How to Get a First: The Essential Guide to Academic Success

182 Pages·2004·1.14 MB·English

by  Thomas Dixon

How to Get a First
Do you have to be a genius to get a first at
university?
In How to Get a First Thomas Dixon argues that you do not, and sets
out to demystify first-class degrees in the arts, humanities and social
sciences, clearly articulating the difference between the excellent and
the merely competent in undergraduate work.
This concise, no-nonsense guidebook will give prospective and
current students advice on teaching and learning styles that prevail
at university, and on how to manage their two most important
resources – their time and their lecturers. In an accessible, and enter-
taining style, the author looks at subjects such as:
• making the transition from school to university
• developing transferable skills
• making use of lectures and seminars
• using libraries and the internet
• note-taking, essays, seminars and presentations
• common mistakes to avoid
• writing with clarity and style
• revision and examinations.
Illustrated with many examples from a range of academic dis-
ciplines, How to Get a First is an all-purpose guide to success in
academic life. For more tips and useful links, visit: www.getafirst.com
Thomas Dixon has taught at the Universities of Cambridge and
London and is now a Lecturer in History at Lancaster University.

How to Get a First
The essential guide to
academic success
Thomas Dixon
First published 2004 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004.
© 2004 Thomas Dixon
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the
British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Dixon, Thomas (Thomas M.)
How to get a first : the essential guide to academic success /
Thomas Dixon.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–415–31732–0 (hardback : alk. paper) —
ISBN 0–415–31733–9 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. College student orientation. 2. Study skills.
3. Report Writing. I. Title.
LB2343.3.D574 2004
378.1′98—dc22
2004002094
ISBN 0-203-57979-8 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-33694-1 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0–415–31732–0 (hbk)
ISBN 0–415–31733–9 (pbk)
Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgements ix
1 Introduction 1
2 Taking aim: the task and the resources 20
3 Lectures, classes and seminars 33
4 Libraries and reading lists 42
5 Reading and taking notes 59
6 Using the internet 74
7 Planning an essay, presentation or dissertation 85
8 Giving a presentation 94
9 Writing essays and dissertations I: the basics 104
10 Writing essays and dissertations II:
arguing with style 125
11 Revision and exams 152
12 How to get a first 164
Further reading 168
Index 170

Preface
This book has arisen from my experiences both of studying and
of teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in a range of
academic disciplines (history, philosophy, religious studies and theo-
logy), primarily at the Universities of Cambridge and London. In
effect, it is what I wish I had known prior to starting my university
career. I hope it will help equip others to make the most of their
potential and get the most out of their degree. The title of the book,
How to Get a First, will make most sense to students in universities
where final degree results are divided, as they are in Britain, into the
classes of ‘first’, ‘two-one’ or ‘upper second’, ‘two-two’ or ‘lower
second’, and ‘third’. The advice this book offers on academic success
will, of course, also apply just as much to students at institutions
where this classing system does not operate.

Acknowledgements
I am grateful to the staff and students of the following institutions
for the opportunities they have afforded me to teach, to learn, and
to think about academic skills. At Cambridge University: the Faculty
of Divinity, the Department of History and Philosophy of Science,
King’s College, and Churchill College; at London University: the
London Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medi-
cine, Imperial College, University College, and Birkbeck College.
Several individuals have particularly encouraged me to think about
academic skills and to write this book. One of my undergraduate
supervisors at King’s College, Cambridge, Nick Adams, was the first
person to get me to think about academic writing as a skill and about
what constituted excellent academic work. More recently, Emma
Dixon, Gordon Dixon, Kay Dixon, Miri Freud-Kandell, Monica
Gonzalez, James Humphreys, Chris Insole, Tim Jenkins, Diana Lipton,
Peter Lipton, Rebecca Nye, Lewis Owens, Rosalind Paul, Greg
Radick, Rebecca Stott, Denys Turner, Léon Turner, Fraser Watts,
and Anna Williams have all offered very helpful ideas and encour-
agement in connection with this book. Two anonymous readers
for Routledge made invaluable suggestions about how to improve
it. Michael, Jackie, Patrick and Alex Dixon encouraged me to think
about the differences between teaching and learning at school and at
university. Anna Clarkson, Jessica Simmons, Philip Mudd, Priyanka
Pathak, Geeta Rampal, Hannah Qualtrough and Jon Raeside at
RoutledgeFalmer have all dealt with the various stages of production
of this book extremely efficiently; I am very grateful to them for all
their help, and to Sue Hadden for her meticulous management of
the copyediting and proofreading process. Many thanks to Trevor