Personal Development Report: Academic and Research Skills Development

This report presents a personal development plan focused on enhancing academic and research skills. It begins with an introduction highlighting the importance of these skills for achieving goals. The main body comprises several tasks, including a self-assessment of strengths (communication, time management, problem-solving, summarizing) and weaknesses (note-taking, research skills, paraphrasing), followed by the setting of SMART objectives for improvement. The report delves into note-taking skills, providing examples and strategies for improvement, and discusses paraphrasing and summarizing skills. A detailed table outlines short-term and long-term targets, progress tracking, and required actions. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of continuous improvement and self-reflection. The student utilized both primary and secondary information to complete the report, including questionnaires and online resources.

Academic and Research
Skills

Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Main Body.......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................3
a) Strengths and weaknesses..................................................................................................3
b) Setting targets for self-improvement..................................................................................4
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................5
Task 3...............................................................................................................................................6
Task 5...............................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10

Introduction
Academic and Research Skills are said to be some of the crucial elements for an individual
that helps in attain desired goals and to gain success (Quinlan and et. al., 2019). Specifically,
these skills empower individuals to recognize an issue, gather educational assets that can help
address the issue, assess these assets for quality and importance and concoct a compelling
answer for the issue. Present reflective report is based on requirements of personal development
and will effectively be delivering information in relation to different aspects like setting different
targets for self-improvement, note taking, SMART Objectives and so on.
Main Body
Task 1
a) Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths: If it is talked about my own strengths then I am pretty much strong enough in
some of the crucial skills and these are present underneath:
 Communication skills: This is considered to be one of the crucial scale of my own that
has helped me in in communicating my lecturers, my colleagues while developing this
project and to conduct some other projects as well. Basically, I can see that I am pretty
much effective in communicating with others and easily influence or perform a number
of tasks through discussing the issues that I have gone through.
 Time Management Skill: Another strong skill which help me in conducting projects
rightful manner and in correct time. Basically, I take into consideration of different time
management tools like Gantt chart that has me in conducting every single activity and
distributing them along small sections so that I may become able to conduct all the task in
right time (Van Blankenstein and et. al., 2019).
 Problem solving skill: This is also considered to be a strong skill of my own that help me
in performing different activities without taking any help of my seniors, lecturers and
even my colleagues. I considered two or three alternative answers for a particular task
and perform them correctly in order to bring the possible and beneficial outcome for a
particular issue.
 Summarising skill: There are many times that came in front where I can consider some of
the crucial ones where I have to to read different dissertations, research projects which

has already been done by scholars, researchers and many more other individuals.
Effectively summarise those long documents in a short period of time considering the
appropriate outcome that they have already made among different investigations.
Weaknesses:
 Note taking skill: At the time of oral discussions with my lecturers, at the time of taking
class and some of the other crucial times where I have to take notes is considered to be a
problem for me as I face issues at the time of note making because I don't get the correct
points like what is required to be e noted and what is not.
 Research skills: Another crucial problem which is research skill where I specifically face
number of problems. I have found that I am not that much effective in research skills and
somehow go through a number of problems like reaching to different alternatives on a
particular topic and I also get confused which specifically requires time and this is where
I lack.
 Paraphrasing: This is another problem that came in front which I face regularly there are
many times where I have to rephrase many things in order to reduce the blood plagiarism
from the projects. It is required by me to focus on this scale as well in order to get success
and to develop personal and professional scenario for my own.
b) Setting targets for self-improvement
While looking at above mentioned strengths and weaknesses of my own there are some of
crucial targets that I have set for my own self improvement which will help me in reaching to the
success to the desired position in near future while working in a company or setting my own
business (Ubozhenko and Zhang, 2019). Some of these objectives considering the smart criteria
is mentioned underneath:
 To enhance my note making skills by 20% within 30 days in order to become successful
while taking classes in the university.
 To enhance my research skills by 30% within 2 months so that I can perform research
related projects in rightful manner.
 To improvise my paraphrasing skill by 15% within 20 days considering the practice
approach.

Task 2
Note making skill
This is considered to be one of the crucial skill that has helped me in reaching to the possible
outcomes and you learn the courses for the different task that I have done in the past. also, note
making skill has been pretty much helpful for me in gaining different range of advantages while
learning courses. This could be understood with a good example where my lecturer has started
giving the information about this overall project that we will be performing and I have come up
with a number of notes which were really very important and helping me in conducting this
project. this is where I have taken into consideration of all the points that have covered while
taking notes with the help of active listening skills which is pretty much effective in me and help
me out in reaching to appropriate outcomes of the different results that I can be easily come up
with after conducting this reflective project and also at the time of conducting marketing project
for the course that I am doing (Cottrell, 2019).
Away with this, another example that I can consider over here is of reading the course books
from which I have taken notes about range of key points that were pretty much important and
helped me in in enhancing my overall knowledge and help me out in in giving exams as I was
pretty much sure about all the detailed information about the notes that I took while studying the
book (Javed, 2019).
On the other hand, if it is talk about paraphrase skill then I am not that much effective in that
but continuous practicing on it by writing different answers of a particular question through
reading the first one has help me out in in becoming master while learning. Basically, this has
helped me in in reaching to the success of different projects. Another example that can be given
over here is of my own study that I have done my project with the help of a book and different
online resources where I got the information but due to plagiarism which is not allowed in the
university I first learnt about the material and then I started paraphrasing it, which I can say that
it was pretty much effective for me while doing it.
Summarised information related skill is one of the strongest point or strength my own as I
am effective in it. This could be understood with another good example where I was reading the
block which was given by a scholar and I summarised it with an appropriate outcome. This has
helped me in learning in much effective and efficient manner because at the time when I am
finished with it there was no requirement of me to read the whole blog again as it was pretty

