1/31/2011
Study techniques
Overview
• Some important UNISA admin aspects…
• Characteristics of successful students
• Establishing self-discipline & motivation
to study
• Managing your time
• Working through the theory
• Working through the questions
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Important admin matters
• Forms of assistance: Refer tut letter 101
UNISA lecturers directly via e-mail / help-desk
myUnisa on the Internet
UNISA Study schools
Study groups - can ask UNISA for addresses
of students in your area
– NSOA lecturers – via discussion posts on the
NSOA Student Zone
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• Prescribed books
– Need to get them
– 2010/11 SAICA Handbook & Legislation are critical for the
Open Book exams…
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Important admin matters
• Compulsory assignment
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Must be done to be able to write the final exam
Can be done by post or through “MyUnisa”
Due date is 9th May (for Auditing – check the others!)
Do sooner rather than later…
In Tut letter 101
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Important admin matters
• Tests & Exams
– Year mark counts 20% of final mark so tests are critical!
– NEW! Need 30% year mark to be able to write the final
exam!
– NEW! Now have reading time (15 mins for a 60 min Q)
– NEW! Finac test is 120 minutes (with 30 mins reading
time!)
– Receive your tests back - good feedback on your learning
– Minimum exam mark of 45% regardless of year mark…
– Dipac needs minimum of 55% in Finac to proceed to CTA
– Supplementary exam
• CTA only!
• If pass 3 of the 4
• Note still need the subminimum of 45% for the one you fail!
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Important admin matters
• Open book policy
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Refer Tut letter 301
No notes in books at all.
Can flag, underline, sideline & highlight
Only permitted texts are the 2010/2011:
• SAICA Handbook
• SAICA legislation Handbook
– No loose pages / no photocopied versions
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A word up front…
• You have a really difficult year ahead of you –
don’t kid yourself that it’s going to easy.
• Get settled into a structured routine as soon as
possible…
• No pain, no gain!
• Good things do not come to those who wait!
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Characteristics of
successful students
• Really committed to passing
• Worked consistently
• Regularly performed in the top third
of the student group
• Wrote all the tests
• Scored a year mark above 50%
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Year mark statistics!!
Pass rates (2010 NSOA CTA group in CT):
Year mark
> 60%
100% pass rate (7/7 students)
50% - 59% 71% pass rate (24/34 students)
40% - 49% 29% pass rate (9/31 students)
< 40%
12% pass rate (5/42 students)
> 50%
< 50%
76% passed
19% passed
Which group will you be in at the end of 2011?
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How do you achieve success?
Need a Dream / Goal
x
Need a Work ethic
x
Need a Strategy
Cannot achieve success unless all 3
elements are present!
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What are your
Academic dreams / goals?
• Test scores by subject?
• Hours of study per week?
• No. of assignment questions / tutorials per
week?
• Social / Relationship / Relaxation time per
week?
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Establishing a work ethic…
• It is not the work itself that establishes the desire
to put in work effort, but rather the reward at the
end…
– Why do you want to pass your exams?
– What will you be able to do once you have passed?
– What does it mean to you to have passed?
• Consider building a dream board…
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Developing a strategy
• Assuming you are prepared to commit
yourself to your studies (work ethic), what is
your strategy going to be to reach your dream
/ goals?
– Maintaining your commitment
– Allocating the necessary time to each week
– Studying effectively & efficiently
• Your theory…
• Your questions…
– Learning from your mistakes!
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SOME QUOTES…
“You can’t build a reputation on what you
are going to do” - Henry Ford
“Obstacles are those frightful things you
see when you take your eyes off your
goal” - Henry Ford
“He who would have the fruit must climb
the tree” - Thomas Fuller
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It takes 28 days to
form a habit OR
break a habit! START NOW!!!!!
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Maintain your commitment…
At the end of every study week…
• Reflect on where you wanted to be / what do you
had wanted to achieve
• Where are you NOW in terms of that?
• If you aren’t there, why not and what can you do to
sort it out?
• Keep your dream board visible and up to date!
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Time Management
• Do a little exercise quickly…
• How much time is realistically available to you in an
average week?
• Add it up…
– In the evenings (after work)
– In the mornings (before work)
– On the weekends
• How much time do you need in a typical study week
– To cover the theory?
– To do the questions?
– To revise previous work?
• An example…
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Time management
• Time available?
• Time required?
– Evenings – 2hrs for 3 nights
– Mornings – don’t do that!
– Weekends? – 1 day (8 hrs)
– Total time available in a typical
week
= 14 hours
You’ve got a BIG
problem!!!!
– Several topics per subject per
week (with between 4 and 12
assignment questions) – a typical
Dipac / CTA week?
