A. Study and exams

Before an exam, some students cram¹ for it. Even if you’re a genius², you’ll have to do some revision. If the exam happens every year, you can revise by looking at past papers³. Some things can be memorised or learnt (off) by heart. But rote-learning⁴ is not sufficient for most subjects. It is also possible to use mnemonics⁵. However, all things considered, the best idea is to bury yourself in your books⁶ and to study intensively⁷ until you know the subject inside out⁸.

• ¹ study in a very concentrated way for a short time
• ² an exceptionally clever person
• ³ exam papers from previous years
• ⁴ learning purely by repetition
• ⁵ /nɪˈmɒnɪks/: tricks that help you remember something, for example: ‘i before e’ except after ‘c’ is a mnemonic for English spelling (e.g. friend, but receive)
• ⁶ spend the maximum time studying
• ⁷ in a very focused way
• ⁸ know it completely

B. Academic writing

• composition: could be just 50–100 words, often used for school work
• essay: longer than a composition, more serious, hundreds or thousands of words
• assignment: a long essay, often part of a course, usually thousands of words
• project: like an assignment, but emphasis on student’s own material and topic
• portfolio: a collection of individual pieces of work; may include drawings and other creative work as well as writing
• dissertation: a long, research-based work, perhaps 10–15,000 words, for a degree or diploma
• thesis: a very long, original, research-based work, perhaps 80–100,000 words, for a higher degree (e.g. PhD)

It’s a good idea to start with a mind map¹ when preparing an essay. Always write a first draft² before writing up the final version. Your essay should be all your own work; plagiarism³ is a very serious offence in colleges and universities. It is an increasing problem because it is so easy to cut and paste from materials available on the internet, and students have to sign a plagiarism form to say that the work they are handing in is all their own and that they acknowledge⁴ any sources they have used. There is usually a deadline⁵ After the essay is submitted⁶, it will be assessed⁷ and usually you can get feedback⁸

• ¹ diagram that lays out ideas for a topic and how they are connected to one another
• ² first, rough version
• ³ using other people’s work as if it was yours
• ⁴ give details of
• ⁵ date by which you must hand in the work
• ⁶ handed in; formal
• ⁷ evaluated and given a grade
• ⁸ comments from the teacher/tutor

C. Aspects of higher academic study

University academics carry out research¹ and are expected to read academic journals², which publish papers/articles on specialised subjects. If a library does not have a copy of a book or journal, you may be able to access it online³ or you can usually get it through an inter-library loan⁴ Open educational resources⁵ are particularly convenient for many students. Academic study can be very demanding, and some students drop out⁶, but the majority survive till finals⁷ and become well-qualified⁸ members of their future professions.

• ¹ less formal is do research
• ² magazines with academic articles (we do not use the word magazine to talk about this kind of academic publication)
• ³ get hold of (it) on the internet
• ⁴ system where libraries exchange books/journals with one another
• ⁵ online materials that can be freely used by teachers and students anywhere
• ⁶ leave the course before the end of a college or university course
• ⁷ the last exams before the end of a college or university course
• ⁸ with the right formal qualifications