Explain why certain genres of films have thrived for many years, using the American war genre as example:
Use the following headings as guide:
Start with a brief introduction
Forms and conventions
Representation
Audience
Institution
Conclusion
MISE-EN-SCENE (French for ‘put in the scene’)
EDITING
Some important edits are called: continuity (or ‘Hollywood’) edits; MTV (’music television’) edits; cross-cuts; follow-cuts; match-cuts; jump cuts; eye-line matches; dissolves; fades; montages; bridging; flashbacks…
SHOT TYPES
Establishing shot / long-shot / mid-shot / close-up / point-of view shot / soft-focus…
Semiotics is the name given to the study of the way by which meaning is created in the world, especially in the mass media. It is based upon the Idea of ’signs’ and ‘codes’, ‘denotation’ and ‘connotation’.
A sign is the basic unit of meaning in semiotics. A sign is any individual thing that signifies meaning; for example, your clothes are a group of ‘fashion signs’ which signify meaning (perhaps you are trying to look ‘cool’?). There are two ways that signs create meaning: all signs have a literal meaning, which is called their denotation; but, depending on the context, many signs also suggest other ‘layers’ of meaning, which is called their connotation. For example, an image of a girl dressed all in white denotes just that, I.e. this is what you ’see’; but it may also connote innocence or purity (and all that this means in our society and culture), i.e. this is what you ‘think’.
Connotation, therefore, is always more than the denotation. Signs rarely work alone. They are most often combined with other signs to form a code.
A code is a group of signs that we recognise as going ‘naturally together’ to signify meaning (e.g. a rose is a sign; but being handed to a girl by a boy could create a ‘romance code’ and suggest love).
Film and TV codes are often called technical codes because technical equipment is used to create them.
There are three ways through which codes and signs can signify meaning: Iconicity: an iconic sign or code looks just like the thing it seems to represent, e.g. an image of a cowboy seems to be just that; but it is called iconic because it suggests far more than it should: for example, our culture tends to associate extra meanings with the idea of ‘cowboy’, such as toughness, heroism, masculinity, etc. Iconic signs are never reality: they are a representation of reality.
Indexicality (an indexical sign or code) in a sign directly suggests meaning because what it shows seems to be the result of something we associate with the thing it represents, e.g. smoke suggests fire, sweat suggests exercise, appearance can suggest wealth, etc. This can be a short-cut way for a film director to create meaning.
Symbolism (a symbolic sign or code) suggests meaning because we have learned this meaning in our culture; a symbol, in itself, has no association with what it means, e.g. a red heart shape suggests love; letters combine to make words, etc. The meaning we gain from codes is said to be culturally determined which .means that our culture ‘taught’ us that particular way to interpret the meaning. For example, when we see our national flag, the Union Jack, we see more than what it simply denotes – a piece of coloured cloth: patriotism and pride, etc.
An important code is an enigma code. These codes put a fascinating question in the mind of the audience that only watching the movie will answer. They tempt the audience to watch and are often used in trailers. A convention is simply a way of doing something that we are so used to we usually fail to notice it; conventions can seem ‘perfectly natural’ or ‘realistic’ yet are anything but. So: women in cowboys tend conventionally to be either ‘very good’ or ‘very bad’ – and this seems ‘normal’ within the genre of cowboy movies; the wheels of a car always screech; guns always kill outright; a punch always knocks a person out cold.
Genre and narrative are important media conventions that are covered later, as are editing techniques and-the use of certain shot types (such as an establishing shot sequence or montage – see later).
Cinema and TV codes are created within an area bounded by the edges of a screen. By controlling what objects and action are in this frame, a film director creates what is called a mise-en-scene.
Asking questions such as ‘who, what and where’ of the characters and objects and their relative positions, expressions, appearance, costume, make-up, scenery, props, lighting, sounds, etc. in a mise-en-scene will help you analyse it.
Try to consider what effects are created in a mise-en-scene’, what meaning they have (their denotation and, most importantly, connotation), how they have been created and why they were created (which will be the director’s purpose – perhaps to develop a character, a mood, the storyline or plot and sometimes to explore a deeper meaning or idea, i.e. a theme).
