---- = - equals

- I'm not really one for processing a bunch of written text, is there another way I can do it?
You should take note of what happens in lectures in a way that suits you. If you can get by just listening, then do so. However another idea to notetaking is mindmaps.
This is done by putting the main subtopic at the centre of each page, and linking each point to that, with the most important points being closest to the centre. This helps a bunch of people, but others find it confusing. Do what's best for you.

- What about after the lecture?
After the lecture, you look at your horrible abbreviated notes, and you either put them into proper written text (since it's always nicer to read something that doesn't use butchered language), or you summarise what you've got (even better). Read over it, try to understand everything. If not, write down what you don't understand, look it up in any prescribed textbooks, or www.google.com to find your answer. If you still don't understand, ask the tutor at the next tutorial.

- What do I do with it after all that?
Your lecture summaries are a valuable way to revise the subject. Before tests, tutorials, and when assignments need to be done, read and reread what you've written.

There's lectures and lecture notes done, the other sections I planned on are incomplete. They will happen, though.
 

poloktim

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jm1234567890 said:
oh yeah.. .don't throw paper planes in lectures
Those were the days, eh?

I remember I was falconed with one of those. It was the last time I sat in the back part of the Hope Theatre.
 

MiuMiu

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I don't mean to be rude, like its great you're doing this for the first years and all, but I think its all pretty much self explanatory and something you develop your own style as you go along. My style for example was not to go to lectures at all ;)
 

poloktim

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Ms 12 said:
I don't mean to be rude, like its great you're doing this for the first years and all, but I think its all pretty much self explanatory and something you develop your own style as you go along. My style for example was not to go to lectures at all ;)
Hahahaha, lucky you if you were able to keep a high mark. But there are some of us who feel that we are obliged to go. I'm afraid I'll end up not understanding something if I don't go to lectures. If I don't understand something the lecturer says, I can normally ask in the break or after the lecture is finished. I like being able to do that. But then it's not for everyone eh?
 

jm1234567890

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poloktim said:
Hahahaha, lucky you if you were able to keep a high mark. But there are some of us who feel that we are obliged to go. I'm afraid I'll end up not understanding something if I don't go to lectures. If I don't understand something the lecturer says, I can normally ask in the break or after the lecture is finished. I like being able to do that. But then it's not for everyone eh?
i guess it depends on the subject too. if you don't go to maths lectures you will be goooooonnnneeee.
 

Raiks

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Ms 12 said:
I don't mean to be rude, like its great you're doing this for the first years and all, but I think its all pretty much self explanatory and something you develop your own style as you go along. My style for example was not to go to lectures at all ;)
That's mine but I tweaked it a little. You'll learn the most important lectures of every semester are the first one and the last 2. The first one is where you get the subject outline and get the important admin information whereas the last 1 or 2 are vital as this when you usually find out whats in the final exam.

Paper planes are great fun although as I've learnt from experience, they can also get you thrown out of the theatre but the lecturer. It's the same with alcohol, you'll be suprised how easy it is to spot drunk people in a lecture theatre, I also admit to being in this group on certain occasions.

Another tip on lectures is try and find some space so you can put your feet up over chairs, put your bag and books on the seat next to you and remember to turn off your mobile as certain lecturers don't tolerate it at all. Some to the extent that any mobile that rings, they will force you to give it to them so they can answer it. This circumstance also provides the fun games of ringing friends phones in the same lecture and talking to the lecturer and playing a game of hide and seek as they try and find you in the crowd of 450 students in the Mackinnon building. Warning: Don't try this until you know the lecturer can actually tolerate fun and mischevious antics.
 

santaslayer

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OMFG....I don't think I did even half of that....

*goes off to study poloktim's fucking FAQ*


BTW: The abbreviations bit is good....but biased....from a scientifical, mathematical perspective...thats all good if u do subjects like those....but here are the humanities/social science abbrev...LoLz:


K---- Capital
X----exports
O----output
G.L.E.A-----General Level Of Economic Activity
M-----imports
C-----consumption
Ms----Money Supply
N---Labour
D-----Demand
G-----globalisation
P-----product
S----Supply
ATSI-----Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders...
CAD---- Current Account Defecit
a/c----account


Sorry...im bored...
 

poloktim

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santaslayer said:
OMFG....I don't think I did even half of that....

*goes off to study poloktim's fucking FAQ*


BTW: The abbreviations bit is good....but biased....from a scientifical, mathematical perspective...thats all good if u do subjects like those....but here are the humanities/social science abbrev...LoLz:


K---- Capital
X----exports
O----output
G.L.E.A-----General Level Of Economic Activity
M-----imports
C-----consumption
Ms----Money Supply
N---Labour
D-----Demand
G-----globalisation
P-----product
S----Supply
ATSI-----Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders...
CAD---- Current Account Defecit
a/c----account


Sorry...im bored...
Thanks for that. I really only have a mathematical/scientific perspective.

