Skills for Success at University: A Summary

This document provides a summary of the essential skills for success at university, including comparison of websites, mind mapping, poster making, presentation skills, writing skills, avoiding plagiarism, improving reading, research skills, use of capital letters, critical thinking, academic keywords, and reflective learning.

FY026 PREPARING FOR
SUCCESS AT UNIVERSITY
-KNOWLEDGE AND
CREATIVITY

TABLE OF CONTENTS
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Comparison of the website..........................................................................................................3
Mind mapping.............................................................................................................................3
Poster...........................................................................................................................................3
Presentation skills........................................................................................................................4
Writing skills...............................................................................................................................4
Avoiding plagiarism....................................................................................................................4
Improving reading.......................................................................................................................4
Research skills.............................................................................................................................5
Use of the capital letter...............................................................................................................5
Critical thinking..........................................................................................................................5
Academic keywords....................................................................................................................6
Reflective learning......................................................................................................................6
Summary.....................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

MAIN BODY
Comparison of the website
Comparing the different websites is highly essential in order to gain the proper
knowledge about the particular topic and this is the most important skill which I have learned
during my academic year. This skill is highly important in professional as well as academic life
as by comparing the different , we are able to easily gather the large amount of data. The
comparison is mainly done of the basis of information in websites as well as on the basis of
presentation of the websites (Gazzawe, 2017). For example- the website which contains relevant
information related to topic as well as has properly explained the topic with the help of images,
charts, graphs then that website will be highly reliable as well as effective in making great
projects.
Mind mapping
Mind mapping is basically graphical method as well as diagram which enables the
individuals to represent the ideas as well as concepts and thus helps to structure the information
in a sequential manner. Talking of the academic context, mind mapping is the most important
skill which needs to be present in an individual. By incorporating mind mapping in my academic
life, I would be able to increase my creativity as well as productivity as this is the most
significant tool for generating new ideas. This will not only help me in my academic life to
develop new project but will also allow me to build an idea pool in the different organization for
ding my work as well as for excelling in my future (Parikh, 2016).

Illustration 1: Mind-mapping
(Source:Mind mapping, 2020 )
Poster
Poster is basically the group of pictures on the large paper through which people
promote their ideas, opinions, views etc to the wide public. Poster making is highly essential skill
or can be said as art which describes that how effectively an individual can present his or her
information and ideas in attractive form (Gundogan and et.al., 2016). While working on the
poster during the project, I faced lot of difficulty as I was unaware about the essential of poster
and its process. Basically, I faced problem in how to align my entire information in the short
poster in sequential manner. I was unable to decide that which information will go at which part
in poster and what types of images will be included. My tutor helped me to overcome this
problem by providing training session in which I was made aware of whole process for making
poster.

Illustration 2: Poster
(Source:Poster design guide, 2019 )
Presentation skills
Presentation is basically the process of explaining and presenting the topic to the
audience. Presentation skill primarily are the skills as well as ability through which an individual
is able to influence the large audience and delivers his or her topic in the most effective manner
by completely engaging audience. Presentation skills are the most effective skills which are
required at each and every stage of life whether academic or professional life. I faced a lot of
difficult while delivering the efficient presentation in the sense that I was unable to choose the
best background of slide and was confused about color combination of the slides. My tutor later
on explained me the various aspects of PPT and thus shown some samples which helped me to
understand that what are the main requirements of presentation (Van Emden and Becker, 2016).
Writing skills
Writing is basically the most effective form of the communication through which
individuals are able to express their knowledge, ideas, feelings, beliefs etc about specific topic.
Talking of this skill, my writing skills are effectively developed, and I am able to properly
express my thoughts in writing without any hesitation. According to my tutor, the most exciting
this in my writing skills is that I make the good use of vocabulary which is forms the strength of
my topic. I make use of the wide range of vocabulary which makes my topic much more
attractive to read as well as informative (Sarıca and Usluel, 2016).

