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STUDENTS SURVIVAL GUIDE ABSRACT This Student Survival Guide is presented mainly to provide the student adequate information on how to cope up with the numerous kinds of stress of College life. Every student in College normally undergoes periods of adjustments as he or she enters College. More often than not, he or she usually performs well in academics and in non-academic fields in College depending on how well he or she gets adjusted to the educational system. Adjusting requires preparation, conditioning and sufficient guidance that assure one that various stressors in College life can be manageable. This Student Survival Guide focuses on five (5) key areas of student survival management namely, (1) Conducting Successful Library and Internet Searches; (2) Upholding Academic Honesty; (3) Developing Effective Study Skills; (4) Managing Time Wisely; and (5) Setting and Achieving Goals.
It is hoped that every concern of a College student shall be addressed with concrete situational strategies that can make College life interesting, manageable and a worthwhile experience. Conducting Successful Library and Internet Searches College life entails a lot of paper and research work. It is best for the student to get well versed with the kinds of school requirements that are being asked by the Professor. For example, the University of California is recommending the following Five-step Search Strategy to use as guide. They are as follows: Step # 1. Analyze your topic to decide where to begin.
Before even beginning anything, one must have a clear idea on what to research on. One should know the concepts surrounding the issue that one needs information on. Part of this would require students to come up with a design or an outline on how to begin the research work (Recommended Search Strategy, 2005). Step # 2.
Choose a good starting point which could lead to other concepts... A successful research work requires a good starting place. This requires the student to draw an overview of the study, to identify distinctive words and phrases that would expand his or her area of understanding of the topic. He also needs to narrow down data gathered to a specific topic. To avoid confusion, the student is required to research further until the information needed covers up what the student is trying to accomplish in the conduct of research work (Recommended Search Strategy, 2005).
Step # 3. Learn as you go and vary your approach. One must be open-minded when one starts to conduct research. Do not let your own viewpoints hamper the flow of the research... One must look and survey the amount of material available in the Internet and in the library so that one can just consolidate this in the writing phase. (Recommended Search Study, 2005). Step # 4.
Don't get bogged down on any strategy that doesn't work. It happens that the search engines one will consult will not have information on the topic one is researching on. In cases like these, one must not despair and just be flexible enough to try out other search engines. (Recommended Search Strategy, 2005). Step # 5. Return to previous strategies better informed. When one is patient enough, one emerges from these experiences, better equipped and more knowledgeable about the topic one is researching about.
Upholding Academic Honesty Academic honesty involves the big issue on plagiarism. Plagiarism occurs when a writer uses another persons material without properly acknowledging the debt. Sometimes plagiarism is deliberate, but often it happens because students simply don not understand what must be acknowledged and documented. Deliberate or not, plagiarism is absolutely unacceptable. Any summary, paraphrase or quotation you include in your paper must be documented, as must statistics and graphics. The only types of information escaping this requirement are those listed below: Common knowledge.
Common knowledge is information that most educated people would know. For instance, there is no need to document a statement that the Disney theme parks in California and Florida attract thousands of visitors each year. However, if you include precise daily, monthly or yearly figures, then documentation and proper citation is necessary. Your own conclusions. As you write your paper, youll incorporate your own conclusions at various points. If you conducted the interview or polled students on a campus issue, simply present the findings as your own.
Facts found in many sources. Facts such as the year of Shakespeare's death, the size of the 2001 national budget surplus, and the location of the Taj Mahal need not be documented. Standard terms. Terms widely used in a particular field require no documentation. Examples include such computer terms as mouse, floppy disk and download. Any piece of information not set off with quotation marks must be in your own words.
Otherwise, even though you name your source, you plagiarize by stealing the original phrasing. (Eisenberg, R & Kelly, K. 1997) ). A good attitude is needed in developing effective study skills. Joe Landsberger enumerates the following points on Effective Habits for Effective Study: (1) Take responsibility for yourself. According to Joe Landsberger, Responsibility is recognition that in order to succeed you can make decisions about your priorities, your time, and your resources. (Landsberger, 2005). One needs to prioritize whatever choices he makes so that there is order in his world. (2) Center yourself around your values and principles.
