Study Skills for Higher Education: A Comprehensive Guide

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STUDY SKILLS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Discussion........................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
Reference list...................................................................................................................................8
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Introduction
Having a degree in the university is important for increasing the depth of education and well as
learning the required study courses for meeting the career goals. This study will discuss about the
reasons for studying at the university as well as the core academic skills that are required to be
developed for enhancing the professional career of the students. Moreover, a study plan will be
developed where both short term as well as long-term goals will be provided in order to develop
the academic skills. The main aim of the study is to focus on the learning styles, academic
writing, paraphrasing and note taking techniques in order to strengthen the academic skills.
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Discussion
Studying in university enables the learner to gain effective knowledge that is important for the
growth of their professional career. Hence, the learners need to know the reason of acquiring
education in university before taking admission (Lykken et al., 1966). However, according to the
case, it has been found that the students that came to persuade their career in Michigan State
University are confused with the academic demands. On the other hand, the students of Kansas
University are having little idea about the class scheduling and the educational options that are
available to them. Hence, it can be said that the students are not having the main requirements or
reasons for seeking degree in the university. The student requires understanding the importance
of degree for fulfilling the academic goals.
As mentioned by Holdaway and Kelloway (1987), the main reasons of seeking degree need to be
prominent so that students can prepare themselves for their future path. The following reasons
are required in this context. The main reasons for studying in university are to acquire vocational
training, oral and writing skills (Stanfield et al., 1965). Graduates are having opportunities for
enjoying high quality jobs that the one with non-graduation. Gaining degree in university helps
the students in setting positive life goals. Degree at university helps in gaining higher education
qualification and increases the earning potentiality. A degree helps in improving the
communication skills, teamwork skills, and problem solving skills that are a part of employment
skills.
Core academic skills are necessary for dealing with the shortcomings related to educational
barriers such as developing academic content, assignments, thesis and others that needs to be
prepared in university (DiRenzo, 1965). Based on the scenario, it is found that students of the
universities needs to adopt academic skills such as paraphrasing, learning styles, academic
writing, note-taking and others. These skills are explained below in a detail manner:
Learning styles: Developing learning style is the most important academic skill that helps in
enhancing the learning skills. This is important for increasing the learning capacity of the
learners in the university (Feldman and Newcomb, 1969). A learning style is a core approach
that helps in analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the learner, based on which the teacher is
able to develop the lesson plans. Learning styles such as visual, auditory, and kinesthetic need to
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be developed because they help the learner to gain knowledge about their learning materials.
Furthermore, this would help them in demonstrating better performance in their internal and
external assessments.
Paraphrasing is another important academic skill that is needed for developing a strong base in
education. Paraphrasing is the skill that is used for expressing self-idea, words and arguments in
a unique way. Additionally, this is a typical linguistic skill that helps in converting any learning
material in a simpler manner. This skill would help the students of Kansas and Michigan State
universities in understanding their learning courses effectively. Furthermore, this skill is helpful
for presenting the learning contents in a similar way without any plagiarism that is a vital crime
in academics.
Academic writing is required in higher education in taking ides from other writer and forming
an informed concept on that content (Stanfield et al., 1965). This writing skill helps the students
in gathering idea about the study materials and holds its importance on their individual career
goal. Hence, this academic skill can be practiced in US Colleges, as it will help in enhancing the
writing skills for presenting them in an innovative manner.
Note taking is important and can be developed for forming academic skill, as it would help in
the students in noting the important concepts and ideas that are given by the professors during
lecture sessions in the university.
The objective of the study plan is to develop different learning styles and academic writing for
understanding learning materials. The second objective of the plan is to learn the paraphrasing
skills for enhancing the writing ability. The third objective of the plan is to practice note-taking
for up-grading the performance level of students
Main resources are Effective oral and written skills, strong qualification of teacher, classroom,
dedicated students, funds and class notes and estimated time for this will be 6 months. The
objectives would be achieved by listening to the instructions and following the guidance
provided by the professors. The short term goal of the study plan is to increase the performance
level in academics for that they can achieve good marks in their assessments. The long term
goal of the study plan is to develop the knowledge of the students so that they get huge job
opportunities for excelling their professional career.
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Conclusion
From the entire study, it can be said that student acquiring degree in different universities of US
required adopting skills like paraphrasing, academic writing, learning styles and others in order
to excel in their professional and individual life. It has been found that understanding the reason
for seeking education can help the students in gaining motivation to attend the classes and
lectures. The study plan that is provided for the students can help them to increase their core
academic skills that is important for make more money, get better job and get good marks in the
assessments.
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Reference list
DiRenzo, G.J., 1965. Student imagery at Fairfield University, 1963-64. Unpublished manuscript.
Social Psychology Laboratory, Department of Sociology, Fairfield University.
Feldman, K.A. and Newcomb, T.M., 1969. The impact of college on students. Transaction
Publishers.
Holdaway, E.A. and Kelloway, K.R. (1987). First Year at University: Perceptions and
Experiences of Students. Canadian Journal of higher education, 17(1), pp.47-63.
Lykken, D.T., Rose, R., Luther, B. and Maley, M., 1966. Correcting psychophysiological
measures for individual differences in range. Psychological Bulletin, 66(6), p.481.
Stanfield, J.P., Hutt, M.S.R. and TUNNICUFFE, R., 1965. Intestinal biopsy in
kwashiorkor. Lancet, pp.519-23.
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