FOR YOUR INFORMATION

OYEDE SAHEED
a.k.a chief humanbeing
300level, department of insurance
unilag

2 in 1 write up.

STUDYING HABIT AND HOW IT AFFECTS PERFORMANCE
The seventh edition of the oxford learner’s dictionary defines an habit as a thing that you do often almost without thinking. That is, a fixed and regular way of doing things. For the purpose of this write up, I will define a reading / studying habit as a habit, manner, nature or ways that an individual adopts inorder to read, digest and use information, notes, jottings, diaries lor even lecture materials to contribute to his or her intellectual development. A Reading habit is formed over a period of time both consciously and unconsciously, in short:it is the habit that an individual has gotten used to which in his own opinion is the best method to read, assimilate, process and digest a given piece of information.

Often most students are too tired after the days lecture and they always retire to their hostels for some rest with the intention of consulting their lecture materials later, which invariably leads to the accumulation of lecture materials and the preference of one course over another often add to the problem because some students tends to read or over read one course over the other, this is mostly common where some courses are calculative in nature and others are essay, most students tends to read more of essay courses while totally ignoring mathematically related courses which ultimately affects their Grade Point Aggregate and may lead to the accumulation of extra load for the next academic session which can sometimes lead to the lowering of an individual’s morale.

Studying habits varies from one individual to another, some of them are examined below:
Library student’s Approach: some few students with a pre-determine aim are often addicted to the library, we call them faculty of library or triangular students. Their routine is hostel to library, library to church or mosque. While the library is a rich source of materials for the students, it may also turn out as a discouraging factor. Here in UNILAG, a lot of students do not know how to access the library materials that are available on the shelf, vast majority also complain about the cold temperature within the library which is often as a result of too many air condition working together. During the examination periods, the libraries are often overcrowded which leads to shortage of space and sometimes heated arguments among undergraduates.

Some schools of thought are of the opinion that a triangular student is often not social or they find it hard to fit into the social cycles on campus and the society at large. I once asked one of my friends sometimes ago about why he does not like going to the library, he simply told me that he does not want to paint a picture that he is too serious for the fear of being ridiculed by friends when he fails despite his regular library attendance. The fear of failing after using the library is one of the major reasons why some students don’t want to visit the library at all.

GROUP READING: Some students forms group reading most of which are formed on a friendship basis. They meet together at a given time and location to discuss and brainstorm on their common course and it is often made up of at least one brilliant student who is always the natural leader of such groups. The advantages and disadvantages of group reading are numerous depending on the level of commitment from all the members of such groups. From The advantages and disadvantages of group reading are numerous depending on the level of commitment from all the members of such group, often it leads to improvement in the academic performance of fellow members which is facilitated by the sharing of lecture materials and other useful materials and it also reduces apathy that a student might have initially for such course(s). on the other hand, group reading can be time wasting tool especially where it is made up of more than five people of the same sex or where one of the group member is performing exceptionally well while others are not performing up to expectation which often leads to low self esteem and the eventual collapse of the reading group. Also, where the ideologies of the members of the group differs significantly, quarrels may occur which may also lead to the collapse of the group.
TUTORIALS: On most of Nigerian campuses, tutorials are often organized freely by a brilliant students or group of students in order to explain a topic or series of topics in its basic simple terms, tutorials are often a way of contributing to the intellectual development of other students by the tutorial master; the number of people that attends tutorials always increases by the day especially when the examinations are getting nearer, while some undergraduate rely on it solely some combines tutorials with class lectures as a compliment.
The constrains of tutorials are unlimited, some of which include time and space, the lecture schedule may be too tight in such a way that there is no enough time to organize tutorials, space or locations are always fixed up or locked up at a given Time on a daily basis, sometimes where there is time and space, the erratic power supply can frustrate and discourage students from attending tutorials. Overcrowding is also part of the disadvantages of tutorials and it results from the free nature of the tutorials. Even with these constraints, a lot of students accepts that the advantages of tutorials outweighs its disadvantages.
OVER NIGHT READING: Students read overnight to compensate for their loss of time during the day, overnight reading does not however mean that the students read all through the night hours RATHER A Student may elect to read for some specific hours during the night because most part of the night hours in Nigerian universities are cool and silent thereby providing a conducive environment for the student to truly study and easily comprehend whatever he is reading. At a time in the life of a student, he must have engaged in one overnight or the other to supplement for his lectures and it is mostly common during the examination period.
For a student that have developed the overnight reading habit, being consistent is always a major challenge as most students rely on stimulants to keep them awake during the night hours which sometimes have a negative effect on their health and normal class activities, if not checked or reduced, it may land a student in the hospital, overnight reading is also associated with overcrowding during the week leading to examination.

FIRE BIGADE APPROACH: this reading habit is mostly common with students that are not serious and those that are combining academics with other thins off campus e.g trade. A fire brigade approach happens when a second party who is engaged privately to teach him on an agreed commission, it may also take the form of collecting the summarised copies of the lecture notes which the student tries to read or brainstorm on. Students that adopts this approach most times do not know the lecturer, his style of teaching and what the lecturer expects to see as his answers to a given question. Students that use this approach are not always sure of their performance and as such readily accepts any grade that they are given by the lecturer. This type of studying habit is obviously not the best but a lot of undergraduates are daily adopting this style as their last resort to passing examinations.

