Go on, prove
something to yourself

University study isn't really like anything you'll have done before. Becoming an independent learner is a real challenge. At times you'll need to show your initiative and not be afraid to ask for help if you need it (but don't worry there's plenty available).

It's important not to let your university course just 'happen' to you. You need to take ownership of your degree and get out of it what you want to. Being really organised will help you feel in control, and taking advantage of all the help and resources that are available to you will help you to make the most of the time you spend as a student.

The Open University offers tons of support and resources. Visit The Open University iTunes U site for free downloads of sample course material. Join in with debates, tutorials and study groups via our unique online conferencing portal and gain access to thousands of valuable books and studies via the Open University library. It's totally queue free!

There's no bigger barrier to good study than a bad mood. Digesting books as thick as a doorstep and fitting study around your busy life can seem a bit of a challenge at first but don't let it get you down. Remember you're doing this for you!

Focus on the aspects of your course that you enjoy and are good at. Break your study down into bite-sized chunks. Develop your own filing system to keep your notes in good order. Chat to other students about how they're feeling. Bend your tutor's ear. Most of all, remember that you're normal and that any challenges you face are normal too.

Because university study is a bit different to anything that you do at school or college, you're going to need different skills to get you through.

Some of the study skills you need include:

Debate - you're going to need to learn to set up opposing views and ideas against each other to draw useful conclusions. This means telling both sides of the story and then presenting what you think and why.

Background - you'll need to show how your ideas fit in with the literature and history of your subject. What do the leading lights in your subject think? Do you agree with them or not? Why?

Argue - can you present your argument in a logical and persuasive manner both verbally and on paper? Why do you think what you think? Can you back it up? Can you communicate your thoughts in a logical manner?

Critical Analysis - can you take other people's ideas and arguments apart and show their strengths and weaknesses? Do they have strong evidence to back up their opinions? Could they be biased or unreliable in some way? Can you prove them wrong?

Evidence - when you put together arguments, you'll need to back your points up with hard evidence. This could be statistical data taken from research, quotes from texts or the results of your own controlled experiments.

Objectivity - it's important to present your ideas in an unbiased way. With the right evidence, your arguments should be able to stand on their own merits. Try not to colour your work with too much emotion either, although a bit of passion never went amiss.

Keep it concise - keep your work precise and to the point. Don't be tempted to ramble or go off on tangents. Remember that tutors often have hundreds of assignments to mark so they really appreciate clear, well-structured work which keeps to the point.

Style - don't be afraid to stamp your own academic style on the work you produce. Make the course your own and take it where you want to go. Just make sure you don't go for wacky fonts or weird colour schemes when you produce assignments though. There's nothing worse!

Most courses at university have a pretty lengthy reading list. So how are you going to cope with all that reading? How will you find the time? And how will you remember all the facts, figures and opinions that you come across? Here are some tips to help you:

Make a weekly to do list - this way you can schedule in enough time to do the reading you need to each week.

Be patient - try to relax and give yourself time to read and digest information.

Don't be passive - actively make notes or highlight interesting phrases while you read. This will get your more involved in what you're reading and keep you focused.

Learn to skim - this will help you suss out if a book or article is going to be helpful without you having to read it all. It makes finding things on an index or contents page much faster too.

Learn to read at different speeds - try to consciously slow down or speed up depending on what it is that you're reading. Complicated texts on subjects that you don't know much about will require more careful attention.

Take the deep approach - try to make sense of the article or chapter you're reading as a whole rather than getting bogged down in the individual words. What's it really about? What is the author trying to say?

As a student you'll need to do a fair bit of note taking. Whether you're using books, lectures, podcasts, or dvds to support your study, thinking on paper will help you to digest information, retain facts and form opinions.

The type of notes you take will depend on how much time you have, how your mind works and what you want the notes for. Different people favour different methods from scrawling on post-it notes and scribbling in the margin, to highly organised shorthand systems and summary cards.

Whichever method you decide to use, you will need to make sure that you capture the key concepts and ideas, useful statistics or examples and important names and dates so you can accurately reference them in your own work.

