Is there a textbook?

This was one of the questions asked by a student this week on the online study forum at Uni. Now my original post was going to be about 'how to get back into study mode as the new uni semester begins' but that is quite irrelevant if you don't know what you are meant to study!

Now i'm unsure whether this student is new to Uni but during my four years of study, i have only ever had one subject that did NOT have a textbook. Why does this concern me? As someone who is almost addicted to it and has written a book on studying externally, it makes me wonder how a new or general student thinks.

So my new tip of the week is:
Always assume there is a required textbook for a unit:
Read all unit and assessment information. After checking with the Uni bookshop for required texts for each unit to be studied for the semester, and you still have no textbook for a specific unit then double check with your lecturer that there is no textbook required. And don't leave until week 3 into the semester to find this out!

Another query into week 3 of the semester was: so is the assessment just discussing activities and submitting this?
A very vague question and very far from the required assessment task. Not only has this person put their admission of not reading the unit information on a public forum, the lecture can also see this.
My next tip of the week is:
Download ALL unit information and assessment tasks (and read it!)which is available at the start of the new semester. Don't leave it until week 3 to ask where this information can be found.

By all means if you would class yourself as a 'loafer' (see a previous blog post) or you like to leave things to the last minute it may be hard to change your ways. However, your grades are most likely to reflect this and if you make it known on your public uni forum - the lecturer will also know this!