Revising

That time of year is upon us once again, the time when people start using that word. Revision. The one word that strikes fear in the hearts of all, a fear that does not discriminate against age, gender, race or academic aptitude. However, having done at least one exam every year for the past seven, Revision and I have formed a strong bond. In fact, I might even say I’m getting used to the pre-exam preparatory stages. Might.

My biggest tip to those of you who haven’t done an exam in a while would be this: variety is key. I honestly believe that if you stick to one method of revision you will not do yourself justice. There must be some sort of scientific explanation for this, but all my evidence is anecdotal.

Now, while having a break from my ECA efforts, I’m going to share what I do to revise- some of it may seem pretty obvious, but that doesn’t mean it’s not effective!

1. Reread/watch the course materials: This is an important first step as it allows you to refamiliarise yourself with what you’ve learnt over the past year, but by no means is this sufficient as a standalone revision technique.

2. Summary notes: This is one of my favourites for a number of reasons. Firstly, by condensing all your study materials onto a few sheets of A4 everything starts to feel much less intimidating. Secondly, your revision blueprint is now travel size, you can take it to work with you without giving yourself a hernia. And thirdly, by doing this you will get yourself used to writing things by hand- if you are used to doing everything electronically you WILL need to warm up before an exam. What better way?

3. Flashcards: I’ve definitely found these useful over the years, and versatile too. I’ve used them when learning French vocab, case studies for Psychology, Physics equations and definitions of key terms. This year I’m planning on using them to memorize quotes and themes from the set texts.

4. Wallpaper: My A3 notebook and colourful felt tips will see daylight again. By writing things big, colour coding them, and then taping them to your walls, you’ll struggle not to commit them to memory. I found this particularly useful when studying for my History A-Level. I think this year I might approach thing thematically, and have a different sheet for each theme I could be asked about.

5. Practise essays: At the very least, practice essay plans. This one will be a challenge this time around, as A230 is a brand new course (ergo, no past papers).

6. Collaboration: Some people just cannot revise with others, but I’m not one of them. I find it so helpful having someone to bounce ideas off, and I always seem to remember more information if someone else is testing me (which then minimizes the panic I may be starting the feel). Unfortunately due to the nature of the OU, I don’t really have the option of charming class mates into studying with me.

And then (just because I can) there are a couple of new techniques I’m going to try out for 2012 exams:

7. Tables: These have been working really well for me when writing ‘compare and contrast’ essays, so they will no doubt be useful for exam questions that involve two texts (and there just so happens to be two of those in my upcoming exam…)

 8. Spider diagrams: This is a little challenge I’m setting for myself because I hate spider diagrams. I always have. They just make no sense. And they’re messy. BUT as everyone is always raving about them, I thought I’d give them a bash.

So, loyal readers, how about you? How do you revise?

A quick Hello

I thought I’d drop you guys a line, as I feel like it’s been a while (and you’ve been leaving me some lovely comments recently). I apologise for being a bit vacant for the past few weeks but my calendar currently looks like this:

• 26^th April- A215, TMA 4
• 3^rd May- A230, TMA 5
• 10^th May- A215, TMA 5
• 19^th May- A230 Day School
• 24^th May- A230, TMA 6
• 31st May- A215, EMA
• 7th June- My 21st Birthday (Woo!)
• 14th June- A230, Exam

Hence a recent lack of availability…

I can barely remember the last time I read a book (for pleasure), or watched a film, or baked a cake… So my blog writing has suffered. But I promise I’m not slipping back into my diabolical-once-in-a-blue-moon-blog-fiend ways. I’m determined to remain faithful.

And now the end of A215 and A230 are in sight, and part of me will be sad to see them go. The other part of me is feeling slightly giddy at the thought of a long summer of freedom. No doubt before long I’ll be back here scribbling down more rubbish than any of you could possibly want to read.

Good luck to all of those out there coming to the end of ‘term’. Love ya!

The Sign of Four

(Apologies for my absence- bridesmaid duties, a new job and the flu have been keeping me busy. Not to mention those damn TMAs that keep popping up!)

I challenge you to find one person on this planet who does not like Sherlock Holmes. Our TVs and cinema screens have been full of him for decades. I’m particularly enjoying the Robert Downey Jr/Benedict Cumberbatch versions at the moment- although I do feel kind of like a traitor as they both offer ‘alternative’ interpretations to the pipe smoking Victorian gentleman. I think my favourite ever on-screen rendition of the super-sleuth has to be the Rupert Everett one, fab!