Editing is the placing of separate shots together. This allows a director to manipulate space and time hundreds of miles or weeks of time can be reduced to a few scenes that appear perfectly natural and believable to the audience. A montage is a most important editing technique. It is a series of shots that are edited together to create a kind of ‘individual unit’ of meaning.
Continuity edits – especially matched cuts – are called ‘Hollywood editing’. This creates a sequence that seems to flow naturally on from the previous one, and in which the edits are ‘invisible’. These have the effect of creating a realistic and seamless flow to a story or narrative (see below) where one event leads naturally onto the next.
Jump-cuts are dramatic edits; MTV edits are rapid sequences of fast jump cuts used to create a conscious effect as used first in pop-videos;
cross-cuts/parallel editing follow different actions such as two people talking; follow-cuts follow an action to its consequence, e.g. a character looking edits to what they look at
eye-line matches are a kind of follow cut).
A sound-bridge is a sound edit that allows sound from one shot to cross into the next to create continuity.
An establishing shot is usually the opening shot of a sequence; it ’sets the scene’ and locates the action. It is often followed by a mid-shot followed by a close-up shot.
A subjective point-of-view shot (POV) is at eye-level and appears as if you are viewing the scene from the character’s perspective (as in ‘Blair Witch’).
An objective point-of-view shot acts as if you are an observer secretly looking into a scene.
CAMERA ANGLE Eye-line match / high / low
CAMERA MOVEMENT Zooming / tracking / panning / hand-held
LIGHTING High key, neutral, low key
‘DIEGESIS’ AND SOUND
VISUAL EFFECTS / SFX
NARRATIVE
GENRE
ICONOGRAPHY
THE ‘STAR SYSTEM’
REALISM
‘Verisimilitude’
‘Generic verisimilitude’
‘Cultural verisimilitude’
Camera angles can signify meaning, e.g. a subjective POV high angle shot can crate a superior feel. Different camera movements can create significant meaning – a zoom or tracking shot into a close-up of a face can create emotion, a pan across a war scene can suggest violence; POV tracking shots and POV hand-held camera shot can create tension and involvement by making you feel as if you are a part of the action.
Lighting can create atmosphere and mood as well as signify meaning, e.g. in a horror movie, light and shade are important codes of meaning. High-key lighting is harsh; soft-key lighting creates a romantic atmosphere, spotlighting picks out a character from a group, etc.
Diegesis means the ‘world of the film’: if something seems to be a part of the ‘world of the film’, it is called ‘diegetic’. So, sound that is a part of the action is diegetic sound, e.g. wind noise, screeching cars, etc; but sound that is added’ to create, most often, mood or atmosphere is called non-diegetic sound. Diegetic sounds may also be added in after filming, or may be exaggerated for effect (e.g. loud footsteps).
SFX (special effects’) often use computer-generated graphics to create compelling realism and meaning.
The use of a narrative structure is a major convention of cinema and TV. We are all immersed in narratives and have been since childhood as we tell of or hear about the complex events of the world not in the form of long-winded complex details or bald information but as absorbing and interesting stories. Yet this way of explaining real as opposed to fictional events greatly oversimplifies reality whilst at the same time; paradoxically, appearing very realistic and believable. For instance, real events are rarely clearly ‘connected’ by such simple ’cause and effect’ relationships as in stories (i.e. this leads to that because…). Yet in narrative they always are. And in the real world people are not either good (i.e. ‘heroes’) or evil (i.e. ‘villains’); but in narrative they always are to some degree at least. And so on. For better or worse, we tell and hear of world events as narratives and media producers know this and use it to create media texts that rely on narrative structures and forms to be absorbing, compelling and convincingly realistic. Because of this, filmed narratives can easily trick us into thinking we are viewing a real ‘window on the world’.
