Academic English and Studying with Confidence BMM 3113 Report

This report presents a comprehensive overview of academic English and essential study skills covered in the BMM 3113 course. It delves into crucial aspects such as plagiarism, in-text citation, and effective paraphrasing techniques. The report provides a detailed explanation of referencing styles, including Harvard and Vancouver, along with common errors to avoid. It also emphasizes the importance of note-taking, literature reviews, and presentation skills. Furthermore, the report explores collaborative learning and communication skills vital for essay and report writing, including how to structure an academic essay within the context of a marketing plan. The report concludes by summarizing the key learning materials and their application in academic writing and presentations, ensuring students can meet academic standards. The provided references support the content.

Academic English and Studying with Confidence
BMM 3113
Assessment 1
Contents
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Introduction:...............................................................................................................................3
Learning portfolio based on work activities and workshops in the course:...............................4
Plagiarism:..............................................................................................................................4
In-text citation:.......................................................................................................................4
Paraphrasing:..........................................................................................................................4
Referencing and types of referencing styles with common errors:........................................4
Note-taking and its importance:.............................................................................................5
Literature review:...................................................................................................................5
Presentation skills:..................................................................................................................5
Collaborating learning skills:.................................................................................................6
Communication skills for essay or report writing:.................................................................6
Structure an academic essay for the scope of the marketing plan:.........................................6
Conclusion:................................................................................................................................7
References:.................................................................................................................................8
Introduction:
This report is focused on the portfolio of learning in the class throughout the course for the
students. The learning portfolio covers all the materials, processes, works, samples for
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accomplishing the course which has an impact on the performance of the students in different
fields. It is also a method of assessment for the students to explain the learning through
proper guidelines (Burns and Sinfield, 2016).
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Learning portfolio based on work activities and workshops in the
course:
The activities and learning throughout the course are explained below as a part of the
assessment for the students:
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism refers to the unauthorized use of someone`s writing or works and continuing to
use it as own. Plagiarism should be avoided because it is illegal and work can be marked
negatively or refused but a certain percentage of plagiarism is also allowed for the students
with proper sourcing and quotation (Burns and Sinfield, 2016).
In-text citation:
The in-text citation is used to address the author with the publication year about the writing.
It directs to identify the referencing lists. It is to use in the body of the report when there
needs a quote, paraphrasing, or even to write based on the idea from other sources.
Paraphrasing:
Paraphrasing is used to write something from other sourcing explaining in own word which
aims at not copy text directly. Although the text is from other sources there needs to use
proper referencing and in-text citation as the main source should be acknowledged (Burns
and Sinfield, 2016).
Referencing and types of referencing styles with common errors:
In the course, the format and types of referencing are also discussed for the students which
are used to mention the source of information of other sources. The referencing can be from
journals, websites, or even from books (Liebenberg, 2007).
Referencing styles: In this course, two common references are explained:
1. Harvard style: It is the most commonly used style for referencing which for citation
including two parts in-text citation and reference lists. The in-text citation is used in
the body of the writing and the reference lists are given at the end (Liebenberg, 2007).
2. Vancouver style: The Vancouver style of referencing is widely used for scientific
journals or reports which includes numbers in the writing according to the numbers
used in the reference list (Liebenberg, 2007).
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Why referencing styles are important: In this course, it has also been said to find three
reasons for the importance of referencing styles. These are:
1. References help the author to protect the writing from unauthorized use and
plagiarism.
2. It is a good way to acknowledge the works which help to rewrite another piece of
work.
3. It ensures honesty when writing reports, research papers, or any other writings (Burns
and Sinfield, 2016).
Common errors in referencing: There are also some common errors in referencing some of
which are:
1. To use inconsistent styles in references
2. Dissimilarities of the in-text citation with the reference list in the writing, and
3. Another mistake is not to maintain the alphabetical order.
Note-taking and its importance:
Note-taking means extracting the main ideas or essence from something. The students need to
take note properly because it helps them to complete tasks and revise or analyze within a little
time and flourish the skills and knowledge. Moreover, to expand the level of understanding
and comprehension and prepare the summary of broad writing about something (Read, 2019).
The techniques of note-taking are outline format, concept mapping or web, and the cornel
method.
Literature review:
The literature review is the relevant research paper or articles which is used to write new
research paper or reports as a part of sources for which proper referencing is needed to
acknowledge the authors of those research papers. The literature review includes the
introduction, main body, and conclusions (Cronin, Ryan, and Coughlan, 2008).
Presentation skills:
In this course, it has also been taught about presentation skills which refer to talk before
audiences to provide a message of something and convince them. The presentation should be
understandable and clear for the audience. Moreover, the contents of the presentation should
be easy and interesting; otherwise, the audience may feel discomfort. The body language of
the presenter should reflect the participating behavior. Gesture, eye contact, movement are
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the important things in a good presentation. Another presentation is the oral presentation
which is considered an effective tool to share ideas with some people or students in the class
(McMillan and Weyers, 2012). To make a good presentation colorful slides, relevant
information, and standard font size have to be used.
Collaborating learning skills:
The collaborated learning helps to assess the works and to compare with other members. It is
the shared participation of the group members for effective contribution in learning which
includes the case study, group projects, class debates and so in. These help to increase the
level of critical thinking and analytical ability (Clifford, 2018).
Communication skills for essay or report writing:
The students are also provided effective techniques to write essays or reports. To write a good
essay the topic and literature review related to the topic should be understood clearly.
Moreover, proper analysis and research are also conducted to write an effective essay. The
parts of the essay should be followed which are the introduction, main body of the essay,
recommendation, conclusion, and proper referencing at the end of the report. The sources of
data should also be analyzed. In writing, properly enough reading of the related topic will
help to increase the quality of the writing (Cain, 2019).
Structure an academic essay for the scope of the marketing plan:
The marketing plan is prepared by the companies to enter into new markets or existing
markets with new products to attract the existing and new customers. To execute an effective
marketing plan the companies properly assess the markets with various techniques and tools.
It has great importance to attain a competitive position in the market. It also helps to attract
and attain customers which enables the companies to generate more revenue and better
profitability retaining a large market share (Cain, 2019). So it can be said that every company
needs to assess the markets or search new markets to identify new opportunities in the
business and face the available challenges.
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Conclusion:
In conclusion, it can be said that this report discusses most of the learning materials of this
course which aims at reflecting those learning to write reports and make presentations
maintaining the standards, rules and, quality (Bailey, 2011).
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References:
Bailey, S. (2011). Academic writing. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.Burns, T. and
Sinfield, S. (2016) Essential study skills: the complete guide to success at university. London:
SAGE
Cain, E. (2019). 9 Simple Ways on How to Improve Your Writing Skills - Elna Cain. [online]
Elna Cain. Available at: https://elnacain.com/blog/writing-tips/ [Accessed 18 Jan. 2020].
Clifford, M. (2018). 20 Collaborative Learning Tips And Strategies For Teachers. [online]
TeachThought. Available at: https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/20-collaborative-
learning-tips-and-strategies/ [Accessed 20 Jan. 2020].
Cronin, P., Ryan, F. and Coughlan, M., (2008). Undertaking a literature review: a step-by-
step approach. British Journal of Nursing, 17(1), pp.38-43.
Liebenberg, S.C.J. 2007. Higher Education Studies Referencing Guide. Centre for Higher
Education Studies and Development, University of the Free State
McMillan, K. and Weyers, A. (2012). The study skills handbook. Harlow: Pearson.
Read, S. (2019). Academic writing skills for international students. London: Red Globe
Press.
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