Buried Alive

Oh readers, I am so sorry for my absence of late. I have been buried in work already. It also doesn't help that I haven't been using my laptop much, sticking to my iPad for much needed Internet time. Nw that I am responsible for my Internet, plus the difficulty in findin reception for my wireless Internet... It is hardly worth the effort. So far I am enjoying the content of my subjects. There are, of course, boring aspects, particularly in my Trusts subject. At least I am not alone in my boredom as I am quite aware that most other students are suffering. In fact, the class size was much smaller in the second lecture this week, although this may have been due to the rain.I am loving medical law and my study group appears to be quite promising! On top of my studies, I was offered a research position in a program that partners my law school with a community legal centre and am tasked with putting together a report. It is very exciting and a fantastic opportunity. I am very much looking forward to getting right into the meat of the topic. I am also getting into competitions this year. I have already organised a team for mooting and possibly a partner for negotiation, which I have been rather excited about. It will be a great deal of work, particularly as I already am feeling the pressure, but I am looking forward to a great semester.

Reality

I think I'm finally starting to realise that I'm in my fourth year of study. As I'm doing a dual degree, I'm essentially a third year law student.

At the start of my lecture today the course co-ordinator was outlining what he expects of us. He stated a few times that as the subject is a level 3 law course much more is expected than in previous courses. He outlined what is required for a mere pass and I was in absolute shock.

I have no doubt that there is a great deal more work that I could have done in the past, and that sometimes my assessment isn't as good as it could have been, but it seems like it's a rather large jump.

Perhaps the expectations aren't as high as the lecturer suggested. The jump between first year and second year was minimal and it seems unlikely to me that there would be too much of a difference in the grading schemes.

The Law Society at my University releases a 'guide' of sorts each year that compiles student feedback on subjects and includes a breakdown of the results. I usually forget to look at it until the end of the semester when I find valuable advice that would have been helpful 6 weeks earlier. I've had  a good look at both core subjects I am taking this semester and from what I can tell the marking last year was relatively lenient. I'm generally an optimist, so I'd like to think that the lecturer was just trying to encourage us to perform as well as we can.

Whether or not the lecturer was speaking truth, I'm stepping up my act. I doubt that I'll read every case, but I'm going to read as many as I can. I'm going to have a concise summary of my readings, lectures and tutorials completed each week.

I'm also probably going to complain about the unrealistic expectation I have of myself.

TEA-LOVING!

So regular readers may remember that I have just moved into a house off-campus. It is a rather big adjustment, what with cooking and cleaning, not to mention adjusting to the idea of a commute to classes. As you can imagine, it's quite a bit to get used to. Of course a new house brings new habits!

I've written previously about my love of coffee but I've recently begun to appreciate the value of a nice cup of tea. I had never drunk tea until a few months ago when I was told green tea would have some great health benefits. I promptly went to one of those chain stores that sell looseleaf tea and infusers and bought a few varieties.

I didn't really enjoy the tea too much and figured it was just something I would have to adjust to over time. While travelling I was served peppermint tea as an alternative to the amazing smelling hot chocolate others had. I drank it and found I rather liked it.

With a return to studies, I assumed that I would also return to my coffee drinking habits although I am unable to find my coffee plunger. I did however find my stash of herbal teas that I grabbed one night while I lived on campus planning to try them eventually. On a stormy night last week I was cool and decided a tea would be lovely. There is a first for everything!

So here I am, loving tea. I'm sure as the assessment begins to pile up I will find my coffee plunger and coffee will once again reign supreme.

Day One

The first day of school has not come too soon. As per usual, the summer break dragged on much too long and I have been anxious to get back into my study routine. Well day one is here and my books sit beside me on the lounge.

Of course, I'm watching the coverage of the Australian Labor Party leadership spill. As a student of international relations and, to an extent, political science, I have a real interest in the goings-on of the political scene. The last leadership spill was around 18-months ago and not nearly as drawn out. I heard of it while preparing to go to sleep and was unable to sit in wait to see the results with an exam first thing the next day.

So I sit and wait for confirmation that nothing changes so I can get stuck into my day. As I said the other night, I have already completed my work for the first week in one subject, with only the light reading for my three law subjects remaining. My stack of textbooks scaring me, I'm almost hoping I find a reason to do something other than study.

Surely starting one day later can't cause too much harm.... right?

So close, yet so far

I write this post as I am part way through listening to a lecture for a class. 'A lecture? But it is Saturday night!' you say, 'Not to mention that the semester has not yet begun.'

Well of course, it is Saturday and classes do not begin until Monday!