I'll not remember any of those abbreviations. :p
 

Raiks

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From my degrees, abreviations I use include:

gov't - Government
daff - department agriculute forestry and fisheries
env - environment/al

Oh, and remember that any margins or white spaces in you lecture notes are perfect opportunities to express your artistic skills such as stickfigures, random drawings or trying to perfect that portrait of the lecturer or the head in front of you.
 

poloktim

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Research

Many subjects at university require some form of research. This involves more work than you think. I think other than the subject I took in summer session, the most intensive subject I took was one where I had to do research. This is on general research, I have no clue how to conduct law research.
Remember to reference in the style that you've been told to by the lecturer. The three main are in-text, footnoting and endnoting.

1). Decide on a topic.
There are many ways to do this. One is by being told you must research the one topic and answer the one question. However there are times where you're given a series of questions, and only need to answer one (if you need to answer all then this part has already been done).
- Some people do preliminary research on all topics, not to gather information, but to see the quantity of information that can be obtained for each topic. This is guesswork as sometimes lots may be bad. But I'll admit it's how I do it.
- Others choose the topic they're most interested in.
- Others choose the topic they have the most knowledge on already (so it's only a case of backing up this knowledge with references).
- Others are completely different.
Remember to reference in the style that you've been told to by the lecturer. The three main are in-text, footnoting and endnoting.

2). Start some basic information gathering.
Where? That's easy. http://www-library.uow.edu.au is a nice place to start. If you're lucky, this site will be the portal into gathering all your information, if not, don't worry.
- Use the catalogue to check for print books with information you need.
- Check for electronic readings.
- Look up eBooks. The university has access to eBook depositories, including NetLibrary and Safari (Safari is for you techies out there).
- Journal articles are very important. Especially if they're academic articles, since they're a much safer source than something you pulled up on google. http://www-library.uow.edu.au/eresources/databases/index.html is a list of databases that you can access if you're a member of the UOW library.
With these resources, look for things that answer the question, and try and have them argue your point. Whenever I did research, I took down information for both sides of an argument, since sometimes I found it necessary to not be one-sided, however if it doesn't help you, don't use it.
-- With this information, you should be able to write a small essay/report that answers the question and is about about three to five hundred words long.
Remember to reference in the style that you've been told to by the lecturer. The three main are in-text, footnoting and endnoting.

3). Decide on a topic.
This is the same as one, as you might have nicer information/better argument for a different topic that you're allowed to do. Before you get into some very serious research, decide whether or not the topic will work.
This can involve a talk with the tutor, or the lecturer. At UOW, all full time academic staff who are lecturing are required to have four hours of set consultation time with students per week. Some lecturers are mongs when it comes to this, they only deal with student enquiries at these times, and that includes emails. Others answer their emails promptly, however may be hard to get a hold of outside consultation times. It's probably better to speak with the lecturer in person, anyway. You could also use lectures as a nice time (say at the end of lectures or in the break).
Remember to reference in the style that you've been told to by the lecturer. The three main are in-text, footnoting and endnoting.

4). Research.
- Go back to http://www-library.uow.edu.au and do more research. Go into the library to the research desk if you're having troubles. There is even help in the form of online chat to help you.
- Optional. Once you have exhausted all the library's resources, it's time to look elsewhere. Try your local library. The useful resources that a small local library has is normally limited, but sometimes there might be information.
- Optional. After that, you might like to try going to another university's library, or a TAFE library. The library at USyd is one of the largest (if not the largest) library in the southern hemisphere. Don't try UTS Library (even though it's closest to Central), they won't let you in unless you're a UTS student. However when I went there last, the security guard there was extremely helpful. She directed me to Sydney Library. Also, you have NSW Library in the city (near Sydney Hospital/Eye Hospital). Before you travel to these libraries though, you might like to check on the Internet to check if they have the resources you need.
- Optional. Once you exhausted that (or if you'd rather not go to all the trouble), it's time to become a lot more aware of content and search the Internet. Before you ask google, you might like to look at newspaper sites. But when it comes to google, it's always nice to include the word 'academic' in your search. It doesn't alway weild the best results, but sometimes you're lucky and get a thesis to wade through. Ensure the information is correct by searching for particular items you're interested in again and looking elsewhere to back them up. The Internet has dubious resouces sometimes, ensure you know how to pick them.
Remember to reference in the style that you've been told to by the lecturer. The three main are in-text, footnoting and endnoting.

