Can you get through first year without reading?
Don't know if this post is in right thread or not, sorry if it isn't.
I'm currently in my first year at uni, been here about 6/7 weeks. I haven't read a book or anything at all since starting.. Our lecturers send us a couple articles here and there that I've scanned through, but my true question is: Can you get through the first year of uni without reading before lectures? I'm planning to read for essays and assessed work, but before/after lectures - do you really need to do it?
Thanksssss
I'm currently in my first year at uni, been here about 6/7 weeks. I haven't read a book or anything at all since starting.. Our lecturers send us a couple articles here and there that I've scanned through, but my true question is: Can you get through the first year of uni without reading before lectures? I'm planning to read for essays and assessed work, but before/after lectures - do you really need to do it?
Thanksssss
You can pass but that's about it.
Bear in mind that some graduate employers will ask to see your full transcript and not just your degree certificate. Your first year results don't count towards your final degree result in most cases. However even if you end up passing with a good grade, a future employer might see that you slacked off in the first year and only started working when it suited you. That's not a useful character reference.
No, but you can read selectively.
I've done well in both my first and second year by doing this - Imo lecture reading (unless there's an exam for that module) is a waste of time I could better spend on assessed work.
I prefer to do my lecture reading for exam modules as exam revision at the end of the year, as it takes too much time away from other things to do it every week throughout the year, and I find that I remember it all far better if it's part of revision - this does mean I am not the kind of person who is cram-revising one week before the exam though. I instead focus on seminar and essay reading throughout the year, and at the minute dissertation reading too.
It's great to read before lectures and be sitting there knowing exactly what's going on, and you do get much more out of them that way, but for me time is in short supply and I must focus my efforts and work smart. Uni is a game to be played.
I've done well in both my first and second year by doing this - Imo lecture reading (unless there's an exam for that module) is a waste of time I could better spend on assessed work.
I prefer to do my lecture reading for exam modules as exam revision at the end of the year, as it takes too much time away from other things to do it every week throughout the year, and I find that I remember it all far better if it's part of revision - this does mean I am not the kind of person who is cram-revising one week before the exam though. I instead focus on seminar and essay reading throughout the year, and at the minute dissertation reading too.
It's great to read before lectures and be sitting there knowing exactly what's going on, and you do get much more out of them that way, but for me time is in short supply and I must focus my efforts and work smart. Uni is a game to be played.
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by Antifazian
No, but you can read selectively.
I've done well in both my first and second year by doing this - Imo lecture reading (unless there's an exam for that module) is a waste of time I could better spend on assessed work.
I prefer to do my lecture reading for exam modules as exam revision at the end of the year, as it takes too much time away from other things to do it every week throughout the year, and I find that I remember it all far better if it's part of revision - this does mean I am not the kind of person who is cram-revising one week before the exam though. I instead focus on seminar and essay reading throughout the year, and at the minute dissertation reading too.
It's great to read before lectures and be sitting there knowing exactly what's going on, and you do get much more out of them that way, but for me time is in short supply and I must focus my efforts and work smart. Uni is a game to be played.
I've done well in both my first and second year by doing this - Imo lecture reading (unless there's an exam for that module) is a waste of time I could better spend on assessed work.
I prefer to do my lecture reading for exam modules as exam revision at the end of the year, as it takes too much time away from other things to do it every week throughout the year, and I find that I remember it all far better if it's part of revision - this does mean I am not the kind of person who is cram-revising one week before the exam though. I instead focus on seminar and essay reading throughout the year, and at the minute dissertation reading too.
It's great to read before lectures and be sitting there knowing exactly what's going on, and you do get much more out of them that way, but for me time is in short supply and I must focus my efforts and work smart. Uni is a game to be played.
this. I also don't spend hours on seminar reading when I have an essay to do. also i should add it depends on the seminars as well- some say we have to read specific things & then we talk about them in the seminar in which case you need to, some we just talk about a topic I know about anyway and we don't need to refer to anything in particular in which case I don't need to do the reading.
