BA: AN INSIDER’S GUIDE

A handy new guidebook lights the way for first-time university students, putting a great degree and a great student life within their reach in just 10 simple steps.

Written by new graduate Rebecca Jury and published by Auckland University Press in time for the 2012 university year, is an honest, entertaining handbook offering readers practical advice on everything from setting up a study space to making sense of academic literature, establishing a winning exam strategy and making the most of student life – it’s not all about exams and uni work, Jury advises, “there’s also work work, volunteering work, and having a life. And make sure you spend one great night at the uni pub.”

“But in particular,” she says, “my book aims to maximise readers’ chances of academic success and help them plan a degree to suit their individual needs, assert themselves in the academic world and establish habits which will set them up for life.

“If you’re not afraid to be a nerd, polish up your essays until they shine and master exam-taking techniques, you’ll emerge from the university experience a better thinker, a more employable worker and a wiser person.”

Refreshingly unconventional, all advice in the guide has been personally road-tested by the author, who came up the idea of a study guide in the final year of her BA. Although she was sitting on an A+ average, many of her fellow students were still developing the skills necessary to cope with tertiary study. So, she decided to produce a small study skills leaflet, which became the Insider’s Guide. She continues to offer the benefit of her experiences as a successful student, and will answer questions, through her blog An Insider’s Guide at http://aninsidersguide.com/

Rebecca Jury graduated with a BA in English and Mass Communication from Canterbury University in 2008 with an A+ grade average. Since completing her degree she has worked as a university tutor, a youth counsellor and, most recently, a high school teacher at a Wellington college. BA: An Insider’s Guide is her first book.

BA: An Insider’s Guide by Rebecca Jury

Published by Auckland University Press

February 2012, Paperback, 9781869405779, $29.99

Cheat sheet

Rebecca Jury, BA: An Insider’s Guide, Auckland University Press, February 2012

Always go to your tutorials.

Identify what you want to eat on campus, then find a cheap alternative.

Don’t be afraid to be a nerd.

If you don’t want a degree, don’t do one.

Nail the content of your essay first, work on structure afterwards.

Wikipedia’s a great start point.

Get into debt if you need to – student loans, laptops and good stationery pay off in the long run.

Be stingy: you’ll make the most of uni when you think about how much it’s costing you.

Travel’s a great way to use your BA.

Make it fun: seize opportunities to be social, self-assertive and, sometimes, silly.

Don’t do your uni work all the time – there’s also work work, volunteering work, and having a life.

Be prepared to be afraid, but remember you’re not stupid, just new and finding your way.

Always have a backup: a backup copy of your essay, a backup pen (or eight) in an exam, a backup transport option for getting to uni.

Start learning how to study at the start of your degree, not the end.

Lecturers are human too – get to know them.

Essays – just choose the most interesting question.

If you engage your brain during lectures, you’ll be less bored. Take pride in writing kick-ass notes.

Get feedback from others on your essays – if they’re confused with your argument, chances are your lecturer will be too.

Make sure you spend one great night at the uni pub.

It’s not about getting top grades all the time – it’s about giving it your all. 

Reward yourself for going, writing, studying – no one else will.

Ask other people who’ve been there.

Don’t leap into the middle of your readings – start with the introduction, that’s what it’s for.

What did you even get it for in the first place? Make sure you find a way to use your degree.