My Final Year University Experience: Academia

Today we kickstart the long awaited final year university experience posts. I thought I would start with the academic aspect this year, since it has been the most prominent. If you've not read my previous sets from First and Second year, the way that this series works is that I share my annual experience in separate posts, focusing on Academia, Social life, Finances and Accommodation. I studied Bsc English Language at Aston University, in Birmingham. 

In this post, I will be discussing my thoughts around online content, share a breakdown of each module and the grades achieved, as well as my plans for the near future. Grab your snacks because this is going to be a long one. If you want to know how my year has been, just keep reading. 

December Academic Goals

Welcome or welcome back! It has been a long time since I last published an academic goals post. With second year ending abruptly, and final year being non-stop work, I decided to focus on achieving the goals and wait to share them when things settled down. Luckily, I have one week left of term 1, so I actually had some time to share my goals for the month. I will try to share my goals for the second term, as I know these type of posts do really well, so you guys must enjoy them. Bare with me though, as navigating my final year during a pandemic has not been an easy adjustment. 

Anyway, enough of the waffle - here are my goals!

(Disclaimer: Some of these goals will have been completed by the time this is live)

January Academic Goals 2020

It's the first month of academic goals! This month I have had what feels like an endless supply of work to do, but honestly that's probably my own fault. I definitely thought I had more time than I do. I only have a couple goals for the month of January (yet it consumes most my time). I don't want to waffle too much, so here we go!

N E W S   M E D I A   A S S I G N M E N T

In first semester I took a module called language in the news media. I actually really enjoyed it but I'm not enjoying the assignment as much. Not because I don't find it interesting, but because I left it last minute and gave myself a week to get it done. Submission day is Monday 13th 2020 and as I'm writing this, it's looking pretty good. I'm hoping to get it sent off tomorrow YAY. I've been making daily trips to the library and it's really helped me centre my focus. I work really well on my own, so as much as I want to have study days with friends, I think to get my work in on time, going alone is exactly what I need. 

L I T E R A T U R E   C A S E  S T U D Y

I took a literature module this year, which I really enjoyed and actually chose another literature module for second semester too. The assignment is a 3000 word empirical case study. AND BOY HAS IT BEEN STRESSFUL. We had the choice between a naturalistic or empirical study, and me being the one to love a good challenge, I chose the hardest one. Seemed like a good idea at the time but it's caused me a lot of stress at times. Thankfully all the data has been completely collected and recorded; all  that is left is to implement it into my essay and get it all written. I'm so ready to send this off soon and never see it again. It's taken up so much of my time! Hopefully I get a good grade and it all becomes worth it. Not only has it been demanding but it includes one of the things I hate writing the most.......literature reviews. Ew. 

G E T  A  N E W   U N I  P L A N N E R

This is quite a small goal for January, but before the semester begins on the 27th, I want to get a new uni planner. This is not the sort of planner you may be thinking of. I already have my diary planner and it has been saving my life as usual. I like to have a notebook where I am able to plan out my assignments and make notes before I begin coursework. I'm someone who cannot just type from nothing, to begin with. I like to come up with some sort of structure or ideas to go off. Having a notebook specifically for that is super helpful and I'm due to purchase another. I carried on using my previous planner book from first year and now the pages are getting limited, so what better time to get a new one than the beginning of the year and before second semester. 

I decided to document the process of meeting my academic goals, on my Instagram stories. If you want to see me achieve these goals and get a gist of what my day looks like as a uni student, follow me @chelle._babes

So these are my goals for the month! 

Thanks for reading,

Have a great day x

November Academic Goals

I've had a couple requests to bring these posts back and of course I am all up for that. I wasn't able to have any goals for September/October because the semester just began but I have lots of goals for the month of November. Lets get straight into it!

S E N D   M Y  A S S I G N M E N T   P R O P O S A L S

I have three assignment proposals to write and send to my lecturers this month. I have a couple ideas but I need to choose some final options and get them approved before I can start. I'm actually looking forward to 2/3 of my assignments as they're all analytical and those are my favourite type of assignments to do. I find the analytical side of English fascinating.

