How to be a good student

Improve your study habits, motivation and organizational skills to improve the quality of your learning at school, regardless of whether you are just starting a new school year or need a fresh start in the middle of a semester. When you have a reason to care – such as a need for good grades, a desire to qualify for a good school or scholarship or a fascination with the subject material – you can use it to motivate yourself to develop the habits that will make you a good student.

Things you’ll need:Class syllabi; Calendar

Instructions:

1. Minimize your commitments to make sure your schedule is free enough to allow a balanced lifestyle of thorough study, sufficient sleep and regular exercise and recreation. Many people overestimate how much they can get done in a day. If you are overworked, seriously consider dropping an optional club or activity. To overcome fear of disappointing people, remind yourself that a few things done with excellence will be more satisfying than many things left undone.

2. Create a study plan by checking your course syllabuses and charting the due dates of every major assignment from every class in a calendar. Then, work backward to define milestones you need to complete by certain dates. For example, if you have a 10-page research paper due in a month, aim to have a full draft done a week before the due date, 5 pages written by the week before that and an outline the week before that. Treat the milestones like regular assignments to avoid last-minute panic when major deadlines loom.

3. Tell at least one other person about your study plan to create an accountability system. This person can apply unpleasant consequences if you miss your milestones. For example, give your roommate a copy of your calendar and tell him you will give him $10 for each missed deadline. Alternatively, ask a teacher to ask you for the partial completions (such as a copy of your outline or 5-page draft) on the dates you have specified. If you are truly brave, you could even ask your teacher to treat the deadlines you set as real due dates and dock points if you do not meet them.

4. Schedule a specific time each day for studying, reading and working on assignments. Alternate 20 to 30 minutes of working with 5- to 10-minute breaks to keep your mind fresh and alert. Do your best to avoid other activities during your allotted study times; keeping them consistent will begin to build habits and train your brain to move into study mode at certain times and in certain settings.

5. Ask for help if you are having trouble completing assignments on time or understanding a subject. Seek out resources at your school, such as a writing help center or subject-specific tutors. Instead of looking down on you for not understanding, most educators will be eager for the chance to work with a student who cares enough to seek help. Another way to get help is to form a study group with any classmates who are interested.

6. Go the extra mile once your basic requirements are under control. Some ways to do this include checking out extra books from the library to help you gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter, finishing extra-credit assignments, listening to free lectures on the Internet or even offering to assist your teacher as an assistant.

Ex 1. Work in pairs. Make up dialogues discussing the issues of Text A, B, C.

Ex 2. Hold on a discussion in group on strengths and weaknesses of students. Exchange opinion concerning the problems raised and the advice given in the above texts. Express your personal view on the issues being discussed. Share your own experience.

Unit V

Part 1

Money: History and Functions

banknotes, coins, assets, “broad money”, commodity money, a medium of exchange, a store of value, a unit of account, barter economy

Text A

History of the word “money”

Money plays a key role in today’s economies. It is certainly no exaggeration to say that “money makes the world go round” and that modern economies could not function without money. The English word “money” is of Roman origin. In ancient Rome, however, the word “Monetor“ or “Moneta” meant advisor, i.e. a person who warns or who makes people remember. According to some historians, the meaning of the word goes back to a key event in Roman history. A flock of geese in a sanctuary of the Goddess Juno on Capitoline Hill squawked an alarm to alert the Roman defenders during an invasion of the Gauls in 390 B. C. and thus saved them from defeat. In return, the Romans built a shrine to Moneta, the goddess who warns or who gives advice. In 289 B. C. the first Roman mint was built in or near this temple, initially producing bronze and later silver coins. Many of these coins were cast with the head of Juno Moneta on their face. Hence the words “money” and “mint” are derived from her name.

Functions of money

What is money? If we have to define money today, we first think of banknotes and coins. These assets are regarded as money since they are liquid. This means that they are accepted and are available to be used for payment purposes at any time. While it is uncontested that banknotes and coins fulfill this purpose, nowadays a number of other forms of assets exist which are very liquid and can be easily converted into cash or used to make a payment at very low cost. This applies, for instance, to overnight deposits and some other forms of deposits held with banks. Consequently, these instruments are included in those definitions of money often referred to as “broad money”.

The various forms of money have changed substantially over time. Paper money and bank deposits did not always exist. It would therefore be useful to define money in more general terms. Money can be thought of as a very special good that fulfills some basic functions. In particular, it should serve as a medium of exchange, a store of value and a unit of account. Therefore, it is often stated that money is what money does.

In order to better illustrate these functions, consider how people had to conduct their transactions before the existence of money. Without money, people were forced to exchange goods or services directly for other goods or services through bartering. Although such a “barter economy” allows for some division of labour, there are practical limitations and any exchange of goods implies substantial so-called “transaction costs”. The most apparent problem with a barter economy is that people have to find a counterpart who wants exactly the same good or service that they are offering and who is offering what they want in return. In other words: a successful barter transaction requires a mutual coincidence of wants to exist. A baker who, for instance, wanted a haircut in exchange for some loaves of bread would have to find a hairdresser willing to accept those loaves of bread in exchange for a haircut. However, if the hairdresser needed a pair of shoes instead, he would have to wait until a shoe-shop owner wanted to get a haircut in exchange. Such a barter economy would therefore imply substantial costs related to searching for the appropriate counterpart and waiting and stockpiling.