Front cover -- Half title page -- Title page -- Copyright page -- Table of contents -- Detailed table of contents -- Figures and tables -- Guided tour -- Acknowledgements -- About the authors -- Introduction: How to use this book -- Book overview -- 1 Getting Into It: Becoming an active, creative learner -- Chapter Overview -- Introduction -- Some simple learning principles -- Active learning and passive learning -- Some characteristics of creative people -- Getting immersed, learning to focus, getting into 'flow' -- Developing your own active learning strategy -- Chapter summary: Key learning points -- Suggested further reading -- 2 Talking to the Experts: Useful orientations for interacting with expert professors, tutors and lecturers -- Chapter Overview -- Introduction -- Reflect on things you are already good at -- How you become an expert at anything -- How to talk to experts in a way that supports your learning -- Recommendations and implications for your learning in higher education -- Chapter summary: Key learning points -- Suggested further reading -- 3 Style Matters: Techniques to suit your own learning style -- Chapter Overview -- Introduction -- Intelligence -- Eight intelligences questionnaire -- The eight intelligences -- Effective learning techniques -- Connecting with your senses -- Chapter summary: Key learning points -- Suggested further reading -- 4 Taking It In and Working It Out: Ideas for reading, listening, making notes and critically thinking about information -- Chapter Overview -- Introduction -- An exercise in listening, reading, making notes and memorizing -- Reading for clarity, precision, relevance and other important characteristics -- Listening and the positive effects of body language -- The importance of the reading habit.

Generating your listening, reading, note-making and memorizing strategies by asking the right questions -- Digging deeper -- Chapter summary: Key learning points -- Suggested further reading -- 5 Research Skills and Orientations: First steps to good research -- Chapter Overview -- Introduction -- The purpose of research -- The literature review: background and preparatory reading -- Different categories of research -- Ethical issues and research -- Four approaches to research -- Research methodology -- Research methods -- Stages of research -- Common research problems -- Comments on and answers to the exercises in this chapter -- Chapter summary: Key learning points -- Suggested further reading -- 6 Getting It On Paper: Learning the skills for confident academic writing -- Chapter Overview -- Introduction -- Getting to grips with academic writing -- Focusing on enjoyment -- Knowing the rules -- What makes writing academic? -- Developing a college-based writing strategy and managing time -- Responding to feedback -- There is no such thing as good writing - just good rewriting -- The writing process: from prewriting to letting it go -- Nourishing your writing with the ideas and perspectives of others -- Imposing structure on your writing: the benefits of a good outline -- Staying flexible and avoiding the tyranny of outlines -- Some advice from a writing expert -- Chapter summary: Key learning points -- Suggested further reading -- 7 Learning the Rules: Punctuation, spelling, accurate referencing and avoiding plagiarism -- Chapter Overview -- Introduction -- Why bother? -- Parts of speech -- Punctuation and spelling -- Proof-reading -- British and US spellings -- Referencing -- Plagiarism -- Comments on and answers to the exercises in this chapter -- Chapter summary: Key learning points -- Suggested further reading.

8 The Time of your Life: Managing time and living life as a student -- Chapter Overview -- Introduction -- Time management questionnaire -- Time management issues -- Planning -- Procrastination -- Perfectionism -- Getting control -- The 4-D Approach -- Planning: getting started -- Procrastination and distraction -- Chapter summary: Key learning points -- Suggested further reading -- 9 Learning with Others: Working and learning in groups -- Chapter Overview -- Introduction -- Benefits of working in groups -- Learning to work together: understanding the phases of group development -- Different people, different roles -- Good questions for groups to ask themselves -- A simple project plan -- Leadership and group work -- Chapter summary: Key learning points -- Suggested further reading -- 10 Presenting in Front of a Crowd: Learning to present your work in public -- Chapter Overview -- Introduction -- Finding out about the purposes and criteria associated with your assigned presentations -- Gathering resources for your presentation -- Designing and structuring your presentation -- Some principles of good presentations -- Common presentation pitfalls and mistakes -- Other useful resources for presenters -- Group presentations -- Chapter summary: Key learning points -- Suggested further reading -- 11 Keeping It Together: Managing stress, staying in control and being ready for exams -- Chapter Overview -- Introduction -- What is stress? -- Understanding stress by exploring your emotions -- Coping with stress through physical exercise -- Managing stress by focusing on logic -- Stress is not always bad for you -- Keeping a record to help you reflect on and make sense of stressful experiences and events -- Keeping a learning journal -- Avoiding exam fever: planning, preparing for, doing and recovering from exams -- Chapter summary: Key learning points.

Suggested further reading -- 12 Working with Numbers: Mathematics and numerical competence -- Chapter Overview -- Introduction -- Numbers and numeracy -- Mathematics at university -- Problem solving and abstract thinking -- Breaking down the problem -- From concrete to abstract -- Phases of anxiety when learning a new skill -- Chapter summary: Key learning points -- Suggested further reading -- 13 Facing the Future and Making Decisions: Planning for and focusing on the rest of your life -- Chapter Overview -- Introduction -- What sort of a decision maker are you? -- Decision making ingredients -- Seven steps in the decision making process -- Structured and unstructured decision making techniques -- Case study: Mia's dilemma -- Free-fall thinking -- Balance sheet approach -- Five Thinking Hats -- Decision trees -- SWOT analysis -- Creative visualization -- Action plans -- Time schedule -- Chapter summary: Key learning points -- Suggested further reading -- Conclusion -- References -- Index -- Back cover.