5). Piece together.
This normally involves writing about all the different things you've found in your research. What I normally do, is write a paragraph on all common information. This normally gives me a huge text that's well over the word limit. Not something to hand in. This is one of the most annoying parts of the process.
Remember to reference in the style that you've been told to by the lecturer. The three main are in-text, footnoting and endnoting.

6). Crop.
Now that you have your supertext. It's time to look at the question/topic and get rid of anything that has nothing or little to do with it. I scale each paragraph by how relevent to the topic it is. The highest ones stay, the lowest ones are cropped. If you found you haven't answered your question properly, you will have to go back to research.
Remember to reference in the style that you've been told to by the lecturer. The three main are in-text, footnoting and endnoting.

8). Produce the text.
You have all the information in what was your supertext. It should hopefully still be larger than your word limit. With this text as the information, create your document.
Remember to reference in the style that you've been told to by the lecturer. The three main are in-text, footnoting and endnoting.

You may have noticed that in every step, I said reference. The penalties for failing to reference (and this stealing the ideas of other people) at UOW are severe. You can get 0 for the essay, 0 for the subject, or even worse, excluded from university.

Hope this helps. :)
 

Raiks

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Remember the 3 Big Databases

Proquest
Emerald
Factiva

They'll be vital, especially Factiva when it comes to newspaper articles.
 

poloktim

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You've had a few weeks, and you're all probably rushing to finish assignments that are due any day now, so I'll give you this advice now, a little late for your first assignments. :)

How to have assignments done before the last minute]

1). Constantly remind yourselves of assignments.
This seems simple enough, and is most often done, and ignored. People will verbally remind each other of assignments due. It's not enough.
Do you use the Internet? Do you have a computer that you work on? If so, maybe you should set electronic reminders. A nice todo list program might help. Virtual post-it notes is another idea. Try to keep your desktop cluttered with post-its and only remove the ones you've done.

2). Starting.
The best way to get into a nice habit is to start your assignments within three days of receiving the specification. Of course that doesn't mean there needs to be tangible work, but it does mean you've done some research/reading on the topics, and are able to answer the question.

3). Working.
I'm aware we all have lives (I don't count in these statistics though ;) ), and as uni students and legal age and whatnot, we all have much nicer things to do than uniwork. Sadly assignments don't go away. They stay there waiting, starving for attention. In order to get the optimal work on the assignment done, you should spend at least three hours a week on it until it is finished. This is of course, a lower bound, so if it's a big big assignment, spend longer.

4). Submitting.
Ensure you submit your assignment early, if you hand it to the lecturer, then there's no escape, but if you place it in a drop box, or over the Internet, then you can submit early. Doing this is often a nicer idea. Stress from that assignment is over. You can think about that subject's next assignment. :)

Last minute jobs are the tradition at uni. You must pull at least one all-nighter while at uni, but that being said, 99.9999% of assignments shouldn't be all night rush-jobs.
 

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poloktim said:
You've had a few weeks, and you're all probably rushing to finish assignments that are due any day now, so I'll give you this advice now, a little late for your first assignments. :)

How to have assignments done before the last minute]

1). Constantly remind yourselves of assignments.
This seems simple enough, and is most often done, and ignored. People will verbally remind each other of assignments due. It's not enough.
Do you use the Internet? Do you have a computer that you work on? If so, maybe you should set electronic reminders. A nice todo list program might help. Virtual post-it notes is another idea. Try to keep your desktop cluttered with post-its and only remove the ones you've done.

2). Starting.
The best way to get into a nice habit is to start your assignments within three days of receiving the specification. Of course that doesn't mean there needs to be tangible work, but it does mean you've done some research/reading on the topics, and are able to answer the question.

3). Working.
I'm aware we all have lives (I don't count in these statistics though ;) ), and as uni students and legal age and whatnot, we all have much nicer things to do than uniwork. Sadly assignments don't go away. They stay there waiting, starving for attention. In order to get the optimal work on the assignment done, you should spend at least three hours a week on it until it is finished. This is of course, a lower bound, so if it's a big big assignment, spend longer.

4). Submitting.
Ensure you submit your assignment early, if you hand it to the lecturer, then there's no escape, but if you place it in a drop box, or over the Internet, then you can submit early. Doing this is often a nicer idea. Stress from that assignment is over. You can think about that subject's next assignment. :)

Last minute jobs are the tradition at uni. You must pull at least one all-nighter while at uni, but that being said, 99.9999% of assignments shouldn't be all night rush-jobs.
Good work poloktim. LoLz. Keep going with the guides. I want a guide to getting rich next time 'round. OK? :p
 

poloktim

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Ninga said:
I want you to write my thesis for me Tim. And to have my babies for me.
I thought we agreed that you were going to bear children. ;)
As for your thesis? Just leave it til the last minute.
 

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