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5 things to do in the Post-Exam Break

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After almost a month of last minute cramming, pulling off all nighters (successfully or not) and running on endless caffeine, the post-exam break is now here. Here’s our compilation of the top 5 things to do in it:

1.  Watch Breaking Bad

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You cannot miss this! Watch all the seasons of this amazing TV show called Breaking  Bad, if you haven’t yet. In case you are already done with it, download a TV show which you have been waiting to see all this while but were too lazy to download. Do complete AT LEAST one TV series. Other must-watch shows suggestions include Sherlock (the UK release date of season 3 has been announced as 1st January 2014), Suits, Parks and Recreation and Arrested Development. Even while you are reading this, keep the downloading tab open!

2. Read

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Read everything written by  Gabriel Garcia Marquez and/or Amitav Ghosh. You are going to cherish reading their work and one day, you will be glad that someone gave you this piece of advice. Winter holidays are the best days to have some good reads since you can creep into your blanket with a cup of hot coffee beside you and have a great time while reading.

3. Go for  road trips

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Road trips are fun. Push yourself inside a car with your buddies, keep the music volume high, break the 60km/h or the 80km/h speed limit and see how amazing life can get. This should not be done on busy roads of course. STAY SAFE.

4. Sleep

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Among all the other things, do not forget that this is the only time when you do not have to wake up early for classes and it is going to last only for some days. So sleep as much as you want to. But, remember not to perpetuate yourself into a state of total inactivity.

5.  Experiment with your looks

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Let those people who have been seeing you in the same look since like eternity heave a sigh of relief. New looks are usually given the best compliments. Even if you don’t do it for people, do it for yourself. Everybody needs changes. You too. Try while you can.

One last option? Hunt for an internship through our internship updates! With these words, I hope you make your break worth having. Have a good one people! 

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Things to do when you aren’t studying

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Little Black Book Delhi brings DU Beat’s readers something awesome to explore for the fortnight! This week we help you make your exam time a little more fun!

Exams are on our heads. Running around picking up last minutes notes, getting answers photocopied and calling friends to fill in the gaps for classes one did not attend is now a daily routine. And as tensions gets closer and we devour our books one after the other, it is important to take a break and have some food, watch some movies and plan some holidays. This time LBBD brings to you late night food, fashions blogs, free movies to look at and new trips to plan.

Remember all work and no play makes jack a dull boy!

1. Late Night Munchies

Image Credit: Midnight Munchies

Exam times are synonymous with late nights and after a marathon with Marx or Calculus there is no better respite than food. The Bun Butter Chai at Patel Chest will always be a late night haven for people in north while south campus students find solace in filling Parathas at Moolchand {Shah Rukh is a fan too!} and cutting chai at Safdarjung Hospital which is available 24/7. If you are too lazy to step out of your homes, there is Midnight Munchies to get you fresh salads, cup cakes and even paan right to your doorsteps till 4 am! For Gurgoan residents there is Batman Delivers will get you food, cigarettes and contraceptives! If you are looking to cook something on your own, here are a few recipes in 140 characters.

Batman Delivers | https://www.facebook.com/Batmandelivers

Midnight Munchies | https://www.facebook.com/midnightmunching

Recipes | http://littleblackbookdelhi.com/17661/easy-summer-recipes-kishi-arora/

2. Free Movies

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Movies are always a good option to clear one’s head after a long study day. If you are not looking to spend on it, the city has places that bring to you great alternative cinema. In south Delhi there is Habitat Centre, International Centre and Alliance Francaise, which screen documentaries and feature films. CP houses Instituto Cervantes, which screens Spanish feature films, while American Centre shows Hollywood blockbusters regularly.

3. Online Fashion Surfing

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More than studying for the exams, we tend to scroll down web pages looking at fashion pages. So while one is at it, there are a few one can surely check out. Jamie and Kevin bring to you the absolute crème de la crème of fashion photography. The couple bring to you travel escapades, regal fashion and lifestyle photography.  Fashionista on the other hand provides quick and crisp fashion blogging. Mixing poetry, travel and lots of fashion in one blog is Arathi, the brainchild of Miffalicious.

Jamie & Kevin | http://annstreetstudio.com

Fashionista | http://fashionista.com/

Miffalicious | http://www.miffalicious.com

4. After Exam Plans

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There is nothing better than wondering about how life would have been if there were no exams, especially when they are on our heads. There is the quick getaway to Rajasthan for the serenity of the dessert or the adventurous trip to Rishikesh. Nature lover can choose between wildlife in Kabini and marine life in Havelock Islands {or both!}. There is of course the party place Goa which will never run out of tourists or alcohol. Don’t let Holiday plans this time be confined to dreams or promises made around cup of coffees.

Getaways in December | http://littleblackbookdelhi.com/10650/nye-getaways/

Join us on www.littleblackbookdelhi.com for more of the best of the city! Write to us at [email protected] for any suggestions, recommendations or inputs.