This semester I am taking an external subject for my International Relations major. The course is run out of my university, but has students from other parts of Australia and all around the world taking part. I'm quite excited about it as it allows me to be quite flexible. While I still have to wait for each lecture to be recorded and uploaded, the lecturer plans to upload his lectures on Fridays and Saturdays. Rather than tutorials, we have a weekly blog entry which we write based on the assigned readings. My hope with the subject is that I can take the time now, before my law courses destroy any hope of a healthy study-life balance, that I can get right into my readings for the next few weeks. If I am able to be ahead of the game early on in this course, I feel like I will be able to work well in my other courses.

While we aren't required to write an entry for the first week, I obviously have a bit of an interest in blogging so I have been reading up on the marking criteria.  Our blog shouldn't take a personal or opinionated stance on any theory and must be scholarly. We also have to stick to around 300 words! I have no idea how I am going to be able to stick to such a low word limit! We are able to post multiple entries, though only our first contributes to our grades, so I can't see that posting multiple entries will be vastly beneficial, other than creating a good study tool later on.

With students all around the world, a conventional exam is not a possibility. In it's place we have a take-home exam. It is a 2000-word essay which we have 72 hours to complete. Based on the information I have seen thus far, we may get some guidance beforehand as to the topic. While I don't like to admit it, I am like most other students so 72 hours to write a huge essay shouldn't be too bad. I'm a little unsure of how I will tackle the time frame at this stage as the 'exam' takes place over days that I have classes! Do I focus on getting the essay done and ignore my other classes or do I continue on as a normal law student! The decisions!!!

Although I technically have not begun my time as an external student (for one subject at least), I'm almost positive that it is going to be a great experience! I'm not the biggest fan of our tutorials, something which I will write about in the coming weeks, for numerous reasons. One of the reasons is more to do with my bad luck and lack of skills in choosing the great tutorials. I have a tendency to end up with tutorials scheduled hours away from any other classes and I make the effort to get to university and the class is a huge let down, although not so huge as it only goes for an hour. The blog that my external class has allows me to actively participate, by both having my opinion and engaging with others, without being such an inconvenience.

Okay, maybe I don't mean inconvenience, but the flexibility is great! If I have an essay due on Wednesday, I can do my blog entry on Thursday night or Friday Morning. If I have nothing on the following Monday, I can partake then. The blog is going to allow me to be in control of my learning, at least part of it.

If you are a regular reader you probably wouldn't be too shocked to read that I am already looking for more external courses that I can take. Yes, semester has yet to start but I just know it is going to be a good one.

I haven't jinxed myself at all, have I?

Organising for the new semester

So I write today as I am faced with a dilemma. I could continue my unpacking (no thanks!) or I could organise my materials for the new semester. I've decided to go with organising my class materials.

I use a Livescribe Echo Pen (which I plan to write about soon), so my lecture notes need to be taken in special notebooks. I like to take notes from textbooks and cases on looseleaf paper so I use 2-ring binders to keep everything organised and together.

Now in the past I've used dividers to organise my work in different sections for readings, cases, slides and other print-outs (for courses where they are provided) and other materials. Now I'm starting to think that it isn't necessarily the best way to go about the organisation process. I've now decided (after having bought enough dividers for all four subjects) that the ideal way to organise would be based on topic, generally a section for each week of the course. A major benefit of this method will be the ease for open book exams. While I generally make a summary of all my notes whether or not an exam is open book, I still like to bring all my materials in with me.

Ah the organisational possibilities of a totally new desk and year!

How do you organise your notes? Do you have a particular method?

Back-to-School

As I'm sure regular readers will attest, I'm a bit of a stationery-freak! Now as a law student, I have a great need for stationery all through the year, but there is nothing like the beginning of a new year to stock up. At last I know I'm not alone in my back to uni routine loving!

The thing is, I'm about to move into my own place. Well, not MY OWN place, but I'm moving in with some friends after living on campus for a few years! That means right now I am frantically trying to pack to prepare for my 7 hour drive early in the morning. While I left most of my uni supplies with family and friends, I still have quite a bit to pack! As you can imagine, it doesn't leave much time for stationery lust!

Next week is O-Week at my university, so in between buying a desk (and bed, and couch et al) I'm going to try and cram in scoring freebies and perhaps cracking open what is sure to be a giant pile of textbooks (which I also have to acquire). I also want to have a massive trip to my local Officeworks and Kikki.K. While I have a HEAP of stationery already (including so many coloured manilla folders) there is nothing like starting a year afresh!

Over the past few years I've been stuck using whatever desk set-up that has been supplied at my college so I'm glad to be able to have total control over my workspace! Realistically, I probably have almost as little control as before but it certainly feels much different to be in total command!

So be prepared readers for what I'm sure will be a week filled with posts of my desk and stationery gains!