Starting a degree can be daunting. Especially if you’ve spent some time outside of education. In this article, we are going to be providing 6 tips to prepare yourself for a degree in Quantity Surveying.
Tip 1 – Analyse the reading list:
Your university may provide early access to some reading material before the course commences. If so, it would be good idea to take a look at the reading list provided for the upcoming modules. We suggest you write a list of books down and prioritise your own reading list for when you have access to the university library. If you want to get a head start on reading you could even look to amazon to purchase some material beforehand.
Tip 2 – Ensure you’re well equipped:
Ensuring you’re well equipped for university is very important. In terms of stationary, we recommend, a pen, pencil, rubber, a scientific calculator, a scale ruler, a highlighter and a note book.
In terms of IT and Office equipment, we advise you have a standalone desk where you can carry out your studies. Preferably this would be in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. We suggest you have a comfortable chair with good back support and an external mouse and keyboard. We recommend you have two monitors both equal size next to each other. This is will be extremely helpful when essay writing as it means you’ll be able to have your essay on one screen with your research on another. The top of the monitors should be at eye level while you are sitting up right. These may seem like trivial points. However, you need to create an environment which allows you to be as productive as possible, ensuring you produce high quality work.
Tip 3 – Learn to reference:
When writing essays you’ll need to reference your work in order to demonstrate your research, and provide acknowledgment of other people’s work. Failure to do so could result in you being accused on plagiarism. When essay writing you’ll need to follow strict referencing rules, and each university has their own specific style for you to follow. Once you’ve got the hang of referencing it’s easy. However, it can be time consuming as you get started. For that reason we suggest learning your universities referencing style beforehand. To do this simply, google the university you’re attending space “referencing style” and you should find a document which explains how your university requires referencing to be carried out.
Tip 4 – Know how to structure an essay:
A well-structured essay is what enables you to articulate the point you’re trying to make in a concise and organised manner. The structure will not only provide you with a clear sense of direction when writing, but will also allow for easy reading. It’s also a requirement which is reflected in the marking criteria. For reading on how to structure an essay we recommend the “essay writing guide” by Jordan Peterson.
Tip 5 – Know how to format an essay:
Once you’ve finished writing your essay, you’ll need to format the document. This is discussed in the previously mentioned essay writing guide. However, we advise you learn the following techniques for whichever software you use to write your essay.
– Cover Page
– Contents Page
– Headers & Footers
– Page Breaks
– Page Numbers
– And Finally, Bibliography Page
Tip 6 – Learn some basic construction terminology:
The construction industry contains many terms which you’ve probably never heard before. Especially if you’re a full-time student. For that reason, we recommend you spend some time researching common construction terms. Click here to see the top 100 construction terms. We suggest you re-write the list and test yourself.
Why not watch our video on the subject here:
