A Day In the Life

Maisie Tomlinson

Maisie Tomlinson (3rd year UG student)

10am

Arrive for the morning’s Animals and Society lecture; having snatched the opportunity to do some reading on the tube. As a mature student with a life in north London, I don’t live close by, though the discount on a weekly oyster really helps. Usually we are in about four days a week, though often only for an hour or two.

Today’s lecture looks at the public response to debates around genetic engineering of animals for human purposes, such as the “oncomouse”. After the hour long lecture we grab a coffee and come back for the seminar where we have a heated debate on this controversial issue. With option courses the seminars are usually straight after class and are with the lecturer. The core course seminars happen on a different day and with a tutor.

12pm

Time for lunch  and catch up with a friend. The common room upstairs is a great place to hang out especially if you don’t live close by. There is some really healthy yummy food and comfy sofas. But you don’t have to eat to sit there so its good for a chat with a packed lunch too, or to do some reading with a coffee in less austere surroundings.

After my friend leaves I do some more reading for this afternoon’s seminar on our core course, Theorising Contemporary Society. Most of a sociology degree is reading as our contact time is quite short (around 7-10 hours a week depending in your third year when independent study increases) so around ¾ of the work is reading or writing on your own. Often one key reading for a lecture can take around  2 hours or more  so its important to manage your reading time. It takes a while to get used to the sociological language and academic style. Once you find your stride though however it can also be really relaxing, and an invigorating experience to read some radical ideas that take you out of your comfort zone.

3pm

Seminar for Theorising Contemporary Society where we discuss whether working lives have become more precarious since the post-war period. Its really important to try and keep up with the core course reading to get the most out of the seminars. And although the essays we hand in for those courses aren’t assessed, its really helpful to do as also its your preparation for the exam and makes revision so much easier! Nobody will force you though – its not like school so you have to discipline yourself to get the most out of the seminars.

4-6pm

I go the library to pick up some books to work on my dissertation and take some notes. I have a day off tomorrow. In the first year the workload is not too bad, but in the second and third years you have to structure your time carefully, especially if you work. I eventually sought advice on how to do this and now try and do a 8 hour day – as if I was working 9-5. It means I am more in tune with my partner and  friends’  working hours and can see them in the evening guilt-free! It also means I can get time to unwind and eat properly when the workload begins to peak. There is a great selection of films in the library which you can rent for free or for a pound so often I take one of those back home.