First Year Guide #3 - Study Tips & Tricks

As we head into mid semester exam season, this is the best time to bring out those study tips and tricks. Here are some of my recommendations that I would give to my first-year self:

Note taking

The content taught in university can be especially overwhelming in comparison to highschool. This is why it's important to prioritise note-taking and to make sure that all information is in a comprehensible format for exams. Personally, I enjoy using Notion because of its easy navigation tools and personalisation features. Otherwise, you can also use hand-written notes or applications such as OneNote, Evernote, Asana, JIRA Confluence or Google Documents. Having an information dump is never ideal - it is much easier to pinpoint key topics/areas of development when your notes are organised into weekly content with clear headings and signposting.

Journaling key dates

I also found that journaling or keeping track of deadlines was an essential tool in university. The UNSW Handbook provides a downloadable copy of all Course Assessments and their respective deadlines. The first thing I recommend doing commencing Week 1 is to note down all these dates into your phone/calendar. I typically then allocate specific hours during the week solely dedicated to the assessment e.g. 2 hours on researching journal articles. That way, it also helps to hold me accountable so I don't end up procrastinating!

Collaboration

Forming a study group is one of the best ways to reiterate and review course material. This might include making a Moodle discussion group or a chatroom with your fellow classmates. I found that this was such a useful method to ensure that there are no gaps in your knowledge - you could create a collaborative source of notes, practice problem questions or initiate open discussion!

Wishing everyone the best of luck for their upcoming mid semester assessments!

By Alicia Tang (Publications Subcommittee)