How I Get Started With Independent Study
June 19, 2024
The biggest change when coming to university is the increased level of independent study that is expected of us. This ranges from seminar preparation, reading or completing further research. We are also expected to juggle our social calendars and find time for ourselves. This often leaves me with the question, ‘where do I start?’. However, …
Connecting Online at UoN
May 24, 2024
As a mature student, the University of Nottingham’s English (Online) MA fitted my requirements for a post-graduate program of study. The reasons for my choice included: the flexibility around time and location; ability to choose my study pathway; academic rigour, and consistent support. However, there are challenges, or at least things to be aware of …
Rhizome Thinking
May 3, 2024
One of the joys of university is learning how to think differently. In this blog, I’d like to offer Study is a Rhizomeas as a rich conceptual metaphor for thinking about studying. Conceptual metaphors are useful for understanding abstract concepts. They were investigated by Lakoff and Johnson in Metaphors We Live By and today are …
Moving From a Small Town to a City for University: Why it’s Not as Daunting as it Might Seem
April 24, 2024
When starting university, it can feel like everyone you meet is from London or bigger cities around the UK. They’re used to the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life; they know the transport network systems and they don’t even bat an eyelid when it comes to having Uber at your disposal. Even though everyone gets …
Coping With Your New “Adult” Life: How to Combat Feeling Overwhelmed
April 16, 2024
You’ve recently become an adult; you’ve arrived at university and living alone for the first time. What do you do? Of course, the initial week it’s exciting, you’re going to be socialising and exploring and not really thinking about much else. You might have started to get the knack of cooking by the end of …
Intern Insights: My Journey as a Copywriter and Digital Marketer
December 4, 2023
During the summer before my final year at Nottingham, I had the opportunity to work for a remote-based software recruitment company. Initially, I was full of worry; my field of ‘expertise’ was definitely in the realm of entertainment and lifestyle. How would I be able to write for a tech company when I knew scarcely …
Comparison really is the thief of joy: The dangers of comparing your university experience to others
November 8, 2023
After a long day of university seminars and lectures, you find yourself back in your dorm room, procrastinating on that looming assignment by scrolling endlessly through Instagram. As you look through curated stories and posts of your friends’ university experiences, you’re bombarded with a visual feast: endless parties, newfound friendships, perfectly decorated rooms, productive study …
The pressure to have ‘The University Experience’
October 4, 2023
‘The University Experience’ is more than just something first years use as a reason to dump their long-term secondary school girlfriends/boyfriends. It’s a term that gets thrown around often and is commonly used to justify going clubbing when you have a paper to write or pulling all-nighters the day before your essay is due. But …
Keeping up with my contemporary reads whilst studying as an English student
July 31, 2023
Reading for pleasure can be tricky as an English student. Finding the time to balance the reading that my course prescribes me with my own personal reads is something I have often struggled with. Unfortunately, time and time again I have had to prioritise the reading for my course at the expense of the books …
Navigating University as a dual honours student
July 19, 2023
Coming to university in September, I was originally intending on taking liberal arts with a primary focus on English and history, however, I quickly realised that these two subjects as a pair were personally a better fit for me to study. History and English are luckily quite complimentary subjects meaning it made it easier to …
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