May 19, 2012

Key Choices for Successful Graduate Studies

Pursuing graduate studies can prove to be a rather arduous phase of one’s life. Writing a thesis generates both mental and physical anguish. All this becomes fruitful if the output is of superior quality.
The right decision may be arrived at if one rightly chooses one’s University, supervisor, and topic.
The Right University
It is important to weigh a few questions when choosing the institution where you wish to apply. One of the foremost aspects should be the prevalence that the institution has, especially among global companies. It is also crucial to gain evidence that the institution has produced a substantial number of students with degrees, with respect to its age. The extra-curricular activities offered at the university should also match with your areas of interest.
The Right Supervisor
The value of your degree depends very strongly on the academic supervisor that you choose. To judge the best one for yourself, you must check the scholarly contributions of the supervisor. Another aspect to be considered is his or her level of discipline, in terms of punctuality, orderliness, and level of interaction with you. The supervisor that you consider must also possess skills to effectively engage with and prove efficiency to students.
The Right Topic
It is not as simple as one would imagine choosing a topic for your thesis. The right topic should be one that relates to an area of your interest as well as you expertise. The topic should also take into account an issue or situation that affects your immediate or the entire world. Only then can you feel you are making a true contribution to the world by writing on this topic. This also implies that the topic needs to be, if not path-breaking, at least not extremely clichéd.
Conclusion
Choices that are researched well can produce excellent results. They also ensure a study period that is less arduous and more rewarding.

Tips to Managing Peer Reviews

Peer reviews enable students to engage in writing process and them to share their work with others before submitting it to the teacher. One drawback of this is students hesitate to share their work with other classmates. Managing an entire and huge class becomes difficult in case of peer reviews.
Unpreparedness to Avoid Peer Reviews
There are lots of students who do not wish to participate in peer reviews. They attend classes without carrying a rough draft or enough copies that can be shared with the peer group students. Often students are found giving excuses that there was a fault with the printer and so on.
Teachers are left with two options. They can warn the students in advance that students will not be allowed to sit in the class in case they fail to come unprepared. The other option is to allow the students to attend classes during peer review for a certain period of time.
Asking those students who come unprepared allows the instructor to manage the small peer groups. On the other hand, students who don’t show interest in peer reviews feel happy that they have a free period.
Managing Peer Groups
If the period lasts for one hour, the small number of peer group students will have ample time to engage in reading and discussing nearly five pages.
Students should not be given the opportunity to pick up their own peer groups because they tend to form groups with their friends. Instead, teachers should assign students to different peer groups.
As short writing assignment is given to every student involved for peer group, in order to determine students having the same kind of writing skills.
Peer groups can be organized and managed in different ways. After two or three peer review sessions, teachers can find out what works out well.

Learn More to Earn More

A Student of the University of British Columbi...
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Take a look at the employment statistics found on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ website. It will come as no surprise to learn that advanced degrees lead to higher salaries, and since most of us work for the money, earning an advanced degree might just be a good idea.

Ask Yourself Some Important Questions
If you are considering an advanced degree ask yourself the following questions:
•Do I enjoy learning?
•Will the cost of my education be offset by my potential income?
•Will my new skill set help me land a better job?
•Do I enjoy the field I will be specializing in?
•Do I have the time and self discipline to complete my education?
Did you answer yes to all of the above questions? It’s time to look at your learning options.

Choosing a Program of Study
If this is the first time you have looked at MBA or professional degree programs since you graduated, you will be happily surprised at the number of respected courses of study that have emerged to support your educational goals. Visit onlinembarankings.comto get a good overview of what is out there for you to consider; review programs and also familiarize yourself with the schools and their accreditation. Decide if you want to complete your degree part-time, online, or if you want to attend on campus, full time. Make a list of at least 5 schools that have promising offerings. Visit their websites and make an appointment to discuss your educational goals with a counselor.

Get Ready to Apply
Start gathering necessary paperwork and documentation. Learn what graduate exams may be required, when they are scheduled, and begin to prepare for them. Gather letters of recommendation. Visit the schools you are interested in, even if you will be completing your degree online. Complete an online Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Peer Reviews Improves the Essay Paper Experience

Several students reviewing an essay make it even better.
Meaning of a Peer Review
It is a review session held in a classroom setting where students are asked to review each other’s work. Normally, instructors ask the students to just review and offer constructive feedback, whereas in some cases, special instructions are given to the peer group members.
Reason for Participating in Peer Reviews
In schools as well as colleges, peer review sessions are conducted by instructors.
Since, the students are working on the same kind of paper (say for instance an English essay) they know what is expected of each other‘s work. The students can give feedback that would have otherwise been given by the instructor. It’s not possible for the instructor to give immediate feedback as it takes time to sit and grade nearly 25-30 papers at a time. On the other hand, students can give quick and constructive feedback. The instructor can supervise the group members.
Students can learn how to give feedback as he can compare the essay with his own work. This helps him in identifying and providing constructive feedback. By giving and receiving feedback, students learn a lot
The feedback given by another student is easier to understand
How to Give Feedback?
- Being honest while giving feedback is important
-The tone of your feedback really matters. Be polite rather instead of sounding rude
-Offer constructive feedback that proves to be of great help to the receiver
-Give straightforward answers
- It’s important to respect each other’s work
Some students dislike the idea of peer review sessions. If they are new to the concept they might fear or be embarrassed to take part. It’ important to have a positive attitude and the thirst to learn, as most of the peer review sessions are useful to students.

