This means you use words and expressions like “It may be”, “Mitchell’s work appears to say”, “It could be concluded that”. Academic writers use careful words so that they don’t make claims that are definite when the evidence is uncertain. This may be particularly useful when you want to criticise another writer’s work. You don’t want your assertion that their work is wrong to sound like a personal attack, so writing something like “Mitchell’s work seems to ignore the changing economic circumstances” is not as combative as “Mitchell’s work completely ignores the changing economic circumstances”.

Plan your revision time. There are lots of useful study charts online. Many of these are made for secondary education students, but there is no reason why you can’t take a GCSE study tool and use it for your BA course. If it’s helpful to you – use it. No one else is going to know you used a Key Stage 3 timetable! Take a look at some of the revision charts available online

Solitude – During the course of your university career, you will have to spend a lot of time on your own studying. Some people love studying alone, but for others you may feel a complete lack of motivation. Work out how you feel about solitary writing time and how you can best deal with it.

Making revision notes seems to be something that causes many students concern. There’s no big mystery as to what should go into your notes. Also, there is no right way to make revision notes. Your revision note methods will depend on the subject matter and what you prefer.