Being a Metacognitive Learner

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To be a metacognitive learner is to be aware of your learning processes and to know how to regulate them. Metacognitive learners are successful students because they take ownership of their learning, rather than expecting their professors to spoon-feed them information. We have created a short guide on how to become a metacognitive learner. Just click the button below to download. Metacognitive learners use metacognition in three ways: metamemory, metacomprehension and self-regulation. Metamemory Most students find memorisation quite difficult. They try to memorise but become frustrated when they cannot recall the information. Metacognitive learners identify why they are struggling to memorise certain information and employ strategies to retain it. Metacomprehension Listening and reading information is pointless if it is not …

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How to Stop Procrastination

File under: Organisation and Planning Studying and Exams By

  ‘My advice is to never do tomorrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of time.’—Charles Dickens The problem with procrastination is that it is just too easy to do. If there is still one week until the essay is due, surely there is time to watch a few more episodes of your favourite TV programme? After decades of studying and working as an editor, I am all too familiar with procrastination strategies and the process of internal bargaining. Depending on the dullness or complexity of the task, sometimes even mopping the floor or tackling the ironing basket is a preferable option. On the surface, the solution is time management. This is certainly a valuable skill, particularly …

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Reading for Academic Purposes: How to Read Critically for Academic Purposes

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Anyone enrolled in a university degree understands the challenges of academic reading. It is a painstaking, time-consuming and stressful task. Unlike reading for pleasure for which many people can spend days and nights sticking with the same book, reading for academic purposes can sometimes cause boredom and frustration. Many people are put off by the academic style of writing, full of specialist terms. Clearly, it requires so much more from readers than other types of reading. Nevertheless, reading for academic purposes is inevitable given the knowledge it provides, whether as a primary source of knowledge or a supporting source for writing academic papers. Undoubtedly, the more effectively one reads, the more thoroughly he or she understands the topic and, of …

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Ten Ways to Improve Your Grades

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It is possible to improve your grades by self-editing your essay or assignment before you hand it in. Many students fail to look over their work once they have completed it, or they do not know what to look for. This means that students are handing in work that contains spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, unclear or clumsy writing, and referencing and formatting errors. Some students have even greater problems with issues like the clarity and consistency of their argument or their essay organisation. These types of mistakes are costing you grades! You might be very surprised how much your grades can be improved through editing your own work before you hand it in. This article will explain ten ways you …

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Time Management and Motivation

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When studying at school or university, you will normally be enrolled in more than one subject or course each semester. The busiest and most stressful time of a semester is when examinations and assignment deadlines are approaching, usually all at the same time! But you can easily reduce this stress or even avoid this situation with good time management and motivation. The first thing you should have in order to organise your time is a schedule. It is not easy to remember everything without putting it down onto your schedule or planner. You may need to find a paper planner, which you can buy from a bookstore or download from a website. Or, you can make your own D.I.Y planner. …

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How To Improve Your Grades

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This article is intended for students going to university for the first time, though it might also have some helpful hints for more experienced undergrads. It will also probably be more relevant to students of Humanities and Social Sciences subjects. 1. Manage Your Time Effectively   Don’t wait until an assignment or essay is due in a couple of weeks before you start working on it. You will soon realise that all your assignments (both minor and major) will be due around the same time, and if you do it this way you will end up cramming a semester’s worth of work into only a few weeks. This will not result in good grade Instead, plan how much time you …

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