Insight on the academic half of the Freshman 15
Mike Treadgold
You’ve surely heard the rumours about the nosedive that your marks are going to take in your first year in university.
The scenario is predictable. You come to university, with an 80-plus average. Perhaps your first written assignment is a book report; read the book, analyze the themes, write 1000 words – easy business, right? You put in your usual amount of work and submit what you think is an ‘A-worthy’ paper, B+ at worst. Three weeks later, the papers come back and your paper is littered with red ink. You’ve just gotten your first C.
While you pick up the pieces of your shattered ego, there are a few things to consider as you look to figure out the secrets behind getting good marks in university.
Read. Read a lot. And then, read some more. Everyone begins their university careers with the objective of reading every chapter, every report, every journal and every set of lecture slides, without fail. You’ll soon learn that unless you require zero hours of sleep, food, exercise and fresh air, this is virtually impossible. But, you still need to make good use of your time, and get used to the idea of opening books, pdfs, online articles, etc. and getting used to their content.
“New students often find that the amount of work, and therefore the amount of study time, expected of them is very different from high school,” said Maryann Kope, Manager of the Learning Services in the McLaughlin Library on campus. “Once the semester is underway, readings, assignments, and labs may pile up faster than they can be completed. Some students may feel overwhelmed by the volume of work, particularly at peak times in the semester like during midterms.”
Recognize the ways in which you will be evaluated. This isn’t high school where you will submit dozens of small assignments over the course of a semester that have little to no impact on your marks. In university, every assignment is critical and you need to treat them as such. This piece of advice – like others I have provided here, given my history and political science background – applies more appropriately to arts and social science students, who may have their work graded fewer than five times over the course of a semester. You have to make every piece of work.
You’ll quickly recognize that your professors are generally some of the smartest individuals you will ever meet; they specialize in a craft and excel with information. If they say something, write it down, or at least attempt to remember it.
When your professors and TAs have office hours go talk about an essay, a midterm or a report. The initiative on your part will not go unnoticed and you’ll soon learn that these people are very approachable.
Study habits and strategies will vary between disciplines, and it may take some time to familiarize yourself with the best method to achieve success. Be prepared to increase your work ethic, quality of production and most of all, don’t go looking for a window ledge at the sight of your first bad mark.
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