CCLKOW: Top Tips for Surviving and Thriving on ACSC, or the Ends, Ways, and Means of PME
This week brings the return of Fighting Sailor, our Royal Navy contributor, with a piece pitched to provide advice to the next class on the advanced course in the British system of professional military education. Which it most certainly does. But along the way our Fighting Sailor has written it in good Ends, Ways, and Means fashion. Depending on what you want to get out of the course — the end, the objective, the policy for your year as a student — how you should approach the course (ways) and what you should do will change (means). From what I have seen this year, the advice is entirely correct. To such an extent that while I certainly encourage a twitter discussion on approaching the professional schoolhouse, with this blog I would like to add another facet. I want to invite ‘alumni’ of field grade education (from the first dip into Command and Staff as a young O-4 upward) to submit their own similar comments to add to the blog. Not only will this provide valuable advice, but is will also offer a rich source of insight into the student experience of PME. Send your thoughts to us at cclkow@gmail.com. And join the disscussion, on Twitter, at #CCLKOW. ( — JSR)
Like all advice, this should be taken with caution and other views sought to get a cross-fix. Please feel free to make whatever use of it you wish, I wouldn’t be offended if you ignored it completely. Also, as I did the course a few years ago some of the specifics may be out of date but the principles are sound. I have included some top tips suggested by trusted course mates, but any errors or omissions are mine alone.
1. Understand in advance what you want from the course and prioritise accordingly. For example: if you want to be in the Top 10 you will need to work very hard; if you want an MA then ensure you do the extra module which may (will) distract from core ACSC work and/or family time; if you want to maximise your time with the family, social opportunities or hobbies then accept that you’re not likely to do as well on the psc(j) elements as those who are busting for the highest grades. I prioritised psc(j) and family time and thus didn’t do the MA. In sum, you can’t do everything and those that tried to got pretty disheartened. Make your choices deliberately and accept the consequences — it’s a great analogy for the rest of your career!
2. There isn’t time to do and read everything so prioritise hard. I had a system of A, B and C category priorities:
A — Anything that carried a specific mark that contributed to the final assessment i.e essays, Defence Research Paper (DRP), Ex Swift Response, etc, etc
B — Anything that I was front and centre for: Syndicate Room Discussions (SRDs) that I was leading, debates or presentations that I was giving, etc, etc
C — Everything else.
3. It’s hard to catch up once you’ve missed something, so keep a steady work ethic throughout.
4. Reading — For Cat B SRDs (see above), read the essential reading and a handful of the other stuff; for Cat C SRDs, scan read the SRD essential reading and then pick one or 2 of the more obscure articles. For both types read something from The Economist (see below) or elsewhere on the subject, or a real world example of the academic point. Casually drop in that you think that it offers an interesting perspective and your DS/DSD will think that you’re magnificently well read! (see para 9). The very first SRDs are hugely important and to arrive without having read the pre-reading is just stupid.
5. Read The Economist for a few months before you pitch-up at the course: http://www.economist.com/ — good analysis and a real cross-section of global events. Trot out the opinions from the editorials in SRDs and you’ll seem really clever. The online version will let you read one article a week for free but the subscription is not that expensive.
6. Essay writing. There is a magic spell for writing a good essay and it’s in this book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Essay-Writing-Study-Skills/dp/0857023713 Follow the formula and you’ll pretty much get a Merit. Add a bit of original thought and you’ll start hitting Distinction territory. Seriously, I started out (quote from my DS) “vomiting a stream of consciousness onto a page”, which apparently isn’t the same thing as writing a good essay. Use the magic formula. There are several copies of the book in the College library.
7. Getting on with your academic is critical. You need to learn to listen to them, particularly during the essay feedback. A cautionary tale from a friend that I did the course with:
“I had a particular academic at one stage and the mark he gave me was a merit. That is the only time in the last twenty years I have received anything other than an A grade (distinction, whatever you want to call it) for essay style output. It was also my only mark on that course that was not a distinction. I pushed back a little on the mark, and it came to light that he didn’t like the way I compared the examples in my essay. It was a really obscure academic perspective on things. He had, in fact, mentioned to me that I might want to consider comparing in such and such a way during one of our interviews, but then had never mentioned it again. What he meant, of course, was this is how you should write this essay or I’ll mark you down. He was dick, but I didn’t listen properly.”
8. Don’t be a dick. You’ll be amazed how many people turn up being very self-important. You’ll be treated like a school child, just deal with it and have a bit of humility. In a sense, the hassle of the course and the embuggerances are part of the test — remain cheerful and, if you have to be bus monitor or whatever, then just get on with it. Everyone gets a go at the menial jobs, even the folks that have just come from commanding Special Forces Squadrons or warships, are Consultant Surgeons or whatever. Suck it up and don’t be a primadonna.
9. Understand the marking scheme and play the game. 30% of the total course marks are given by your Divisional Director for your ‘overall performance’ throughout the course. To a certain extent this is the (gender neutral) “good bloke score” and confirmation bias kicks-in early here so make a strong start and then throttle back on the extracurricular as the workload increases. See the points above about contribution to SRDs, etc and not being a dick — it is all noted! In terms of allocation of effort this is, in effect, a Cat A priority. The DD can give you an extra one or 2 percent of the overall mark at the stroke of his/her pen; to get the same (2%) from your DRP (which is 20% (or whatever) of the academic score, which itself is only of 70% of your psc(j) overall grade) you would need to get a mark that’s 14% higher. I’m pretty sure I know which is easier to achieve! Some careful thought about how to make the right impression for minimal effort is worthwhile but, of course, never look like you’re trying to play the game!!! Top-tip: volunteer early for the Trafalgar Night Dinner committee; it’s early on in the year, not too arduous and gives them something to write in your Term 1 report.
10. Asking short, sensible questions of speakers is a good thing and is a valuable input in the course, despite the grief you’ll get.
11. Do a sport, for your own sanity if nothing else. Specifically, do the cycle ride to the battlefield tour if you can.
12. Enjoy it and make the most of every facility and event. It is a fantastic investment in you, a bit of a slog in places, but a wonderful learning and personal development opportunity — don’t waste it!
Hope this helps.
@fightingsailor
For this week’s discussion let us know what is the best piece of advice you have received or have to give.
