Value of report / essay writing while studying at a basic level

[jwlallen]

Hi,

 

I think this is the right place for this question.

 

I'm self studying entry level Physics, Chemistry and Biology which is ticking along at a steady pace. What I'm finding is that there is a lot of cross over of the subjects, particularly Chemistry and Biology. As a result I've been considering sitting down and attempting to pull all of it together into some kind of essay paper around my understanding of cells, enzymes and general catalysts, respiration and my understanding of reactions and changes of state etc.

 

My spare time is pretty limited what with a full time job and young family so to do this properly would probably take a fair while, during which I wouldnt be moving on to anything new, I wouldnt be expecting it to be anything amazing due to my limited knowledge base of what is actually going on. As a result do you think there would be any value in the exercise for the purpose of pulling the various parts together, or do you think that for now my time would be better spent just continuing on with my studies and worry about that sort of thing once I have a wider knowledge base to draw on.

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited February 24, 2014 by jwlallen

[imatfaal]

Personally I have always found that essay writing exposes the holes in my knowledge and opens new areas that I want to study; so I see it as a really good idea. But there is little point doing it badly and the alternative is time-consuming and hard graft. If you want an assessment of where you have reached why not have a look at some of the MOOCs offered around the web - I am sure you can find one to suit

[studiot]

This is a truly personal question since each of us is different so I can't say if my experience would work for you.

 

However here is my truly personal experience.

 

I did more or less what you are suggesting many years ago for my A levels. I rewrote my class notes , along with other material from books, in the way that I understood it and how I understood it all hung together. This involved quite a few drafts and rewrites - be prepared for that.

 

This helped me greatly to consolidate what I knew and cetainly produced favourable results in the A and S levels.

 

One teacher at the time said famously

 

The more times you write it down the more danger there is you will remember it.

 

A parting point, if this is for you own consumption it does not have to be neat copyplate, just readable. That saves quite a bit of effort.

 

go well

 

Edited February 24, 2014 by studiot

[Akash Verma]

Writing essays can be time consuming and self evaluation can be biased. Self learning can also be quite difficult...especially when the reading material available is limited and you don't have someone to explain something which you don't quite understand. Thankfully...Internet to the rescue. I would suggest you pay a visit to Khan Academy (https://www.khanacademy.org/) its like having your personal tutor. You can always clarify your doubts and see where your knowledge of the subject stands.

 

It is encouraging to see someone willing to put the effort in and reclaim their education. Best of luck.

[rktpro]

Personally, I make short bullets in the blank space most of the good books provide in the margin. Without reading the page I can reconstruct everything just by reading my short notes.

[jwlallen]

Thank you so much for the input. I think for now I'll carry on and finish the textbooks and since I'm not planning on taking formal exams at this level use the write up as a revision exercise before moving on. There seem to be so many new things to learn that if I was to do a write up I'd want to add more to it a few days later.

 

Thanks for the encouragement Akash, means a lot. I'm quite lucky with regard to support as I work at a university in a non-academic capacity so there are a few people around I can ask if I get really stuck. Must admit however I'd still feel a bit embarrassed asking them about the basic stuff.

 

Best wishes.

Edited March 2, 2014 by jwlallen