Developing Academic Skills for Success in Studies and Professional Life

This article discusses the importance of academic skills for students and professionals. It covers information, planning/writing and independent study skills, and provides study material, videos and evaluation methods. The article also highlights the need for regular practice to improve these skills. The author shares their experience of learning these skills and identifies planning/writing skills as an area for further improvement. The article concludes with references to relevant books and journals.

BUS3003 Academic Skills
Practice

Table of Contents
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

MAIN BODY
Academic skills are the strengths and traits that allows a student to be a good student and
perform well in his academics. Such skills prepare the students to be able to face the challenges
in both academic life and professional life (Tabuenca, Greller and Verpoorten, 2022). The
academic skills that I was able to develop while studying this module are information skills,
planning/writing skills and independent study skills. Such skills included learning how to
identify books/journal/websites, how to use credible sources, how to use Harvard referencing and
citations, how to be honest while working, how to avoid plagiarism, how to brainstorm ideas,
how to write work through planning, how to summarise the ideas, how to write reflective piece,
how to work independently, hot to take notes and manage time efficiently.
While learning the above skills I was able to go through the information skills and
planning/writing skills effectively i.e., learning of these gone well as the topics and tasks
included in these skills were informative and had relation to the studies I did earlier. Tasks like
brainstorming of ideas, paraphrasing and summarising, reflective writing, creating references and
citing the sources of such references, maintaining academic integrity, informal & academic
writing, etc. were all very interesting to learn and could be used in further higher studies and also
in the professional life after studies.
Independent study skills were a bit complicated as it involved working independently,
using of the note taking method and using of effective time management method and therefore,
being complicated and a new skill to learn, did not go so well like other skills and will be
requiring further attention and practice from my side.
Studying of these academic skills of information, planning/writing and independent
studies will prove to be very helpful in my academic as well as my professional life as these are
the vital skills that I should know to be able to grow and progress (Morehead and et.al., 2019).
Also I’ve learnt that these skills require regular practice to be efficient enough.
The one action that I will be taking forward to the Year 1 of my degree programme will
be planning/writing skills (Wong, 2018). Completing a degree requires good grammar, spelling,
gestures, punctuations, paralinguistic, etc. which all comes under the planning/writing skills. It
will also help improve the communication skills. Efficient writing skills will also lead to
increased creativity and enhance the knowledge of the student which is very essential to achieve

the desired academic success and thus, will increase the level of self – satisfaction and
confidence.
LACKING AREA RESORUCES
REQUIRED
TIME DURATION EVALUATION
How to work
independently
Study material, video
material, internet and
practice material.
15 days to 1 month. By analysing the
progress of the
material studied
during this time
duration that whether
the work was
efficiently carried out.
Effective note taking
method
Study material, video
material and internet.
5 – 7 days. By observing the
notes from the source
from where such
notes were made.
Effective time
management method
Course syllabus to
make time – table,
study material and
internet.
10 – 15 days. By analysing that
whether the set targets
were met in the time.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Morehead, K. and et.al., 2019. Note-taking habits of 21st century college students: implications
for student learning, memory, and achievement. Memory. 27(6). pp.807-819.
Tabuenca, B., Greller, W. and Verpoorten, D., 2022. Mind the gap: smoothing the transition to
higher education fostering time management skills. Universal Access in the Information
Society. 21(2). pp.367-379.
Wong, B., 2018. By chance or by plan? The academic success of nontraditional students in
higher education. Aera Open. 4(2). p.2332858418782195.
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