Home of Slightly Cracked Dreams

Grab a cuppa, this is a big one.

While I regularly enjoy the break from uni, the inevitable happens. Firstly, I get excited about the next semester. Then I try and figure out what I’m going to do THIS time to make sure I get everything done. Yeah yeah yeah. It’s the same every year and it never happens.
But still I plan. This year is no different. I have dreamed for 13 years of doing this course, and now I’m finally doing it I intend to do it well. So guess what! I have a plan.

I’m still fleshing out the details, but the general rule is home study should account for three times the contact hours of the subject. Being an external student, I add those contact hours to my total. For the majority of my courses the contact hours are 4, which means I want to find 16 hours a week to study. (3 x 4) + 4 = 16. You with me? Great.

Firstly, the lecture. The lecture is provided over the internet within an hour of it finishing on Thursday at 5pm. It’s a 1 hour lecture, so I need to listen to that. Generally notes are provided, but I always add to mine. The advantage being that I can pause the lecture to do so. There goes 2 hours.

Tutorials. I attend 16 hours worth of tutorials over two days in the middle of the semester. That doesn’t mean I go unprepared. For each 3 hours worth of tutorials per week, there’s a good 2 hours preparation. Answering questions, constructing arguments. Another 2 hours gone.

Reading. Being a law student, reading long, picture-less texts (I was a business student in a former life – they like charts and diagrams and pretty pictures) is the major part of the degree. As is taking copious notes. This is by far the largest part of the week. Something in the vicinity of 7 hours. We’re up to 11 hours. Only 5 more to allocate.

Assignments. These are harder to plan for without knowing their nature. Seeing as how the subject this semester is focussed on legal research, I gather they’re going to be researched based, and require a fair bit of time. Initially 3 hours a week will be allocated, the extra reading time if available (as in, if I’m up to date on the readings and have leftover time – ha!)

Finally exams. There will likely be an exam at the end of the semester. Initially 2 hours a week will be devoted purely to reinforcing prior weeks learning, listening to past lectures. These hours will obviously increase after all the assignments are finished, and once the formal semester is over and until the exam.

So there you have it. My plan of attack for the semester. Now, for my next trick: fitting into my already heavy schedule.