Contengan di meja perpustakaan

I've just noticed these scribbles on one of the library's study tables (the ones that look like boxes with walls on three sides and allows you to have some privacy from your neighbours). So entertaining. FYI most of the tables here aren't vandalized so if you were just about to say (what's wrong with UIA people, don't they have any civic awareness, aren't they supposed to be an Islamic university?...Stop thinking already). 

I won't justify their graffiti-ing of public furniture, but their words do make me stop for a bit and think about (student) life. The scribbles are so random and so deliberate.

The previous table:
I HATE CALCULUS!!

This table:
On the shelf ledge:
DON'T LEAVE BOOK. (Which is the scribbler's version of the library notice "Do not leave library materials and personal belongings on the reading table. Thank you.")


On the right-hand side table wall (In no particular order. The scribbles are all over the place. Some doodles, too.):

I (heart shape) IIUM. Responses to this scribble:
- good joke LOL
- NUTS!
- average :P
- tipu
- BURN IN HELL
- F.U
- you can't be serious!
- (In Arabic) Muhammad Ayyan
- (In Arabic) Muhammad Ahmad

DID YOU REALIZED THAT OUR DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER (NAJIB) WAS ACTUALLY INVOLVED IN ALTANTUYA'S DEAD? WHAT A SHAME!
-  actually it was his wife who asked her bodyguard 2 kill altantuya!
   - Rosmah
   - Altantuya seduced her hubby!!
     - But Y does d idiot Abdul Razak B. let himself being accused Idiotic
   - ERM QUESTION..HOW ARE THEY NOW?
     - main source INTERNET!

There's another scribble (plus responses), but they're so inappropriate, I'm not going to repeat them here. I seriously think they wrote that down just for shock value. Too bored with their textbooks probably. If you want to see them come to the UIA library, level 2, sisters' section. It's the 8th table from the left against the wall at the sisters' end. But of course there're a thousand more useful things you can do at the library.

On the left-hand side wall (this looks like the heartbreak wall):

(In red ballpoint ink) 11/04/2011 I miss him

I HATE MEN
- I miss Memdhoo

I miss my family
- I miss my family too :(
  - I want to go HOME!
    - I miss my mom and daddy at home
    - Mis my mom's cooking =|
      - I miss everything at home!!

The guy I like ^_^ He likes my friend 8-02-2011 V_V
- I was backstabbed

(In black ink) Don't write on public properties
- thank you
- shut up
- you also write
  - tau xpe

Good luck for Everyone :)

I study smart!

I (heart shape) GOD!

I love you...

Gerdim seni bir kere
Baskasini sevemem
Deli diyorlar bana
Desinler degisemem...
- UIA intnet system r very BAD!! kdekot!

IIUM @ UIA KIKIS DUIT!
- org dh bg ilmu bising lak die...

Guys are so stupid don't believe them!

Does love exist?
- no no no
- NO
- No No No
- NO Don't believe in love
- Yes, coz I'm in love!
- If exist where is it?

This is nonsense!! Get a life!!
- Good

Money is important without money you can't life

I wana b dean list

And on the wall right in front of me:
....in the rain? u'r in pain, screaming so loud. n no 1 can hear u! (The rest of the scribbles have been obscured by a new library sign that warns us not to leave our stuff on the table unsupervised.)
- ...& scream in the rain u just want to blame others 4 ur pain
- what a looser!!!

please don't write anything on this table
- You also did it!!!

What are you doing? STUDY!!

Actually this feels a bit like reading your newsfeed on Facebook (someone posts something random and not particularly useful - on their wall or on someone else's wall - and then the comments go on and on and on).

UIA is in revision period and approaching the exam weeks now. Again.

P.S.: Prepare well and answer the questions wisely, everyone!


P.P.S.: If you have no idea what the question wants, make up your own answers (using your common sense). I do it all the time [whenever necessary]. I just did that for a quiz two days ago. I made up answers for the entire quiz (and prayed that I'd get some points for trying!). The questions were so precise (which means they were taken from parts of the texts that no one read), but everyone was so used to precise questions (and not knowing what to answer) so we came out from the quiz cheerfully anyway.

