International Student Welcome
Programme
Top Tips for Undergraduate Students
– How to Succeed in Your Studies
Exercise – where are you from?
Congratulations!
Keeping Your Studies on Track
All Resources For This Presentation
http://pd.nottingham.ac.uk/eng/
Induction/International-Students2
Semesters and Terms
Autumn Semester
26 September 2011 –
28 January 2012
Autumn term
26 September –
16 December 2011
Spring Semester
30 January 2012 –
22 June 2012
Spring term
16 January 30 March 2012
Summer term
30 April –
22 June 2012
Levels of learning

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Level 0 – Foundation year. Preparatory year,
designed to give you the basics in the
subject.
Level 1 – Qualifying stage. Usually year 1.
To help you develop basic knowledge and
introduce fundamental concepts and
techniques.
Level 2 – Principally second year. It builds
next stage of students knowledge. You learn
more advanced concepts.
Levels of learning


Level 3 – Wide range of study skills
employed and developed, often with
emphasis on student centred and
student-initiated learning.
Level 4 – Principally for fourth year
students (some programmes) and
students already with a first degree
in an appropriate subject.
Degree Structure - UG

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Modules 10 or 20 credits
120 credits per year – (no more than 70
credits per semester) 360 in total
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/qualitymanual/QAstructures/UNQF.htm
Resources
UG handbook / module handbooks
Module enrolment – student responsibility –
open 26 Sept – 4 Oct. Use Module Entry
Forms
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/timetable/ht
ml/ModuleEnrolment/Home.php
Marks - Undergraduate
I
= 70% +
 II-1 = 60% - 69%
 II-2 = 50% - 59%
 III = 40% - 49%
 Pass = 40% +
QUIZ
Question
How different are you expecting
studying at Nottingham to be from
your previous experiences?
1→→→→ →→→ 5 →→→→→→→10
Not very different →→→ Very different
Top Tips For: Getting the Most Out of
UK Teaching Methods

Lectures
http://www.palgrave.com/skills4study/studyskills/learning/learning.asp

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Seminars
Tutorials
Practicals
http://www.palgrave.com/skills4study/studentlife/international/speaking.asp

Supervision
http://www.prepareforsuccess.org.uk/
Personal Tutoring

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All Undergraduate students will be
allocated a personal tutor
But not one each!
Each School has own practice
Check in Quality Manual for general
rules.
Independent Study

Learning to become an independent
learner
http://www.palgrave.com/skills4study/studyskills/learning/independent.asp


Expectations of ‘rote learning’
Demonstrating independent thought
(backed-up by evidence)
Developing your Critical Thinking

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Critical thinking is the process of applying
reasoned and disciplined thinking to your
subject.
To do well in your studies you
need to think critically about the
things you have read, seen and
heard.
Critical thinking is essential for
high grades.
You can learn to become a
critical thinker.
Developing your Critical Thinking
Bring
together the
different
Take in the
sources
of
information
information
Develop
Understand
arguments,
the key points
and draw
and
conclusions,
arguments
Compare
similarities
Use
the
and
understanding
differences
you have
gained
between the
in assignments
you are
andideas
projects
taking in
Developing your Academic Writing



Academic writing is clearly defined by
having a clear purpose, either an exam
question to answer or a research project to
report on. Most academic writing in
English is linear.
It starts at the beginning and finishes at the end, with
every part contributing to the main line of argument,
without digression or repetition.
What ever kind of writing your are producing, you, the
writer, is responsible for making your line of argument
clear and presenting it in an orderly fashion so that
the reader can follow.
Developing your Academic Writing
Understanding the Question
It is important to have a clear understanding of what you
are being asked to write:
 Analyse - Separate down into its component
parts and show how they interrelate with
each other
 Annotate - Put notes on (usually a diagram)
 Assess - Estimate the value of, looking at
both the positive and negative attributes
 Comment - To make critical or explanatory
notes/observations
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/library/skills/Advice/WhatQuest.
pdf
Developing your Academic Writing
Academic writing is a difficult skill for all students to
acquire…so…
 Attend a workshop
 Talk with your lecturer
 Practice writing
 Write first, revise later
 Learn from good writers
 Talk about writing with other students
 Use your PC to improve your writing
 Learn from textbooks
 Learn new words
 Use new words
Developing your Academic Writing –
citing and referencing
References should include the following

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The author or editor
Year of Publication (in round brackets)
The title
The edition if other than first
The place of publication
The publisher’s name
E.g. Kittel, C. (2005) Introduction to solid state
physics. 8th ed. New York: Wiley
Developing your Academic Writing –
Avoiding Plagiarism

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2.2.1 It is an academic offence to present someone else’s
work as being one’s own. (The University of Nottingham,
Quality Manual)
It is important to understand that even though you may not mean to
plagiarise, it would not be right that you are given credit for
work that is not your own, even if it was done in error.
It is possible to be in violation of the
university's rules on plagiarism because
you have been careless or inadequate in
the way you have cited your sources.
To avoid the confusion of appearing to have
plagiarised, it is better to make sure you have
understood the conventions expected in citing the
words and work of other people.
Plagiarism Test


Good site to test your
understanding
http://www.indiana.edu/~istd/plagi
arism_test.html
Assessment – understanding feedback
Lecturer feedback will usually tell you,



How good the assignment was
Whether it
achieved what
the lecturer wanted.
What could
have been
improved
Assessment – Understanding feedback
Translation: The word adequate means good enough.
“You
haveis given
an adequate
introduction
to
The
marker
saying that
what you have
written is fine
topic The
based
on isyour
reading.” that you
but this
not great.
marker
also suggesting
may not have read enough texts.
“You
write inAcademic
a clear,style
academic
style,
Translation:
= University
writing,
in almost
every respect =inmost
of
following
the conventions
almost
every
the
time
respect”
“Your summary of the various sources is
Translation: You need to change your academic writing
through. Ideally you would integrate
style a little and bring together summaries of sources otherwise
these more,
rather
than
referring to the
the assignment
becomes
too long
winded.
various people one by one in each
section.
General Advice

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
If you don’t understand – ask your tutor, lecturer,
supervisor or Director of Studies
Expect to have to
work hard to understand
and respond to new
academic expectations
Use the on-line materials on
the handout to get to
grips with all aspects of
your work