During my gap year I began to read popular and accessible books relating to Human Geography.

I found books such as “The End of Poverty” (Jeffrey Sachs) and “The Bottom Billion” (Paul Collier) of particular interest. They introduced me to how the global economic system as well as how various international systems of aid work. On recommendation from my A-level Geography tutor, I bought “The Dictionary of Human Geography” and later on “The Dictionary of Physical Geography.” However, I only used the books a couple of times as referencing tools for understanding more complex Geographical terms. They are becoming more useful as I move through my first term as it is required that appropriate Geographical language is used in essay writing and also in presentations.

There actually was no reading list prior to my course so I had to find my own resources, usually borrowed from the public library or found in news articles and other media forms. I did not buy any textbooks prior to university though I am now aware there is one for my “Study Skills” module. Now I am at university it is fairly straightforward as we are assigned reading for each week to discuss in seminars and to make the most of lectures.  I usually read sections of the articles/essays online on Study Direct or using the Library online journals and newspaper articles.