180 seconds to Academic Success

You’ve been given your assignment and have been working away at it. Suddenly, it is time for your tutorial, and you have no idea what to ask in it. Don’t worry, in this week’s 180 seconds I’ll share with you some tips and advice on how best to utilise these tutorials.  

You DON’T need to have a lot of your assignment already completed 

Sometimes we think we must have a lot of our assignment completed for us to make the most of our tutorials. Yes, that can be helpful, but it’s not always needed! I recommend just noting down as many ideas you may have and what your potential references could be. This gives the tutor an indication of where your assignment is heading, and they can help guide you. 

2. Ask, Ask, Ask!  

There are never any silly questions when it comes to your assignments. You can ask as many questions as you need to, to help you understand the assignment thoroughly. Questions could be like “How many examples would I need to give in this assignment to get a high grade?” or “I don’t understand what the brief is asking me to do, could you help break it down?”  

3. Short and sweet tutorials – come prepared 

In most tutorials, you only have 10-15 minutes in which to ask for your tutor’s advice. Whether it’s 1-to-1 or a small group, I recommend preparing a series of questions or make notes on what you want to discuss before arriving to the tutorial. That way you can just jump straight into the advice, rather than spending time finding things to focus on.  

4. It’s okay if you’re nervous – Tutors don’t bite! 

If it’s your first time ever attending a tutorial, you might have some anxieties around attending. But have no fear, the tutors are here to help you with your assignment no matter how much work you may or may not have done. If it helps calm the nerves in any way, you can view a tutorial as a casual conversation between tutor and student rather than a meeting. 

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