P.P.P.S.: Get enough rest. Don't ever attempt to enter an exam hall if your head is heavy from sleep deprivation. That's like mental suicide.

P.P.P.P.S.: Try a short nap after every revision session. My mother told me that sleep helps to (somehow) strengthen your memory. I have no idea how scientific this is, but it works.

P.P.P.P.P.S.: Read and revise everything. Or else don't exit the exam hall complaining "Apsal yang aku baca semua tak masuk?".
 
P.P.P.P.P.P.S.: Don't worry too much, it's just the exams. We're Malaysians, kan! How many times have we been through them already?

Some practical advice

...from my lecturers. Dikutip sepanjang semester ini.


Professor Khoo (Colonialism in the Muslim World): 

1. Exams are not important, but they are what we call a necessary evil.

2. You cannot be satisfied with general knowledge.

Sarah Chinoy (Niche debate trainer): 
 
3. If you want to contribute to the society, now's (while we're still students) the time. Later, I promise you, you'll either be married to your job, or to a human being.

Professor Kopansky (History of the Ayyubids and Mamluks): 

4. It is better to be friends (not just lovers) with (your spouse). A man can betray a woman, but he will never betray a friend, especially not after he remembers all the good and bad times they'd been through together in the marriage.

5. Don't marry a man who only promises you cinta. He must give you clothes, a roof over your head, whatever you need, and he must make you happy.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Arshad Islam (Islah and Tajdid Movements in the Muslim World): 
 
6. Kurang(kan) makan, kurang(kan) tidur.

Madam Arina Johari (Bahasa Melayu Kerjaya):

7. Dengar betul-betul apa yang saya ajar ni. Jangan pulak nanti masa exam, angkat tangan, panggil saya. Lepas tu bisik kat saya, "Apa ni Madam? Tajuk apa ni? Tak pernah belajar pun?"


Sekian catatan dia untuk kali ini.

Peringatan dakwah daripada Profesor Khoo

Sambil mengulang kaji untuk ujian mid-term Colonialism in the Muslim World esok (atau mungkin bukan esok), terjumpa catitan nasihat Profesor Emeritus Khoo Kay Kim di celah-celah cerita sejarah:

[Remember this:]

Islam is for both Muslims and non-Muslims. So when someone comes to you and asks you about Islam, don't say "Mind your own business". You are each of you a mubaligh, you have an obligation to explain to non-Muslims what Islam is all about. Non-Muslims need to understand Islam, so that they can adjust.

Ya Allah, kurniakanlah kami bahagia di dunia dan bahagia di akhirat.

How to speak in public fearlessly

I am writing this because it has been "Presentation Week" for the past few weeks in IIUM. I don't mind doing presentations, and most of the time I actually enjoy it, but I know some people positively hate speaking in front of a crowd, no matter how many times they've had done it already. Last week a dear friend asked me, "Macamana nak hilangkan gugup masa presentation ah?" ("How do I deal with my stage fright before presentations?"). I realized then that I could write a whole blog post to answer her question.

Disclaimer:
Before I continue with another 10 or 20 paragraphs of this how-to, you should know this: I am NOT a great public speaker. I don't move my audiences to tears, make them feel like changing into a different person just by listening to my speech, etc. But I'm not afraid of speaking in public, and I know this is the first step towards being a good public speaker.

I don't have a secret to this. I don't enjoy talking, as you might remember, so the same goes for talking in front of many people. But I strangely do not fear it, alhamdulillah. My very first time speaking in public was when I was 11. At the end of my darjah 6 year, a (very garang) teacher at school told me to see her, then told me that I had to tell a story (as a performance, ugh) during the Prize-Giving Day. Mm-hmm. Did I have a choice? Of course not, the teacher in question wasn't the type you dilly-dally around with. She says it, you do it.