Personal values and principles in life must be intact, and let no one detract a priority. Values will make one stay on course no matter how many the distractions are. (3) Put first things first. Learn to prioritize the most important matters and allot ample time to accomplish them. When one studies, there must be order in studying materials so that one can retain ideas better. This happens because ones mind is clear of any clutter. (4) Discover key productivity periods and places.
By discovering key productivity periods and places, a student is able to maximize his peak time for learning. Thus, there is facility in absorption of ideas and knowledge because one goes with the flow of ones body. (5) Look for better solutions to problems. This encourages the student to be resourceful in looking for materials for his subject matter. This prepares him for future tasks when he needs to exercise discrimination in finding effective solutions. (6) Look for continual challenges.
The student must not stop learning and must even continue to challenge himself. Learning and education is a continuing process and one benefits from it if he uses it wisely. Managing Time Wisely The pressures of College life can be overwhelming if a student does not manage his time wisely. Realize that there are certain things you have to do that are sometimes forgotten in the confusion of your daily college life. You may love playing tennis, but because of your studies, youve quit setting aside time for an activity that you find to be great fun and great exercise. You can also make a daily time chart.
The chart enables you to account for all aspects of your day from morning grooming and commuting time to your subjects and free time in school and study time when back at home. Youll be surprised at how much time grooming, errands and around-town transportation takes. As you study your time sheets, you will likely be surprised at how long you spend on certain activities. And you may be surprised at the number of times you were obviously interrupted. Next, use your completed time charts to begin evaluating what is making you feel overwhelmed. What do you want less of?
Fewer outings with friends? Less time spent on household drudgery? Fewer interruptions during the time you do give yourself? By reevaluating your life, youll realize what is still important and what you can trim or adjust to make time for the new things that interest you. (Eisenberg & Kelly 1997). Setting and Achieving Goals In setting and achieving goals, a lot would depend on meeting them on time.
That is why some procrastinate and never get to achieve their goals. So sometimes, we wait, hoping that the task will change. In order to achieve goals, one must do away with a lot of procrastinations by following these steps: Get organized. This does not mean spending days straightening out home or office; it means getting organized for the task at hand. For a new project, one will find that writing a list of the steps that need to be taken care of or collecting all documents in a file folder is often a good way to organize for the new task. This could be one simple goal that College student can aim for.
Considered improve your work environment. People often procrastinate accomplishing their goals because the environment is not conducive to getting things done. Of course one hates filing if the drawers are so stuffed that you scrape your hand getting files in and out, and no wonder you are late in making assignments if you have to comb the house looking for what you did with them each month. Break large tasks into small steps. If you look at anything as a series of small steps, it wont seem so overwhelming. The Student Survival Guide is an effective tool that simplifies the life of a College student.
It lessens the level of stress that may hinder the learning process. This survival guide is just a starting point. One can always modify and add more essential pointers as one goes along. College life need not be drudgery. It actually is one of the best times in ones life. After all, success does not mean achieving goals, having good grades and ending up with a good paying job after graduation.
Success is also living life to the fullest and learning to rise up every time one falls. References Eisenberg, R & Kelly, K. (1997). The Overwhelmed Persons Guide to Time Management. A Plume Book.
How to Manage Your Time. (2005) Learning Skills Center, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405. Retrieved on Nov. 5, 2006 at: web Landsberger, Joe. (August 15, 2005) Effective Habits for Effective Study. Study Guides and Strategies. Retrieved on Nov. 5, 2006 at: web Recommended Search Strategy: Analyze your topic & Search with peripheral vision. (2005) Regents of the University of California, UC Berkeley Teaching Library Internet Workshop. Retrieved on Nov. 5, 2006 at: web
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Research essay sample on College Life Common Knowledge
