Being a humanities student

For those of you who aren't used to/are panicking at the thought of being a humanities student (reading outside of class! Essays! Words not numbers!), we have a book recommendation that could help you out. (This was meant to go on the reading list as suggested reading, but got left out for one reason or another.) Check out The Arts Good Study Guide, by Ellie Chambers and Andrew Northedge and published by the OU Press. This has got some really clear and readable advice on things like how to read productively (in science you can get away with reading just the abstract and discussion; in the humanities that's not always such a great idea...) and how to write essays. We especially recommend chapters 4 and 5 before you write your essay (Assignment 4) - if you're not used to having to argue your case it's very helpful on things like structure and style. And even better, there are copies in Imperial Library (Central Library level 5, reference 371.3 CHA).

Of course, news language is a different kettle of fish entirely. The best way to get good at that before you write your own press releases for Assignment 1 is simply to read lots and lots of news...