Learning from essay feedback and experience

While you’re on the come-down from your essay deadline induced stress and euphoria, take some time to think about your experience of completing that piece of work and what you can learn from it. Did the research take longer than you expected? Could any of the stages be made more efficient by investing in an …

What to ask yourself when picking an essay question

When it’s time for assessment, some lecturers will provide one essay title or question. The reason for this is usually that the topic is so fundamental to the understanding of your discipline, that everyone needs to cover it in detail. On other occasions however, you will be given a selection of potential topics to choose …

How to find your focus

Writing is hard. Unless your deadline is in less than an hour. Then writing can become strangely easier – if not considerably more stressful! Under the right conditions, we can find ourselves in what psychologists call a state of ‘flow’. This is something that we have all experienced at one time or another. You’ll have …

How to change your outlook on university

Are you feeling disillusioned with your degree? Maybe the grades you’ve received weren’t as high as you’d expected. Or, perhaps you’re struggling to settle in and miss your school friends. It’s totally normal to feel like this. It can seem like everyone else is living their best life, but there are bound to be times …

6 ways to redecorate your student room (and keep your deposit)

Whether you’re in campus student halls, or have signed up for a private let with your mates, the same thing is true: Student accommodation is DRAB. Magnolia reigns supreme. Carpets are so thin they feel like concrete. Of course, not all student accommodation is made equal. You might be lucky enough to be living in …

Think before you start

If you’ve been given an unfamiliar task to do, give yourself time to think before you get started. If you just jump straight in, you’ll probably soon find that as you start to realise what the task is about that you’ve gone about it in the wrong way. Let me give you an example. When …

Why academic writing is the Oscars, not the Met Gala

Take a look at Saoirse Ronan in these two photos. On the left, she’s attending the 2019 Met Gala, and on the right the 2018 Oscars ceremony. Two red carpet events, yet two totally different looks (for the record, I love both!). The Met Gala is a highlight of the fashion calendar. The world’s hottest …

Why you need to plan your time

When I was little, we used to listen to an audiobook on tape in the car called Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers. It was based on a 1990s sitcom set in space three million years into the future. One of the characters was a self-important caretaker called Arnold Judas Rimmer, who repeatedly tried and …

Top 10 buys that will help you to study

So you’re heading to university!  If you’re straight out of college or high school, you’re probably heading towards the most significant change you’ve experienced in your life so far and are careering between nervous and excited on a minute-to-minute basis. If you’re a mature student, you might be wondering how on earth you are going …