So I went along, had to rehearse in front of her (I HATE rehearsing for a public speech of any kind. I speak in public for the one necessary time, which is that time I spend on stage, so no rehearsals-lah please. I avoid rehearsals as much as I possibly can)...and, apprehensive as I was, I did it: Told a story about The Magic Fish in front of the whole school and their parents. Complete with props (like a golden manila fish) and a couple of voice-changes at appropriate moments (big voice for the fisherman, squeaky voice for the fish). That was a landmark event in my life because at that moment I discovered that I don't mind speaking in public.

 Of course this picture has nothing to do with the post.

Just trying to break up the text text text text text.

(I was feeling drowsy in class and needed a bit of sugar rush

and I had a camera in hand so I just snapped a picture, just in case I need 

photographic documentation of (i) me holding a sweet or 

(ii) me falling asleep in class and doing something, anything to wake up

or (iii) maybe I'll need a random photo to use as a text-breaker someday).

So maybe my fearlessness is natural. Actually I'd call it feelingless-ness. Once during my late-teenage years, I received one of those forwarded-texts from a friend, it said (something to this effect): "Describe me in one word. Forward this message to your friends, you'll be surprised at the responses you get". So I replied that SMS and forwarded it to about 20 friends. (Really, you should try this, too, it's very revealing and a form of muhasabah, too, I'd say). The responses I got? Three things: Smart, Calm, and Cat Lover. (I wonder if I'd still get the same answers if I forwarded that text today) The only relevant answer for this post would be CALM. I'm a calm person (most of the time). So what happens when I present topics in class or debate a motion is -- I do it calmly, out of habit.

So is my calmness a product of nature or nurture? I'm sure part of it must have been in me, is who I am, but I also know that I have trained myself not to show what I feel (except through a variety of facial expressions when I feel like it). I value reservedness and self-possession. This I blame on reading too much English (as opposed to American) books since childhood, and on my admiration for Sherlock Holmes. I don't particularly think that the ability to conceal your feelings is a good thing, I just think that it's useful. Anyway, this thing has become a liability for me as public speaker. I don't know how to (or am usually VERY unwilling to, out of habit) let my emotions get through during my speeches.

Told you. My stone face has been there forever. It's not the best thing to have on all occasions, BUT it has helped me enormously in being able to speak in public without my hand shaking, etc. It looks like confidence, but it's just habitual feelingless-ness.

And that is why this post is called "How to speak in public fearlessly", not "How to be an effective public speaker". Two very different things.

(Really good) mango-flavoured ice-cream that I bought

because the MingoMingo shop at Aeon AU2 was closed.

(This was right after our Shawwal gathering last year.)

So how do you stop being scared of speaking in public?

Well to put it shortly, you crush your fears by identifying their reasons, and then putting them out one by one.

But first, remember this: It's all in the mind. You, and nobody else, must believe that you can do it, and do it well.

#1: Ask yourself, "Why am I scared?" 

You may be afraid of speaking in public for many reasons. Identify those reasons. 

Are you afraid that you can never be as good a speaker as this brother or that sister? [You're not them, so stop trying to be them. You have your own strengths, play them up.]

Are you scared of making eye contact with the audience? Are you held back because you think your English (or whatever language) is not proficient enough? Are you afraid you might forget what you need and want to say once you're in front of everyone? Are you scared of what people will think of you?  

Let's face it, most of our fears of public speaking come from imagining the audience's bad reception of our speech. We'll deal with this in tip #3.

Once you know why public speaking scares the wit out of you, you're one step closer to conquering those fears.

#2: Turn the fear around 

Do this by anticipating every possible failure that can happen, and dealing with each one. Prepare yourself well. Nothing conquers fear better than solid preparation. First, master your topic. If you know that there's nothing you don't know about that topic, do you think you'll be afraid of people questioning your speech/presentation's contents? Sure you won't. Okay of course you can't possibly know EVERYthing about anything, but do what it takes to know as much as possible.