Genre means the type/kind of narrative being told, e.g. detective, sci-fi, horror, etc. Genre defines a text by its similarities to other texts. Importantly, when we watch a genre film we have many pre-existing expectations of the types of characters, setting and events we want to see (prediction is a major aspect of our enjoyment of a film, and genre helps this). Genre conventions are an important way a director can create believable ‘versions of reality’ because we fail to see that what is shown is not reality at, all, but a media convention that we have become accustomed to seeing in that kind of film. So… we don’t mind the owner of a casino being horribly killed because we see him, in the gangster genre as naturally a ‘villain’. Film companies use genre to sell and make films: a popular genre creates a greater chance of commercial success; and genre can be cost effective, making it cheaper to write new stories and reducing the need for entirely new sets. Iconography is an important aspect of genre. We come to expect to see certain objects within the mise-en-scene of a particular genre, for example, in a Western, we expect to see dusty lonely roads, saloon bars, cowboy hats and horses, jails, sheriffs badges, etc.; in a modern horror film, we expect lonely girls, ‘normal’ objects, use of dark and light, etc. These ‘genre indicators’ are called the iconography of the genre. Celebrities and film stars are an important part of the iconography of cinema and TV.
Different stars can be important signifiers of meaning. They can create expectations of character and action, help identify genre, and create powerful iconic representation of such as masculinity and femininity. Cinema and TV are able to offer high levels of ‘realism’: the bright screen, the clear and powerful Dolby sound, darkened room, etc. are highly compelling and persuasive. Such ‘appearance of reality’ is given the odd name of verisimilitude. This is yet another convention of course – there is nothing ‘realistic’ about an image on a flat screen.
There are two kinds of verisimilitude: generic verisimilitude is the ‘realism’ that convinces us because of the genre we are watching (in the horror genres it seems highly realistic for a vampire to sink his teeth into a person’s neck); cultural verisimilitude is the kind of reality that convinces us because it looks like the way things are or should
Parts of a Newspaper
Layout, typical features and technical terms Some or all of these may be found on the front pages of newspapers.
! Box-out – A small part of the page, shaded in a different colour.
! By-line – the name of the reporter, if they are important is often included at the beginning of the feature, rather than at the end, or not at all.
! Caption – typed text under photographs explaining the image.
! Credits – the author of a feature may be given credit in the form of a beeline. Photographs may have the name of the person who took them or the agency that supplied them alongside them.
! Crosshead – this is a subheading that appears in the body of the text and is centred above the column of text. If it is se to one side then it is called a side-head.
! Exclusive – this means that newspaper and no one else solely cover the story. The paper will pay their interviewees, buying the story so it cannot be used by another paper.
! Feature – not necessarily a ‘news’ item (current affairs), but usually with a human-interest angle presented as a spread.
! Headline – this is the main statement, usually in the largest and boldest font, describing the main story. A banner headline spans the full width of the page.
! Kicker – this is a story designed to stand out from the rest of the page by the use of a different font (typeface) and layout.
! Lead Story – the main story on the front page, usually a splash.
! Lure – a word or phrase directing the reader to look inside the paper at a particular story or feature.
! Masthead – the masthead is the title block or logo identifying the newspaper at the top of the front-page. Sometimes an emblem or a motto is also placed within the masthead. The masthead is often set into a block of black or red print or boxed with a border; the ‘Red-tops’ (The Sun, The Mirror, The News of the World) are categorised by style and the use of a red background in the masthead.
! Menu – the list of contents inside the paper.
! Pugs – these are at the top left and right-hand corners of the paper and are known as the ‘ears’ of the page. The prices of the paper, the logo or a promotion are positioned there. They are well placed to catch the reader’s eye.
! Secondary Lead – this is usually only a picture and headline, it gives a sneak preview of a story that you might find inside the paper.
! Sidebar – when a main feature has an additional box or tinted panel along side of it.
! Splash – the splash is the main story on the front of the paper. The largest headline will accompany this, along with a photograph.
! Spread – a story that covers more than one page.
! Standfirst – this is an introductory paragraph before the start of the feature. Sometimes it may be in bold.
! Strapline – this is an introductory headline below the headline.
! Tag – a word or phrase used to engage a reader’s interest in a story by categorising it e.g. ‘Exclusive’, ‘Sensational’.
!Tip-on. a promotional item, such as a magnet or game piece, affixed to the cover of a publication.
