How to approach....

Tips from real Cardiff University students about how they approach coursework, exams, essays and other aspects of the course. Read below to know more about what to expect academically and how to plan your strategy for working.

COURSEWORK

STUDENT 1

Start as early as you can so you’re not rushing it last minute in an all nighter - Hold zooms with your mates to discuss some of the problems to pool ideas together - Try to stick to peer review sources, if you don’t understand them watch a YouTube video on the same thing and then go back to the source so you have a background knowledge - If possible get friends to peer mark essays, preferably with a different title to avoid plagiarism. This will help you to see why they have done well and they can give you advice on what to improve

STUDENT 2

Personally, when it comes to coursework I find that doing a little and often is the best way to go. Just have a go at a few questions the first week you get the coursework and slowly get through it, then you stress out less. Don't panic About referencing, as long as you use the cardiff biosi harvard referencing guidence you're fine (or endnote). Try and use good and dependable resources , you can use the library for these. Also to improve essay writing , try and real a few science journals from time to time, this will help you get into the swing of writing in the appropriate tone for science essays.

PRACTICALS

STUDENT 1

on the most part just read the booklet - It’s not abnormal to come out of a practical not knowing what you did or why you did anything because it’s very rushed. Just either ask a friend or watch YouTube videos to further understand the theory behind it - Talk to the people around you when you can because either they can help or just allow you to make friends

STUDENT 2

With practicals i didnt do any major preperations , but what helped a lot was to read thoroughly through the experiment youre about to do the night before so youre familiar with everything before you get there. This helped a lot, as there was limited help in practicles with social distancing, you could just crack on independently and efficiently. However, theres no reason to worry about practicals, as long as you keep all your results up to date in your lab book, and you try ur best , so many people are on hand to help.

STUDENT 3

Before you go into each practical make sure you understand what you are doing and why. Understanding the purpose of each step will help your confidence in what you're doing. Taking the time to know what you're doing, highlighting your instruction steps and getting ready for the day will really benefit you in the long run. Make sure after the practical you write down what you learnt and why so you can revise at the end of the year!!

LECTURES

STUDENT 1

Don’t worry about writing down everything first go. Especially when it’s live, try to process the key information and just move on if you get behind. You can catch up on a rewatch - Don’t force yourself to watch a lecture if you are not in the headspace and know you’re just gonna sit there on your phone. It’s a waste of time. Take a break and come back another time or make notes on something else to be productive

STUDENT 2

After many trial and error , what i found that worked for me was printing out the powerpoint the night before and read through it and make rough notes (or note anything you dont understand), the in the lecture you can write around the already prepared slides so when you come back to them for revision you know exactly what the lecturer wants you to learn as well as some helpful tips from yourself. You can do this on your laptop, or personally i work better with printing it out and writing on it (because thats the only way itll sink in for me).