Second, deal with your weaknesses realistically. Nobody's perfect so stop comparing yourself to other students/people. Compare yourself with yourself, it'll be healthier for your self-esteem. Improve the weaknesses you have one-by-one, so that your new self will be better than your old self.

For example, if you have problems with speaking fluently in English, try rehearsing the topic in front of a friend you're comfortable with. The aim here is not to perfect your English overnight, but to increase your confidence in using the language skills you already have. Listen to me: perfect language does not make a perfect presenter. I'm saying this because I have listened to MANY friends expressing their awe at the wonderful presentations of their class-mates, and when I ask them "Why are their presentations good?", they tell me, "Because they can speak English confidently." It's OK to admire a person's good language, but remember remember, it isn't everything! So if your English is not as good as theirs, do not think for an instant that you cannot be a good presenter or public speaker. Personally, I have seen numerous awesome presentations, whose presenters did not speak perfect English or Malay. They were still awesome.

Finally, imagine the worst thing that can happen if you flunk the presentation. What, you'll get low grades? Your class-mates will think you're a loser? The lecturer will hate you? I don't think so. Well, actually the worst thing that can happen to any of us in any situation is if Allah hates us. It never is the end of the world unless and until Allah hates us. So let's put the situation in perspective.

Even if, after all your efforts at improving your public speaking skills, you still don't seem to make any difference, that less-than-okay presentation wouldn't have made you a lesser person. There will be other chances at improving, insha Allah. Keep your head up.

#3: The audience are not your judges.

This is easy. Put yourself in the audience's shoes. You were in the audience countless times. You've watched so many of your friends and class-mates presenting. Remember how you felt? Some of them are very good, some of them not as confident. The thing is, you don't really care how good or bad their presentation was, do you? You don't judge them. They were simply another class-mate/group who came forward to share their knowledge about the topic they got from the lecturer. So why on earth would they judge you when you it's you turn to present? No, they wouldn't, really. You're just imagining things.

So loosen up, imagine that all of them are your close friends, and you're just going to tell them about those  shoes you bought at the Jusco sale. And that new tudung whose colour doesn't really match your baju kurung, dammit. Should've just stuck to black outfits. Shopping for matching outfits is real torture.

All right back to public speaking. Your audience are normal people like you, and you're just going to share with them what you'd learned about Mohammad Hatta and his role in Indonesian politics. And now you know that "Bung" Hatta swore not to get married until Indonesia was granted independence, and he fulfilled that promise...a fact that most of your classmates probably don't know yet. So see? You can tell them.

 Cornflakes and very cold Milo, my ultimate comfort food.

This was over a semester ago, when my desk still had some space for a meal.

#4: Visualize the best things happening

Okay. Picture this:

You are 100% prepared. You speak confidently and clearly. Your PowerPoint slides are perfect. You look at the audience as you speak. The audience is eating up your words. They ask you intelligent questions, and you answer them equally intelligently. You finish up on time. They applaud you at the end. You get full marks for your presentation.

All I'm saying is, dream about it! Then make your dream come true. When you visualize yourself in great situations, you can already see yourself making it happen...and that means you're halfway towards realizing it, because you already believe it could happen. It's all in the MIND, remember? 

#5: Be comfortable.

Wear clean, neat, and appropriate clothes that you feel comfortable in. Shoes, too. Don't over-accessorize. This should feel like an everyday thing, not like a my-life-depends-on-these-10-minutes event.

#6: Take control of the room/hall.

This is your presentation, you are the one who will be controlling the flow of events during that 5 or 20 minutes of your turn. Take charge! Once you step up front, look around at all four corners of the lecture hall/wherever the venue is. Let the audience know that you are the one they have to listen to now.  

Are you scared there are people in the audience who are cleverer that you, those people who always seem to know everything about anything? Whatever. You completed this study. You discussed and reviewed that topic with your group members. You learned enough about that subject, so much that you actually made a PowerPoint presentation about it. It's your territory for the next 5 or 20 minutes. Conclusion: you have every right and ability to take control of the audience's attention, and you should.