Techniques for revision: 1 Write down a list of central points as you read through a topic in your notes. After finishing the reading, try to remember all you can which is linked with that point.2 Write a summary of each topic, perhaps on a small card. Include important facts, the main ideas, etc. . . and carry them about with you for regular reference.
3 Read through your notes and use a coloured highlighter pen on the main points.
4 Read your notes and your summary on a topic, put them away and then try to write the summary out again. Check how good it is by comparing it with your notes and your original summary
5 Read your notes and summary and then enlist someone to test you with questions. Family members, fellow students, etc. may be willing to help.
6 Develop memory techniques to help you recall really important pieces of information. Acronyms such as ‘Never Eat Shredded Wheat’ is an example.
7 Dictate part of your notes or summary on a topic into a cassette recorder, then play it back to yourself from time to time.
8 Practice answering examination questions obtained from your teacher either using notes and books or without them. It may be a good idea to time yourself and see if you can write an answer in about the time which the examination will give you.
9 Find new ways of presenting your notes in areas where your understanding is shaky. For example, building up a diagram showing the main points of a topic might be a better way of understanding it. Flow diagrams, spider diagrams, bubbles, etc. may also help.
Never . . .
1 Just read notes! Reading through your notes alone does not help you remember them. Exams are written, so you will need to revise how you will use the information in the exam – use some of the written techniques outlined above.
2 Leave revision until the last minute! No matter how much you try, you will never revise everything the night before – it’s impossible! Plan a timetable well in advance and reward yourself for achieving each target!
3 Just revise the content! Passing an exam is just as much about knowing the exam technique as it is the content. Remember to know what the examiner will expect of you, particularly how to answer particular questions in the correct way. Learn to use ‘command words’ correctly in the exam questions, they will guide you with your answer.
4 Revise for long periods at a time without breaks! Plan your revision periods to have regular breaks built in. Your brain cannot cope with long periods of intense revision, you have to take a rest. Don’t revise for periods longer than half an hour. Take a walk, or have a drink and then return to it – you’ll remember much more that way.
Taken from www.m8i.net/revtech.htmlSTRATEGIES FOR STRESS MANAGEMENT
Effective time management is just one of many ways to keep from succumbing to stress overload.Here is a list of some other methods of stress management that you might want to experiment with to see what works best for your particular situation.
Associate with people whom you enjoy and who support you.
Learn and practice relaxation or meditation skills.
Engage in a vigorous physical exercise that is convenient and pleasurable.
Sometimes it helps to get a friend to exercise with you.
Don’t let one thing dominate you, such as school work, relationships, jobs, sports, etc.
View life as challenges to seek, not obstacles to avoid.
Take responsibility for your life and your feelings, but never blame yourself.
Maintain a reasonable diet and sane sleep habits.
Use alcohol and other drugs wisely, be in control of it, not vice verse.
Avoid the use of sleeping pills, tranquilizers, and other drugs to control stress.
Protect your personal freedoms and space.
Do what you want and feel, but respect the rights of others.
Don’t tell others what to do, but if they intrude, let them know.
Find a time and place each day where you can have complete privacy.
Take time off from others and pressures.
Short time-outs during the day can help improve efficient functioning the rest of the day.
Don’t drift along in troublesome and stressful situations or relationships.
Take action to change rather than trying to avoid the problem.
Taking chances is the key to emotional well-being.
Surround yourself with cues from positive thoughts and relaxation.
Review your obligations from time to time and make sure they are still good for you. If they’re not, let them go.
Open yourself to new experiences. Try new things, new foods, new places.
When worries start to build up, talk to someone. What examiners want
Answer the question
1. The examiner wants you to answer the question in a clear and simple manner.
2. A plain, direct answer with no frills is easier to mark than one which is ornate or flowery.
3. Getting straight to the point creates a favourable impression.
4. The more concise your answer, the easier it is to mark.
It’s simpler than you might think
1. There will not be any ‘hidden traps’ in the questions to catch you out.
2. There isn’t some magical key to unlock the secret of exam success.
3. You don’t have to ‘please’ the examiner – except by answering the question!
4. There isn’t a ‘knack’ to exam success. It’s a combination of hard work, preparation, and clear thinking.
Examiners are human too
1. Marking exam scripts is a very boring task.
2. Judging grades is a subjective and difficult matter.
3. Yes – some exam questions are occasionally hard to understand.
4. [But that means that they are hard for everybody.]