S T A R T  G A T H E R I N G   A S S I G N M E N T   D A T A

After my proposals are hopefully accepted, one of the most important stages of my assignment is analysing data, but for that I need to actually have texts.
My goal is to collect all the data I need for my assignments so I can get started with the analysis.

P R E P A R E   F O R   G R O U P   P R E S E N T A T I O N

We have 2 group presentations this month. I'm not a fan of group presentations but what can you do ay? I have already started working on them with the group but we still have lots to do. Wish us luck.


P S Y C H O L O G Y   E X A M    P R E P

My first exam of the year is in a few weeks and I couldn't feel any less prepared for it. There is SO much content and I have no idea how I am going to remember it all for this exam but we'll make it work. I'm probably going to end up in the library everyday for a week just making flashcards. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

So these are my November goals! Let's pray I achieve them.

What are your goals for the month?
Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading,
Have a great day x

How to manage your time as a student

First year is almost over and it's bittersweet. Although I'm super excited for a long summer, I've been told by so many people that second year is so much more intense than first, so I'm low-key holding onto it for as long as I can. Before I actually started university I didn't realize how busy it can be. I don't know if it was just me being naive but I definitely thought I would be less busy at uni than I was at sixth form. In some ways that is true but time at uni is honestly so different. It's quite strange.

Anyway, I had a lot going on particularly last month, which is what gave me the idea to do this blog post. I thought I would share how I got through a jam packed month and give some advice for anyone at/going to university. This can be applied for any students of any level but I wish I had these tips before I started my degree. Hopefully this will help any freshers starting this year.

Disclaimer: I definitely don't have it all together and I'm in no way saying I have the secret formula for time management. I had my stresses and panics this semester like all students do. It is inevitable to fall behind sometimes and it's perfectly OK. This is just what works for me and hopefully it will work for you too. The best way to find what keeps you organised is through trial and error. Remember that everyone is in the same boat. Don't be afraid to ask for help if things get too much. 

January Academic Goals 2019

It has been so long since I have done an 'Academic Goals' post. My last one was back in May! I originally planned to start them again in September but finding time to blog during the first semester was a bit of a nightmare. Now that it is a brand new year, it is only right that I kick start them again. These type of posts always had a great response and honestly having academic and personal goals every month is essential for me.

I don't have many goals for this month as I don't start university again until the end of January. I have an exam on the 17th but my first lecture of second semester is the 29th.Most of these goals focus on the exam.

1) Learn how to draw Grammar Trees

If you have never studied English Language above GCSE level, you'll probably have no clue what these are, but they are THE WORST. I had heard of them during my A-levels but we didn't ever have to do them, so being told drawing them in first year was worth a hefty amount of marks in exams was quite the disappointment. When we were first introduced to them in a lecture, I had never left a room so confused. I went to the seminar the week after and still had no clue what I was doing. The week we broke up for Christmas, we had a revision session and I didn't improve much then either. It is now 2 weeks before the exam and I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT I AM DOING. My number one goal for this month is to learn how to draw a stupid grammar tree. I understand the concept and the first couple steps but honestly I'm lost from beyond that point. Send help.

2) To Practise writing the two exam essays

This is obviously a goal I need to meet BEFORE the final exam, but it is one I am yet to even touch. The exam is 3 painful hours long and includes writing two essays. I feel like such an unprepared student because I haven't attempted to do a practise essay ONCE. I've known about this question for over a month and haven't even dissected the question, let alone wrote it. I don't know what it is, but I've come home and forgot I'm a student. I'm planning to sit myself down and plan the question out and then write it next week.

3) Learn the definitions for linguistic terms

This is a goal I have actually started trying to reach, thank God. It's probably the easiest of the tasks because its all a memory game. All I do for this is write out definitions over and over until I wake up repeating them.

4) My one goal for after the exam is to look into my modules before the term begins.

I am able to view what my modules are for second semester, so I want to read around the subject a little bit just to take off some of the stress. If I know the basis of the modules, then perhaps it will make assignments a lot easier and maybe I'll have to do less reading during the term (lol a girl can dream).

So these are my academic goals for the first month of the year! What are some of your academic goals? And if you're working full-time, what are your professional goals?

Thanks for reading,

Have a great day x