Academic Skills for Higher Education: Importance and Analysis

This report discusses the importance of academic skills for higher education and analyzes critical thinking, note-taking, listening, reading, interview, academic writing, and learning style skills. It highlights the significance of each skill and how it helps students to accomplish their academic assignments efficiently. The report also emphasizes the importance of attending seminars and academic lectures to improve these skills.

Higher education

Table of Contents
ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................4
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................5
Discussion and analysis...................................................................................................................5
Critical thinking skill..............................................................................................................5
Note-taking skills....................................................................................................................5
Listening skills........................................................................................................................6
Reading skills.........................................................................................................................6
Interview skills.......................................................................................................................7
Academic writing skills..........................................................................................................7
Understanding learning style..................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCE.................................................................................................................................10

ABSTRACT
Academic skills are important for students to learn various things as well as complete higher
educational projects in efficient manner. Students uses various skills and competencies in their
academic work that lead their behaviour in right direction as well as bring their positive attitude
towards life. Academic skills are related to various skills such as note-taking skills, critical
thinking, report writing skills, interview skills and various other. These skills and competencies
enable students to accomplish their academic assignment on time with great efficiency and
effectiveness.

INTRODUCTION
Academic skills are defined as the habits and talent that provides benefits in academic
pursuits such as learning, report writing, research and presentation. These skills are important in
higher education to gain efficient learning and attain determined goals and objectives in efficient
manner. IIt is important for students to improve academic skills for improving overall
performance and functionality. This report covers various skills and competencies as well as
their importance for students.
Discussion and analysis
Critical thinking skill
Critical thinking is considered as the ability certain things in most organised as well as rational
manner that helps students to maintain connection between facts and ideas. It is the rationale in
which reasons presents a cause of some facts that are represented by the conclusion. The main
objective of thinking critically regarding some topics is to understand how or why facts occur.
Critical thinking is core academic skill that is used by the students to reflect their own
understanding and knowledge in best possible manner (Chamberlain, 2017). It enables students
to express their thoughts and ideas in most understandable manner. There are various skills are
including in critical thinking such as analysis, interpretation, explanation, problem-solving and
open mindedness.
Importance of critical thinking for students: Critical thinking is important for students in their
studies and higher education because it enable them to take appropriate decisions, promote their
creativity as well as improve their language as well as presentation skills that help them to attain
determined goals and objectives in efficient manner. It helps students to analyse all positive as
well as negative perspectives of topic and convey them in effective manner. Critical thinking is
important for students to work on specific assignment as well as performing research.
Note-taking skills
Note-taking is defined as the practice recording information in written form from different
sources as well as platforms. With the help of writing notes, students can record the essence of
various data and information, freeing their mind for the purpose of recalling topics in future. It is
related to writing down what is here and read without being processing the data and information
(Moore and Morton, 2017). Note-skills can be improved by making clear and accurate notes,

compare notes, minimizes distractions, organise notes as well as review notes in appropriate
manner. There are various methods are used by the students to records their notes such as
Cornell method, Outlining method, Mapping method, Charting method as well as Sentence
method.
Importance of note-taking skills for students: Note-taking skills are important for
students to remember information as well as add new understanding. It helps students to pay
attention in class and develop notes in clear and precise manner that help in future to revise
specific topic quickly. It saves students time and learn things in best possible manner. Through
applying note-taking skills students can actively engaging with topic by listening and then
summarising what is hearing by them that help them to understand as well as remember
information later.
Listening skills
Listening skills are defined as the ability to pay attention as well as interpret what other people
are saying. It is related to accurately receive and interpret the message in communication
process. listening is the key factor of effective communication. Without the ability of listening in
efficient manner, messages cannot be understood properly (Takahashi, Hirabayashi and
Nakamura, 2020). Effective listening is important for successful communication process and
ensures that receiver understand the message in exact manner what sender want to convey.
listening is related to two component such as attention and reflection. Active attention involves
holding eye contacts, having good body posture as well as maintaining interest what are others
are saying. Whereas reflecting or responding is related to repeating or paraphrasing speaker
message to reflect understanding what speaker saying.
Importance of listening skills for students: Listening skills are important for students
because active listening promote mindful thinking that helps students to reduce anxiety as well as
depressions. It is important for maintaining effective relationships through engaging themselves
in conversation. It helps students to understanding academic topics more clearly and efficiednt it
enhances students learning.
Reading skills
Reading skills are defined as the abilities of an individual that describes their capacity to read,
comprehend, interpret as well as decode written language and texts (Wornyo, Klu and Motlhaka,
2018). Reading skills are highly beneficial to assimilating and responding to the written