Any type of reading habit that a person adopts, to him is the best and only the end can justify the means as long as he / she is having a good grade but there are other categories of undergraduates that does not have any reading habit but rather meri-goround between all the aforementioned reading habit, so the lesson here is that as an undergraduate, take time; relax and study yourself in order to come up with the best studying habit that suit you and your condition, stop copying somebody’s studying habit, develop your own



FOR YOUR INFORMATION
Report number two
AN EMPTY SACK CANNOT STAND
Man was created to naturally believe that he will be successful but religious principles points to the fact that man must put in some calculated efforts on his part inorder to actualize his desired objectives. In essence, success is a two factor thing: GOD’S FACTOR AND MAN’S FACTOR. God has laid down his own laws of success and they are universally applicable irrespective of your religion or tribe, so I can safely conclude that God has done his own part of your success story, the remaining part is left for you to accomplish and that is why every humanbeing cannot be successful at the same time because God gave us the freedom to determine our success velocity.

As an undergraduate, you and your immediate family believed that you have a future which informed your decision to pursue a course in the university inorder to properly shape your future. As an undergraduate you are exposed to different culture, traditions, people, places and orientation to mention just a few. All the aforementioned have a way of influencing your view about life’s achievements and failures; where properly managed, your friends, contacts and network in school can provide the fertile grounds that you need to excel.
HERE ARE SOME TIPS THAT YOU MAY FIND USEFUL:
On your way to the top, you have to first of all realize that everybody you meet on your way to the top is very important to achieving your aims and objectives, so don’t underrate anybody.
BE WELCOMING: Develop a friendly attitude with every body in your class, department or faculty, know when to talk and when to listen because it is not always wise for you to be the ony one doing the talking. Engage in group activities involving your course mates, look out for some of the problems that are general or specific to your class or course mates, you may not necessarily have the solution but showing that you care about some one in your class can be of great relief to the person. Here is how it works: A simple SMS to a course mate on his birthday can make the difference, sending an sms to a course mate about an important lecture, test, assignment or tutorial also counts, make it a point of duty this month to greet at least four students in your faculty that you have never talked to before; finally, call your friends by their names or nick names, it shows that you care a lot about them.
HAVE A DREAM: Have a dream of a desired future and work towards it. If you see yourself as an entrepreneur, as an undergraduate start a small business, buy something, sell something. If you have a dream of becoming a public speaker, start by addressing your friends, course mates and participate constructively in discussions, if you have a dream of becoming a lawyer, behave like one because somebody might just discover you and take up an interest in you. Active participation is an avenue to sell yourself to everybody.

NETWORKING: Only a friendly person can network. You network in order to drive home a point, create an impression, achieve a desired result, find solution to problems or even create a new order. Networking involves using people to get things done quickly, effectively and efficiently with minimum supervision.here, everybody on the network has a role to play in order for a particular objective to be attain. In school, class or social gatherings, people exist or relate in groups or circus. To key into the group, sudy the group for some minutes, try to identify who everybody look up to whenever a question needs to be answered, such person is most likely to be the group’s leader or the most influential, having identified such person, your problem is halfed. Secondly look out for a subject of common interest among the group members, this will enable you to fit into their discussions because a group that is discussing about European football may not be immediately interested in Nigerian politics if you attempt to start a discussion on politics. So when you go to a social gathering, event or workshop, start up a discussion on common interest, you may start by asking for the second party’s opinion about a recent event of national interest. The most important rules of networking are: you must not forget to advertise yourself a little bit, your name or nick name is vey important and above all don’t forget to ask for the name of your new contact and any other details where possible.
Networking has to be managed effectively in order not to create a bad impression to the second party bearing in mind that first impression last longer.

BOOK READING: Reading books gives us a direct access to the authors mind so also are seminars. Buy inspirational books that can ginger your spirit which will constantly remind you of the need to be successful. If you cannot afford to buy a book, you can borrow from the library or a friend. You need to be a constant reader in order to be a constant and consistent leader because at the en what matters most is your potential not your credentials.

INFERIORITY COMPLEX: Do not feel inferior. If you think that you are too small to be noticed, go and sleep in a room that is filled up with mosquitoes. You are not a street beggar because beggars always have inferiority complex. Chief obafemi Awolowo in 1952 defines a street beggar as somebody who sits alongside the road and wait for fortune to smile on him.He gets what he can from the passer-by and thereafter tries to adjust his expenditure to his uncertain sources of income. Realize the following salient points: the bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you refuse to take the turn and that a man is taller than every mountains he climb.

In essence, change your orientation and mentality about success and failures; don’t let your friends or family background be a limiting factor. Bishop Oyedepo wrote in one of his books that the number one cause of poverty in Nigeria is that a lot of Nigerians have a poor man’s mentality…… stop feeling inferior, see yourself as a super star made in the likeness of God, the more you feel inferior, the more you disappoint your creator.
There are a million and one tip on how to become successful as an undergraduate but above all as martin luther king said: if you cannot run, walk, if you cannot walk,crawl by all means keep movin. To move forward in life, every man must stick out his neck like the turtle because no man is an hero to his creditor.

prospective students