Don't procrastinate...innova te! (How to Cope with Coursework)

Member Name: gissing

Product:	How to Cope with Coursework
Date:	27/10/00 (33 review reads)
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Advantages: start early, work to a schedule,

Disadvantages: it is boring, I know..

I find the best tip for doing coursework is to start early - even if it is only just reading around the subject a little. That means ensuring that procrastination does not get the better of you. Deadlines for work are set at a reasonable level usually; they reflect the effort you need to put into any given piece of work - although they do not always take into account the other work you may have at any given time. This means that time management is vital.

With reports, I find that writing the contents page first works best - breaking the work down makes life a lot easier as you can attack it in stages. You can come back to parts that are troublesome, and you can get on with areas you feel strongest in. Try and offer something innovative, and new - I am sure tutors see the same types of reports all the time, and will probably be impressed should you do something different. (within the allowed specification of course!)

Talking to your tutors is a good idea as well, they are generally always willing to reply to email, or the odd quick discussion here and there to ensure you are going on the right lines.

Spelling and grammar is vital; I'm convinced that it can be worth about 10% of the marks on a project. Even if not technically perfect, or carefully researched, you certainly improve your chances if your work is well written. Make sure you are writing to the correct audience. A dooyoo review is reasonably formal, an email is not, a thesis very formal. Think carefully about who wants to read such an essay.

Group work forms a lot of coursework marks these days; there are ways to make sure you do well at that, too. Try and choose your own groups - think about the skills and abilities of your friends and peers, think about how likely they are to turn up for group meetings. Are there any conflicts between the members? These are all important to think about. Trust is a big part as well, you need to trust others to do work you could feasi
bly attempt yourself.

Lab reports - you may find that your experiments do not always work. Do not try and cover this up with fake results - better marks are given for more honest reports, with ideas as to why the expected results are not achieved.

Talking to your peers is an excellent way to find out what is required of you - perhaps they have a different take on the specification you have been given. Not everyone handles assignments the same, and you need to do what feels best to you.

There are the obvious pitfalls around hand in time, too. Printing is always tricky nearer the deadline time, as the law of sod states that what can go wrong probably will.

I tend to get a rough print done before I have totally finished, and keep this with me in case of any last minute mishaps - a slightly rougher piece of work handed in is better than nothing at all.

Always keep a copy of your work. I have heard horror stories of work that has gone missing from being handed in, to getting marked. This can result in zero marks, despite the fact that you have done nothing wrong. Try and get a receipt for handing work in (some universities do this).

There is a useful list of links to help you with writing reports below.... good luck!

http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/advise.html

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