P.S.: If the lecturer knows more than you do and points out your little mistakes here and there, be happy because that's his/her job.

#7: Criticism is food for improvement

Don't be afraid of criticism. Most of the time after your speech or presentation is over, you'll just return to your seat, no questions from anyone. But occasionally, you'll get a piece or two of advice (or criticism, if you like), from your lecturer or your audience. So what? It won't kill you, and what doesn't kill you will make you stronger. Friedrich Nietzsche said that, and I agree.

If you do get criticized, you'll feel crushed, MOMENTARILY. After that moment, GET UP. Take the criticism as constructive advice, USE IT to improve yourself. And then life will go on as usual.

P.S.: If you've ever debated, you'll learn to get used to it, trust me. We get criticism (positive and negative) after every round. And if it's a silent round (where the judges don't announce the results or give their feedback), you're taught to go find them yourself later, and ASK for criticism. Helps thicken your skin. But I don't really recommend joining debates unless you have plenty of weekends to spare.

So don't let your fear of criticism hold you back. Prevent it from coming at all by preparing well, that's what I say.

I ran out of pictures of yellow food.

These are my newly washed shoes.

#8: Remembrance of Allah calms you down.

This is a no-fail step. Remember Allah through good times, and He will help you through the bad. And if you're scared, or overcome with stage fright jitters, ask Him to make it all right. He will.

Also, don't forget that asking for salawat on the Prophet (SAW) is a tremendous healer of diseases (or symptoms), whether physical, mental, or spiritual. 

I hope this helps! Have fun with your next presentation/public speech!

I actually miss algebra.

...and that is the sad, sad truth of my life right now.

So many books (and other printed materials PLUS online stuff), so little time.

Why do we have to write literature reviews? Don't answer, I know the answer, I'm just complaining.

How did people like Bernard Shaw and Camilla Adang and Abdul Karim Zaidan know so much and write so clearly? When did they accumulate all that knowledge? It's overwhelming, you know. All this dry flood of information in paragraph after paragraph after pa-ra-graph...totally makes me want to cry (except that if I do, I'll get swollen eyes until tomorrow morning and a runny nose for the rest of the week). So the only reason I'm not bursting into tears of emotion and awe and desperation now is because it won't be practical, like for health reasons. Who wants runny noses. Although crying is good for emotional health, etc etc.

But! I still love love love this. It's addictive. The more you read and listen, the more you realise how little you know...and then you'll be all overwhelmed and emotional again.

I think true love (for non-human beings, but applicable also to living things like cats) is when you hate something for making your life difficult but you still stick with it because you know it gives you something good at some point in your life.

I still don't miss calculus, though.

Tips belajar.

Semester baharu datang lagi. Ada baiknya kita me-review tabiat belajar masing-masing di awal perjalanan ini supaya nanti kita tiba di destinasi dengan jayanya. Di awal semester, biasanya kita memasang azam yang tinggi. Mahu naikkan GPA dan CGPA. Menyesal kerana di semester lepas, ada subjek yang terkandas, yang tak tercapai gred impian, yang kurang cemerlang kerana gagal mendapatkan carry marks yang baik sepanjang semester. Dan seterusnya.

Tapi tanpa perancangan yang baik, silap-silap, kata-kata kesalan yang sama juga yang akan kita ucapkan di awal semester hadapan! Maka, muhasabahlah sekarang dan bertindaklah sewajarnya.

