Study Skills for Higher Education: 10 Key Skills and Their Importance

This article discusses the 10 key skills taught in higher education and how they help students succeed in their university career. The skills include note taking, reading, listening, referencing, academic writing, CV preparation, interview, critical thinking, learning style, and introduction skills. The article explains the importance of each skill and how it can be developed.

Skills for Higher Education

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Identify 10 key skills which are commonly taught in this course and discuss why they will help
students succeed in their university career.......................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Study skills for higher education mainly include the skills which are beyond from acquiring
basic understanding and knowledge. The few higher education skills are problem solving, critical
thinking, communication, leadership, listening skills, reading skills, interview skills and many
others. In the field of business, there are various skills which help in improving the knowledge
and give an opportunity to individual to get succeed in their life. The development of skills helps
students to find new ways of problem solving and thinking (Hill, Overton and Thompson, 2020).
It also builds the confidence level of individual due to which individual can compete in the
business environment. The project is based on study skills for higher education that includes
different skills which are taught in business course are determined including its importance
among students to get succeed in university career.
Identify 10 key skills which are commonly taught in this course and discuss
why they will help students succeed in their university career
In university students can avail the opportunity to learn new skills and improve their
knowledge which helps in getting better career opportunities in future. The main role of
university is to enhance the skills of students by helping them to learn through strength and using
learning beyond the classroom. In order to improve the skills, students can join a club, participate
in extracurricular activities, seek for a leadership role in activity and improve their ability to
work in higher pressure. The ten skills which are taught in business course and how they help in
succeeding in university career are determined below:
Note taking skills is one of the skills which are taught to students in their academic session.
For students it is important to improve their note taking skills in order to keep their body active
and avoid feeling of distraction. The note taking skills helps in engaging the mind of student and
also enables them to listen carefully by deciding what must be included in their notes (Cathro,
O’Kane and Gilbertson, 2017). Note taking skills helps individual to get succeed in their
university career by paying attention and learning new things by actively engaging in the topic
and summarizing what they hear.
When student work in corporate sector, note taking skills helps them to organize the work in
effective manner and understand the concept with deeper way. The few techniques which must
be implemented by students while learning about the note taking skills are they must focus on

writing phrases rather than focusing on full sentence, the notes should be made in own words, it
must be structured with headings, subheadings and numbered lists and students can also
underline or circle the important information. By note taking skills, an individual can keep track
of literacy materials and keep information that is important to the topic.
Reading skills is another skill which is taught by university in order to enhance the
vocabulary and communication skills of students. The reading skill is important for student as it
helps in improving their memory, focus, empathy and communication skills. Through reading
skills, an individual can reduce their stress, improve mental health and live longer. Reading skills
allows students to learn something new which helps in succeeding in work, career and
relationship.
It helps student to get succeeded in university career by developing higher level of
concentration and focus. An individual who read independently have greater verbal fluency,
general knowledge and reading comprehension (Mahmoudi and Bugra, 2020). They also become
good reader and achieve high scores in all subjects.
Listening skills is other skill that are taught by educators in university so that student can
make sense and understand what another person is saying. The listening skills helps individual to
be more productive and better understands the things. In the field of business, it is important for
individuals to listen carefully and respond appropriately. Through having good listening skills,
student can pay attention to the thoughts, behaviors and feelings of other people. It also helps in
maintaining productive relationship and establishes effective communication (Bowen and
Fincher, 2018). Listening skills helps individual to get succeed in their university career as it
helps in promoting mindful thinking and reduce depression due to which student can focus on
their studying and give their best efforts in achieving higher result.
Good listening skills improve the career of individual by opening the opportunity to
collaborate with others and accomplish the work quickly. It also helps in influencing the
academic skills by developing vocabulary skills, comprehension abilities and oral language of
students. In order to develop the effective listening skills, it is important to face the speaker and
maintain eye contact, be attentive, keep an open mind and listen to the words by framing what
speaker is saying.
In-text citation and referencing is also a skill which are taught by teachers in order to
improve the knowledge and skills of student. In text-citation, student acknowledges the source of

a specific part of text in assignment. In referencing, the entire list of sources is referred and the
argument of author is provided at the end of article. Citing the sources helps in giving proper
credit to authors of words that are incorporated into their paper. In-text citation and referencing
skills allows students to locate their sources and learn more about the ideas that are included in
their paper.
Through improving the skills of referencing, student can avoid plagiarism and identify
which ideas are their own and which are someone else’s. By having knowledge of In-text citation
skills, students can show from where they get the information and add credibility to their paper.
It also helps students to protect their content from plagiarism (Connor and et. al., 2017). In-text
citation and referencing helps students to get succeed in their university career by acknowledging
the contribution of others writers and researchers in their work.
Academic writing is also a skill which is taught to student in their university career by
focusing on the issue or topic rather than the opinions of authors. It is one of the tool of
communication that helps in conveying the acquired knowledge in particular field of study.
Academic writing helps students to convey understanding, analyze, think critically and focus on
the style. Through having effective academic writing skills, student can convey their
understanding by giving them chance to express what they have learned using right style and
terminology in order to make the information easy to understand. By engaging in academic
writing, an individual can become critical thinker and also communicate with audience by
making some sense.
Academic writing helps student to enhance their professionalism by making them feel good
while writing the papers in the best possible manner. If an individual practice academic writing
on regular basis it helps them to become more creative in their studies and builds their
knowledge (Adachi, Tai and Dawson, 2018). The main purpose of academic writing is to inform,
explain, narrate and persuade. The academic writing helps students to get succeed in their
university career by allowing them to think in analytical way which also help them in corporate
world. It mainly includes collecting and analyzing the information than communicating it in
effective manner that makes sense to readers.
CV preparation is another skill which is taught by educators in university so that students
can show a prospective employer the best of what they have got. It is a document which
summarizes the education, work history and skills of individual (Raihan and Uddin, 2018). The

