A word of caution though. There is no such thing as one best way of studying. It depends on individuals. My method is very time consuming and I literally do not have much life. So take my methods only as a reference and pick what suits you best.
And a misconception many have on me is that they assumed I got First Class honours hence I got into LSE. This is not true. I attained Second Class Honours, Upper Division. This is the minimum criteria for most LSE Masters programme. You do not need First Class Honours and other than grades, LSE do consider other factors like relevant work experience and etc. So my method will not guarantee you a First Class honours (although many factors contribute to one's grades, not only study method).
For University of London International Programmes students under the EMFSS programmes, I advise that you refer to the booklet "Strategies for Success" that can be found in the Virtual Learning Environment under "Supporting Your Studies" tab. I used that to formula my study strategies back then and incorporated what I have learned from Elements of Social & Applied Psychology to boost memory power and some economics principles to maximise time for study.I will address some of the common questions people ask me such as how I manage my time, my study methods, whether I study alone or with groups, what is my exam preparation strategy and my strategy towards module selection.
TIME MANAGEMENT: ECONOMIES OF SCALE
Time is limited. So I try to minimise travel time to school so as to have more time for studying. Back in Singapore Institute of Management, we get to pick our lecture class. What I usually do is to group 2 lectures in a day with a gap of 2-3 days before the next 2 lectures (we have 4 3-hr lectures per week). In this way, I will minimise travel time to 2 days, save transportation fee and will not overwhelm myself with too many lectures in a day (max you can fit in is 3 but that is too much and it will still end up with 2 days of lectures anyway). The gap of 2 days is for me to revise lecture notes as well as to prepare for the next lectures.
As advised by the University of London via "Strategies for Success", you will need a minimum of 210 hours on average per academic year per full course. This includes lecture hours and revision hours. If you are weak in that area, cater more time for it. What I will do even before the start of every academic year, I would set aside at least 840 hours (for 4 full courses) and only allocate the remaining hours for leisure and etc. I do study at weekends as well (hence not much life).
STUDY METHODS
I will usually prepare for lectures beforehand, take down notes before and after lectures and will apply Mnemonics. More details below.
Lecture Preparation
Before every lecture, I would first read the subject guide. The subject guide is just a guide book, not a replacement of your essential textbook. It will highlight the Learning Objectives telling you what you should learn about and focus on. Examination questions will be based on these. So have a look at the objectives and focus on them while you study ensuring you meet them.
I would read the subject guide first and follow the instructions. If it ask me to read the textbook, I would do accordingly. As I read, I will think about what I read if I do understand anything. Whatever I am in doubt, I would note down any questions I have. I keep a list of such questions and bring it to lecture and see if they are being addressed in lecture. If not, I would approach the lecturer directly during breaks or after lecture to enquire further. Sometimes I would google about the topic beforehand and verify my understanding with the lecturer as well. Whatever is the answer, I would note them down. After the lecture I will create proper notes in good order.
Notes Taking
So how do I take notes? Many will use mind maps but personally it does not help me much. What I do is to take down notes in point form in Microsoft Word in a logical order. Being logical, it aids in memory and reasoning. It allows me to see patterns and being it is in Microsoft Word, I can always rearrange the order when I have more information and categorised the relevant information together.
A very good thing about having electronic version of notes is that you can use ctrl + f to search for key words. This is very useful during examination preparation period where you want to find all related information to be able to link up topics. My notes per full course can be like 100-200 pages so it is very time consuming method but fruitful.
Having so many pages, there is no way I can remember everything as well. Hence I would utilise Mnemonics.Memory Power: Mnemonics
I would utilise Mnemonic in any word that is familiar to me to retain information better. For example, in Management, you would learn about the 5 bases of power (French & Raven). They are Coercive Power, Reward Power, Legitimate Power, Referent Power and Expert Power. I simply remember them as R2ELC. RELC is the examination body for Singapore on behalf of UoL. It is something I can remember easily during examinations as I will see this name that will refresh my memory. A common Mnemonic for the external environment of a business organisation is P.E.S.T. which stands for Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural and Technological environments. You will see cockroaches everyday and this will remind you of PEST then you can elaborate what it is about. Everything you get to recap and keep in your memory without much effort. You need to keep on getting expose to something to retain it well in memory as if it is second nature. However, do not just memorise without understanding. You still got to read the textbooks to know what is going on.
STUDY ALONE OR IN GROUPS?
Personally, I prefer studying alone as when in group, I often get disturbed as classmates either will end up chatting or will be asking me a lot of questions disrupting my study. My advise is that if you wish to do it in groups, meet up only for discussion. Mere reading can do so at home. Meet up to do practice questions is more effective as you get to share answers and thinking but not for studying/reading in my opinion. However, for some people, they do not have motivation to study alone and hence they will need a group for it.
EXAM PREPARATION
As the University of London International Programmes is distance learning with minimal academic support, there is not much feedback opportunity. What Singapore Institute of Management does is to allow students to have mock examinations in February every year where the papers will be marked by LSE academics or those academics that they appoint. Students should not miss this as you need feedback to know what you have done right and wrong.
How do I approach mock examinations? Usually there is no way I could finish up studying the whole syllabus before the mock examinations. What I do is being selective on some topics and study in depth for them. It is better that I get feedback on a topic that I am well prepared for than to study bits and pieces of everything which is not much better than submitting a blank piece of paper. In this way, I can get much valuable feedback.
After the mock examinations, I would touch up my notes based on the feedback and continue finishing up the remaining parts of the syllabus I have yet to finish. And I would also have a look at the examination structure to strategise my revision.
During this period, I would practice on past year papers based on the selected topics I decide to focus on. I would write essays all in point form and in logical flow. Only if I have time I would write at least a full proper essay (with 45 minutes per essay max as there are 4 essays to be written in 3-hour examination and summarise the essay near the end of 45 minutes and move on will score better than spending too much time on one essay neglecting others). I would give the writing plan to academics to ask for feedback as well.
There are revision workshops in Singapore Institute of Management for its students I do attend both the workshops hosted by LSE academics or LSE appointed academics as well as local lecturers. This is to clear any further doubts and improve my notes for revision.
SELECTION OF MODULES
Many students kept asking me which modules/courses are the easiest to score. I often say go for those that are useful and relevant to your career path. If you are interested in certain career path, you will be motivated to study relevant topics for it. If you are motivated, things will become easier as well cause you will put in much more effort! What for study something easy but useless for work? Perhaps with good overall grades, you can get into interview but if the interviewers ask you questions relevant to the job you applied for, can you even answer those questions when you do not even have any relevant knowledge?
Sure, many people will say what you studied does not apply in work. This is true to certain extent but such statement may be from someone who does not know how to apply what they studied. Research findings are often based on certain situations. Some people just study blindly and use the findings and suggestion as a blanket statement as if it works in all situations. Of course that theory will not work! If you apply it wrongly, how would it work? The problem is not with the theory but the person applying it. It does apply in work if you know how to apply it.
Imagine two persons of the same in everything except that one studied something relevant with 2:1 overall and the other gets first class but random courses. The employer looking at the transcript will see that the former knows what he/she wants and the latter as someone without any clear indication of what he/she wants. As an employer, who will you hire? I would hire the former as he/she gives me more confidence that he can perform well. He/she has the relevant knowledge and the motivation to perform. The latter only has good grades but no relevant knowledge nor the motivation (due to lack of direction). I would not have the time or motivation to train someone from scratch.
All right, that is all of my study tips. Good luck in your studies!