Illustration 3: Writing skills
(Source:Writing skills, 2019 )
Avoiding plagiarism
Plagiarism is basically the practice of stealing others work or ideas and publishing them
as own work. In short, plagiarism is the wrongful representation of someone's thoughts, ideas
and opinions and distorting their original work. Whether talking of the academic or the
professional life, plagiarism is considered as the biggest and most important crime and thus can
cost an individual to even loss their jobs (Sharma, 2017). In my academic life, my tutor
explained me about how plagiarism can lead to major loss in my life. My academic life helped
me to understand the various aspects related to plagiarism and learned that it can be both
intentionally or unintentionally. It could even harm my academic work where people can steal
my ideas and misrepresent my work in another form.
Improving reading
Reading is predominately process of going through series of the symbols and grabbing
the meaning from these in mind. It is an efficient skill which describes how effectively an
individual is able to read a particular topic and garb its meaning in his or her mind for long
period of time. The effectiveness of reading depends on proper vocabulary as well as proper
pronunciation. I would say my reading skills are moderate and are not well-developed. The basic
problem which I face during reading any new text or paragraph of topic is in the pronunciation. I
am not able to pronounce different complex word correctly and this decreases my confidence in
front of class. My tutor later on helped my by giving reading sessions where she made me read

different books and magazines and through regular practice, my reading skills began to take
shape (Oczkus, 2018).
Research skills
Research is basically the process through which individuals gain an insight about any
topic and interpret it from each and every point. Research skill basically shows that how
efficiently an individual is able to analyze the topic and draw conclusion from it which is highly
reliable as well as valid. During my academic life, I learned that research skills are highly
important even when we start our professional life as this skill enables us to deeply understand
the topic and come out with the reliable and effective conclusion. As my research skills are not
well-developed thus it is highly essential for me to give a shape to this skill as this skill will help
me to carry out different projects effectively in detailed manner (Allison and et.al.,2016).
Use of the capital letter
When starting any sentence, the initial letter is always written in capital form according
to the rule of English grammar. This is the most primary thing which I learned in my academic
life. The use of this rule came into use when I was given with several assignments to complete.
As they were the assignments of English, thus effectively applying the rules of English grammar
was the most important thing which I need to consider as failure to do so can affect my overall
grades (Saraswathi and Biswas, 2018). Thus, use of capital letter in starting of each and every
sentence was highly important. This skill will eventually help me to have a great grasp on the
grammar and will also help me in my professional life during writing different emails to the
customers and clients.
Critical thinking
Critical thinking is generally ability of the individuals to think rationally as well as
clearly and based on this make the logical conclusion in highly effective manner. This skill plays
an important role in the academic life. The skill of critical thinking will help me to evaluate and
interpret each and every aspect of the particular topic and hence come up with the favourable
outcome. Having a great command over this skill will also help me in my professional life as
now each and every organization requires employees who are creative and innovative in
thinking. Apart from this, this skill will also help me to take rational decisions and will assist me
towards the right path in my life (McPeck, 2016).

