Hello blog, and welcome to my second-ever blog on “Tips on achieving high grades”.
No secret university is more complex than high school, so how do we approach this complexity? More importantly, how can we deal with this complexity with the simplest tools available to anyone reading this? Let’s explore my study tips and what I have learned during my almost now 2 years at the University of Kent Canterbury.
Just before we jump in, let me provide you with some of my backstory.
I’m a first-year law student at the University of Kent, although being from Venezuela means I had to begin with foundations and now it is my 2nd year at the university. Having done foundation year within a somewhat short timeline, and only having lived in UK for 3 years, I have had to navigate many areas of university alone and quickly. During this journey, I have collected techniques and resources which I would like to share with all the readers.
Organisation
Organising is hard and it never works perfectly, look at the huge companies having to restructure, they’re organisations by definition and even they fail sometimes. The key to organisation is to start and adapt as you go, get yourself a whiteboard, and some index cards, and play around with some Excel sheets or online tools, eventually, you will get a feel of what works for you.
My organisation has started with index cards, they’re cheap and great in a variety of ways. I normally write down separate deadlines on individual index cards and with blue-tac, I stick them on the wall at my desk, if I need to, I give myself a little description of the assignment or task too.
I would like to mention too that your organisation should not cost a fortune, watch out for the “buying but not acting” trap and rather try to act and then buy if the act dictates and the act benefits you.
Additionally, I use a whiteboard for my daily tasks, and for some less pressing non-immediate tasks I use a website called www.globaltasks.net which provides me with a calendar and a kanban board for my to-do’s. Unfortunately, the Kanban board is paid, but I did get it for free and if you stick around, I will sure talk in another blog about how I got it for free!
Start Things Early
Start your assignments at least a week before the deadline. I know it is hard to see the immediate reward of doing this, and the fact is it is not always possible, but don’t shy away and give it a go; you will see how life gets easier in the long run. More time allows you to proofread, do more in-depth research, and develop better arguments and analyses, leading to higher grades and a better margin for error. In addition, you get to find more time for any other opportunities.
I start all assignments and applications early, at a minimum of two weeks, but sometimes I start even a month ahead. Balancing a part-time job, enjoying life, attending university, and trying myself at all these opportunities might seem crazy, but it works if you do a little bit of organising and start things ahead of time.
The way I see it is that if I start early, I can do a little piece of any big piece of work on any other day, and over time this will add up, plus always coming back to my yesterday’s work forces me to proofread myself. Currently, I need to learn how to allocate my time more effectively; for instance, if I have a seminar and a lecture, I will try to study for an hour or two when I am back home, instead of just wrapping up the studies for the day. I don’t always do it, but it is always on the back of my head because university is kind of my full-time job, so dedicating the time is part of it.
Time-management example from my current life:
February 19, I have a Criminal Law Advice Note assignment due in on the 14th of March; I have almost a month to complete it. The assignment question and details have now been released for a few days, so I already checked the question and dedicated maybe an hour or two to try to identify the main themes and/or points of the assignment. This helps me to have an idea of how challenging this assignment will be and have a rough mental estimate of how long it might take me.
This week, I will dedicate two, maybe three hours to this assignment. I will go through the reading and examples of advice notes. If I have enough time, I will start writing, but no big worries if I don’t.
You can see how starting early makes the whole experience calm and predictable, in the worst case the work turns out harder than expected, but it won’t be 3 weeks long harder! And yet it’s not really all that hard to maintain, if you just make a start early your mind will drag you towards finishing the things you started and you just must flow and not resist.
Understand the Feedback
Oh, the feedback, it’s rarely good and often punishing. Other times, it can be upsetting, or abstract, and we’re left lost in the dark. However, it is essential you understand and ideally reflect on the feedback, at the end of the day it’s this feedback that you’re paying for, so take it! Ask the marker to clarify if something isn’t clear or ask a tutor to break the feedback down with you. You have already paid for these services so use them, ask questions, and don’t be shy about it there are no stupid questions. By understanding the feedback, not only do you get to learn through your mistakes here, but you also get a deeper understanding of the subject domain, which may benefit you at some point in the future.
