Integrated skills

3 Compare your answers with a partner. Then listen again to check. 4 Discuss the questions in pairs. 1 From your own experience, is there any of the advice that you strongly agree or disagree with? 2 Is there any of the advice that you’ve never done, but think you might try? I usually just write out notes, so maybe I’ll try using diagrams. I definitely agree with the point about taking breaks. That works for me. Notes on revising All students aren’ t (1) so decide what works (2) . BUT some (3) is good for nearly everyone:

• Write a revision (4) (and (5) it!).
• Always work in (6) (your ‘work space’).

7. your notes – use diagrams and coloured pens to
8. important information.

• Take short breaks to let your mind have (9) .
• Important: get (10) (you can’ t work properly

  when you’re (11) ). 1 Discuss the questions in small groups.

1 At what time of day do you think you work best?

2 When revising, do you listen to music, or does it distract your attention? 3 Do you usually revise in the same place or in different places? 4 Do you revise in one long period or several shorter ones? 2 Listen to someone giving advice about studying for exams and complete the notes.

Well, not everyone is the same of course. Some students, for example, say they revise better while listening to music, but others find it distracts their attention. So the first thing to do is to think about what’s best for you. Ask yourself questions like: Do I work better early in the morning or in the evening? Alone or with another person? That kind of thing. So, as I say, there may not be one method that fits all students. There are, however, certain pieces of advice that seem to work for most people. Firstly, make a timetable so that you can see how much time you need to give to each subject. I know it may seem obvious, but it definitely works. And of course once you’ve got your timetable, you have to keep to it; otherwise there’s no point in having it. Second, try to revise in the same place all the time. It could be your own room or the library or somewhere else. After a short time you’ll probably find that it’s easier to start working because you’re in your ‘work space’. Apart from the ‘where and when’ questions, there’s the question of the best method to use – in other words, the ‘how’. As I said, different ways work better for different people, but one thing that always seems to give good results is summarising your notes using diagrams and highlighting the main ideas. Use coloured pens for different things – a red pen for examples, blue for reasons, and so on. Finally, don’t work for too long at one time, especially on the same subject. Take short breaks from time to time to give your brain a rest. Go somewhere else and do something different. Oh, there’s one more thing I forgot to mention, but it’s very important. Make sure you get enough sleep. Nobody works at their best when they’re tired. 5 10 15 5 Look at the script below of the advice you listened to in Activity 2 and compare it with the notes you completed. Underline in the script the main points of the notes. 6 Look at the advice about writing summaries and the red parts of the script. Are the red parts examples, repeated information or extra comments? Write A, B or C in the boxes after each red part. Writing summaries: what to leave out

A examples

B information repeated in different words C extra comments and opinions

Script

1 Read the advice about interviews. Then complete the tasks below. 1 Put a line through all the examples, repeated information or extra comments. 2 Underline the main points of the text that is left. 3 Complete the notes below. In this Unit you have learnt about:

▶ countable and uncountable nouns

▶ nouns that may be countable or uncountable ▶ articles (revision)

▶ writing summaries Interviews are an important part of many people’s lives. They may be for a job that you really want or a course you’re really interested in, but it’s hard not to feel that the interview might change your future life. I’ve done quite a lot of them myself, from both sides of the table, and I’ve picked up quite a lot of experience. There is a lot of good advice available. The Internet, for example, is full of articles with tips on how to succeed. Of course, there aren’t many tips that fit all situations, but the one basic rule I’d like to pass on is that you need to do some research into the company or course that you’re applying for. In other words, preparation is the most important thing you can do. Even simple advice about what to wear may not be the same for every company or course. There are some situations where arriving in smart business clothes would give people the wrong idea. The only thing that we can say for sure is that it’s important to be clean and tidy. Another common tip is to practise answering some of the questions that interviewers often ask. Again, there are lists of these on the Internet. ‘Why are you interested in this job / course?’ or ‘What can you bring to the job / course?’ are common ones. I’ve asked and answered questions like these many times. Finally, there is the usual advice on how to avoid being nervous. One suggestion you hear a lot is to ‘be yourself’. This, however, is much easier to say than to do, in my opinion, because interviews aren’t natural situations. The main thing I would say is that if you’ve done your research well, you will feel more confident and less nervous. So this too comes back to what I said at the beginning: when it comes to interviews, preparation is the key to success. 5 10 15 20 25 4 Use the notes to write a summary of the advice about interviews.

Interviews: (1) because can (2) Advice available, but most doesn’t (3) Clothes: most important thing (4) Questions: practise (5) Feeling nervous: good (6) helps you to be (7) SO, rule number 1: (8)