One of the most challenging parts of being a student is having to produce well-structured, clearly written essays. Often you will be given a question or statement which you must then present a logical argument to support or disprove in around 1000 - 2000 words.

Sounds scary? It is and it isn't. The more you write essays at this level the more naturally you'll find that they come to you. You will also find that you have quite a lot of freedom to research and discuss what interests you most, so use this to your advantage.

Try to keep some of these useful guidelines in mind when you're feeling the pressure, and remember that you can get a lot out of this process so try to stay positive!

Use a logical argument - your whole essay should flow as a structured argument with each paragraph leading on to the next. Everything should link back to the question that you're answering or the statement that you're supporting.

Make your points clearly - you need to make sure that you explain what you mean in a way that can't be misunderstood. Remember that your reader isn't psychic so spell out your meaning.

Back everything up with evidence - your argument will be so much more powerful if you back up every point you make with strong, well-researched evidence.

A strong conclusion - make sure you include a powerful conclusion that shows that you've answered the question. Your conclusion should briefly summarise the main points of your essay and leave the reader in no doubt as to what your final opinion is.

Use polished English - you don't have to write like you've swallowed a dictionary but you should make sure that your sentences are clear, well constructed and free of spelling and grammar mistakes. Errors like these will just undermine your arguments.

Reference your quotes - when you use a quote from a study or source, make sure that you do so accurately and that you reference all of your quotes in a footnote. You'll need to give the title of the book or study that you're quoting from, the author, the publisher and the date of publication.

University exams probably enjoy a worse reputation than they deserve you know. When you take an exam with The Open University you'll never be asked to write about anything that you haven't covered in the course. And believe it or not, everyone involved in setting the exam wants you to pass. Including the squeaky-shoed invigilator pacing up and down the room!

But how can you make sure that you don't get a mind blank? How do you know what to revise? And how can you make a big impression no matter how challenging the question?

Always be prepared - it may be the most simple and obvious answer but there's no way around it. If you really know your stuff then you're never going to be stuck for something to write about in your exam. And remember, it's not a test of memory but a test of understanding and ideas so don't drive yourself to distraction trying to learn great lists of facts and figures by heart when you revise.

Go backwards to go forwards - try to think of revising for an exam as a constructive activity where you look back over the content of the module to put your thoughts in a clear order. And try not to leave your revision until the last minute! Start by getting all your notes, handouts and books in order, and then draw up a timetable to help you divide up your revision time effectively.

I know what you did last summer - to get a good idea of the kind of questions they'll ask in your exam, have a look at the question paper from last year or the year before. A full selection of past exam papers are available from The Open University Students Association website or by ringing 0870 013 4334.

Check your writing - nowadays we hardly write anything by hand anymore. So how will your writing hold up under the pressure of an exam? Will it be readable? And will you be able to write quickly enough to answer all the questions in the time that's allowed? Try practicing with a past exam paper and timing yourself. You may have to do a bit of work to get your writing speed and style up to scratch.

Keep it relevant - one of the most common mistakes people make in exams is not answering the question. Make sure you read your paper carefully and then give a structured response which accurately reflects the question. You should also make sure that you use key terms from the course, an objective standpoint and correct punctuation and spelling. Don't be afraid to map your answer out on scrap paper before you start either, it will help you to think clearly.

Keep a lid on the stress - everyone feels stressed at exam time, it's a fact of life. But it's important to realise that even if you don't do as well as you'd hoped, it's not the end of the world. Instead of thinking the worst, concentrate on giving yourself the best chance possible by preparing well and channelling your nervous energy into practical revision tasks.

What day is it again? - in all the drama running up to your exam, make sure you don't forget to check where and when it's taking place. It's easier than you'd think to make a mistake about the date, time or venue when you're wound up with nerves and last minute cramming.

What about email submissions? - If you're asked to sit an exam at home and submit your answers via email, you'll need to make sure that you submit the work on time and in the right format. If your answers are on multiple documents, zip them together into one reasonably sized file - below 2MB is best - and don't forget to keep a copy for yourself in case anything happens to the file while it's in transit!