Get A First Class Degree

I found the following article on the Internet and was interested by some of the points made:
Beverley Adams, 27, gained a first class degree from University College London, she says, she learnt the tricks of the academic trade. Without becoming savvy in the ways of academics – the way they read, the words they us, the way they phrase their replies – she would not have got a first, she thinks. Her schooling at Croydon High a private single-sex school in Surrey, set her up for University life. It taught her how to succeed. Her geography teacher instilled in her a love of the subject and a love of learning. “I am now reaping the rewards of that,” she says. “those experiences can determine your outlook on life.”

After a first in geography, Beverley took a Masters degree and is now poised to complete a PhD. ” Being successful academically is about being ’smart’,” she says. “It’s not about being brilliant. You need to use the words that academics use and use the academic style. It’s about cottoning on, reading things in the right way and starting to think in an academic way. That’s the difference between getting a 2.1 and a first class degree. Writing simple English like a journalist won’t get you anywhere. Unless you know how to play the game you won’t get a first.”

It helped that Beverley was interested in the subject. She worked hard but she also enjoyed herself through swimming, working as a lifeguard and playing netball for her county. “I made sure I put aside time for work,” she says. “I was incredibly driven. The bottom line is, I hate failing. It is so much better to be praised than to be told off. If you are seen to be keen, doors are opened for you.”
Hodges, L., One woman’s route to a first’, The Independent, 25.01.01, p. 3
I have tried to address a number of points raised in this article in my own posts:

• Being interested in your subject is vital, and must be a key consideration when choosing your degree course
• Cottoning on I would say comes down to widening your research and engaging with lecturers, finding out what is required and benchmarking against other peoples degree work. I am not sure what is meant by “reading in the right way”, my interpretation would be that you must learn to pick out what is relevant to your degree, but also maintain balance and not take information out of context
• Work hard on your degree, but maintain a social life. I advocate treating a university degree course like a job, working hard, to a schedule all day five days a week, allowing you to take time out in the evening or on weekends
• Better to be praised than told off, certainly this is good motivation for your degree, its nice to get your degree marks and feel good about them, as opposed to falling behind and putting more pressure on yourself. A point I have made repeatedly is that handing assignments in late makes life harder not easier, as does handing in sub standard work!
• Being seen as keen opens doors for you, again, I found that being perceived as a serious student meant lecturers took time out to help me. I was able to engage with them on a different level to less committed students and learned a lot more from them.
• Journalistic versus academic writing style is also vitally important, I have yet to post on that topic!

So, it seems we shared a similar experience!

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