It’s great to be back in Newcastle – on the first day of summer, the recommencement of uni in September seems a long way away, but it always comes round surprisingly quickly.  As I drove back up to Newcastle for my third and final year, I found myself wondering where on earth the time has gone – it certainly doesn’t feel like two years since I arrived in Newcastle as a fresher.   Sentimentality aside however, the start of the year has been super hectic.   With new modules and a dissertation to get my head round, I’m already spending far more time than I’d like in the library.  I’m also running the Law for Non-Law Society and the Politics Running Club this year, on top of applying for various graduate schemes, so I’ve got a lot on my plate, but that’s the only way I’d have it – it keeps me busy and the less time spent lounging on the sofa the better, right?  It helps that everyone else on the course is in the same situation – there’s a realisation that we need to work hard this year if we want to do well, so there’s are plenty of familiar faces in the library.  And ultimately, the hard work put in should all be worth it – hopefully…

One of the best things about being a student is when you’re not actually being a student.  With a month at Christmas and a month at Easter followed by three months at summer you have plenty of time to do the travelling, internships and paid-work that you struggle to fit into your busy term time schedule.  After my first summer as a student was made up of the usual train travels around Europe (unexpectedly the highlight was Milan) this summer is turning out to be a little more, ordinary.   Two main things have occupied my time…

Hong Kong Efforts

The first of these mind occupying, time demanding activities has been the organising of my imminent study abroad in Hong Kong next semester.  Many students begin their study at Newcastle quite open to the adventure of studying abroad.  The faculty offers a wide range options such as Copenhagen, United States and Hong Kong for unilinguals such as myself, to the likes of France and Germany that require you to know their respective languages.  However, these interested numbers start to dwindle as the reality of costs, academic and social risks and the sheer preparation that is required becomes apparent.  I am someone who has managed to persevere, and after I have battled through the obstacles of visas, accommodation and travels I will hopefully be rewarded.  The benefits of studying abroad are immense.  The opportunity to make friends from all over the world (HK is an international university), learn about a different culture and study at another well-regarded university.  It also looks great on your CV, leading me to my second thing…

Careers Chances

After finishing second year I am feeling increasingly worried that my answer to the question, “what do you want to do?” is still “I don’t know.”  The answer of which I came to at age 11 when I realised a career as a clown was not for me.  Therefore, I have spent a lot of my summer thus far searching the Internet for graduate jobs determined to be ahead of the game.  However, both the beauty and the dilemma of a politics degree is that it doesn’t close any doors (sorry for cliché).  So, being a well-rounded individual with the obvious liberal reluctances to go-into-business I am left envying the pre-determined destiny of the marketing student.  Nevertheless, I will continue my Google searches with the hope of finding dream employment in a business which aligns with my moral compass, pays extremely well and resides overlooking the Seine, Paris.

Have a good summer.

Revision Technique: From A-Levels to University

At the start of GCSE’s I really didn’t know what was the best way for me to revise. At school we had lots of study skills workshops that taught me how to organise my time on each subject, but when it actually came to revising I still didn’t know what to do. Should I just read through my notes or make secondary notes and read through them? I began by making secondary notes by hand on small sheets of brightly coloured card. I used all sorts of coloured pens as well for highlighting different things, but by the end of it I couldn’t even revise from my notes they were too confusing. Not only that but it took forever to hand write everything up.

By the time A-Levels came around I knew that I needed to type up my notes on the computer. Then once you’ve printed them off you can read through them easily and highlight the important things as you go. It took me awhile to make sure this was the best way for me to revise, but its quick and easy and you can easily change the font of the text, italicize words, make headlines bold and use loads of bullet points!

This way of revising was a success; and I base this on the results I achieved at A-Level. So when the Summer Exam period started in the first year of UNI I was prepared, and instantly started typing up my notes. The exams went well, so I did the exact same revision for my 2013 January exams just gone.

University exams are fast approaching and when the students in the library are not self-destructing (“This is the hardest thing ANYONE has EVER had to do”;”If I don’t get a coffee I will LITERALLY die”) they are usually sharing interesting, but questionable, revision tips. Some personal favourites include: “A few glasses of red wine DEFINITELY made my essay writing SO much better last night”; “You learn best when you sleep, 16 hours a night is doing me so much good”; “Work at home, in bed, under the duvet – it will help you concentrate.”

Over the last two years I have tried and tested these methods and devastatingly they don’t seem to pay off. So, we got together with some second year students to ‘de-bunk’ the revision myths and get some sound advice for the current A-Level students:

“Don’t spend time stressing about studying, just study!”

– When it all gets too much the tears, tantrums and phone calls to mum may all seem like a good de-stressing method but it is actually best to avoid these time-wasters. Generally we get stressed about having too much to do or not understanding our work. Therefore, the best method to deal with stress is to channel it into a couple of hours of studying. By the end of those few hours you will be calmer, less distracted and will have less work to worry about!

“An Hour on, an hour off”

– This seems like another way to get out of doing revision, but it doesn’t have to be.  If you start early enough (this is the hardest task) you can often get a good 5 hours of intense and structured revision done in a day.  This way, instead of doing a mixture of TV, music, Facebook, Twitter, eating chocolate…and then some revision all at the same time you can split it up throughout the day.  Though I would advise in your ‘hour off’ it is best not to go to Facebook and TV as tempting as they may be, but instead exercise, chat to friends and family and eat ‘brain’ food.