Peraturan-peraturan asas kejayaan:

(1) Mesti mahu belajar. 
(2) Mesti ingat bahawa ilmu itu bersifat mahal dan proses mendapatkannya adalah susah. 
(3) Mesti ada perasaan ingin tahu yang tak bersempadan. 
(4) Menghormati, menghargai dan mendengar cakap guru kerana [a] mereka lebih berilmu daripada kita, [b] merekalah sumber utama ilmu kita 
(5) Datang ke kelas awal. Kalau ini sudah menjadi tabiat anda, datang lewat takkan menjadi suatu pilihan pun. 
(6) Mesti berani menghadapi kelemahan diri sendiri. 
(7) Mesti bersedia untuk sentiasa memperbaiki kelemahan diri sendiri. 
(8) Anda mesti ingat bahawa "you can never be good enough", walaupun anda mendapat markah 100 peratus dalam semua ujian. 
(9) Mesti berusaha sebaiknya.
Dan yang paling utama (rahsia kejayaan dalam apa-apa pun!):  
(10) Tunaikan hak sebagai hamba Tuhan. Siapalah kita tanpa Allah.

Mengikut logik akal, sebenarnya gred A atau markah yang tinggi sangat mudah diraih, tapi anda mesti tahu elemen-elemen yang perlu dipenuhi. 

#1: Memberi perhatian di dalam kelas

Kadang-kadang terkhayal di dalam kelas? Perkara biasalah.

Sejam setengah (atau lebih) duduk mendengar lecture, normal-lah kalau sekejap-sekejap terfikirkan perkara lain.

Ada masa teringatkan pen refill yang perlu dibeli, ada masanya terfikirkan perkataan-perkataan random. Contohnya, pensyarah sedang menceritakan ciri-ciri pemerintahan era Tanzimat, tapi tiba-tiba kalimah "ecru" terlintas dalam fikiran. "Ecru. Itu suatu warna, kan? Eh, ke aku keliru dengan ocher? Ke, sejenis perabot? Ataupun aku pernah ternampak sofa berwarna ecru di dalam katalog perabot? Tapi rasanya macam memang warna...macam beige-kuning-coklat. Entah-entah sofa tu namanya ecru...Ecru. Orca. Ocher. Okra. Cis. Balik nanti jangan lupa Google."
Dan sedar saja dari lamunan, pensyarah sudah pun menyimpulkan perbincangan dan membuka ruang untuk pertanyaan. Rugi a few minutes' worth of the lecturer's explanation!

Walaupun ada kalanya payah untuk kita menumpukan sepenuh perhatian, tapi berusahalah untuk menghadirkan jiwa dan raga di dalam setiap kelas. Apa yang diajar di dalam kelas, jika difahami dan disimpan serta-merta di dalam otak, akan memudahkan anda menghadam maklumat selepas kelas dan akan menjimatkan masa revision, kerana kefahaman kali pertama itu biasanya sangat meninggalkan kesan di dalam diri.

#2: Pastikan faham

Kalau tak jelas dengan penjelasan pensyarah di dalam kelas, mintalah beliau jelaskan kembali.
Kalau masih belum faham, jumpa beliau di consultation hours-nya.
Kalau masih belum terang, bincanglah dengan kawan-kawan yang lebih faham.
Kalau perlu lebih penerangan, rujuklah bahan-bahan bacaan atau dokumentari.

Ingat ini: kefahaman ialah kunci untuk memanfaatkan ilmu.

Jangan tunggu sehingga waktu revision week sebelum peperiksaan, baru nak cari kefahaman. Kalau anda buat begini, besar kemungkinan anda akan berasa seperti loser ketika berhadapan dengan soalan.

#3: Tingkatkan kemahiran menyampaikan idea (dalam bentuk tulisan dan lisan)

Memiliki ilmu dan kefahaman sahaja tidak cukup. Kita mesti mampu menyampaikan juga. Prestasi pelajar lazimnya dinilai daripada peperiksaan lisan atau tulisan, dan pembentangan. Jadi, ketiga-tiga jenis penilaian itu sebenarnya merupakan ruang untuk pelajar mengembangkan kemahiran menulis dan bercakap di khalayak umum berdasarkan ilmu yang jitu.

