Are lectures pointless? Question about lecture slides/books...
I'm confused here. If we learn our lecture slides for a topic then is that sufficient enough to do well in the exam for that topic?
Or is it better to read up on the subject?
The problem i've found here is that if I read up on the subject, not every little bit of information that is on the lecture slides is available in the books...does content from the actual lecture slides themselves come up in the exam, or do we just get tested on the subject?
This probably varies from subject to subject, but lets just say, for something like Politics?
Or is it better to read up on the subject?
The problem i've found here is that if I read up on the subject, not every little bit of information that is on the lecture slides is available in the books...does content from the actual lecture slides themselves come up in the exam, or do we just get tested on the subject?
This probably varies from subject to subject, but lets just say, for something like Politics?
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by cambo211
Well as it is your lecturers setting the exam questions it is certainly possible that they may expect you to know information that was said in the lecture but not on the slides.
so reading up on the subject is more important than learning what was said on the slides? how do you approach revising?
If you just studied the lecture content, you will probably scrape a 2:2.
You need to be doing extra reading.
You need to be doing extra reading.
Original post by GodspeedGehenna
If you just studied the lecture content, you will probably scrape a 2:2.
You need to be doing extra reading.
You need to be doing extra reading.
thanks, i'm just used to having a syllabus to work from but obviously uni is different. do you have any advice as to how i should take notes for revision?
Original post by oj234
thanks, i'm just used to having a syllabus to work from but obviously uni is different. do you have any advice as to how i should take notes for revision?
University is time to put the big boy pants on and work this out for yourself.
I'm confused here. If we learn our lecture slides for a topic then is that sufficient enough to do well in the exam for that topic?
No but that doesn't mean it isn't helpful it just isn't enough to do well in the terms of a first or a 2.1
Or is it better to read up on the subject?
Yes.
The problem I've found here is that if I read up on the subject, not every little bit of information that is on the lecture slides is available in the books...does content from the actual lecture slides themselves come up in the exam, or do we just get tested on the subject?
Well no doubt that you will be tested on something that you have covered but you are expected to do extra reading around the topics studied which do sometimes forward you on to extra topics so there may be a chance there will be something not familiar propping up on the exam, you cannot really know. I suggest going to lectures because not everything the lecturer says will be on the slides and I suggest doing extra reading but if you're happy just scraping through then why are you at University? are you not wanting to excel and learn more about what you're studying? Don't be lazy.
No but that doesn't mean it isn't helpful it just isn't enough to do well in the terms of a first or a 2.1
Or is it better to read up on the subject?
Yes.
The problem I've found here is that if I read up on the subject, not every little bit of information that is on the lecture slides is available in the books...does content from the actual lecture slides themselves come up in the exam, or do we just get tested on the subject?
Well no doubt that you will be tested on something that you have covered but you are expected to do extra reading around the topics studied which do sometimes forward you on to extra topics so there may be a chance there will be something not familiar propping up on the exam, you cannot really know. I suggest going to lectures because not everything the lecturer says will be on the slides and I suggest doing extra reading but if you're happy just scraping through then why are you at University? are you not wanting to excel and learn more about what you're studying? Don't be lazy.
Treat the lecture slides as the bare bones. They're useful but they're not going to get you a good enough grade for it if that's all you learn. Think of the extra reading as putting the meat on the bones - this way you go into far more depth, you understand it better and you'll (hopefully) know what you're talking about come exam time.
Original post by aeterno
Treat the lecture slides as the bare bones. They're useful but they're not going to get you a good enough grade for it if that's all you learn. Think of the extra reading as putting the meat on the bones - this way you go into far more depth, you understand it better and you'll (hopefully) know what you're talking about come exam time.
thank you
Lectures give you the basic foundation for your work, whether that be for exams or coursework. Just reading presentations from your lectures alone with no independent reading/research will probably mean you scrape a 3rd or a 2:2. You need to be doing your own reading (most courses should give you some guidance on what texts to be looking at) in order to support your work and prepare you for your exams.
Since your tutors set the questions in a lot of cases it is important to attend lectures to get guidance or at least download the materials to read through later on.
Since your tutors set the questions in a lot of cases it is important to attend lectures to get guidance or at least download the materials to read through later on.
Original post by oj234
I'm confused here. If we learn our lecture slides for a topic then is that sufficient enough to do well in the exam for that topic?
Or is it better to read up on the subject?
The problem i've found here is that if I read up on the subject, not every little bit of information that is on the lecture slides is available in the books...does content from the actual lecture slides themselves come up in the exam, or do we just get tested on the subject?
This probably varies from subject to subject, but lets just say, for something like Politics?
Or is it better to read up on the subject?
The problem i've found here is that if I read up on the subject, not every little bit of information that is on the lecture slides is available in the books...does content from the actual lecture slides themselves come up in the exam, or do we just get tested on the subject?
This probably varies from subject to subject, but lets just say, for something like Politics?
If you're lucky the scholar giving you the lecture is an expert in their field, they are sometimes the people who write the books you'd otherwise be reading. In those cases it's definately worth sitting in. Otherwise, some lecturers are very good at getting across ideas that are hard to digest, plus you can ask the lecturer questions where a book or article sits silent if you don't understand some aspect of the text.
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