How Peer Study Groups can Help Reduce Student Stress

Most people are under the assumption that leading the life of a student is easy but it’s not true, especially when students are under a lot of stress during exam time. To avoid stress, a student needs to study efficiently and well in advance, thus being organized. The following guidelines highlight on how to prepare for exams.
Avoiding Exam Stress
Being organized makes a student face his or her exams with confidence and stress free. It’s imperative to prepare a schedule and implement it in action. The schedule needs to be divided in order to dedicate enough time for revising, group studies, researching etc. Proper time should be allocated for resting, eating and sleeping.
During midterm and final exam preparations, students are under lot of stress. They should take enough time to relax their body as well mind. Stress has a negative impact on the students’ learning habits. Anxiety and depression makes the learning process difficult.
Self motivated students have good habits, thus succeed in preparing well for their exams.
Being Motivated
Students need to have a study goal and work towards achieving it. This ultimately inculcates good study habits, leading to improved results in exams. They should be focused on what they want instead of being bothered about what others expect put of them.
Improving Study Grades
Students can use the instructions or tips given by lecturers to write their exams effectively. Referring to past exam papers help a student in determining the most important questions that are repeated. Students can also make the best use of the available resources in campus.
Concentration
Listening to lectures and taking notes helps students to concentrate on their exams. It’s easy for them to recollect what they learned. How effectively students use their time in studying is really what matters at the end of the day.
The way students prepare for their exams affects the exam results. Improving study habits can bring better grades.

Common Mistakes Students Make When Trying to Study

Ed's 6th Grade Class, 1964
Image by euthman via Flickr

For most of the college students, studying successfully is a challenge. Some common mistakes m students make are:
-Being Absent in Class
Students miss classes while they are in college. This can be due to unavoidable circumstances but it’s a must to be present in the class most of the time
-Failing to take proper notes
Students enter college life without knowing how to take proper notes by listening. To do this, one can refer to articles that give you tips on taking effective class notes.
-Failing to be Punctual
Students who manage various academic activities need to know how to manage time well.
- Doing a Last Minute Study
In colleges, it’s quite common to do lat minute studies. It’s not possible to perform well by studying overnight for an exam. For those who can’t avoid it all of a sudden, it’s important to try to study by drawing a schedule.
- Putting off tasks
Putting off tasks due to getting engrossed in Facebook or video games leads to last minute study.
-Failure to Follow Instructions
Most of the students fail to follow the instructions given by professors in class, which ultimately leads to low grades.
- Depending Upon Others
Few students ask their friends to take notes on their behalf which needs to be done only in case of necessity.
- Relying Upon Internet
Since a plethora of information can be easily accessed by students, they fail to check the details for accuracy. Compare online information with books and other resources.

-Copying
Students tend to copy or plagiarize other person’s work in order to meet the deadline.

- Failure to Seek Assistance
Professors don’t hesitate to clarify the doubts of students. In case you have any questions approach the professor in charge.
Not everyone is perfect and it’s important to learn how to study. Putting in your best efforts to study successfully can help you a great deal.

Tips for Writing a Research Report

Upon completion of research process and acceptance of the research proposal, a research study is written. Based on the purpose of the study, various formats can be used. The research report may be a thesis, an academic journal or for the purpose of internal review.
Contents of a Research Report
The various sections include summary, preface, techniques used, outcome and conclusion.
Summary
Summary is a concise outline about what the research is. Along with this info, the main findings need to be included. Since this forms the beginning paragraph, it needs to written well. The purpose of the study should be clearly stated and the word count may normally run from 200-400 words in length.
Preface
The background knowledge of the study is mentioned under this section. The length of this section varies and depends upon the research study.
Techniques Used
This section should explain how the research was carried out, in what kind of environment, study size and the kind of methods used.
Outcome
This part of the study deals with what exactly was studied. The information needs to be accurate and reasons for any errors in the data need to be mentioned. The results can be represented with the help of a chart or graph. The data presented under this section needs to be unbiased. The outcome part in the report highlights only the findings and no comments or interpretations are mentioned in this section.
Discussion
This is the last part of the report. Any interpretations made by the researcher are included in this section. In relation to the previous study made, comments on the findings are mentioned here. What was learned in the study is also included. It’s important to mention if the missing data or errors affected the study.
Any research that is carried out has certain limitations. A research report on a good study throws light on how the outcome outweighs the errors or limitations.

Using Peer Reviews as a Strategy for Teaching

After learning the writing style preferred by the instructor, students tend to tailor their work making it more appealing to the instructors. The reason behind this is to pass the course. Even though this helps for time being, students find it difficult in using writing style for other purposes.
For teaching how to write, peer reviews come handy. Students are asked to sit in a circular form after which they exchange each other’s draft work. After reviewing the work, productive feedback is offered.
Students receive numerous learning benefits due to peer reviews. Students understand the importance of writing for an audience. This helps the students in the long run when they prefer to send a message to a huge audience from different backgrounds.
Certain students hesitate to participate in peer reviews because they are shy by nature. Peer reviews help the students express or voice out their opinion through writing. Working in groups will help them realize the importance of team work which is essential for their professional work in future. By practicing to share, students can get rid of the shyness.
Providing and Receiving Feedback
This is the most important aspect of peer groups. Through peer reviews, students learn how to give and receive constructive feedback. Circulating questionnaires with a series of questions in terms of the reviews facilitates insight and discussion. Rather than providing blunt and rude reviews that don’t sound good, professors can teach or guide the members of the peer groups to give constructive feedback, without harming or hurting the feelings of other members.
Students should be given the opportunity of expressing their views. Sharing each other’s work in a relaxed and friendly environment helps the students to review each other’s work and express their opinion. This boosts up the confidence level of the peer group members.