How to succeed in university biology

Courses I currently teach at Algoma

How to succeed in university biology

If you are a biology student at Algoma University, you may be asking yourself: "How can I do well here, and how can I make sure I come out of this degree ready for a career, and armed with the skills and experience to get a decent job and be a contributing member of society. Okay, you might not be thinking all of those things, but maybe you're thinking some of them. As someone who has read a lot of student resumes and cover letters, and interviewed myriad students, I offer the following advice, aimed at helping you to succeed in your courses, and at ensuring that you maximize what you get out of your degree:

1. Work on your writing. The vast majority of students are poor writers. I don't say this to disparage youth; I was a bad writer when I was an undergrad, and it cost me a lot of marks. The fact is, students don't do enough writing, and when they do, they're not generally using good writing practice. I recommend a couple of things. When do you write the most? Probably on email, or facebook or some related internet tool. Rather than sending the typical short message, frought with grammatical errors and convenient phonetic spelling, spend a few extra moments to use full sentences and correct grammar and spelling. If you're really ambitious, use paragraphs to separate your ideas. You'd be surprised how much this can help.

The number one thing holding students out of the mark ranges that they really want (say for medical or law school), is typically writing. It isn't just a matter of grammar; it's being able to answer questions clearly and succinctly. You might be very smart, but part of being smart is being able to communicate the things you know in a way that is coherent. You might be a genius and still get marked poorly on an assignment if you can't write. Additionally, your writing is the first thing any prospective employer will see when reviewing applications. Bettering your ability to communicate in writing will also improve your ability to communicate verbally. This is the single most important piece of advice I can give you. Success is generally built on the ability to distinguish one's self from others favourably. Being able to write well will set you apart from most other students unless, or course, all students start taking my advice about this!

2. Focus on practical work. Try as we may as professors, it's hard to make studying science the experiential equivalent of doing science. That's why we always make courses have labs; no, it's not because we want to torture you or keep you from your weekly prime time fix. Sadly, even labs really aren't enough. So if you really want to find out whether science is your thing, I recommend two courses of action. First, volunteer in a research lab on campus. This may be competitive, so schedule a meeting with a professor and give them your pitch. In that meeting, don't make the fatal, but common, mistake of telling the professor how volunteering for them will help you. Consider highlighting the skills you can bring to his or her lab. Hint: professors always have menial tasks like data entry, reference cateloging, ect. that they won't want to do, and that will give you a chance to see what science research is really like. Yes, science, like pretty much any career, has lots of menial tasks. If you don't believe this, you're labouring under what I have come to call the C.S.I. delusion. TV can make any job look cool; don't trust it. Second, do an honours thesis. This is the best possible advice I can give you if you want to see whether you really like science.

3. Learn to give presentations. Most of you are probably scared to death of this. One of my favourite Seinfeld bits is about how dying is the second biggest fear for the average person, while public speaking is the first. Seinfeld then extrapolates that at a funeral, the average person would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy. This issue gets back to the importance of developing strong skills in communication (see first point). The better you are at this, the further you'll go. Practicing presentations helps you learn how to draw focus to particular points, and carefully frame an argument. Knowing how to do this well will give you confidence that will allow you to excel in interviews, and this will again help you to get jobs.

4. Pay attention to the marking scheme. This is perhaps the most basic suggestion I can offer. On tests and assignments, pay attention to how marks are allocated. This will help you focus your answers. I have seen students have trouble finishing exams as they meander through an answer, half of which has nothing to do with the question. If you have a test question worth two marks, make sure you're answering with two pieces of information. We design marking schemes so we can look for a particular number of things in the answer. The number of times I've had an exam question with the words "Identify and explain..." answered with only the identified bit even though the question is out of two marks, is especially frustrating because the student may have been perfectly capable of explaining, but did not consider that part of the question. Many students study by coming up with exam questions for one another; this is a great idea. Consider extending this idea by giving these questions a marking scheme appropriate to the expected answer. So how does this relate to your future? Well, it's a simple matter of paying attention to important details, something that is required in any job, and in life in general. This will also teach you how to better interpret expectations, and become more efficient at completing any given task.