In addition to any feedback you receive from the university, try to reach out for external feedback, especially if the work is important. Ask your friends and family to review, not necessarily for the content, but rather just for style and punctuation. And of course, if you have friends within your classes keep in touch with them, discuss topics repeatedly, and check each other’s work, it makes the whole learning experience more enjoyable.
Marking Criteria
Marking Criteria can usually be found on Moodle, but you can also ask your course staff for it. This is especially useful for essays. It just breaks down what is required to progress across different grade levels and in general gives more of an idea of what the university is expecting from you. You must get your hands on and understand one of these ASAP for your university/course, the way I see it this document is like a map for your studies, but many people seem to go blind...
Here is a link to the marking criteria at the University of Kent:
https://www.studocu.com/en-gb/document/university-of-kent/law/kls-ug-assessment-guide-2022/43578438
Ask Questions
I have mentioned this point across the blog, and I will re-iterate, ASK QUESTIONS. People usually like being asked relevant questions and you gain to clarify your doubts, plus I guarantee there are many of your classmates who also the same questions have as you do. If you feel uncomfortable asking in class, ask the lecturer about his office hours or after the lecture, also you could just email your lecturer or tutor. Remember, they are there to help you, and the lecturers do not bite, some can be sweaty, but sacrifices must be made. Also, no question is stupid; I sometimes struggle with this; it might be obvious or easy for the rest, but sometimes questions do not seem to be worth asking even though you don’t have the full answer. I try my best to consciously not exclude any questions that come up and ask them ASAP, and to be fair it’s been good not only has it clarified my doubts, but also led me to new connections and opportunities, quite unintentionally.
Skills Sessions
If you know you’re lacking in some skills like oral presentations, referencing, critically analysing, or generally are falling behind, speak to your tutor or someone at university. Likely university will have some programs or sessions that directly or indirectly can help you improve in various areas. Additionally, it can be a great way to pick up on a new subject or domain, or even meet some new people!
If your university does not have these sessions, that is okay. The Internet has you covered, there are thousands of courses, videos, and programs that are free on YouTube. I personally, just use Google, and Chat-GPT to research new domains and I read materials on the internet to guide me, teach me, etc. Just like you are doing right now!
Pieces from my internet reading:
https://www.nextcitylawyer.com/free-resources/hhsbghdwirmfzn1eqmhmu9cukb35rb
https://www.gareth-evans.com/how-to-get-a-first-in-law/
I also would like to recommend Legal Writing Skills: A Guide to Writing Essays and Answering Problem Questions by Steve Foster.
Mental Health and Sleep
Mental health and Sleep are super important factors in learning and achieving high grades. University is amazing, but it has challenges, such as being far from home, not having friends, stress, and many others. The important thing through all of this is to get enough rest. I struggled with this, I’d try to work until the completion of tasks and take on my plate way too much. Once I stopped being triggered by every opportunity and event, I was able to filter out how I could allocate my time the most effectively. After this, I could concentrate better on my assignments, and I enjoyed the process more as it didn’t feel like I was grinding every second of every day. If you feel like you are struggling with the load, content, or whatever else, most Universities have student and well-being support, reach out to them, they’re great people and they can help you in a range of ways! Best of all, it is confidential; you can talk with them weekly or monthly, whatever you feel like. They have helped me greatly with anxiety and FOMO in my foundation year, and I keep in touch with them just as free therapy from time to time.
And that is all the tips I could come up with for the time being. I hope you find at least 100 words of this blog essay useful, and beyond all embrace your university journey in full, don’t be shy of meeting, asking, and learning.
Thank you for reading and it would help me greatly if you shared this with the people you know <3
About Natty
My name is Nathalia, but around here you can call me Natty. I am Venezuelan and have lived in the UK for 5 years. I am a first-year Law student at the University of Kent. I enjoy bouldering, reading, and hiking in my free time.