communications that includes messages, written messages, emails and various other. It is the
acquisition is the practices of skills which is necessary for understanding the core meaning
behind printed words. Reading is the process of understanding meaning of written symbols.
Effective reading skills are related to decoding, vocabulary, fluency as well as comprehension
that enable an individual to read and understand the concepts.
Importance of reading skills: Reading skills are important for students to improve the
understanding of vocabulary and communication as well as improves their concentration, It helps
them to make sense not only the around the world but build social-emotional skills and
imagination. Fluent reading enables students to read written words and understand their meaning
in efficient manner. It helps students to enhance their learning and depth knowledge regarding
academic topics (Jone and Kahn, 2017). Efficient reading strengthens writing skills and help
students to complete their assignment in effective manner.
Interview skills
Interview skills and competencies are defined as the skills or actions that allow an
individual to be more efficient throughout the interview process for new position. These skills
help candidate for interview. Effective interview skills are used by the candidates during
interview that make them stand out. During interview various skills are used such as
communication skills, eye-contacting, effective answering, presentation and some professional
skills that enable them to clear interview for specific job title over other candidates. It is
necessary for candidates to be positive, answer of questions that are asked by interviewer
efficiently with confidence. It is important to use job description, research about organisation,
review resume, practice for interview and be observant as well as listen interviewer carefully.
Importance interview skills: Interview skills are important for students to meet all the
requirements of defined job profile with personal and professional capabilities. It helps students
to become more comfortable with the ideas and communicate their point of views and through in
effective manner (Sala and Gobet, 2017). interview skills help students to get desirable job in
reputated organisation. It enables students to attain various career opportunities.
Academic writing skills
Academic writing is defined as the efficient way to writing academic concepts in most
clear, concise, structured manner which as backed up by evidences. It enables writer to write
their perspectives, academic related topics in efficient manner that are understandable by others.

In academic writing formal tone and style is used but is not required to use long and complex
sentences as well as complex vocabulary. Academic writing skills is the ability of an individua to
write academic concepts and topic in formal style and structured manner. Through having
academic writing skills, writers enjoy formal academic style and avoiding jargon and
abbreviations. It is the way of communicating learning and understanding to others in well
defined and structured manner.
Importance of academic writing skills: Academic writing skills are important for students
because it work as a efficient tool of communication that help them to acquired information and
understanding in specific field of study. It helps students to analyse, understand, think critically,
understanding as well as concentrating on techniques and style of learning (Ribner, Tamis-
LeMonda and Liben, 2020). It enables students to convey their learning in efficient manner and
gain higher marks in educational field.
Understanding learning style
Understanding learning style is defined as the skills which is related to learning style that states
that all students learn things in different manner. An individual learning style is the preferential
way that enable students to absorb, comprehends, processes as well as retains information in
efficient manner (Kikas, Soodla and Mägi, 2018). There are various core learning styles are used
by the students such as visual, auditory, writing, reading and kinaesthetic ways that enable
students learn things in effective manner.
Importance of understanding learning style: It is important for students to enhance their
confidence level, self-respect that help students to accomplish their personal as well as
professional objectives without doubting own internal capabilities. It enables students to learn
academic concepts and topics that help them to improve their understanding in efficient manner.
It helps students to select best method of learning that improve students learn concepts and attain
career objectives in efficient manner.
CONCLUSION
As per above report, it can be concluded that in higher education students required
various skills and competencies for the purpose of completing academic work on time with
efficiency. These skills are important for students to perform in well-defined manner and
accomplish determined goals and objectives with great effectiveness. Some academic skills are

Note-taking skills, critical thinking skills, reading and listening skills as well as report writing
skills that enable students to accomplish their defined work on time. There are various seminars
and academic lectures are attended by students to improve these skills that help in attaining
desirable outcomes in efficient manner.

REFERENCE
Book and journal
Chamberlain, E., 2017. Extending the classroom walls: using academic blogging as an
intervention strategy to improve critical literacy skills with elementary
students. Education 3-13, 45(2), pp.243-257.
Moore, T. and Morton, J., 2017. The myth of job readiness? Written communication,
employability, and the ‘skills gap’in higher education. Studies in Higher
Education, 42(3), pp.591-609.
Takahashi, M., Hirabayashi, R. and Nakamura, K., 2020. How Can We Access Children'Basic
Academic Skills? The Possibility of" Corrected Academic Skills" via an Alternative
Approach. In CogSci.
Wornyo, A.A., Klu, E.K. and Motlhaka, H., 2018. Authentic learning: Enhancing learners’
academic literacy skills. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English
Literature, 7(4), pp.56-62.
Jones, S.M. and Kahn, J., 2017. The Evidence Base for How We Learn: Supporting Studen
Sala, G. and Gobet, F., 2017. Does far transfer exist? Negative evidence from chess, music, and
working memory training. Current directions in psychological science, 26(6), pp.515-
520.
Ribner, A.D., Tamis-LeMonda, C.S. and Liben, L.S., 2020. Mothers’ distancing language relates
to young children’s math and literacy skills. Journal of experimental child
psychology, 196, p.104863.
Kikas, E., Soodla, P. and Mägi, K., 2018. Teacher judgments of student reading and math skills:
Associations with child-and classroom-related factors. Scandinavian Journal of
Educational Research, 62(5), pp.783-797.