BA

Author Rebecca Jury has just emerged from the maelstrom of university and offers her personal take on how to ace your BA.

Jury introduces readers to everything from choosing your courses (just like putting together a personalised gourmet sandwich), setting up a study space and doing part-time work, to turning up at lectures and tutorials and actually reading your ‘readings’, she offers ten steps on how to make university a more rewarding and enjoyable experience. In particular, she focuses on planning, work–life balance, study habits, succeeding at essays and exams, and sorting out a life after the degree.

If you’re not afraid to be a nerd, polish up your essays until they shine and master exam-taking techniques, Jury suggests, you’ll emerge from the university experience a better thinker, a more employable worker and a wiser person.

BA: An Insider’s Guide is an essential reader for all those considering study or about to embark on their arts degree. Among all the guides to essay writing and research available to undergraduates, this book distinguishes itself by its coverage of the full range of student life, by its rootedness in recent experience at a New Zealand university, and by its clear, engaging, personal style.