The Student Room Group

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Reply 1
You've answerred you own question really!

Just go to ALL the lecturers, do the work, if you don't understand then ask / look it up, just work work work basically?
Reply 2
i was always told it took a very special person to get a first,you effectively had to go to the library on the first day of uni and not leave till graduation,so yeah work hard!
Work as hard as you need to in order to fully grasp the basic concepts (or whatever has been said in lecture) and then go into some further reading of particularly important concepts/issues. Practice exam qs if possible.
Reply 4
I would like to think that it is a combination of hard work and natural aptitude for your subject. But there are people who do no work and get a first. I think it is very individual.
Reply 5
I wonder that, I guess you have to be very interested and dedicated in what you do. Id like one but I'l have to study like every day and make a conscious effort to improve exam technique. Failing that I'l study past papers which recieved a first, failing this think I'l kill someone.. first degree in murder is better than nothing!
Reply 6
I haven't graduated yet but I would qualify for a 1st class BSc (I'm doing an MEng course so if I drop out of the 4th year I can graduate with a BSc based on my first 3 years). I can't say I have any special tricks. I just got on with it.
Reply 7
I'd say that in a sciences subject, it just requires a very high level of talent, but in an arts subject, you have to be utterly driven. You need to be the sort of person that is both very intelligent and prepared to read around the subject extensively. You also need to be the sort of person that listens to everything you're told in lectures and then goes into the exam and proposes a completely different theory to any of the perspectives you've been taught, but is able to back it up with compelling evidence.
Learning how to spell your subject would be a good start.
Overground
Learning how to spell your subject would be a good start.


You've never heard of pyschology? lol mate it's not psychology she's doing, it's an entirely different topic. Look it up. :rolleyes:
Reply 10
Dionysus
I'd say that in a sciences subject, it just requires a very high level of talent, but in an arts subject, you have to be utterly driven. You need to be the sort of person that is both very intelligent and prepared to read around the subject extensively. You also need to be the sort of person that listens to everything you're told in lectures and then goes into the exam and proposes a completely different theory to any of the perspectives you've been taught, but is able to back it up with compelling evidence.


Well put.
Reply 11
i was just lucky i guess. i did go to most of the lectures but paid no attention, did no work all third year, we never had any problems to do really (maths degree), but i did revise hard on the day of the exams. and i got a first.
Reply 12
is a first and a 2.1 the same thing :confused:
Reply 13
EierVonSatan
no 1st > 2.1 > 2.2 > 3rd



oh....thanks for that
Reply 14
My advice would be to study smart rather than hard.

I haven't been to every single lecture and done as much work as other people on my course that have ended up scoring lower marks than me because they made the mistake of thinking that blindly plodding on through reading, doing past papers and exercise questions substituted for digesting, understanding and developing feel and intuition with the material.

You need to look at the material you are covering and form a very clear conception of exactly what the main points are, what you are expected to know and understand and how to best go about this.

You don't learn anything by osmosis, so as noble as it may be to sit through every single lecture and stay in the library until closing time every day; unless you are making effective use of your time, you might as well go home and watch Trisha.
Start your coursework early, the day you get it in fact. Your workload builds up very quickly, and there's nothing worse than having an essay you know you'd do an awesome job of only to find you have 2 days to start it from scratch. make sure everything you hand in is the dog's balls. Ask for help if you need it, but don't be satisfied handing something in if you think it's substandard.

Pay attention to details. For essays, make sure you have a title page and a contents page, make sure it's formatted correctly. Make sure your references are in order and cited exactly how your uni's asked for them.

Look at past exam papers, and make sure you can answer everything they're asking - I can't stress this enough. Ask your lecturer to look at the answers you've put, get a feel what level of detail is required for a first. Start revising early.

Make time to relax too, though. It's easy to start going overboard/ getting obsessive but stress is a real concentration killer. Like i said - if you start your work early enough you will have time to complete it, rushing coursework in a panic at the last minute is soul destroying and you will hand in rubbish.

Hope this helps.
Reply 16
Jake22
My advice would be to study smart rather than hard.


What he said. I found it really hard to take in information at lectures, so I didn't always go - I made better use of the time looking through the lecture notes in my own time, slowly enough to really take them in and understand them.
Reply 17
twistme
What he said. I found it really hard to take in information at lectures, so I didn't always go - I made better use of the time looking through the lecture notes in my own time, slowly enough to really take them in and understand them.


Even a lot of my lecturers have said there often isn't a point in going to certain lectures. At the end of the day they are a resource like any other. Its up to the individual to organise their resources and get the most from them.

Its just really another instance of quantity not making up for quality.
Reply 18
There have already been lots of threads about 'how to get a First', so if you use the search function you should get lots of advice, and a realistic overview of what is involved (you don't have to be a library slave, for instance - a bit of talent, an understanding of what is required, a good writing ability and a solid knowledge of your essay / exam topic will do it).
Reply 19
Jake22
My advice would be to study smart rather than hard.

I haven't been to every single lecture and done as much work as other people on my course that have ended up scoring lower marks than me because they made the mistake of thinking that blindly plodding on through reading, doing past papers and exercise questions substituted for digesting, understanding and developing feel and intuition with the material.

You need to look at the material you are covering and form a very clear conception of exactly what the main points are, what you are expected to know and understand and how to best go about this.

You don't learn anything by osmosis, so as noble as it may be to sit through every single lecture and stay in the library until closing time every day; unless you are making effective use of your time, you might as well go home and watch Trisha.


Couldn't have put it better myself