Top Study Tips from Your Academic Reps

Studying for a degree is an exciting experience, however, it can be challenging. So, this blog will give you some general study tips and some tailored ones specific to each school from your academic reps, to help you along with your studies here at Royal Holloway.

General Study Tips

Time management - Create a study plan that allows you to allocate time to each module so you can balance your coursework effectively.

Use University resources - Royal Holloway provides excellent resources such as libraries, online databases, and academic support. Make the most of these to improve your learning experience and your academic skills.

Active learning - Actively engage with your course by showing up to lectures, seminars, workshops and labs. Also don’t just show up, take notes, ask questions and engage in discussions with your peers.

Seek help when it's needed - Don't hesitate to reach out to your lecturers or personal tutors if you are struggling or don’t understand something. They are there to support you.

Stay organised - Use tools like calendars and planners to keep track of deadlines and important dates, this will help to prevent you from feeling overwhelmed.

Feedback - If you're not happy with something on your course whether that's the way the content is being delivered or the content itself, make sure you use the academic representation system to give feedback on your opinions so they can be taken on board and worked on. The system is designed to empower students to voice their concerns and suggestions regarding their academic experience.

Office Hours - Find out your lecturer's office hours and use them! You can use this time to discuss your course content, get advice on assessments and get feedback for essays. The people teaching you at university are experts within their area of study, so make sure to use their knowledge and take their advice.

Learn how to take notes – University is quite different to school, you will need to listen and take your own notes. Write down what you think is important, and work out what the purpose of your notes is (e.g. how you will use the notes). Also, after your class, write up your notes by expanding on what you have written, then organise your notes by content or themes and supplement your notes with the additional reading you will be doing.

Top Study Tips from your School & Course Reps

Law & Social Sciences

Oliver Case - School Rep

• Use the Library: The library at Royal Holloway is well-stocked, especially for law and social sciences. Make use of online and physical resources to aid your research.
• Engage with Professors: Royal Holloway has a strong faculty in your fields. Don’t hesitate to attend office hours for personalised guidance.
• Join academic societies: Being part of societies like the PIR can offer valuable insights and connections.
• Group study: Take advantage of study groups to explore different perspectives.
• Study smart: Make sure you are reading the critical parts of academic documents, and if it’s irrelevant to your area and you don’t have time, skip it.

Engineering, Physical & Mathematical Sciences

Matthew Jenkins - Mathematics Course Rep

• Do not be afraid to go to your lecturer’s office hours if you have a question, in my experience lecturers have all been very friendly, they are experts in their field so will be able to provide much more specific answers than a Google search. It also establishes you as a dedicated student, which will help you when you need references or referrals for opportunities.
• Organise your lecture notes! Just because you’re not forced to write the date doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. If you include the date, lecture number, and page numbers, and file your notes correctly, it will save you a lot of stress in the run-up to exams.
• Make use of reading lists, often there will not be enough practice questions given to help you fully understand topics, the reading material (or any useful textbooks you can find online) is always excellent practice. Do this both as you’re learning and as you’re preparing for exams.
• Get used to mathematical logic, proof techniques, and other problem-solving ideas (reducing the problem to a specific case, drawing diagrams, and finding analogous problems). These are tools that you will use for your entire time as a mathematics student, regardless of which area you specialise in, and are good practice for solving exam questions (I would recommend George Pólya’s ‘How to Solve It’ as an excellent compendium of these techniques).
• Make use of feedback. It can be uncomfortable to be told that something you have done is wrong, but it is a necessary habit to look at what you’ve done incorrectly, understand why, and make an active effort to improve. Everyone makes mistakes, even the smartest mathematician, there is no shame in it, and it is a lot easier to accept it than ignore it.

Adam Pavie - Computer Systems Engineering Course Rep

• Stay organised! It may be difficult, but staying on top of deadlines will help a lot in the long run.
• When feeling overwhelmed, take a step back, write down what needs to be done and prioritise tasks according to their length and complexity.
• If a project or assignment feels too complex to complete, try to break it down. See what small bits you can do first.
• Revise regularly! It's a lot easier to memorise something you already understand, and you'll feel more prepared when sitting for an exam.

Life Sciences & the Environment

Isabella Neergard - School Rep

• Get a calendar! Within LSE there can be lots of labs, workshops and seminars, so having a good, nice calendar can help you keep on top of everything!
• Get involved in the opportunities provided by your departments - Zoology went to Borneo this summer!
• Don't be afraid to talk to your Personal Tutor. They are here to help you and can make your university experience a little easier.
• Check out the open guest lectures, there are often exciting new lectures happening in different departments within the school.

Humanities

Jack Masters - School Rep

• Start planning out your year early. We get a lot of essays due at the end of the holiday breaks, so make sure to allocate time earlier in the term so you will feel less overwhelmed during the holidays.
• Find a study place that works best for you. I work best at home in my own space, but many people prefer the super silent Founder's Reading Room or the library. Have an explore and see what works!
• I find working on different essays at the same time really helpful. You will most likely be starting work on essays before you have completed every teaching week. If you start by planning each essay, it means you will have ideas about all of them as you go to your last lectures, or just passively in conversation.
• Don't overwork yourself! Everyone has different limits, and whilst some people can work 8-hour days, many of us struggle with this. It's worth remembering that an 8-hour workday is far less focused than 8 hours of independent study! If you work too hard you can easily burn out and then it becomes hard and demotivating to do anything at all!
• In a similar vein, try to take nice study breaks away from screens! Why not start a craft project, I find origami very relaxing. I also find tidying my room during a break can release a lot of built-up tension. It is so important to step away from your work, so read a book, meet a friend, or go for a walk.

Performing & Digital Arts

Carmen Anderson - School Rep

• When writing essays, go on Moodle and have a look at the week that is related to the topic you're writing about. Usually, there's loads of recommended reading for that topic that you may have skipped over but can use as sources in your essay.
• Drama Online and Box of Broadcasts are amazing websites where you can access loads of plays and films for free - you can log in with your Royal Holloway IT account. These sites are especially useful when looking for case studies for essays.
• Remember that you can always request a one-to-one with a tutor once you have received feedback for an assessment so they can go through it with you and let you know where you can improve next time.
• Most times, lecturers will let you come up with your own essay topic. If the questions they've set aren't working for you and there's something you'd really love to write about just reach out to them and ask whether they can help you formulate a question.

Business & Management

Martin Kapusta - School Rep

• Start your revision/assignments early
• Get to know your teachers and tutors
• Apply to internships/ spring insights to get valuable work experience
• Take advantage of University resources (Accreditations and Certificates, free Financial Times, etc.)
• Have fun, manage a good work-life balance and enjoy your student years

International Business & Management

Ajit Sharma Course Rep – Ajit Sharma

• Use University resources
• Effective note taking
• Stay organised.
• Test yourself
• Seek help when needed

As you can see there are many things you can do to ease your academic stress and make your academic life slightly easier. Royal Holloway also offers a lot of academic support to help you with your studies. To find out more about the support they provide read this blog.

Also, please remember if you're struggling in any way to reach out for help, you can talk to your lecturers, personal tutors, the Advice Centre or the Wellbeing team.