I’ve never seen a TV version of The Sign of Four. I know there is one… it was on ITV3 a few weeks ago, but I just couldn’t stick it out! By inserting adverts before, after and during every scene they’d managed to drag it on for about 3 hours- I don’t think it even took me that long to read the book.

This really just served to reinforce my belief that you should always read the book. I’ve been telling siblings and classmates for years that you can’t just watch the film… IT’S NOT THE SAME!!!

Arthur Conan Doyle really does have a knack for storytelling; I’m not surprised he was so popular back in the day. His work is just so supremely readable! And the sense of whimsy, adventure and romance just adds to this. Having said that, I don’t think The Sign of Four is as amazing as some of other Sherlock Holmes stories. I think maybe the thing that put me off is the way imperialistic racism seems to worm its way in… you might think this is weird coming from someone whose favourite book is Gone With the Wind, but I just don’t think I was expecting it from Sherlock.

There was one slightly frustrating thing about this book… I couldn’t work out whodunit! I know tat that’s the point… only Sherlock is capable of solving the mystery but still…

I actually wish I had an assignment on this book; I think I’d find it so much more interesting to write about but hey ho maybe in the exam… I know one thing for sure, I’ll be making it my mission to read more Sherlock Holmes books (and see the films, after) .

 

Life Writing, Part 1

So I’m saying goodbye to fiction and poetry and embarking onto a journey into life writing. I’m worrying a little about this topic for a number of reasons:

• Why would anyone find my life interesting? I’ve never done anything so different or so exciting it merits writing about!
• How honest can I really be if I want my friends and family to speak to me ever again?
• How do I even come up with an idea of what to write about?
• How can I avoid unturfing sensitive issues?
• I’m 20! How much of a life have I even had?
• What if people judge me for what I reveal about my life?

I think writing down my fears has helped calm me down a little bit. And there are things I’ve been looking forward to about life writing, such as:

• I can use my own voice! I know this sounds like a silly one, but I find it so much more freeing writing from my own point of view; when I’m writing from the perspective of an invented character I’m never sure if I’m being entirely consistent…
• I won’t have to do any in-depth character creation- my characters already exist!
• I will be able to use my friends and family as a resource. Their memories will help to add more depth to whatever story I decide to tell. Also having their help will stop me from feeling like I’m swimming against the tide by myself.
• It could be cathartic writing about my past experiences, especially if they were particularly difficult events. This could be my opportunity to flush out my negative baggage.
• It’s something I am capable of doing; I’ve kept a diary for years and I do (kind of!) keep a blog, they’re both forms of life writing, right?

I think that as long as I focus on those positive thoughts about life writing, I might be able to keep my cool! My aim is to prevent the usual panic, and I think that this time I might have just done that… I’ll keep you posted!

The Woes (and Wows) of Poetry

When I was younger I loved poetry. I loved to make this rhyme, I loved to use excessive alliteration and I loved reading rude limericks. Who didn’t?! But before I started studying poetry as part of A215 (Creative Writing) I thought the fun and frivolity would disappear. Maybe my sense of dread stemmed from the fact that I don’t really read poetry anymore, and whenever I try I feel like I don’t ‘get’ it.

But here’s the bizarre thing… when we started to have a go at writing poems I actually really enjoyed it. I hadn’t really prepared myself from that! I started to feel more comfortable sharing things on the forum too; my fellow Creative Writers have been great at giving feedback.

And then TMA time arrived. I tried, I really did. And I actually thought I’d done reasonably well, which seems to be what I think every time I get my worst score ever. But I don’t think the score’s the part that bothered me this time. My tutor said that you could tell I hadn’t enjoyed poetry that much- I didn’t really know how to respond to that as it had actually turned out to be my favourite thing to write so far… (I want to stress that this is not a criticism of my tutor, she is fab. )

My dilemma is, do I continue to ‘waste my time’ and carry on doing something that I enjoy but that may never lead to anything good, or do I give up on the world of poetry and move onto something that will yield a better end result?

I would also like to add that this is not a rhetorical question, all comments are welcome!

Wuthering Heights

What can I say about Wuthering Heights? Really, the only thing that comes to mind is that it made me want to cry. Not because it was a tragedy, but because it was so… disappointing! Before starting I didn’t really know more about the story than you can glean from the Kate Bush song. I was expecting a tempestuous and heartbreaking love story, but instead I got a fairly mundane tale of tepid characters. Most of them were just generally unappealing, but then there was Linton who I think I may actively despise…

I’m not completely condemning Emily Bronte, I think she had a great style, and there are so many sections of the book that are beautifully written. I just feel like it could have been so much more. The hype didn’t help, almost everyone I know told me how much I was going to love it because bla blaa blaaa. I know it’s probably not fair, but I kept finding myself comparing it to Jane Eyre (something I could read over and over). Needless to say, I probably won’t be reading this one again.