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5 Ways to Ace Delhi University Exams

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If you are in your second year, you’d probably know by now how to pass Delhi University semester examinations with a respectable percentage. For those of you who are thinking – ‘Duh! Study well, score well!’ – you’ll be disappointed to know that getting good marks in university exams is not that easy. Going through your books thoroughly will, no doubt help you avoid getting an ER (Essential Repeat) and even help you score 60% marks, but to take your aggregate to 80s or 90s, you will require more than just books. So here are few pointers which will hopefully help you increase your percentage a bit.

1)  Past year question papers

DU has a history of repeating a particular type of questions every year. It follows a trend and more often than not, it asks similar questions. So getting an idea by going through past year questions really helps. After all why to study those topics which have less chances of appearing in your question paper, right?

2)  Presentation

How you write your answers makes a lot of difference to the examiner. You might know everything but if you happen to present it clumsily, the teacher who is correcting it might not even consider reading it and give a 4 where you could have scored 8. So make sure you have a pen which makes your hand writing clear and easily readable. Try to put your answer in points rather than paragraphs and underline the key words. Use different colored pens if you really want to leave no stones unturned. Also drawing margins makes it look better.

3)  Read your question paper well before you start

There are always choices where you will be required to attempt one of the two or more questions. You don’t want to attempt a question which is not required. To be on the safe side, tick the questions you want to answer right at the beginning.

4)  Don’t leave a question unanswered

Even if you don’t know the answer, don’t leave the space blank. Attempt it for what it’s worth. Maybe the question is wrong or out of syllabus, if you attempt it you will get marks for that.

5)  Write generously but keep track of time

Divide your time among questions in such a way that you have time for revision. It sounds far-fetched but it works better than you can imagine.

Take my word for it, even if you didn’t study your portion properly following these would get you a better score than you deserve.

DU Beat wishes all readers good luck for their semester exams!

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News

Students who failed 1st, 2nd year exams can move to next semester: DU

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According to a notice issued by the Registrar of University of Delhi on the 27th of July, students who failed or were absent for their 1st or 2nd Year Examinations in 2012, can now breathe easier.  Such students can continue on to the next Semester as opposed to having to repeat the year. They can give the exams again along with those of the new Semester.

Generally, one needs to pass at least 50% of the examinations he/she has appeared for, in order to move to the next year.

However, according to this announcement, students who failed or were not present during their first year examinations held in 2012-13, now move on to the second year. These students can appear for their Semester I and II examinations along with the examinations of Semester III and IV. The same holds true for students who failed or were not present for second year examinations held in 2012-13. These students can move on to their third year of undergraduate study.

This notice is a result of the implementation of the FYUP. Since, any first year who has to repeat an year cannot be a part of a different curriculum altogether as the junior batch is following the FYUP.

While this decision will save one year for several students, it will also be adding additional pressure on these students as they would now have to clear examinations of two entire years together.

Though we are yet to see whether the FYUP is good for the newly admitted batch or not, a transitory measure such as this is definitely a second chance for a huge number of 2nd and 3rd year students.

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DUB Speak

The perks (or not) of being a 3rd year

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Do you ever suffer from the common case of mild hysteria coupled with pangs of self derogation and just a tiny dash of “all-hope’s-lost”?

Well, then you’re probably a 3rd year student at any one of the colleges across Delhi University. But brace yourselves, for the waves of nostalgia that’ll wash over you in the final months of your life as an undergraduate are about to hit you, and hit you hard.

How could a poor soul deal with all of this at once without any sort of guidance and yet be expected to come out of it with flying colours (read marks)? We know it’s a stretch and that’s why we decided to help our brothers/sisters with a little sense of direction on how to go about this mammoth task.

  1. If you’re currently buried under a huge pile of projects/assignments/tests that need to be submitted within the next few days and the only way anywhere seems down;
    • Do not panic. Take deep breaths and try to organize the work and get a strategy in place even if you eventually end up not following your game plan. It just feels good to think you’re growing up.
    • For once, pay attention to the work and don’t just mindlessly copy from the nerd in class. This might be your last chance to take away something from three years of graduation.
  2. If the entrance exam results are driving you up the wall because you know you deserved more than that girl who didn’t even study;
    • Blame it on your bad luck. Tell everyone around you how you burnt the midnight oil trying to crack this one and how it was unfair on God’s part to put you through this. Not only will it help you get over the pain, but God might just take pity and turn your luck around.
    • Don’t depend solely on God’s benevolence and make alternative plans. Just because you didn’t clear this one entrance doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. Be open to alternative avenues and a little exploration.
  3. For if and when nostalgia hits you;
    • Throw a get-together/party/picnic that’ll be the best memory of the three years past and the one story that you’ll tell your future generations proudly.
    • Accept that it’s almost over, tell the people around you that you’ll probably miss them and snap out of it. There’s no better way, honestly.

