Key points for succeeding in academic life

How can you succeed in your academic life? After students enter post-secondary schools, getting good marks or not dropping out from courses must be a concern for them. However, some students seem to have difficulties which prevent them from succeeding in their subjects. They should realize major key points for succeeding in academic life. They are coping with a great quantity of homework, adjusting to various teachers, and acquiring excellent verbal and written expression skills.

In most courses in colleges, a lot of homework is given to students. When I started studying at Camosun College, I was surprised by the amount of homework. Of course, I had heard that college students had to work hard to do well in courses; however, the reality was very severe. I had to spend almost my whole weekdays doing my homework, and I also had to write essays on weekends. On the contrary, in the private English school in Canada where I used to go, the homework could be done in less than an hour.

Homework in Canadian colleges can be also compared to homework in Japanese colleges. In most Japanese colleges, as far as I know, professors give students very little homework, so they even do not go to school unless they are serious students. In Canadian colleges, if students can handle the great quantity of homework, they must be able to do well in their courses.

Besides the homework, adjusting to various teachers is not so easy although it is usually necessary in academic institutes. Teachers vary in many aspects. Students should be aware of teachers’ differences in their teaching styles, favorite topics, cultural backgrounds, grading scales and so on. If it is possible, students should choose suitable teachers for themselves; however, if it is not possible, adjusting to various teachers’ tastes can result in good grade. In the beginning of my Canadian college experience, an African-Canadian teacher would speak with a very odd accent and pronunciation so that I could scarcely understand what he said; however, his speaking must be much easier to listen to for those students who have the same language backgrounds as him. In another case, one English teacher always required us to provide concrete evidence in our writing, and another English teacher focused more on logical structures. Thus, knowing and adjusting to teachers tastes are the best strategy to get good marks.

Adjusting to the teacher is very effective; however, if students cannot express themselves well, getting reasonable scores are rather difficult. The students have to express their ideas in many ways. Most subjects require essays written according to specific standards, discussions with other students, and oral presentations. As a student who came from Japan, where students are mainly supposed to only listen to the lectures, I found explaining my ideas on topics both in discussions and in presentations very difficult. I sometimes could not express my ideas well enough to make audiences understand me satisfactorily. That situation really made me impatient; however, some students were competent to convince the teacher and other students about their ideas and to take leadership in the discussion. Although I have a language disadvantage as an international student, even in native languages, one’s power of expression really depends on each person. Summation, verbal and written expression skills are as important as ideas or understandings toward the subject.

In order to succeed in academic education, students have to handle some difficulties. Many of them might be dissimilar among students; however, some of them are quite similar. How to finish the great deal of homework, how to adapt themselves to teachers, and how to express themselves skillfully are common problems for many students. As long as students want to succeed in academic life, they should be aware of the importance of these key points.