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A level Study Skills Information

The contents of this page are all concerned with study skills and tips for 'A' level

• Rules for the Academic presentation of work

• Reading a text book

• Examination tips and hints

• Planning coursework —some general principles

Rules for the Academic Presentation of Work

Use Information Technology. This helps you with Spellcheck and Grammar programmes. You can edit work properly. You may write, but avoid it if you can for important work.

Save copies on disc. You must always take a hard copy of any revisions so that if your disc is corrupted you can scan in your revisions. Keep copies of everything in more than one place or format. It is your problem if work is lost and people will not be sympathetic because it is assumed that you should know better.

Academic Presentation

Use a serif type face (font) such as Times Roman, Century Schoolbook or Aldine. Do not use fancy fonts or sans-serif such as Arial or Century Gothic. The optimum font size is 12 or 14. Do not go smaller. Larger is acceptable.

Double space all text. (Format, paragraph, line spacing, double)

Extend the left hand margin by at least 1 cm. A good left hand margin is 3-4 cm from the left hand side of the page. (Page Setup, Margins, Left)

Do not use Bold, Underline or Italic in your text. Bold is only used on its own for headings and with Italic for text titles. Italic is only ever used on Latin expressions or foreign words such as e.g.

Always refer to texts in the following way. In your text they should be referred to by Author (date of production: page number of information)
e.g. Burton ( 1990: 55).

In the Bibliography list:
Author or creator (date of production) Title of Text, Publisher or Company Producing text.

For example: Burton (1990) More than Meets the Eye, Arnold

Study Skills: Reading a textbook

Do not attempt to read the whole book or even a chapter of it in the way that you might read a novel. You do not have time.

Follow some of the following processes as they will help you to use written work more effectively.

Before you look at the text, decide why you are using the book.

• Are you seeking information?
• Do you want new ideas?

Read the text roughly and quickly in order to get a view of the main points of the text.

• Do not fuss if you do not understand everything. You are attempting to get an overview of the piece.

Write down words that you do not understand.

• Check them with a teacher, the librarian or a dictionary. CD ROM may help with sociological ideas.

Underline or highlight the important points as you read.

• Do not do this to LRC texts. Get a photocopy of the section.
• A red or green highlighter is best, yellow fades.

Take notes from the book.

• These notes should be brief.
• The notes should be in your own words.

If you do not understand an argument, then start the section again at the last point where ideas were clear.

• This means thinking hard about what the text is saying.
• If it genuinely still makes no sense, then see your teacher.
• An easy way to summarise the points of a piece of writing is to make a list of the key words in each first sentence of each paragraph.

Make a point of reading the Introduction and Conclusion of any piece of writing carefully.

• Often all you need is in this part of the text!

Examination techniques

What does an examiner want to know that a candidate can do?

An 'A' level candidate should be:

• familiar with sociological terms and language.
• familiar with the main themes and the important theorists
• able to write good clear logical English prose
• able to construct a clear line of argument
• able to express an opinion in the sense of being able to evaluate and comment on the material of Sociology.

Writing out your answers to an examination paper:

• Number the question that you are attempting.
• Write out the question as a heading only if it helps you to understand what the question is asking.
• Calculate the amount of time available for each answer and stick to it.
• Write an excellent essay plan and use it.
• Write frequent short paragraphs. If in doubt, start a new paragraph.
• Leave at least one line between each paragraph. You may remember something that you ought to add.
• Start each question on a fresh page and leave space for amendments if you have time.
• Read what you have actually written, not what you think that you have written. This means reading every single word carefully.
• Never use slang or casual language of any kind. There are clear formal rules in the English language for essay writing. Only the very confident should take the risk of a joke.
• Use a decent clear pen. Avoid biro. Errors of fact, spelling and grammar are far easier to notice if your handwriting is untidy or difficult to read.

There is no such thing as the answer. There is only your answer. Attempt four questions if four are asked for. If you do not know the answer to a question, then twist the wording to suit what you do know. (This last piece of advice is only for those in extremes of ignorance and should be ignored by everyone else.)

Do not describe what people said, or what you know. Mention it and then pass comment on it in some way.

Planning coursework — some general principles

These are the main things to remember about your coursework:

• If anything can go wrong, it will.
• If you leave it to the last minute then you are very likely to write a load of rubbish.
• Your teacher is there to be a source of help and guidance, but cannot support you unless you have made some effort on your own behalf.

As soon as the work is set, begin putting together ideas and write them down.

Start gathering information as quickly as possible.

Write your letters early as these will probably not be answered and you may need to pester people politely.

Your first draft will need very careful re-editing because it is never as good as you think it is; leave yourself plenty of time for re-drafting and editing.

At the end of the process, you will almost certainly feel that this was the part of the course that gave you the most satisfaction and which you really enjoyed.

Doing the courswork is likely to make you a better sociologist, so think about what you are doing and learn the lessons.

A serious mistake in the process is a bonus because you will then have plenty to write about.

The emphasis of the coursework in terms of marks is not the knowledge that you gain, but your understanding of and insight into the research process.

If you put off doing coursework, you will feel lousy and stress yourself out. If you have collected lots of ideas and bits of paper, then you will be able to begin when you feel relaxed and enthusiastic and you will have fewer problems.

Best of luck and enjoy yourself with the research.