main purpose of CV is to showcase the academic and professional skills of students which attract
employers. It helps to focus more on student’s skills and experiences.
For an individual, CV is important when they apply for any academics, research position,
international or corporate sector. By having knowledge of CV preparation, students get apart
from others and also it shows how responsible they are towards their career. CV preparation
helps students o get succeed in their university career by giving them an opportunity to get their
dream job and build their career.
Interview skills are a skill which is taught by teachers in university so that student can
listen, think and react appropriately to what others are saying. It is important for an individual as
it brings ability to connect the requirement with their experience (Mah, 2016). Through having
interview skills, an individual can be more effective throughout the interview process for vacant
job position. If an individual learn interview skills it helps them to reduce stress and anxiety
about interviewing and also boost their confidence level.
Interview skills help in providing student with constructive feedback in low stress
environment. It helps students to get succeed in university career by providing them with
experience and confidence so that they can take step in obtaining post graduate employment.
Critical thinking skill is one of the effective skills which are learned by student in their
university. If students have critical thinking skills, they can think out of box and represent their
ideas in creative and innovative manner. It is important for educators to teach critical thinking
skills as it helps in making good decision, solving problems and understanding the consequences
of actions. Through critical thinking skills, students can better understand themselves, their goals
and motivations.
If student have critical thinking skills, they can understand the links between ideas and also
determine the importance and relevance of arguments and ideas. It also helps in identifying the
inconsistencies and errors in reasoning and focus on approaching the problem in consistent and
systematic manner (Brinkley-Etzkorn, 2018). Critical thinking skills help student to get succeed
in their university career by enabling students to not only outline their papers with logical
structure but also give reason and present their thoughts in persuasive and organized manner.
Understanding of learning style is also a concept which is taught by educators in
university. It is important for student to understand the learning styles as it helps in
understanding their weakness and strength. If student understand the learning style it increases

their self respect and confidence due to which they can achieve professional and personal
objectives. The learning style helps in increasing the self confidence among students and also
teaches them how to use their brain at best level (Zhou, 2017). It also enables individual to enjoy
any learning process and inspires greater curiosity and motivation for lifelong learning.
Through understanding the learning style, student get new and knowledge based perspective
and also handle the wide range of challenges. It also helps students to get succeed in their
university career by allowing them to learn in their preferred way and observe every step while
interacting with others. The learning style also gives individual customized techniques to score
better and learn through their own strategies.
How to write an introduction is also a skill which is improved by university so that stunt
can grab the attention of readers and represent their thoughts and opinions while introducing
something. In order to write the good introduction it is important to keep first sentence short and
don’t repeat the title (White and et. al., 2016). Student must focus on keeping the introduction
brief so that readers can understand the perspective of writer.
The introduction mainly includes few responsibilities such as getting the audience attention,
explaining its relevance to the audience, outlining the main points, introducing the topic and
stating the purpose. Writing an effective introduction helps student to get succeed in their
university career by establishing credibility among their audience and creating first impression.
CONCLUSION
It is being concluded from the above information that university prepare students for
different skills so that they can cope up and deal with the competitive environment in future.
Through improving the skills and knowledge of student, they can achieve the greater intellectual
development by gaining the deeper knowledge of problem solving capacities, discipline, critical
thinking and also improve their personal and social growth. It also helps student to improve their
ability to do something better and well in order to avail better career opportunities. Skill
development help student to be empower and become successful in their chosen field.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Adachi, C., Tai, J. H .M. and Dawson, P., 2018. Academics’ perceptions of the benefits and
challenges of self and peer assessment in higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in
Higher Education. 43(2). pp.294-306.
Bowen, H .R. and Fincher, C., 2018. Goals: The intended outcomes of higher education.
In Investment in learning (pp. 31-60). Routledge.
Brinkley-Etzkorn, K. E., 2018. Learning to teach online: Measuring the influence of faculty
development training on teaching effectiveness through a TPACK lens. The Internet and
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Cathro, V., O’Kane, P. and Gilbertson, D., 2017. Assessing reflection: Understanding skill
development through reflective learning journals. Education+ Training.
Connor, A and et. al., 2017. Problem solving at the edge of disciplines. In Handbook of research
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Hill, M. A., Overton, T .L. and Thompson, C. D., 2020. Evaluating the impact of reflecting on
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Mah, D. K., 2016. Learning analytics and digital badges: Potential impact on student retention in
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Mahmoudi, F. and Bugra, C., 2020. The Effects of Using Rubrics and Face to Face Feedback in
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Raihan, S. and Uddin, M., 2018. How Do Education and Skill Development Affect the
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Zhou, C., 2017. Fostering creative problem solvers in higher education: a response to complexity
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