How hard is it to get an HD ??

[Zlatan]

Hi guys,

I'm starting my Eng/Com degree this year and was just wondering how hard it is in terms of workload/effort it is to get an HD ?? Obviously I want to do as well as I can, but it's just so that I can start mentally preparing myself

Cheers

[Joseph41]

Hi there. Welcome to Monash!

I'm doing Arts, so not entirely relevant. However, I answered a similar question quite recently, so I thought I would leave it here for any new Arts students wondering similarly. Perhaps you'll be able to get something out of it, too; it's fairly general advice.

Click here

tl;dr: It doesn't require anything special. Be attentive, work hard.
Source: 24 units, 24 High Distinctions.

I'm afraid I can only speak for Arts, having just completed a straight Arts degree. But here are some general tips:

Organisation

In my view, the number one factor. You're obviously cluey enough to do well by virtue of getting into uni in the first place. The only thing stopping you from doing so, really, is not being on the ball (from a simplistic view, at least). Personally, I use religiously to-do lists. Practically every day, now that I think about it. I just feel so much better about the world when I know what I have to do exactly, rather than having a whole bunch of stuff sitting over my head.

So a to-do list of mine might look something like this:

Spoiler

- Psych readings
- Psych summary for assessment task
- Linguistics readings
- Finish Linguistics essay
- Contact faculty re: exchange
- Finish email for work
- Re-read History essay
- Submit History essay

Just that sort of thing. Simple, specific tasks that can easily be ticked off one by one. And the ones that I don't achieve go straight onto tomorrow's list.

Follow the ną- rule

This is something that I have always really done, but I've stolen this terminology from Brenden. Basically, it proposes that you work ahead of where you need to be. If something is due in five days, consider it (and really consider it) due in three. That gives you a buffer of two days, should anything go wrong.

Believe it or not, I have never submitted a single assessment task at uni on the day that it was due. In fact, I don't think I've even left it as late as the day before it was due. Silly? Sure, maybe, but it's served me pretty well. Stress levels decrease, marks improve, what's not to love?

Be a perfectionist, even if you're not

Be absolutely sure that you follow referencing requirements. Re-read your work a number of times. Be professional in your presentation. I tried to do all of the above and, funnily, I think it will actually help me as I go into Honours next year. Make being professional, clean and accurate a habit, and you will be rewarded in the future.

Do the readings

Arts. Lots of readings. Many are long. But do them, and take good notes. There's no point reading if you're not taking anything in, and this is what will set you apart from your peers. Doing the readings means that you can discuss with purpose the content in tutes and the like, and actually learn something from your uni experience.

You won't do every reading you're ever assigned. I'm sort of strategic in this way; in the first week or two, you can usually tell what sort of unit it is. Some rely heavily on the readings; I do the readings for this unit. There are many units in which I've not touched a single reading, but you need to be sure that you can get by without them. This will probably come with experience. In first year, I would certainly err on the side of caution.

Take advantage of easy marks

I read one of Brenden's posts along these lines one time. It was very good. In some units, you might have online quizzes, or attendance marks, or other such things. It absolutely blows my mind that people look at these in such a way that they end up not caring about losing the marks. Maybe you have ten online quizzes across the semester, worth 2% each. So many people don't bother because they're only worth 2% each; "what's the point?" they ask. But if you had an essay worth 20%, would you be saying the same?

It's absolutely crazy. Usually you can get gimme marks just from going to class, pitching in with an idea or two, and doing what should, in my mind, be the absolute minimum of at least getting each assessment in on time. Including the ones worth practically nothing, because they do add up.

And lastly - perhaps unexpectedly -

Make friends, be social

Uni is a life experience. If you don't like uni, you won't be motivated to learn, and your results will reflect that. The more I've become involved with uni, the better I have done academically. So get out there, try to make some friends, join some clubs (though, admittedly, I'm not directly involved in any), and have some fun.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

All the best,
Nick.

Best of luck.

[Zlatan]

Thanks mate