Let’s not jump to conclusions here! The closing paragraph(s) to your paper is not an easy task to complete. It is not something you can just flippantly tack onto the end of your essay. A well written conclusion serves an important purpose in any piece of academic writing.

I remember back to my own writing history, I learned the hard way; my marks were usually affected by the construction of my conclusion. I remember comments like

‘A great use of the texts and literature, however you need to work on your conclusion. Your conclusion needs to tie your essay together’

So what’s this purpose then? Your conclusion gently brings the reader to the end of your work. It also provides the reader with a summary of what your paper has covered. It is a re-cap, and it must never have any new information or introduce or any new ideas.

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All students at some stage during their course will need to submit written work in order to demonstrate their understanding of their course. Regardless of how big or small the assignment, the correct use of grammar is an important consideration for any student. Written assignments are a students chance to demonstrate their skills, understanding and knowledge. It is important that grammar is used correctly.

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Piecing information together can be an overwhelming task. Deciding on whether or not to take notes from your course material is one question. If you decide that you are going to take notes – what kind of notes? How do you organise the information so that you remember it?

There are two main reasons to start mind-mapping:

1. To transfer information into a format that you can easily understand and refer to at your convenience.
2. To allow the information you are absorbing to enter your long term memory so that you are able to recall what you have learned – for life!

Mind-mapping eliminates the need to write down every single word. This in itself will significantly reduce the amount of time you spend taking notes, revising notes, and will result in more effective learning.

Consider your first mind-map as a rough draft. As you go through your course try to identify key concepts, words and phrases. Try and use your own words and descriptions, this will make it easier for you later on. The following questions may help you decide what to take note of, or refer to the example below for items to consider when starting your mind-map.

• What is the definition?
• What is it used for?
• Is there a cause and effect?
• What does it relate to?
• What is an example?

Each week refer back to your mind-map and make adjustments. You can add new headings or key points, or re-arrange information to enhance the clarity. By referring to your mind-map each week the knowledge you are absorbing won’t be lost, it will actually begin to enter your long term memory. This is a great way to make revision quick, easy and fun!

We all have difficulty finding time to study, particularly when we are trying to juggle work, social and family commitments with our study.

This is something thousands of students around the country deal with everyday.

But most do this successfully. (more…)

How to take notes effectively is something that all students constantly struggle with. It’s very easy to fall into the trap of taking notes on everything you read until you have practically rewritten the textbook. Not only is this incredibly time consuming, but it often doesn’t make the material any easier to learn.

Below, I have listed a few ideas that I have found to be helpful in my own studies.

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