Top Ten Ways to Get Along With Your Fellow Students

How to get along with your fellow students whether you are studying for a masters degree or are doing a part time course. 

1. Don't take things personally. It is very easy to get off on the wrong foot with someone. Just because someone doesn't like the same thing as you, doesn't mean they are criticizing you. Everyone likes different things. You will probably have some stuff in common.
   
   
2. Don't ask personal questions: It is best never to ask people questions about age, politics, religion and sex. Asking people questions about these explosive subjects is the quickest way to an argument....
   
   
3. Agree to disagree. If you cannot agree with someone then just respect their opinion and ask them to respect yours. Don't just state that you are right and they are wrong. This will not make you any friends. 
   
   
4. Be Polite: Manners cost nothing. Even if you do not like someone you should be nice to them. A good person treats people nicely even when that person can do nothing for them. 
   
   
5. If you can't be kind, be vague. Least said, soonest mendest, as they say! 
   
   
6. Respect other people's boundaries. Don't invade other people's space, talk over them or hit on their partners. Have other people's feelings in mind. 
   
   
7. Don't talk behind other people's backs. Not only will it probably get back to them, but the person you are being indiscreet with won't trust you either. 
   
   
8. Reputation is everything. Protect yours. As Bob Dylan says: 'You're dignity is something that you can sell, but you can't buy back'. 
   
   
9. Say sorry. If you do something that upsets someone, apologize. It may be the last thing you want to do, but it will make you the bigger person. 
   
   
10. Talk it through. It is easy for misunderstandings to happen. Always be brave enough to talk things through with people. They will respect you for it. Be honest. Maybe there wasn't even a problem in the first place! It's easy for misunderstandings to escalate into something bigger. Stop it from doing so immediately. 
    
    

How to Start Your Writing Career At College

Sometimes it pays to get a head start in life. The years of college can go pass in a blur and while you are getting a degree, other people are getting ahead in their careers. College is stressful and piling on any more work can cause burn out, so here is a few ways to get your foot in the door of a writing career. So when you leave college, you have that all important head start.

1. First, go to one of the best journalism schools you can and write for the student paper, if there isn't a student paper, make one. Lots of people, including Richard Branson, got their start from doing a student paper. You will learn all the basics of journalism and will make invaluable contacts. You will also have a market for your publication: you're fellow student.
2. Start a Blog: Starting a blog had made many people rich and famous. Think Belle Du Jour. You will also get into the habit of writing regularly, learn what people are reading most and gain invaluable skills.
3. Write as much as possible: You probably won't get paid at first but you will find your voice as a writer and also learn the discipline of writing. Many people give up because of the sight of a blank screen.
4. Ask for feedback: Ask your most trusted friends and family for feedback on your writing. It's the only way you will get better. You will probably have some bad writing habits or overuse certain words. Only ask people who's opinion you trust. Don't take the feedback negatively, but as an opportunity to learn.
5. Write an e-book: There a number of e-readers out there. Amazon's Kindle has made it very easy for anyone to write a book and sell it on Amazon. Write fiction or take something you know and sell your wisdom to someone else. If you write 500 words a day, it will take you 160 days to get to 80,000 words. It is completely manageable to do that in a year.

How to Understand an Intimidating Research Article

While you are attending college to get one of the best careers, you will need to do research at some point. After successfully finding a few articles on your topic, reading through them seems like a daunting task. It can be intimidating to read through a long, complicated article. Here are some tips to get you through reading these research reports.

A scientific research report has but one purpose, to communicate to others the results of their scientific investigation.  To this there is a standard format that has been developed to utilize effective communication. There are 6 key components:

Headings
This contains the information you will need to cite your source, including the title, name of author(s), any institutional affiliations. Also the title will clue you into the article's object.

Abstract
This will help to set the stage and provide you with a brief overview. It is a condensed version of the article that will briefly provide the statement of the problem, methods used, major results of the study, and their conclusions.

Introduction
The introduction will provide the thesis which will sum up the entire article into one or two sentences, found in the first or second paragraph. If the article is a literature review, it will follow similar to a funnel, broad and wide at the start, and gradually become more narrow. Also the author should briefly provide rationale for the study, then tell you quickly how they did the study. Lastly should be the results, if the hypothesis they tested was correct or if they had unexpected findings. I suggest highlighting the thesis and labeling it if possible on your copy.

Method
After the author has given you the introduction, they will get into the nuts and bolts. They should explain in this section the detailed information in how they set up the study, including describing participants. Following should be procedures used described in detail. Highlight and/or underline what you feel is the key points of the details.

Results
This is where all of the author's hard work ends up. Usually there will be statistical information, complicated charts and graphs that the author has worked very hard to complete. Their vast knowledge is difficult to convey sometimes into a language that the average student can understand. Try to break it down into parts. Underline and label the important key details you find interesting to your research topic.

Discussion
Evaluation and interpretation is the key basis for this part of the article, to conclude the work done. They will let you know if their hypothesis was supported, they may alert you to any further research that may need to be done. Finally they will conclude, restating quickly and efficiently what they have found. Again you should underline or highlight and label the key parts.

After you are finished reading through the article, GO TELL SOMEONE! It will stick in your mind easier if you can tell someone about the article, what the author did and discovered. A professor suggested this to me last year and it really does help me retain information better.