Kalau mahu skor A, anda harus mampu menyampaikan kefahaman anda dengan jelas, baik di dalam peperiksaan mahupun di dalam pembentangan. Oleh itu, (1) mantapkanlah kemahiran dan gaya penulisan anda supaya dapat menjawab soalan peperiksaan dengan mudah, lancar dan tepat; dan (2) latihlah diri untuk menyampaikan ilmu dan idea di hadapan audiens.

#4: Membuat nota

Nota ibarat jam tangan, payung, dan baju kegemaran anda. Tanpanya anda boleh hidup, tapi dengannya, hidup menjadi lebih mudah. Ciri-ciri nota yang ideal ialah:

(1) Andalah yang membuatnya. Berkongsi nota adalah amalan mulia yang boleh menggandakan pahala si pembuat, tapi ingatlah bahawa otak anda akan lebih mudah mengingat apa yang tangan anda sendiri telah buat. Dan, anda lebih tahu apa yang anda mahu dan perlu.

(2) Disediakan dalam bentuk yang paling menarik (bagi anda). Ada yang suka nota bergambar, ada yang suka nota berbentuk bullet points, ada yang minat nota berhighlight berwarna-warni, ada yang gemarkan kertas A4 dilipat dua tau empat dan bermacam-macam lagi. Ikut suka anda. (Dia suka peta minda dan nota-nota serabut yang di-doodle dengan objek-objek apa-apa).

(3) Perlu lebih ringkas daripada bahan rujukan lain (buku teks, esei-esei jurnal, slideshow handouts). Kalau boleh, satu bab diringkaskan menjadi satu atau dua muka surat sahaja.

(4) Mudah difahami. Nota ibarat fast food: kadar mengunyah anda ketika memakan fast food tetap sama seperti apabila anda mengunyah makanan bukan segera, tapi fast food akan tiba di tangan anda (dan seterusnya mulut anda) dengan lebih cepat berbanding makanan biasa) (Huh?). Maknanya, walaupun hati dan minda anda takkan berubah tabiat dengan mudah, tapi nota sepatutnya membantu hati dan minda anda memproses masuk maklumat dengan lebih cepat berbanding bahan-bahan rujukan yang lain. 

Merujuk kepada nombor (3) dan (4):
Kalau nota anda (a) hanya ayat-ayat dari buku teks yang dipisah-pisahkan dengan bullet points, (b) tiada input tambahan yang terhasil daripada kefahaman dan analisa anda sendiri, dan/atau (c) berhelai-helai banyaknya sehingga menyamai ketebalan buku teks, dia sarankan anda baca buku teks sahaja.

Alangkah bagusnya jika semua nota dia sentiasa lengkap dan terletak di satu tempat yang mudah dicari.

Namun perlu diakui, kadang-kadang notanya berlubang di sana-sini kerana (a) terberangan di dalam kelas, (b) penat menulis sambil mendengar cerita tentang perangai sultan-sultan zaman lampau, atau (c) malas. Di waktu-waktu begini, dia akan (a) berangan sambil kelihatan seperti memberi perhatian penuh, (b) senaraikan perkara-perkara yang perlu dibuat [find and borrow books on Demokrasi Terpimpin. Modern Europe map test. Buy laundry detergent!!] di atas kertas nota, (c) menconteng tanpa tujuan, atau (d) menarik dan menghembus nafas dalam-dalam untuk mengatasi rasa mengantuk.

Tak cukup dengan itu, kertas-kertas nota diletak di mana-mana sahaja yang dirasakan mahu setiap petang selepas kelas.

Dan akibatnya, setiap kali study week, gelabah cari nota di merata bilik. Pasti tercipta paper havoc di dalam compartment setiap kali malam exam. Pasti.

Diharap anda boleh mengambil pengajaran daripada tabiat ini.

Kesimpulannya: nota ibarat baju yang ditempah khas untuk saiz badan anda mengikut gaya yang anda suka. Padan, selesa, dan berguna. Perlu dijaga dan digunakan seeloknya.

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Sekianlah perkara-perkara yang terlintas di minda setakat ini. Kalau ada lagi, akan diblogkan di masa akan datang,

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