Many of these may have already been mentioned, but these would be my tips;
- Work smarter, not necessarily harder - this means finding out exactly what is required for your subject, the conventions, presentation styles, the seminal texts that your subject is built upon etc. and making sure that you keep all of this in mind in any work you submit. Learn how to skim read, or look for summaries/analyses of texts rather than trying to read the whole thing, read the intro/abstract first and decide whether it's worth reading on or not
- Challenge the premise(s) of the question if you can, rather than just answering it - this shows you have thought a bit more deeply about what's being asked of you, and will get the lecturer more interested in what you have to say
- It pays to be organised, so start work early, know when deadlines are etc.
- Make sure you actually do your work in first year even if it doesn't count, because it is an excellent opportunity to adjust to the way of working at uni. Plus it gives you an idea of what level you are working at and what you need to improve on.