“Think carefully about where you study”

– Revising in bed under the duvet seems to always be the most attractive option (especially in a cold university house!). However, revising and relaxing in the same place can often make revision less effective or cause you to stress when you are supposed to be relaxing! Having a physical space – such as the library or kitchen table – that you associate with working can make you more motivated when you choose to sit down and study. Also, having a space like your bedroom that is free from books and notes can allow you to relax once you are done for the day!

Revision and exams aren’t great, never have been and never will be! But studying effectively and making sure you get some R&R after a good revision session will make the whole experience much easier. Good Luck! (Its all worth it in the end!)
Jo &Joe

With essay deadlines passed, and only 3 weeks left till the beginning of the exam season, sights have started to turn towards revision. For me, revision consists of churning through swathes of lecture notes, re-writing them over and over, in different formats, whether it is long lists or spider diagrams. This is much the same as I revised for my A-Levels, but with more exams under my belt now, I’ve come to learn what works for me, and thus can tailor my revision period as such. With the semester-based system used in Universities, these exams also have the benefit that you’re only learning two-three months’ worth of content, opposed to A-levels, when I remember having to go back to notes I made half a year previous. Even so, I, like many others, will rack up the hours spent in the library over the next few weeks, and the 6th June can’t come soon enough. However, while in some respects the summer term isn’t the best, it isn’t all bad news. Even up here in Newcastle, the temperature does increase fractionally, and with the days are getting longer, the opportunity for evenings spent in Jesmond’s beer gardens is one Newcastle students do not miss out on.

I have to admit that when we decided to write a blog on our four week long Easter holiday I was slightly worried about my lack of activity. Don’t get me wrong, films had been watched, lie-ins were had, too much food had been eaten and I had managed to successfully avoid any form of physical activity. But, the academic side of life had taken an ermm….backseat. This was not due to a sudden lack of work (I wish) but rather my need for some serious R&R after a long winter term. I have to say that after one week back in lecture my 4 week break seems to have paid off. It is always hard getting back into the swing of things but coming back to Newcastle both well -rested and with a fully belly (courtesy of my mother) getting back into essay writing and lectures was much easier. It got me thinking about sitting my final school exams and always being told that ‘rest is just as important as studying.’ It appears that there is definitely an element of truth in that advice! If you are preparing for you Highers, Advanced Highers or A-Levels right now then maybe getting a bit of R&R is exactly what you need – four weeks might be pushing it though!

Jocelyn

Semester 2 is now fully underway but it feels as if January exams were only just last week! We are in fact almost half way through new modules with essay deadlines looming before the Easter break, and more importantly this Friday our summer exam dates are released! However, despite this mad rush before the end of term let me tell you a little bit about normal politics life at Newcastle.

For most people the start of semester 2 meant beginning 3 new modules, for me this meant new subjects of Contemporary Russian Politics, Africa and the Politics of Development and Research Methods. For each of these new modules you have 2 hours worth of lectures a week, sometimes they are in 2-hour blocks or spread out across the week. On average there are about 100 students in a lecture, and you generally make notes as your lecturer goes through and discusses PowerPoint slides.

On top of this you get a 1-hour seminar session a week per module, which normally takes place in the Politics building. Your seminar leader, who is often your lecturer, runs these and there can only be a maximum of 20 students in each group. This is your chance to talk in more detail about the subject of the lecture, ask any questions and see what your peers think about the topic. You are expected to have prepared for these discussions by reading journal articles and book chapters, which are outlined in the module guide. On occasion your seminar leader may ask you to prepare a small presentation for the group, or they might go through past essay papers to show you how to improve on your marks. Although the week consists of only 9 hours of direct contact time, it is almost a guarantee that beyond 1^st year you will spend most of your free time in the library reading for seminars and working on assignments!

Frankie

As the second term ended, I could not wait to get home to just relax with my family and eat healthy food. The last few weeks had been extremely stressful, what with a difficult statistics assignment to hand in and my housemates getting on my nerves. But I knew it would only take a couple of weeks at home until I was desperate to get back to Newcastle to see my friends.

At the beginning I went to France on a family skiing holiday, which was hilarious but then Easter came and went in quite a blur, probably because of the large quantities of chocolate consumed! After that I went to London quite a few times to go out shopping and to the theatre. I saw an incredible play worth mentioning because of the rave reviews its received and the fact that I got the tickets for £25, (now they are selling them for ten times that price) starring Helen Mirren reprising her Oscar winning role as the Queen. But Easter wasn’t all fun and play, I realised that I seriously need to start saving for summer so I got a job with a catering company close to home that I can work for during the holidays!

It also dawned on me towards the end of the break the actual amount of revision I need to do and the essay deadlines, which I once thought were months away were now only a matter of weeks! I started with my essay for Contemporary Russian Politics first as the deadline was the closest. I chose the title ‘Assess the role of hard and soft power in Russian foreign policy’; I had answered a similar essay question before in the first term about Chinese soft power so I really enjoyed researching this topic and expanding my knowledge. I also chose a relatively similar question in my module for African Politics on ‘Why have Western Commentators been critical of China’s recent involvement in Africa?’ When I got back to UNI what also hit me out of the blue was that I need to start thinking about my dissertation topic straight away, as by the end of term (only 7 weeks away) I need to have handed in my research question and decided on a supervisor!

This term is going to be a busy one for sure, endless days and nights spent in the library I think, but not to worry though I still have tonnes of Easter chocolate left over to keep me company!

Frankie