Electrical books

[tux2k]

Hello,

I am a first year apprentice (aged 21!!) currently studying city and guilds 2351 in electrical installation.

I was wondering if anyone could recommend any books or any other type of learning aids to help me with the rest of my course.

I was also wondering if anyone knows where I can get hold of past papers.

Thanks

Andrew

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Hello,

I am a first year apprentice (aged 21!!) currently studying city and guilds 2351 in electrical installation.

2351??

I was wondering if anyone could recommend any books or any other type of learning aids to help me with the rest of my course.

Ask your lecturer - there are probably some (e.g. Scaddon) that are structured to dovetail with the course.

In terms of generic stuff, Paul Cook's book on the Wiring Regs is good:

as is Whitfields one - it's a better read, but has less technical detail:

From a moral POV you should buy it from TLC, not Amazon though..

I was also wondering if anyone knows where I can get hold of past papers.

You can buy them from the C&G website. But surely your lecturer must have stacks of them?

 

[tux2k]

the 2351 course is the new NVQ level 3.

Thanks for the advice on the books i will look into ordering them.

With regards to the past papers I cannot fine them on the city and guilds website I even emailed them and asked but they said they dont have them. Any ideas??

 

[andemz]

I was in continually education in university for 5 years, past papers are not worth the paper they are written on. As your course is that of a vocational one i would of thought that the emphasis would be on continual assessment opposed to strictly taking an exam which gives you a pass or fail. My areas are social studies, scientific management and family law. I've always found that it's not about seeing passing an exam as a means to an end, although that is literally what it is but passing and knowing that you haven't just passed an exam that you have regurgitated from a text book or past papers but that you are competent in what you do and that you have a sound entrenched knowledge of your subject matter.

I'll stop there as i tend to go into dissertations once i start thinking

 

[pipme]

the 2351 course is the new NVQ level 3.

Perhaps there are no relevant 'past papers', but there probably will be at a similar level .. Talk to lecturers, they should also have a good idea which text books are useful, containing accurate information and which are not so good .... Not much worse than a text book with incorrect answers to set problems and even worse with worked examples having incorrect model answers !!! Have seen them in the Mech Eng field.

I think past papers are useful, help give a feel for requirements, exam timing etc.
P

 

[AdamW]

To me, the point of past papers is:

1) Gives you a feel for how questions are asked (the style in which questions are asked usually evolves quite slowly, so a paper from 2003 won't be too different in style to one from 2004.)

2) It often alerts you of areas where perhaps your lecturer was a little vague, and where you may have forgotten.

Doing past papers certainly can't hurt, but I would only do a couple at most.

 

[andemz]

The issue about past papers being similar to each other is incorrect, each paper each year is reviewed on papers at least within the past 4 years of any academic study/cycle, this is with exception to papers and assessment that are laid out under the education act 2002 for special educational needs.

I do however uphold AdamW's view that it is the style in which the questions are asked and particulary phrased. I would also consider the implications for updates on the regulations that are in place for electrical installations and bear in mind that there may have been a change within a recent time that may effect how say a questions was answered in 2003 to how it should be answered in 2004. I'm sure the sparky's can give an example.
It is important to consider the evolution of methods of work. i was only having a conversation with a building inspector the other day in relation to drains. For them to be buried in clay was acceptable, then concrete and now supported in pea gravel. Most Terraced house were built on spread foundations/footings now if you want to put an extension on to an older house when you expose the original footings of about 6 inches thick you have to support them with a meter dig trench. yet the building is 70 years old and as the report suggests as never moved.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Thanks for the advice on the books i will look into ordering them.

I've also seen a number of people rate the Snags & Solutions book from NICEIC

With regards to the past papers I cannot fine them on the city and guilds website I even emailed them and asked but they said they dont have them. Any ideas??

Sorry - I got it a bit wrong - you can't download them, but when you emailed them, I don't know why they said that - see this: http://www.city-and-guilds.co.uk/pls/cg2/url/folder/cg_learners/faqs

How can I obtain details of City & Guilds syllabuses and sample question papers?

You can telephone the Customer Relations team on 020 7294 2850 to obtain details of current publications and prices.

Copies of non-current syllabuses and question papers, can also be obtained by completing a form available from the Records and Replacements Unit telephone 020 7294 2789 or e-mail r&[email protected]. There is a charge of £28.20 (including VAT) per syllabus. We can also accept credit card sales for non-current syllabuses.