College Student Survival Guide

Introduction

As a student it is valuable to learn how to make the most of each day. No-one will be checking to see if work is completed or classes are being attended. Making wise choices for scholarly life will be beneficial and make learning a success.

Conducting Successful Library and Internet Searches

Conducting successful library and internet searches requires that the student select key words for the search. Helpful search engines include Google, Yahoo and Ask. When typing in subjects for a search, avoid prepositions such as: and, if, the, by, of, for. For example when searching for the effects of genetics on behavior, type the words genetics behavior in the search engine. When searching for people or authors usually most search engines require the last name first. If in doubt, the student can ask the librarian to assist with the search.

Most libraries require that the student have a library card for the facility in order to use the computers. Check the library for computer time availability and ask if there is a peak time that should be worked around. Also, find out if there is a time limit for doing internet searches on the library's system. Join an online library to help with finding information such as Questia or other professional online libraries. Maximize time and ask for assistance if the search is not going well.

Upholding Academic Honesty

Academic honesty is imperative to student success. Make sure that work is not plagiarized. Most schools have software available to process work and find out if it is plagiarized. When in doubt go ahead and cite sources and references. It is better to be safe then sorry later for plagiarizing someone else's work.

The purpose of college is to learn. Do not go to essay data banks online and purchase papers. Data banks with papers do not offer original content. In addition, some of the data bank papers are plagiarized. You will learn more and not risk being expelled if you do your own research and have original work to turn into professors.