5. Poor writing makes scripts difficult to read.
What examiners DON’T want
1. Untidy work which is difficult to read.
2. Longwinded answers which drift on and off the subject.
3. Answers which have been written to ‘impress’, filled with lots of ill-digested jargon.
4. Too much personal opinion, name-dropping, and generalisation.
How to gain extra credit
1. Get straight to the point. No lengthy introductions.
2. Stay on the subject. No digressions, waffling, or ‘packing’.
3. Relate all parts of your answer to the original question.
4. Show evidence of your knowledge of the subject.
5. Wherever possible, give concrete examples as evidence.
Some myths dispelled
Examination myths
It might help those who are predisposed to nervousness if we begin by dispelling some of the common misunderstandings which surround examinations. Once the end of a course draws near and exams approach, there is a tendency for many students to begin scare-mongering or passing on examination horror stories, many of which come into the category of urban myths.
These vary from ‘The people who walked out of Sociology Paper I last year’ and ‘The exam paper which had two pages missing and had to be re-set because of protests’ to ‘The student who did no work on the course, began revising the night before, and finished with straight A grades’.
These stories may be a form of psychological bravado or ‘pre-empting the worst’, but the result as far as the nervous is concerned is likely to be a rise in their state of anxiety. Try not to be drawn into this sort of thing: concentrate instead on positive efforts to prepare yourself.
So let’s begin with the most reassuring news of all – which has been mentioned elsewhere in these guidance notes but is worth repeating. If you have attended the classes, read the set books, and done all your course work – then it is very likely that you will pass the examination. This is not only statistically true (most students will pass) but it is even true in the sense of being logical or probable. One of the reasons for having examinations is to check that students have understood the subject(s) of the course. If you have done all that the course requires of you, the examination will merely confirm that this is the case.
The only instances in which this may not be true are those fairly rare competitive examinations which have a fixed number or percentage of candidates who will be allowed to pass. In such a case you might have done all the work required but be ‘beaten’ to the cut-off line by those who performed even better than you on the day.
For the vast majority of examinations however, this is not the case and you can justifiably offer yourself the reassurance that if you have done all the work required, then you are likely to pass.
This does not say anything about the level or grade of your pass of course, nor should it be used as a reason for complacency – since one part of the work of a course is the revision for its examination.
The next myth is normally expressed in the fear that the paper will contain questions about which you know nothing. ‘What if I’m asked to answer on something I don’t know about!!?’ or ‘What if I take one look at the paper and don’t recognise a thing on it!!?’ Many people are plagued with fears like these.
The fact is that (with only extremely rare exceptions) the questions on the paper will be concerned with those topics and issues covered in the content of the course. It is true that a question might be framed in a way which forces you to think about a topic in a new light, or it might be open-ended in a way which does not specify the subject (leaving you to supply one). In general however, the examiners cannot suddenly spring new topics onto you. Once again, if you give some thought to the purpose of examinations you should see that they are bound to be comprised of the course subject matter. Be reassured: you are very likely to know the subject matter already.
There is also a common fear that you need to know everything about a course in order to be successful in its examination. Those who may have missed classes for a couple of weeks or not fully grasped one of the course topics may imagine that some vital cornerstone is missing from their knowledge, and without it they are bound to fail.
This notion too is generally false and should be discarded. Very few people follow every part of a course with equal interest or comprehension. Even so-called experts on a particular subject will tell you that they don’t (indeed can’t) know everything about it. The very fact that most courses have a pass mark set at forty percent means that examiners will accept something far less than a comprehensive knowledge of it.
Most examinations will present you with a variety of options so that you can answer on those topics which you do know. You should not let some minor incompleteness in your knowledge give you cause for anxiety. If it is not too time consuming you might try to fill in the gap, but just concentrate most of your attention on that part of the course you already know.
