Introduction to information systems T. Cornford, M. Shaikh is1 060 2013

only 25 per cent of the subject and 25 per 
cent of the final mark
. For this reason you must be sure to devote 
appropriate time and effort to the other components of the course, and 
thereby achieve good marks in the examination, and do well in the final 
combined assessment. 
If you want to do well in your examinations and coursework then there 
are four key ideas that you can use to improve your performance:

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IS1060 Introduction to information systems
8
1. Read about each topic that you study in at least two different 
textbooks. For the more technical topics, make use of a good 
online reference such as Wikipedia or the Free Online Dictionary of 
Computing (www.foldoc.org) to cross check your understanding. When 
you consult two or more sources they will, in all probability, not say 
exactly the same things. For example, it will often be the case that 
they will use different examples and even rather different technical 
language and jargon. You then have to judge and combine the various 
accounts, but in doing so you will become an active learner, you will 
understand more and you will remember more too. Certainly, you 
should never rely on just the subject guide or your lecture notes to give 
you an adequate understanding of any topic.
2. Talk about IS issues with your friends, family and fellow students. 
Keep on talking. If you can’t talk about a subject then you are unlikely 
to be able to write about it in an examination. Best of all is when you 
can make jokes about the subject. To be able to joke about something 
usually requires a good depth of understanding.
3. Take your learning out into the world. Visit organisations and talk 
to people who work with or manage information systems, both 
technical professionals and users. Ask lots of questions and test your 
‘book learning’ against what people in responsible jobs actually worry 
about and what they actually do. Keep a scrapbook of newspaper and 
magazine articles that relate to the various parts of this syllabus. Try to 
find one such story each week during the course.
4. Revise carefully what you know about writing essays and reports in 
English. What is a sentence and a paragraph? What are they for? How 
do you structure one? When writing, how can you ensure that you 
say all the things that you want to say, and don’t repeat a single idea 
endlessly? Is your handwriting legible to other people and if not, is it 
your responsibility to improve it? Take time to identify your strengths 
and weaknesses as a writer and then work to emphasise the one and 
address the other. Reflection and effort to improve your writing skills 
will reap great benefits in the examination for this course and of course 
in many other aspects of your work life from now onwards.