– Theory – 2 to 3 hours per topic?
– Questions – 2 to 3 hours per
topic
– Total time required in a typical
week (4 to 5 topics)
= 20 to 25 hours minimum
– UNISA suggest that you need to
spend “at least 30 hours” each
week on your studies!
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So what’s the solution?
• You cannot fit 20 to 25 required hours into 14
available hours! So…
• Increase the available hours
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Work 1 more night during the week?
Work 3 hours a night, not 2?
Put in 1 hour every morning?
Don’t waste time or procrastinate!
• Reduce the required hours
– Do questions more efficiently?
– Read more efficiently?
– Make notes more efficiently?
• Change the way you approach your studies…
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Approaching your studies
Plan weekly in advance
Determine time requirements up-front
Allocate work to pre-set time frames
Monitor during week - re-schedule if necessary
Assess at end, identify outstanding work (note for
follow-up later) and prepare for the next week
• Very NB to take your studies 1 week at a time…
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Weekly Action Plans
• Get them off the Student Zone (next slide…)
• How to use them…
– Breaks work down into weekly “chunks” that you can
sign off
– Allows you to keep track of what you’ve done / not yet
done!
– Highlights key questions (selected by the lecturers)
– Allows you to record your marks
– Allows you to comment on your questions
– Enables better preparation for revision
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The Student Zone
• On NSOA website…
• Purpose:
– Discussion forum supported by subject “experts” –
the NSOA DVD lecture team
– Ability to also post replies as fellow students
– Central point to download additional handouts,
action plans, slides, extra goodies from the lecturers
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The Student Zone
• Practicalities…
• The first time you use it, you will be sent a
password to your e-mail address (which
must correspond to the one you registered
with!)
• Every post / reply creates an automated e-mail
notifying you of any replies…
– May be a good idea to set up a rule…
– Direct mail from studentzone@nsoa.co.za to a new
folder so it doesn’t clog up your inbox
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Minimise wasted time!
• Manage yourself properly (get
organised!)
• Prevent interruptions during your study
time
• Make decisions regarding matters that
affect your studies
• Learn to say “No, thank you…”
• Learn to delegate tasks
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Effective reading skills
• How not to read (passive)!
– Lying down…
– With a highlighter…
• How to read effectively
– Training your eyes to go where they should (using
a pointer )
– Reading actively (make notes while you read)
– Reading for summarization & recall (mind maps?)
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Note taking / Summarizing
• Need to be doing this to assist with
– understanding and
– remembering
• Start with the big picture first & then move to the
detail
• Use of visualization techniques to help you remember
frameworks
– Try and create pictures / maps / diagrams / acronyms/ stories
– Especially NB as you cannot create summaries in your open
books anymore
• Consider use of mind mapping
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Doing the assignment questions
• Must get to the questions during the study week!
• They are the best way to highlight what you still
need to work on during revision
• 3 ways of doing questions:
– RWS – Read with solution
– HLS – High level summary / Plan (without solution)
– FBA – Full blown attempt (without solution)
• HLS & FBA questions should be attempted after
allowing for the appropriate reading time (15 mins
for a 60 min question – so 25% of time allocation)
• Reading time ≠ Planning time!
• Should get to “see” all the questions in one form or
another
– The highlighted Q’s in the action plans should be done as
tests of your knowledge (HLS or FBA)
• Very NB to then record comments and results on
your action plans
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Study to your target %
• You don’t have to get 100%!
• You don’t have to finish everything!
• You don’t have to understand everything!
• You need to know enough to be able to
score your target mark in the time that is
available to you!
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Key lessons to learn
• Every time you do a question you need to ask
yourself:
– Was my approach correct – or is there a better way to
tackle this kind of question?
– Was my layout / format correct or do I need to change
the way I am setting out my answer?
– Did I get the easy / quick marks first?
– Did I waste time on bits that didn’t give me a decent
return on my “marks for time” scale?
– Are there elements of theory that I need to spend more
time on? If so, what are they?
• Record these lessons so you can come back
to them during revision
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Study groups
Should be small (3 to 4 people?)
Must be focused
Meet regularly
Time limits
Need a leader
– Regulate meeting
– Manage time
– Monitor participation
• Must all participate
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BUILDING CONFIDENCE
• Keep focused on the rewards, not the effort
• Remember your track record
– The work you’ve done
– The techniques you’ve learnt
– The exams you’ve written & passed
• Get angry & resolve obstacles
• Be positive
• Remember the goals set & stick to your strategy /
timetable
• This is your year – go out there and prove it!!
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Remember:“Whether you think you CAN
or whether you think you CAN’T,
You’re RIGHT!”
(Henry Ford)
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