Because most people find examinations a stiff challenge, there is a tendency to think that the people who set them are somehow trying to be as difficult as possible. In its worst form this myth sees the examiner as some sadistic demon, setting all sorts of traps and snares to catch out the unsuspecting, or devising questions of mind-bending complexity.
I am not going to suggest that all tutors who set examination questions are paragons of clear expression and thought, but the fact is that there is no reason at all why the examiners should set out to make things especially difficult. In fact the opposite is true. Almost everybody involved – your tutor, department, and faculty – all have an interest in making sure that as many people pass the examination as possible.
One further simple factor should offer some form of reassurance even to the most anxious, though I am aware that some people will do their best to deny it. The fact is that if you have attended the course and worked in a reasonable manner, then you are in the same position as everybody else. Of course if you haven’t……..
Your colleagues will feel nervous too. Those feelings of anxiety are not something which only affect you. If you feel that you will not be able to do your best work under examination conditions – then other people will probably feel the same. They might not like to admit their anxieties (and maybe you do not either) but they like you will feel that they are working under difficult conditions.
You should not imagine that exams are simply a test of memory and speed. There are. of course,quite a few circumstances in which you might be asked to recount information that you have been asked to remember. Most courses will require that you reveal your understanding of its subjects and your ability to reflect intelligently on its concepts and principles.
Moreover, just because a typical examination asks you to write three essays in as many hours doesn’t mean that every one of these one hundred and eighty minutes must be spent writing at high speed. Keep in mind that you will ultimately be judged on the quality of what you have produced, not the quantity. An examiner will give you higher marks for four sides of thoughtful and concise argument than for six or seven which are padded out with waffle.
Another common source of stress as the examination approaches is the fear that a failure to pass will be utterly humiliating, the collapse of all your hopes, and the end of any possible future advance. (This is a widespread notion amongst teenagers taking their ‘A’ levels, and many schoolteachers could do a lot more to dispel it than they do at present.)
The fear is understandable: for many people educational progress or career development is directly linked to success in examinations. But the fact is that examination failure is not the end of the world. It may be that the academic life is not for you and you might be better off, in every sense, playing football for Man Utd or joining a boy band, or buying lots of lottery tickets, or working in Burger King for the rest of your life.Stress management Most people suffer from minor symptoms of stress at one time or another, but in conjunction with examinations the problem can become very acute.
What in normal circumstances might add a little creative tension to your activity can become quite debilitating, and it is important that you learn how to bring stress under control so that it does not impair your preparations and your performance in the exam.
The first thing you might do is learn how to recognise it.
Stress can cause feelings of dizziness, weakness, nausea, headaches, a sinking feeling in the stomach, and all sorts of muscular cramps – especially in the back, shoulders and neck. People prone to stress often appear to have a hunched appearance caused by the repeated bunching of their shoulder muscles. It is also quite common for people to develop stiff necks or back pains caused by their not being able to relax properly. If you feel that you are not as relaxed and calm as you are normally, you should realise first of all that a little tension around exam time might be perfectly normal for the reasons we discussed earlier. After that however, there are a number of things you can do to keep the level of stress to a manageable minimum, most of them connected with improving your physical sense of well-being.
It is very important if you wish to operate efficiently in a mental capacity that you keep in good condition physically as well. It is simply not possible to study effectively if you are tired, stressed, or run down in any way.
Sleep is obviously one of the most important forms of relaxation available to us. It is a time when we should switch off completely and allow our body to recuperate, re-charging our physical and psychic batteries ready for the next day. Most people need between eight and nine hours sleep each night, whilst others make do with as little as six or seven hours, but perhaps ‘top up’ with brief naps in the late afternoon. The important thing is to recognise and supply your own personal needs in this respect. The length of time we sleep is one thing, but many people recognise that the sleep needs to be of good quality. It will simply not be so effective as a restorative of your life forces if it is broken into brief periods interspersed with periods of fitful wakefulness. Try to make sure that you do not retire at night in an agitated or over-stimulated state of being. Organise your life so that you are approaching sleep in a state of tiredness and relaxation.
