Finalés Funkeln

I have now finished all of my exams. All that remains is my viva voce. Apparently that's latin for "with living voice" or "word of mouth". Basically; this is when you present to your dissertation/thesis to your examiners. This is done orally so good communication skills and public speaking is definitely a plus.

From what I've heard, it is not compulsory to have a PowerPoint presentation with you. Although I can definitely see the benefits of being equipped with one. Having slides to lean on during a presentation means that you can have bullet points infront of you for your benefit. This results in you not omitting anything that is really important. I've always been taught that failing to plan equates to planning to fail; but that's a "glass-half-empty" kind of attitude!


Plan the work; then work the plan!


So on that note; I am definitely preparing one for mine. I'm not even too sure if my supervisor will allow it; but regardless: I'll make one anyway. One: because I have more free time due to my exams having been concluded. And two: because I like PowerPoints animating it to have awesome effects has a certain charm about it. I would highly recommend that everyone do the same.

Paul G,
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Examinations

I apologise for the inconsistency of posts these last couple of weeks. It's exam season and we're all studying hard. I have 3 exams left. Starting from tomorrow; I have an exam every day. And what's worse; my exam tomorrow is at 6pm in the afternoon! That means that the exam finishes at 8pm. So my plan is to stay up late for the sole purpose of having the ability to sleep in till noon. Then thats around 5 hours of revision time and leave the last hour prior to the exam to relax and calm your nerves.

If you are reading this; I suggest you do the same (if you dont already do). One of the biggest factors of decreased performance in exams are nerves. Take a moment to step back from all the knowledge osmosis you are trying to attempt: and just be. Keep your chin up and dont let the stress defeat you. For my exam a couple of days ago; the sun was actually out. During the last hour towards the exam; people were eqquipped ith their notes for some last minute revision. I on the other-hand was under the shadow of a tree, laying flat on the grass and playing with small pine-cones. Or whatever those things are:

The important thing is, although it might sound contradictory; the last thing you want to think about in the final hour prior to the exam: is the exam itself. It has something to do with your psychology or something. I'm no expert so I'm not going to claim I'm right. But I reckon that it stems from the fact that we used to need adrenaline whenever we were about to engage in combat. Obviously in this particular setting: adrenaline just acts as excess stimulants which might be detrimental to your cognition. But hey: thats just a theory: A PINE-CONE THEORY!... thanks for reading

Paul G,

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My Weakness

Video games. I cant stop playing video games. My first exam is in a week's time and I'm still playing games. Sure I've studied every now and then, and I'm pretty confident with the level of my knowledge. But whenever I take a stroll around the university, I see my colleagues nose deep in notes and text books. Which begs the question; should I be doing the same?

Ive been learning and absorbing the information my lecturers dish out throughout the whole year. So when I look at the few notes that I have; it all just sinks in and I get it. But the fact that everyone else is working so hard is a bit daunting. I study a few hours a day and spend the rest of it on my Wii or PS3. I really really hope that what I'm doing is sufficient for the exams. Maybe I'm just doubting myself; my tactics have gotten me this far. No reason why it should come up as inadequate now.

So I shall carry on the way I am now. Still in the process of completing FarCry 3 and I just bought myself a new JRPG! It's been an eventful day today anyway (went to the airport to pick up my parents and my brother's fiancé); so I guess I'll put off studying for abit to spend time with the family :)

To those of you who are strong enough to resist the temptation of procrastination; Kudos to you!

Paul G,
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Just Dissert.....ation

Today is the deadline for 3rd Year LLB dissertation. Whilst everyone's idea of celebrating is either getting drunk, eating out or something called an Ann Summer's Party (I have no idea what that is), I'd rather plug my laptop into a 50" TV and play some Hearthstone! Though this is a happy occasion, it is important to keep in mind that we still have exams just over 2 weeks away.

I'm so glad that the Law supervisors allowed us to contact them for feedback when it was close to the deadline. Other courses apparently didn't do that. So I count myself fortunate. It's such a sigh of relief to hear from your supervisor that your work is alright. It is very reassuring considering that they are the ones marking it too. I even made an acknowledgement page thanking mine.

In the faculty meeting; some of the supervisors made a comment that not many students actually contacted them for feedback, guidance and/or support. This is very puzzling. Why wouldn't you make use of the resources you have at your disposal? They are literally one click away.

But never the less; it's finished now. Time for the home stretch. Once the post-dissertation day(s) off are finished, its back to the books. Life is hard as a Law student. But I wouldnt change a single aspect of it :)

Paul G,
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