much long enough. This is where I considered my own summarised version of the overall blog
which has helped me in enhancing my overall knowledge in relation to the subject which was
raised by the scholar in the blog (McClelland and Cameron, 2019).
Task 3
My personal
development
targets?
Short
or long
term
target?
How will I
achieve my
targets? What
activities do I
need to
undertake to
achieve my
objectives? What
support do I
need?
Date of
review
Progress made
towards target
Further action
required
Actual
date of
achieving
target
•To upgrade
my note
making
aptitudes by
20% inside
30 days so as
to become
effective
while taking
classes in the
college.
•To upgrade
Long
Long
Immediately, I
can see that it
will be required
by me to keep
on making
notes and also I
can take help
of my own
colleagues and
my tutor who
will help me
out enriching to
the outcomes in
much effective
and in efficient
manner.
It will be
After
30
days
After 2
I have
become able
to perform
note making
in rightful
manner.
I became
Continuous
improvement
can be done by
me through
focusing on
different
aspects.
It will be
After 45
days
After

my research
aptitudes by
30% inside 2
months so I
can perform
investigate
related
ventures in
legitimate
way.
necessarily
required by me
to keep on
researching on
different
materials that
has been given
by my tutor at
the time of
conducting
different
projects as then
only my
research
aptitude can
effectively be
upgraded or
improvised in
much effective
and in efficient
manner. It will
be also needed
buy me to look
among
different
aspects like
how my
colleagues are
performing
investigation
on different
months able to
allowed
appropriate
outcomes
right on time
with the help
of research
skill.
required by me
to take help of
lecturers as
they can
provide me
right
information
about how I
should search
for a particular
topic on which
I am
investigating.
2.5
months

•To
extemporize
my
summarizing
aptitude by
15% inside
20 days
considering
the training
approach.
Short
projects on
which they are
performing.
Summarising
aptitude is
pretty much
effective for
me and this can
easily be
improvised
through
reading
different
novels, blogs,
research paper,
dissertations,
and many more
other material
that will help
me in
summarising
them in much
effective and
efficient
manner.
After
20
days
I started
summarising
the full blog
and further
shorter
period of
time that I
used to take
previously.
It will be
required by me
to talk with my
colleagues and
take
information
from them that
how they
conduct
investigation
about the
overall blog or
any other
readings that
they have done
considering
different books
and online
resources while
summarising
them (Brennan
and et. al.,
2019).
After 20
days
While conducting the above plan, I will utilise both primary and secondary information
there I have given the questionnaire which is the primary tool of primary investigation where the
respondents were researches, teachers and colleagues that has given answers to the questions

after signing the consent form for the ethical consideration of the overall investigation. On the
other hand, secondary information has been brought from different online sources and many
books as well and it was taken into consideration because it is less time taking than any other
data collection method which is primary.
Task 5
After analysing the above mentioned information, I can easily say that I have strengthen the
weak points that I was having at the time when I started this project. Also, it has given me
confidence that I can improve the different skills in which I am we can and also I can pull myself
out as a stronger person why learning about different aspects. On the other side, I have also
analysed that it will be required by me too who developed continuous improvement plan in order
to bring much more effective modifications in order to get the maximum success in near future
or while working on different projects in both personal and professional life. I also assume that it
will help me in in reaching to the desired success position in the near future (Brennan and et. al.,
2019).
Conclusion
With the help of above mentioned report, it can easily be said that it is pretty much required
by an individual to conduct personal development plan and to prepare different smart objectives
in order to improve the overall learning and to enhance the different existing skills in which a
person is weak enough. Considering the note taking skill an individual could effectively reach to
the success if it is done in an appropriate manner. On other hand, considering the summarising
related skill can easily be said that an individual would not required to look among key points of
a long blog or any other book as the summarised version of it would directly help the person in
getting the appropriate knowledge in a much more shorter period of time.

References
Books and journals
Quinlan, C., Babin, B., Carr, J. and Griffin, M., 2019. Business research methods. South
Western Cengage.
Van Blankenstein, F.M., Saab, N., Van der Rijst, R.M., Danel, M.S., Bakker-van den Berg, A.S.
and Van den Broek, P.W., 2019. How do self-efficacy beliefs for academic writing and
collaboration and intrinsic motivation for academic writing and research develop
during an undergraduate research project?. Educational Studies, 45(2), pp.209-225.
Ubozhenko, I. and Zhang, Z., 2019. MULTIMODALITY IN TEACHING ACADEMIC
RESEARCH SKILLS: THE COGNITIVE CREATIVE METHODOLOGY CASE OF
CRITICAL ASSESSMENT COMPETENCE SHAPING. Journal of Teaching English
for Specific and Academic Purposes, pp.493-503.
Cottrell, S., 2019. The study skills handbook. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Javed, Z., 2019. Effect of Supervisory Practices on Attitude, Academic Satisfaction and Research
Skills of the Students (Doctoral dissertation, Government College University,
Faisalabad).
McClelland, M.M. and Cameron, C.E., 2019. Developing together: the role of executive function
and motor skills in children’s early academic lives. Early Childhood Research
Quarterly, 46, pp.142-151.
Brennan, L., Cusack, T., Delahunt, E., Kuznesof, S. and Donnelly, S., 2019. Academics’
conceptualisations of the research-teaching nexus in a research-intensive Irish
university: A dynamic framework for growth & development. Learning and
Instruction, 60, pp.301-309.