by The Open University
Available in 34 free installments
Owner:
Note down in your Learning Journal what you think are the advantages and disadvantages of looking at the title before and after starting to work through the relevant section of your course.
Your answer may contain some of the following points.
| Looking at the title first | Looking at the title later |
|---|---|
| Advantages | |
| It can help you to use your time more productively because you are looking out for, and making a note of (either on paper or in your head) the most useful points. | You are likely to gain more from the experience of reading the course materials because your mind is open to more than the assignment question. There is more to studying a course than submitting assignments. |
| It can help avoid ?writers? block? because you are effectively preparing for the assignment before you have to get down to it in earnest. | |
| It helps you to be questioning as a reader and to read actively. | |
| It can help you focus more clearly, noting points and identifying useful quotations, which are relevant to the question. | |
| Disadvantages | |
| It can be daunting because, not having read the material, you may think ?I shall never be able to answer that?. | If you see the course only through the assignment questions, there is a danger that you will miss other important areas. |
There is no right or wrong approach and again, much may depend on the amount of time you have available and your own preferred style of learning.
What do you need to know about your assignment? Most importantly, what it's about (i.e. the topic). Once you have worked this out, you are in a better position to gauge how much you already know and how much you will need to find out.
Here are some assignment titles from a range of different courses. Although the subject matter may not be familiar, try to put into words how you would explain to someone else what each question is about.
Outline the Marxist model of class divisions. How does the growth of the middle class affect the model?
Compare and contrast the differences in state development of any two nineteenth century European countries or empires.
In general, Victorian culture was activated by a dislike of industrialisation and urbanisation: the country was seen as a repository of enduring values. Do you agree?
Based on knowledge of your organisation, or one you know well, and using concepts and methods from Unit 13:
(a) explain with the help of a diagram how you identify the critical issues within your organisation's environment
(b) how do managers in your organisation typically cope with environmental issues? Discuss relevant coping strategies as they are applied, or could be applied, to these issues.
