freshman textbook question (1 Viewer)

[nami-_-]

are textbooks really that important in uni? my cousin and i checked the co-op bookshop to see the "required" textbooks, and they are costly...i've checked some threads about textbooks and some say that they hardly use their textbooks at all...want to know if this is true..

by the way i'm doing a business course and my cousin is doing engineering if it helps...

 

[savio23q]

Brand new textbooks are pretty pointless. They cost heaps and you don't even use them for the entire year (mostly a semester, some can be used for the whole year)

Second hand textbooks are cheaper and do the same thing. You can try http://www.textbookexchange.com.au/....textbookexchange.com.au/content.php/112.html

 

[nami-_-]

but so you use them everytime??do you need it everytime??

thanks for that link btw...

 

[lou071]

Don't buy textbooks.

Firstly, you're not going to use the whole tome.
Secondly, you're bound to get gypped, as the books sold by the university or Co-Op bookshop have been marked up tremendously.
Thirdly, just use the library's ones.
Nooo.

don't you use text books?
then how do you prepare for assignments or exams?

 

[piitb]

save your money. its just a huge scam between uni and book publishers to make momey

 

[Templar]

don't you use text books?
then how do you prepare for assignments or exams?

What do you think lecture notes are for? Because you like to waste ink and paper?

 

[lou071]

What do you think lecture notes are for? Because you like to waste ink and paper?

but lecture note is not same as text books.

 

[Templar]

but lecture note is not same as text books.

But why is a textbook so important? The lecturer usually teaches out of their own notes.

 

[savio23q]

But why is a textbook so important? The lecturer usually teaches out of their own notes.

Coz a textbook is detailed and precise, unlike your scribbled notes.
It's like saying don't use textbooks for the hsc, what the teacher says is enough to get you through...

If it weren't for my business studies and PDHPE textbook, I would've bombed out the hsc. Esp business coz I had a shitty (but nice) teacher.

Anyway, wouldn't it be better to have notes AND a textbook?

 

[luxslash89]

Coz a textbook is detailed and precise, unlike your scribbled notes.
It's like saying don't use textbooks for the hsc, what the teacher says is enough to get you through...

If it weren't for my business studies and PDHPE textbook, I would've bombed out the hsc. Esp business coz I had a shitty (but nice) teacher.

Anyway, wouldn't it be better to have notes AND a textbook?

agreed. but if ur just aiming for a pass, jus follow their advice and dont get one.

 

[nami-_-]

the lecturer doesn't actually check if you have a textbook or not right??

 

[greentsquare]

the lecturer doesn't actually check if you have a textbook or not right??

Right. The lecturer is just responsible for giving out the lectures - considering the number of students that's in a lecture at any one time, it's a waste of the lecturer's time to check if all students have books. Besides, this is not high school anymore, so students are expected to be resposible for their own learning.

It actually depends on which subjects the books are for. There are some subjects where you could get by with just the copies in the library (photocopy excerpts if needed, especially if these are the high demand books). Whereas there are other subjects, like language ones, where you definitely need books. What I usually do is to wait until the first the 1st week of Uni, get the feel of the requirements of a subject, then decide if I really need to buy books or not. Also, it's not really ideal to buy all the books needed for a subject - while some are prescribed texts, some are just recommended or supplementary readings.

 

[kevinx2]

wots a lecturer

 

[EdmondDW]

My suggestion is attending the lecture first, and then make a decision...

Like me, I bought all the textbooks in my first yr, but I even didn't open some of them...coz most of the lecture notes were really detailed and almost covered all the exam points already...

For some other courses, like structure&inorganic chem I did last semester, the course notes were too simple or maybe I am not smart :mad1:...(This course is very interesting though...also pretty nice lecturers) I can't understand all the stuff on the lecture notes, so I used the textbook regularly and read the important chapter carefully...It is pretty helpful, and I got HD for it...

So ask urself if u really need this textbook, then make a decision...the score is important, but the money is also important~haha

 

[spence]

Coz a textbook is detailed and precise, unlike your scribbled notes.
It's like saying don't use textbooks for the hsc, what the teacher says is enough to get you through...

If it weren't for my business studies and PDHPE textbook, I would've bombed out the hsc. Esp business coz I had a shitty (but nice) teacher.

Anyway, wouldn't it be better to have notes AND a textbook?

Yeah but uni and the hsc are completely different. Because in the HSC everyone learns the same syllabus, they pretty much have to have a textbook, whereas in uni, the course is designed by the lecturer, so all the notes needed are generally given in lectures

 

[BoyNextDoor]

So I guess I'll just find out during the 1st week from my lecturers......

 

[Templar]

Coz a textbook is detailed and precise, unlike your scribbled notes.
It's like saying don't use textbooks for the hsc, what the teacher says is enough to get you through...

If it weren't for my business studies and PDHPE textbook, I would've bombed out the hsc. Esp business coz I had a shitty (but nice) teacher.

Anyway, wouldn't it be better to have notes AND a textbook?

But in the HSC, the teacher teaches from the textbook. In uni, the lecturers write the course, usually from their own knowledge, and these concepts exist in many different books in different terms. The lecturer doesn't read the textbook when the exam is set, so what does it matter? What a lecturer says and writes is examined, not a textbook.