1 - Plagiarism

Probably one of the most boring lectures I've sat through! Actually I mean slept through but anyway....


The whole deal with plagiarism is basically don't do it. Actually I should stress the whole don't do it part, DON'T DO IT! M'okay? Plagiarism for the people that don't know what it is, its just copying someone else ideas/works or if you want an exact definition,

"to steal and pass off the ideas or words of another as one's own." (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)

ITB is crazy strict with this, as are most colleges I assume. The whole idea is just to basically get you think for yourself, plus when it comes down to it what's the point in repeating someone else's idea when you could voice yours? There's a long handout as well the college gave out about all the rules on plagiarism, hope you read it like I did....Anyway here is the link if your one of the (un)lucky people that didn't get to read it ITB Plagiarism Policy on Assignments and Examinations. This shows the do's and don't's of plagiarism  and how the college carries out discipline for people who commit plagiarism, oh and trust me it is a BIG deal. The way you go about writing your essays without doing it through plagiarism is that you just have to use the referencing system, which is really easy once you get the hang of it, I'll get on the whole referencing thing though in a later blog so don't worry!


In the end plagiarism is always going to be down the person just being lazy, not thinking or both. So as I said, don't do it!

Effective Presentations - 5

Presentations are probably the most fearful thing for a college student, or maybe its just me? What I aim to do in this blog is to tackle what is the best way to carry an effective presentation, and helping you get over the dreaded public speaking scenario.

Everyone that I've known that has done a presentation have always been totally mortified. People get nervous, fearful, queasy or forgetting where they are in their presentation.
When I was doing my own presentation, I followed these simple texts that helped me

1. be ready for it! Preparing yourself is one of the most important elements of presentations. Practice your presentation, rehearse your lines, and maybe record yourself speaking so you know how sound speaking.

2. be calm! Don't get nervous or anxious, to avoid this you just need to be prepared. Try focus more on the presentation more than the audience

3. use a bit of humour! There's nothing worse than sitting in a room with a monotone presentation. Use humour to lighten the mood, or to break the ice at the start, but don't try to be the next Lee Evans as well.

4. The details! Pay attention to the details, make sure you know your surroundings well so you know where you stand, literally. Plan your presentation and everything else will fall into place!

Time Management - 4

Time management is key to success in anything you do, if you don't manage your time effectively you could begin to get bogged down on certain aspects like for example in an exam. For me when I manage my time I get a sense of being more productive and thus have a better approach to what I am doing. When I was studying for an exam, I would look at previous years and do them, the way I went about this was;

• I first spent 5 minutes reading the paper and selecting the questions I would do.
• Next I would begin the exam and then start with smaller marked questions just to get me focused.
• I would then start doing the bigger marked questions.

While I was doing the previous exam papers I would also time myself, this I thought helped me with time management because I would know just how long I should spend on each question.

For me time management was always a bit of an issue, but I found that the best way to tackle this problem is just to self-motivate yourself. I found a useful site that helped me with motivating myself was called Self-Motivation - Mind Tools. Once you begin to self-motivate yourself you will begin to "learn and grow, regardless of the specific situation" (Mind Tools)