Disclaimer: These are general life rules and not written in stone. Try and mold them according to your needs/situation. The least that Delhi University teaches its students is ‘jugaad’.

 

Surya Rajappan
[email protected] 

Image source- www.anxiety.com

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Campus Central

Answer Script to Reveal Student’s Identity

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The Delhi University is apparently witnessing a spate of changes this year. After the proposal of some radical changes to be applicable from next academic session, it has come to light that slight changes have also been brought forth in the examination system and these will be applicable from the forthcoming semester examinations in November.

Under the new scheme, the answer scripts of the students will carry their basic detail such as their name, the name of the college and also father’s name. Contrary to this, the scripts at present carry only a numeric code thereby keeping the identity of the student secret.

The introduction of this new scheme has, however, cropped certain doubts and most students seem to be worried about some sort of bias. While speaking to DUB, Tanvi Aggarwal, a student of Gargi College, said, “While the disclosure of student’s name on the answer script will reduce the scope of administrative discrepancies, the major concern should be that of bias especially on the basis of religion or caste. Besides, certain colleges have certain pre-conceived reputation and therefore, teachers might just fall prey to this unintentionally and end up giving marks according to colleges.”

Another student Bharat Singhal from Shri Ram College of Commerce said, “The University seems to be in a race to bring changes without even appraising the pros and cons of any idea. All important examinations keep identity of the student undisclosed and there is surely some strong logic behind this. Unfortunately, we students suffer because of some people’s whims and fancies.”

Besides this, the question paper will be framed by a panel of three examiners appointed by the concerned department which will no more have the right to moderate the papers in case of any discrepancy. The university has already issued letters to the departments to make the appropriate appointments for the panel.

Moreover, the number of scripts to be evaluated by each teacher has also been brought down. While earlier they had to evaluate 400-600 copies, they will only be required to assess around 200 copies.

 

Vatsal Verma
[email protected] 

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News

Rush to Complete Syllabus as Exams Draw Near

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Extra classes, incomplete syllabus and internal tests lined up is haunting every student of DU. With semester exams kicking off from 20th November and a gamut of auspicious festivals approaching, semester students are bearing the brunt.

Sometimes teachers teach so fast, that nothing could be understood. The pace is a problem but student don’t have a choice. It does put more pressure; the teachers are also hard pressed for time. A cut in the extra-curricular activities that any student might have joined seems the only way out.

“It’s very disheartening to be the victim of sheer sacrifice of the quality of our studies. It’s a case of only feeding and no absorption. In one of the subjects, Econometrics, the entire annual syllabus now has to be completed in span of 4 months, making it tough for the teachers as well” expressed   Poornima Kharbanda, II Year Economics Hons. Student.

University seems to be in a rush to get over with the exams of B.Com (H) and Eco (H), as there exams start from 20th November and end by 30th November much earlier than last year’s exams.

But the students that are the worst hit, it seems, are from the science stream. While the exams for other students start on November 20 and their classes go on till mid-November, the practical exams for science stream students start on November 1, giving sleepless nights to teachers and students alike.

Apart from regular classes, about five hours of extra classes per week are held giving no room to indulge in extracurricular activities.

“These days are very hectic. Pressure created by the unorganised structure of the semester system gives us n flexibility at all. The extra classes, coaching’s, busy date sheet plus the huge syllabus has screwed days’ fixtures and schedule completely” Rishav a second year student spoke his heart out.

 

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Campus Central

Students’ Take : DU Exams and the Need to Rethink our Education System

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– Chavi Kotwal, SRCC “Exams are not a futile exercise. How else would we be assessed? But the pattern of exams should be changed, especially at the school level because exams at the end of the year focus on rote learning to get marks rather than understanding. Therefore all year round assessment is a much better way with focus on application rather than theory. Internal exams are essential since they let us know where we stand, and they are what actually drive most of us to put in the effort to study.” -Aditi Saxena, Hindu College “The vision of an education system should be to inculcate knowledge and power in the younger generation. It should facilitate an all round development. However the vision of the education system in India is merely to impart degrees and make money. The system definitely needs an overhauling to make it a process of total personality development. This should be started at the grassroots level by rethinking the Primary Education System.” -Fern, St. Stephen’s “I am not against internals or mocks per se because they help you evaluate what you have learnt in that one year, but I am also not a fan of the kind of exams we have in DU. In DU you can pass your internals with just two days of study. This doesn’t let us know our subject better since we are too concerned about the marks. Moreover this only leads to a general aversion to exams and hence also to our subject.” -Ira, SRCC “Exams are required to judge how much one has learnt. However, as the system now stands there is too much emphasis on exams. Even though assessment is important, it shouldn’t be the only reason why one should study. Also schools and colleges should set realistic date sheets for exams. Giving no gap in between really does not help.” -Dikshant Bag, Hansraj College “I think all these things just look good on TV. Exams have always been a part and parcel of our lives and these exams just can’t have any other replacement in the Indian Education System at least.” -Parineeta, KNC]]>

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