My feelings for this text made writing about “the representation of home in Wuthering Heights” an arduous ordeal. And I’ve started noticing a theme in A230, most of the books they’ve got us to read so far have been absolute fun-suckers.  But it’s ok, I’ve got through it (although it was touch and go for a while) and am looking forward to a future of Sherlock Holmes  and Robert Louis Stevenson. Just keep your fingers crossed for me and my awful assignment!

A New Start (again)

I think I may have uncovered the root of my blogging problem… I spend a large chunk of my working day on the computer, and then the rest of my day doing OU work. So when evening swings around I’m somewhat loathe to sit at my computer and obsess about OU work.

Sometimes I really feel like my mind is begging my brain for some downtime, so that’s what I’ve done, I’ve let her chillax for a while. But now I’m back, and ready to give my blog a face lift (actually I’m too young for a face lift, let’s say I’m giving it a deep cleansing mud pack).If you can understand my slightly fruity metaphors, bravo! If not, then what I’m trying to say is that I want to give this whole thing a revamp, and add a bit of variety into it.

 I don’t want to feel like writing is such a chore; I want to enjoy it again! So I’m going to write about the things that I see and experience and love and hate. That’s the plan anyhoo, and I’m hoping that this will stop me from losing the will to live and encourage me to write a little more frequently!

I should probably get back to work right now, but watch this space!

 

Happy New Year!

So Happy New Year to one and all. Let me start out by saying my New Year’s Resolution is to write a blog post every week. Let’s just see how long it takes me to break that one…

I definitely underestimated how draining it was going to be doing two 60 point modules while working full-time, but I feel like I finally have some sort of rhythm going on. At the moment I’m on track. Fingers crossed things will stay that way for a while.

A few days ago I submitted one of my most challenging TMAs so far…. writing a short story. The main difficulty was that we were given no limits; we could write about any topic we liked. Narrowing down a subject took me weeks; writing the actual story took me a day and a half. There’s something so completely nerve-wracking about doing a creative course, it doesn’t just feel like your work is being marked, it feels like you’re being judged! I’m at that point where every 20 minutes I log onto the OU website to see if my results have been posted yet…

My next challenge, that oh-so-dreaded-world-I-don’t-understand, is poetry. And that’s in both modules. In A230 I’m studying Romantic poetry and in A215 I’m working on creating my own poetry. I really, really don’t love poetry. Half the time I want to stand up and scream JUST SAY IT ALREADY. Anyway, I’m on a bit of a mission to change my own mind- my theory is that if I find some poetry that I like to read, writing it will be a more pleasurable experience. So any recommendations are welcome.

Good luck with all your January TMAs! x

 

Ommmmm…..

I think that anyone that has ever read one of my blog posts will realise that I’m actually a tad neurotic. I seem to have underestimated how obsessive I would get while trying to do two courses at once. That is my excuse for my lack of recent bloggaging (interesting new word there…).

I am very pleased to report that on Sunday I submitted my first assignment of the year. I did have to treat myself to a cookie or four, and a guilty hour (or 2) of the X-factor. Somehow- and God only knows how, but I seem to have got all the panicking out of my system. I do think that this may be a false alarm and I’ll be back to my usual state of caffeine-fuelled frenzy by the end of the week, but for now I’m enjoying it my sense of peace!

I just want to wish you all the best of luck for all your impending assignments, as I’m off to make a start on my first TMA for A230.

Goodnight my pretties!

Day School Numero Uno

Today was my first Day School of the year (for A215-Creative Writing). I have to say it did a lot to calm my nerves. I’ve still been feeling slightly traumatized by the overactive participants of the Student Cafe, but my tutor was really nice and everyone else in the group was perfectly harmless…

Now I’m only terrified by the prospect of doing a poetry assignment.

The day was very relaxed, we did a lot of creative writing activities and then shared our ideas with the group. That was a new experience for me- I’m always very guarded about showing people anything I’ve done myself be it art or writing… It’s just really worrying putting yourself in the position to be judged. Or that’s what I thought, but it was actually strangely liberating. Plus everyone was really constructive (which helped). Who knows? One of these days I might even feel brave enough to put something onto that dreaded online forum…

Anyway, I need to go make some din-dins and do some work before the Xfactor, so bye bye!