Diet is now widely recognised as an important part of our lives. Without being too puritanical or proscriptive it is also generally agreed that over-indulgence can have a bad effect on us. You will tend to become sluggish (and over-weight) if you eat too much. Just think how the experience of having a heavy lunch can make you drowsy and unproductive for the rest of the afternoon. In addition to the amount, the type of food we eat can also have a serious effect on us. Too much consumption of heavy, fatty foods will generally clog up our systems and make us less efficient metabolically. People are often tempted to eat more if they feel anxious or stressed, so it is important to be as self-disciplined as possible in this respect. Avoid very big meals, eat lighter foods such as salads, and remember that over-indulgence with alcohol is likely to give most people spiritual as well as physical hangovers.
Exercise is one of the best ways to relax and relieve stress, even though this might seem paradoxical. This is because physical exercise normally promotes an uplifting sense of wellbeing. It will prevent you from becoming physically tense, dispel feelings of lethargy, and will help to keep your system in good condition. It is also likely to help you have good quality sleep. Take the trouble to have some sort of exercise every day. Go for a walk, go swimming, running or cycling – especially if you are otherwise sedentary. Jogging, aerobics, tennis or any other form of vigorous activity will form an ideal break from your studies and will help keep stress at bay. Exercises of this kind will also help you to briefly take your mind off your studies, and you will be able to return to them feeling more refreshed.
Breath control is one of the most rapid and immediately effective ways of lowering stress. If you feel tense or agitated in any way, just stop what you are doing, sit or stand up straight, and take several deep breaths. You should breathe in powerfully to fully inflate your lungs and then exhale slowly, dropping your shoulders and allowing yourself to relax. It may help you to mentally count down from ten to zero whilst you are breathing out. Just repeating this process a few times can promote a surprisingly immediate sense of relief and a feeling that your stress is draining away.
Meditation is a part of some Eastern philosophies which seek to promote a sense of harmony and wellbeing in the whole person. The technique usually recommended is as follows. Adopt a relaxed and comfortable position with your back straight, close your eyes, and concentrate on some fixed point of reference. This might be a word or phrase which you say over and over again or an idea which you find comforting. Alternatively you might visualise a particularly restful scene. Some people do this to the accompaniment of calm and soothing music and achieve a state of deep relaxation, after twenty minutes or so of which they feel spiritually refreshed. Rather like the other techniques described here, it is a way of calming yourself and promoting a sense of tranquillity.
Muscle relaxation is a physical version of the same thing, though in this case it is a very conscious effort to achieve a state of relaxation. What you should do is lie on your back on the floor and then take some minutes to become comfortable, breathing deeply and regularly. Then you should concentrate all your attention on one part of your body at a time, starting with your foot and working up towards your head. You concentrate on the whole of your foot for instance – toes, sole, instep and heel – let it go completely limp, and let it stay limp. Do the same with the other foot, then work on your legs, your stomach, chest, and so on.
Decide what to study (reasonable task) and how long or how many (chapters, pages, problems, etc.). Set and stick to deadlines.Do difficult tasks first. For procrastination, start off with an easy, interesting aspect of the project.
Have special places to study. Take into consideration lighting, temperature, and availability of materials.
Study 50 minutes, and then take a 10 minute break.
Stretch, relax, have an energy snack.
Allow longer, “massed” time periods for organizing relationships and concepts, outlining, and writing papers.
Use shorter, “spaced” time intervals for rote memorization, review, and self-testing.
Use odd moments for recall/review.
If you get tired or bored, switch task/activity, subject, or environment.
Stop studying when you are no longer being productive.
Do rote memory tasks and review, especially details, just before you fall asleep.
Study with a friend. Quiz each other, compare notes and predicted test questions. Enough of psychology already!Hey, exams are terrifying and depressing,
So here are Paddy’s few basic tips for survival;Get a plan.
Don’t con yourself, let others test your knowledge and understanding.
Revise with your friends, like in the American campus movies.
Make revision/test cards.
Sleep well.
Eat well.
Exercise.
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