Cramming for success: study and academic work

‘Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.’

US President John F. Kennedy

Study and Exams

Before an exam you can revise or cram [study intensively for a short time] for it. If the exam happens every year, you can look at the past papers [exam papers from the previous years]. Some things can be memorized or learned by heart. But rote-learning [learning purely by repetition] is not sufficient for most subjects. It is also possible to use mnemonics [[ni’moniks] tricks that help you remember something]. But tricks alone are not enough, and the best idea bury yourself in your books [spend the maximum time studying] until you know the subject inside out [know it completely].

Written works for courses, etc.

Work	Description
Composition	could be just 50-100 words, often used to refer to children’s work.
Essay	longer than a composition, more serious, hundreds or even thousands of words.
Assignment	a long essay, often part of a course, usually thousands of words.
Project	like an assignment, but emphasis on student’s own material and topic.
Portfolio	a collection of individual pieces of work, not necessary written.
Dissertation*	a long, research-based work, perhaps 10-15,000 words, for a degree or diploma.
Thesis	A very long, original, research-based work, perhaps 80-100,00 words, for a higher degree (e.g. PhD).

*American English prefers a doctoral dissertation, master’s thesis; British English prefers a doctoral thesis, master’s dissertation/master’s essay.

The Writing Process and Evaluation

It is a good idea to start with a mind-map [diagram that lays out ideas for the topic and how they are connected to one another] when preparing an assay. Always write a first draft [first, rough version] before writing up the final version. Your essay should be all your own work; plagiarism [[‘pleijarizm] using other people’s work as if it was yours] is a very serious offense in most colleges and universities. There is usually a deadline [date by which you must hand in the work]. After the essay is submitted [formal, handed in], it will be assessed [evaluated and given a grade] and usually you can get feedback [comments from the teacher/tutor].

Aspects of Higher Academic Study

University academics carry out research and are expected to read academic journals [≠ magazines], which publish papers/articles on specialized subjects. Academic study can be very demanding and intensive, and some students drop out/flunk out [leave the course before the end because they cannot cope], but the majority survive till finals [the last exams before receiving a degree].

1. Rewrite this short text using words and phrases from the texts above instead of the underlined words.

When I’m preparing intensively for an exam, I don’t see any point in looking up exam papers from previous years, nor is there any point in just learning things by memory. I know some people develop very clever memory tricks to help them remember material, but there’s no real substitute for re-reading and going over the term’s work. It’s a good idea to have some sort of diagram to organize your ideas, and memory-learning is useful, but in a limited way. At the end of the day, you must have to read a huge amount until you feel you know the subject 100 per cent.

2. Here are some idiomatic expressions about studying and exams. Use the context to guess what they mean and choose the right answer.

1. It’s very easy to fall behind with your studies (group) if you miss even a few classes.

a) stay close behind other studies b) find yourself far behind other students

c) get ahead of other students

2. She seemed to just breeze through the exams. Everyone else was in such a panic and almost had nervous breakdowns.

a) do them calmly and efficiently b) not take them seriously c) cheat in them

3. I just can’t seem to get the hang of English prepositions. Just when I think I’ve learnt them I make new mistakes.

a) memorize b) understand c) enjoy

4. When I sat down and looked at the exam paper my mind just went blank. Everyone else seemed to be writing away quite happily.

a) became confused b) became very focused c) became empty