(edited 10 years ago)
No.
You at least have to read your exam papers
You at least have to read your exam papers
It probably depends on what you're studying. If you're studying Maths, (as I was,) it's theoretically possible to get 100% on every exam paper without opening a single textbook. For the vast majority of modules, the lecture notes are enough.
If you're studying a more wordy subject, I assume that might not be the case.
If you're studying a more wordy subject, I assume that might not be the case.
Original post by Ellie-x
Don't know if this post is in right thread or not, sorry if it isn't.
I'm currently in my first year at uni, been here about 6/7 weeks. I haven't read a book or anything at all since starting.. Our lecturers send us a couple articles here and there that I've scanned through, but my true question is: Can you get through the first year of uni without reading before lectures? I'm planning to read for essays and assessed work, but before/after lectures - do you really need to do it?
Thanksssss
I'm currently in my first year at uni, been here about 6/7 weeks. I haven't read a book or anything at all since starting.. Our lecturers send us a couple articles here and there that I've scanned through, but my true question is: Can you get through the first year of uni without reading before lectures? I'm planning to read for essays and assessed work, but before/after lectures - do you really need to do it?
Thanksssss
I got a 2:1 in first year doing **** all reading apart from assessed essays and exam revision.
I wouldn't advise ignoring it completely though. I found second year incredibly hard to adjust to because then you are required to do a lot of reading. E.g you'd have to read a few chapters of something before a seminar, which would subsequently be discussed in the class so if you didn't read it you wouldn't have a clue what anyone was talking about and it would be pointless attending. Plus you're marked a lot harsher so you need to include a wider variety of sources/arguments/knowledge etc etc.
You can get away with it in first year but speaking from experience, I wouldn't recommend it. It took me absolutely ages to get used to actually doing work again and as a result my first term essays (worth 50% of the module) were poor by my standards and dragged down my overall grade for second year. All my marks after Christmas, when I was in a good routine of getting reading/work done, were much higher. Whereas my friends who did put some effort in during first year didn't have this problem.
I generally don't read anything before lectures unless it's something important we have been urged to read to better understand them, otherwise it's optional. A lot of the time certain lectures have nothing to do with the assignment question you've chosen (if you're given a choice) so I tend to pick a question to answer quite early on and focus my reading on that. I'm on track for a first and in third year, but this is only reading before lectures I don't tend to do much of; reading for your assignments is very important to get a good grade (journals especially; don't expect a really good mark if you just use textbooks).
(edited 10 years ago)
On some courses you could possibly scrape by without reading much. This year I've only got 2 compulsory books to read. Even though 1st year doesn't count towards your overall grade, your tutor will be writing references for you in the future and your work/attitude this year may be reflected in that.
I did hardly any of the suggested reading last year and did really well in most of my exams. I guess I did my own reading though, usually I'd google specific points/areas I was interested in/didn't quite understand (trying to stick to fairly reliable sources) and found that a lot more useful than reading whole chapters of textbooks, much quicker too.
Quick Reply
Related discussions
- University of Reading Clearing 2023
- Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
- how do i use flashcards
- Do I need Further Maths for Cambridge Natural Sciences (physics route)?
- What is the Bristol vet school course like?
- How - exactly - to revise using past papers
- Psychology
- How necessary is a first in order to become a barrister?
- Is not taking the maintenance loan silly?
- Liverpool Vet med 2023 entry
- Getting into Medicine
- How can I achieve a grade average of 78% in my third year of uni?
- medicine without chem??
- Burnt out already
- NPLQ tips?
- Nursing Placements at City University of London
- We've topped the list for social mobility!
- Funding a module retake - SAAS
- Nursing at university
- First uni assignment
Latest
Trending
Last reply 3 weeks ago
Got a third in my second year and the highest I’ve achieved in third year was 55%Trending
Last reply 3 weeks ago
Got a third in my second year and the highest I’ve achieved in third year was 55%
