St Anselm'sBTEC Preparation
As with any qualification you will only get what you put into it. This is why it is imperative that you make sure that as soon as you start your new BTEC course at St Anselms you hit the ground running.
Below, we have provided 5 helpful tip to make sure that you get the best out of the qualification you have decided to pursue.
1. Organisation!!!!
Stay organised by making clear unit and assignment folders in your user areas (ideally Z drive so you can access your work at home). You should also create a folder for your references and appendices, this should be highly presentable and well organised.
Furthermore, It’s important to meet the deadlines so that you can get feedback from your teacher(s) and understand how to reach the higher grades. Prioritise and plan - you’ll thank yourself later!
2.Start as soon as possible
First things first, start! Leaving it all to the last minute and trying to catch up at the end doesn’t really work with BTECs due to the volume of coursework that is expected from each unit. Begin working on your assignment as soon as you’re given it (at school and home). This not only means you have more time to work on it, but it also means that the information you’ve been given is fresh in your mind, so you’ll have a better idea of what you’re doing. This should ALWAYS start with a professional cover introduction to the unit and include the relevant headers and footers (learning aim title, criteria, unit title and your name).
3. Don't be a copycat!!!
Plagiarism is a sure fire way to fail, no matter how hard you’ve worked! In order to achieve a BTEC qualification, you must produce your own work. You will not be allowed to copy any words from textbooks, the Internet or other students (past and present) without referencing the source (as a minimum and no, Uncle Jim t is unfortunately not a credible source). So much information is readily available online these days it’s easy to fall into a trap of taking what’s written as literal – so make sure you use legitimate academic references. Remember Wikipedia isn’t a credible source! Make sure everything is in your own words; as you’ll need to sign a declaration stating that it’s your own original work
4. Pace
All work and no play makes a very unhappy student and more importantly isn't healthy! Studying needn’t be joyless. After you’ve finished a piece of work, or met one of your goals for that week, reward yourself in some way. It can be something small like getting a coffee with a friend or buying something you really wanted - did someone say new shoes? Alternatively, if you’ve finished a big goal, like your portfolio, you can go out and treat yourself to something much bigger, like a festival ticket!? If that isn’t a motivation for you, we don’t know what else is!
Finally.....
5. Revision
The new style BTEC now features external assessments which require you to ensure that you take your revision seriously. There are a range of sources that you can revise from and below you will find links to helpful websites that as a student of St Anselms, will have access to if you are enrolled on a BTEC qualification..
Level 2 and 3 BTEC Revision for external assessments
www.knowitallninja.com
Level 2 and 3 BTEC Textbook
www.pearsonsactivelearn.co.uk
Level 2 Digital Information Technology Past Papers
Sample Paper 1
Level 3 Information Technology Past Papers
Sample Papers for Units 1, 2 and 11
