Academic Skills And Studying With Confidence Assignment Sample

Introduction of Academic Skills And Studying With Confidence Assignment

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In an era of growing competition among individuals, acquiring academic skills are vital for attaining success in the long term. Academic skills usually had their sole focus on assisting the learners to excel in an academic setting through studying, retaining and application of necessary information. The core aim of this portfolio study is to build literacy of learners in specific areas like communication skills, resource planning and avoiding acts of plagiarism through effective referencing format. This portfolio is going to reflect on personal experiences and inner goings of learners which would shed light on both strengths and latent weaknesses.

Reflective ideas of learning

Necessary academic skills learnt in this specific module

This module as an important part of my coursework has enabled me to work on my existing skills and at the same time to adopt new skill sets. As per the view of Balula et al. (2019), general academic skills include active listening, note-taking, attention to detail and the ability to communicate with others. Communication skill has appeared to me as the greatest challenge as in this coursework, we are instructed to consolidate both of our written and verbal communication skills. Ranging from report and essay writing to online debates and verbal presentations in front of a room full of an audience has appealed to me as one of the most lucrative opportunities. At the beginning of this process of self-reflection, I found myself to be preoccupied with confusion and had no idea about venting out my own understanding. Doyle (2018) noted that the development of communication skills is a primary requisite for excellence and long-term success in both professional and personal spheres as they contribute combined to convey messages to others. For instance, my effective and flawless ability of written communication would undoubtedly become a milestone in my academic career. Empowered by this stated ability, I would be able to communicate with the demands of target audiences and accordingly would address the necessary areas of discussion.

In terms of honing my written and verbal communication ability, I attempted to follow self-practice guidelines. According to Shriver and Weissberg (2020), constructive criticism creates a pillar of growth for all during the adoption of new skill sets as it points out both strengths and bottlenecks of learners. For instance, leveraging constructive criticism from my respected professors, I directed my complete efforts to identify a three-step method. I adhered to the principles of the three-step method through successive stages like drafting, final revising and proofreading. Constructive criticism of my professors pointed out that my inwardness, lack of confidence and weak emotional intelligence are prominent setbacks that might make my career growth stagnant. Noticeable improvements in written communication led me to shift towards improving my verbal communication skill. Jonsdottir and Fridriksdottir (2020) held the view that active listening is of foremost importance in conveying a message to others. The assistance of my peer members allowed me in this particular stage to shed the burden of doubts and low confidence and to rise like a professional speaker. Bloom et al. (2020) added that paying close attention to the details and listening to ideas put forward by other individuals underpin sound communication. Development of awareness about the body language of individuals and briefing of others' thought-process paved the path for engaging audiences in a meaningful conversation during online debates and verbal presentations.

Along with communication skills, note-taking was equally stressed in this mentioned coursework to reduce the total amount of study time. As asserted by Morehead et al. (2019), note-taking is a practice of deriving significant information by accessing different sources and they are synthesized to boost knowledge on the subject area. Application of concept mapping strategy enhanced my skill of note-taking as I have become successful in connecting the diverse knowledge, derived from the subject matter. The importance of concept mapping lies in offering a demonstration of interconnection among diverse variables of subject matter and prioritizing the core points to establish relationships among variables. Besides that, significant skills were dictated to develop on referencing and bibliography building to avert chances of plagiarism. Therefore, all these academic skills laid the foundation for a sustainable yet successful professional life in future to ace the market competition.

Integration of acquired skills for collaborative learning

The creation of a collaborative learning practice is deeply embedded in the provision of academic skills development, including in our coursework. For instance, sound communication skill, both written and verbal has steered our academic journey towards peer-learning and problem-based learning. Triana and Zubainur (2019) highlighted that communication ability empowers other accompanying skills like problem-solving and decision-making and these skills are necessary for the contemporary era for better employability. On the other hand, my ability to acknowledge the credit of others through the application of proper referencing principles would aid me in avoiding complications, stemming from academic misconduct and plagiarism. Devore-McDonald and Berger (2020) noted that plagiarism is an act of copying and pasting others' credentials without acknowledging their credits of them. Plagiarism in academic writing and assignments is conducive for legal complications as in this case copyright of individuals are infringed. Along with that, common errors in referencing like the incorrect placement of commas and periods might reduce the quality of writing, while learners are also penalized for misconduct or erroneous acts. Deployment of appropriate referencing guidelines and flawless in-text citation might enrich my academic writing pieces and research works in future. In university life, challenges might appear in the form of academic misconduct, penalties and failure in exams. Adherence to referencing principles, appropriate formation of bibliography and correct format of in-text citation can help me to manage such transitions and challenges in university life. Note-taking and fluent communication skills alongside can become a panacea of getting rid of challenges such as flawed communication, misinterpreted verbal exchange and non-strategic studying.

Conclusion

Academic skills are necessary to achieve and develop in the contemporary competitive era as they can help to acquire an extra advantage over others. Beyond assisting learners to earn academic credentials, skills learnt during study can guide individuals to reach heights in their careers. In this study, note-taking, communication, and referencing skills are presented as workplace essentials in terms of acquiring a stable position in a volatile environment.

Reference list

Balula, A., Vasconcelos, S. and Moreira, A., (2019). Developing academic skills in blended environments. Journal of Teaching English for Specific and Academic Purposes, pp.303-309.

Bloom, A., Critten, S., Johnson, H. and Wood, C., (2020). A critical review of methods for eliciting voice from children with speech, language and communication needs. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 20(4), pp.308-320.

Devore-McDonald, B. and Berger, E.D., (2020). Mossad: Defeating software plagiarism detection. Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages, 4(OOPSLA), pp.1-28.

Doyle, A.,(2018). Communication Skills for workplace success. Retrieved November, 19, p.2018.

Jonsdottir, I.J. and Fridriksdottir, K., (2020). Active listening: Is it the forgotten dimension in managerial communication?. International Journal of Listening, 34(3), pp.178-188.

Morehead, K., Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K.A., Blasiman, R. and Hollis, R.B., (2019). Note-taking habits of 21st-century college students: implications for student learning, memory, and achievement. Memory, 27(6), pp.807-819.

Shriver, T.P. and Weissberg, R.P., (2020) A response to constructive criticism of social and emotional learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 101(7), pp.52-57.

Triana, M. and Zubainur, C.M., (2019). Students' Mathematical Communication Ability through the Brain-Based Learning Approach Using Autograph. Journal of Research and Advances in Mathematics Education, 4(1), pp.1-10.