Study Skills for Higher Education: A Comprehensive Guide

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Study Skill for Higher Education
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Main reasons for studying a degree at a University...................................................................3
Explanation of core academic skills that can be developed and their importance.....................4
Development of a study plan that includes short term and long term goals that will help
in acquiring and developing the skills and knowledge mentioned in........................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
Reference List............................................................................................................................7
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Introduction
Everyone wants to get a good job that gives them a good source of income. For achieving this
goal, people prefer to get enrolled in a good college to receive higher education in order to
gain necessary skills for use in practical scenarios. The purpose of this assignment is to
identify all the main reasons which compel a student to get higher education from a reputed
university. A study plan is also provided for the achievement of long term and short term
goals for a student.
Main reasons for studying a degree at a University
Every student has different reasons for enrolling at a University for studying their desired
degree. However, there are five main reasons which almost every student has for getting
involved with an institute providing higher education courses.
The first and the most obvious reason is for increasing their potential to get a good job in the
future. Education has only one purpose - that is to impart knowledge. The students learn how
to effectively implement their knowledge in the future to earn income in a legal and approved
manner. The market today is highly competitive, therefore only good students with high
qualifications are able to get a suitable job (Becker, 2017).
Many individuals have the wish to gain a healthy amount of knowledge. In order to fulfil
their wishes, these students apply for enrolment in good colleges to gain the required
knowledge in their particular areas of interest. Their motive however might lie in the use of
this knowledge in the future to accomplish their goals. This is the second reason to get higher
education.
Everyone wants to make money to increase the quality of their lifestyle. This wish of earning
money is the third reason to go to Universities. Higher education provides this opportunity to
students. Students can apply the knowledge gained from higher education in their future jobs
to earn money. Jobs are given by expanding business organisations, which look for qualified
personnel. The individuals can also apply their knowledge in self employment jobs like
starting a new business. Civil service jobs also require good qualifications in order to get
them (Hamilton, 2016).
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General education and appreciation of an idea is the fourth reason for getting higher
education. This is so because society believes that formal education allows an individual to
differentiate between what is good and bad about a job. An idea is valued more than formal
education in a society because innovative ideas have the potential to increase the business of
an organisation. Even though practically doing a job allows an individual to differentiate
between what is right or wrong, formal education provides better knowledge and acceptance
into society and business organisations where this education will give birth to innovative
ideas in the minds of the students.
The fifth and final reason is training in vocation. A degree from a University allows a person
to presenting their bio-data and CV to the companies of their choice in order to receive
vocational training. Their applications would be rejected if the person has not received the
required degree and education required for the job (Moschetti and Hudley, 2015).
Explanation of core academic skills that can be developed and their importance
Four core academic skills can be developed through formal education and higher education.
They are explained below.
The first core academic skill that can be developed is technical knowledge. Identifying the
style of formal training of an individual along with the segment of academic writing can help
characterise the necessary technical skills. This is important because individuals need to
apply their technical skills in the practical field of work to complete their tasks (Uccelli et al.,
2015). This will allow them to work more efficiently in order to develop unique products and
services that will be of value to customers.
Communication skills along with time management practices are the second core academic
skills. The division of a project into various segments allows the project to be completed
efficiently on time. This is important because products and services require to be developed
in time so that they can be delivered to customers without delay. Communication skills also
require the activities of paraphrasing and note taking in the areas requiring active presentation
skills and listening skills (Phillips and Uccelli, 2019). Project management skills require the
use of various computer applications like Microsoft Office and many more.
Mathematic skills of arithmetic, geometry, and algebra are considered third skill to be
developed. These skills are necessary to be developed in a practical manner so that problem
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solving skills can be developed easily. This is one of the reasons why Mathematics is
important in the professional field of work and why it is taught at every level of education,
from schools to colleges. Good skills in mathematics would make a candidate more suitable
for getting a Masters degree or a PhD in a chosen subject.
Fourthly, Tenacity and personal productivity development are considered to be core academic
skills (Uccelli et al., 2015). These skills usually develop during a degree course. These skills
are better developed by improving professional and other academic skills. This is more
important in the future of the students when they are doing their jobs, but need to be
developed in their academic life for effective utilisation and understanding. This core skill
will allow a student to develop research material and projects for achievement of their desired
degree along with vocational development.
Development of a study plan that includes short term and long term goals that will help
in acquiring and developing the skills and knowledge mentioned in.
Term Topic Time frame Objectives Focus days
Short Communication
skills
14 days Development of spoken and
non-spoken communication
along with development of all-
round non self presentation
Everyday
Analytical skills 35 days Improving personal analytical
skills in the form of logical
reasoning, mathematical
problem solving and other skills
Monday-
Wednesday
Long Time management
skills
42 days To improve efficient time
management skills with the goal
of reducing idle time that is
accounted as wasted time
Everyday
Analytical and
statistical skills
49 days To use statistical models and
software in conducting an
critical analysis
Wednesday
to Saturday
Tenacity 63 days Improving extensive plans for
conducting a particular
assignment using applications
Everyday
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like MS Project
Personal efficacy
in academics
professionalism
Continued
till the end of
academic
session
Improving efficacy related to
academic writing and
presentation making
Everyday
Development of
technical
knowledge
Continued
till the end of
academic
session
Improving related technical
skills in the event that the chosen
graduation degree is a technical
degree and developing
theoretical knowledge in the
event that the degree is a non
technical degree
All the days
Table: Study Plan for achieving short and long term goals
(Source: Created by the learner)
Conclusion
After identifying all the reasons for studying in college to receive higher education, it can be
concluded that earning income from respectable and ethical jobs is the main goal of receiving
higher education. Core academic skills are also necessary to be developed in order to increase
an individual’s knowledge and problem solving capacity.
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Reference List
Becker, H.S., 2017. Making the grade: The academic side of college life. Routledge.
Hamilton, L.T., 2016. Parenting to a degree: How family matters for college women's
success. University of Chicago Press.
Moschetti, R.V. and Hudley, C., 2015. Social capital and academic motivation among first-
generation community college students. Community College Journal of Research and
Practice, 39(3), pp.235-251.
Phillips Galloway, E. and Uccelli, P., 2019. Beyond Reading Comprehension: Exploring the
Additional Contribution of Core Academic Language Skills to Early Adolescents' Written
Summaries. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 32(3), pp.729-759.
Uccelli, P., Barr, C.D., Dobbs, C.L., Galloway, E.P., Meneses, A. and Sanchez, E., 2015.
Core academic language skills: An expanded operational construct and a novel instrument to
chart school-relevant language proficiency in preadolescent and adolescent learners. Applied
Psycholinguistics, 36(5), pp.1077-1109.
Uccelli, P., Galloway, E.P., Kim, H.Y. and Barr, C.D., 2015. Core Academic Language
Skills: Moving beyond Vocabulary Knowledge to Predict Reading Comprehension. Society
for Research on Educational Effectiveness.
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