This week Christmas has begun…apparently. Given that the only television I watch is replays on the internet and that I’ve been stuck in my room writing essays for the last few weeks, I’ve managed to miss the sneaky Christmas adverts taking over and decorations popping up in town, only for it to smack me in the face. Lancaster looks pretty in its new sparkly gear and everyone seems a little happier, although that may be something to do with the end of term fast approaching. Whilst week 10 of term see’s everyone at their most stressed it is also the point of most relief when that final essay is handed in and the holidays begin.

Having said that there is still a long way to go and my economics exam next week feels like a cruel reminder to that. With this in mind my blog this week will offer two bits of module picking advice which I wish I’d had known beginning second year.

Mid-term exams are definitely something I would advise looking out for when picking your modules. Whilst it seems counterintuitive to choose to have deadlines in the middle of term, instead of giving yourself more time to revise for one at the end, it works out much less stressful. Firstly they can only give you so many weeks worth of material as you haven’t learnt it all yet, so there will be less to remember. Secondly it means you spread out the intense work load that you would otherwise have grouped all at the end; whilst you are focussing on your exams your essays are sat non-urgently, humming along in the background. If you are doing Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) then make use of the flexibility that allows you to shift your workload in any way you want. For example this year several of my friends have taken on modules which allow you to write a 5000 word essay instead of an essay and an exam so as to cut down on their amount of final summer exams.

The second piece of advice is to have a flick through the material before hand to make sure it is something you are interested in and think you can handle. A lot of people end up picking modules based on their titles, or because their friends are taking them, but then get stressed when it turns out they can’t stand how the text they need to study is written or that it involves something completely different to what was expected. My mistake, having not taken A-Level maths, was to enter onto economics courses without checking what sort of maths I would need; I then found myself giving a 40 minute presentation on a linear regression model, a memory I’m still trying to repress. This year a little careful planning meant that any new maths I needed to know I could learn during the holidays or in my spare time in advance so that I didn’t find myself trying to catch up in the middle of term. I realise this sounds daunting, especially if you’re in the same maths-less boots as me, but genuinely the thing I have been most proud of in my entire University experience is that now I feel comfortable taking on maths that would have previously made me want to cry just looking at it. You get taught a lot in university but there is also a lot you teach yourself.