Academic keywords
Academic keywords are primarily the words as well as terms which are commonly used
by students in their academic life. In short, these are the key-terms which are highly frequent in
academic texts like achievement, account, characteristic etc. There is a long list of this academic
keywords which I became aware during my academic life. During the lectures, my tutor assisted
me on how to use these keywords and where to use in order to make project effective, My tutor
explained me that these keywords are used in each and every aspect whether it is presentation or
poster. Thus, having a thorough knowledge of keywords, I will be able to finish my assignments
and projects on time and with better efficiency (Burnett, Rickard and Terekhov, 2018).
Reflective learning
Reflective learning is process through which an individual undergoes to reflect upon their
own learning experience. In academic context, this is the way through which a student reflects
that how he or she have reacted upon particular situation. During my lectures, my tutor explained
me the importance of reflective learning and taught me the Driscoll reflective model which is
widely used in reflective learning. The use of Driscoll reflective model has helped me to evaluate
the various problems which I faced during completion of my assignment and projects and thus
stimulated my overall thinking process (Brockbank, McGill and Beech, 2017).
Summary
Based on my personal experience, I have summarized that the various situations as well
as conditions which I have faced during my academic life have helped me to learn lot of things. I
have realized that there are range of skills which I need to have in me in order to not only excel
in my academic life but also to achieve success and name in my professional life. From the list of
skills which I have gone through, I have understood that there are some skills in which I have
good grasp while there are some skills in which I lack behind and needs improvement. Besides
this, several skills are moderate on which I need to concentrate in order to shape my future.
Form the various skills, the most important skill in which I lack behind is presentation skills. I
always face problem in selecting the proper layout and theme of the slide which will look
attractive to the audience. Besides this, also face problem in properly incorporating text along
with images in slides. In order to overcome this problem, my tutor have given me training
sessions where they showed the sample of PPT being prepared by experts and them and along

with this, taught me some essentials of PPT which needs to be considered while making
presentation like font color, font size etc (Gazzawe, 2017).
Besides this, on analysis I found that my research skills are also not highly developed and
the most important problem which I face is choosing the research template. I am not able to
choose the correct research design that will help me to conduct research in sequential manner.
Besides this, I am unaware of how to conduct the research and what steps needs to be on priority.
For this, my tutor has supported and extended their hand by showing the research work done by
various researcher. They provided me different simple topics to gain their deep insight and thus
also gave me various published articles to understand the rationale behind research. One of the
most important skill which is required in academic and professional life is reading skill where I
lack behind. I generally face problem in pronouncing the word. Basically I am not able to
effectively and properly pronounce the new words and text due to which my vocabulary
sometimes gets distorted. For improving this skill, my tutor has provided me the proper guidance
to read different books, magazines, listen songs and repeat their lyrics. Besides this, they have
advised me to practice, practice and practice. The skills I which I have good command are
comparing websites and writing skills. My writing skills are highly developed and shaped (Sarıca
and Usluel, 2016).

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Allison, B and et.al.,2016. Research skills for students. Routledge.
Brockbank, A., McGill, I. and Beech, N., 2017. Reflective learning in practice. In Reflective
learning in practice (pp. 18-28). Routledge.
Burnett, D.G., Rickard, M. and Terekhov, J. eds., 2018. Keywords;: For Further Consideration
and Particularly Relevant to Academic Life, &c. Princeton University Press.
Gazzawe, F., 2017. Comparison of websites and mobile applications for e-learning. In
International Conference On Technology In Education.
Gundogan, B and et.al., 2016. How to make an academic poster. Annals of medicine and
surgery.11. pp.69-71.
McPeck, J.E., 2016. Critical thinking and education. Routledge.
Oczkus, L.D., 2018. Reciprocal teaching at work: Powerful strategies and lessons for improving
reading comprehension. ASCD.
Parikh, N.D., 2016. Effectiveness of teaching through mind mapping technique. The
International Journal of Indian Psychology.3(3). pp.148-156.
Saraswathi, V. and Biswas, G., 2018. Unit-21 Testing Grammar and Usage. IGNOU.
Sarıca, H.Ç. and Usluel, Y.K., 2016. The effect of digital storytelling on visual memory and
writing skills. Computers & Education. 94. pp.298-309.
Sharma, A., 2017. Avoiding plagiarism in academic writing. Journal of Society of
Anesthesiologists of Nepal.4(2). pp.47-48.
Van Emden, J. and Becker, L., 2016. Presentation skills for students. Macmillan International
Higher Education.
Online
Mind mapping. 2020. [Online] Available through: <https://www.mindmapping.com/>
Poster design guide. 2019. [Online] Available through: <https://venngage.com/blog/poster-
design/>
Writing skills. 2019. [Online] Available through: <https://www.skillsyouneed.com/writing-
skills.html>