Learning Skills
Suggested Responses: Tutorial Activities
Activity 1
Did your analysis look something like this?
Topic: Skills for success in tertiary study
Focus: Skills needed to be successful
Task: Discuss
Limitations: 1500 words. Note you are not restricted to time and place.
Activity 3
Did your questions look something like this?
What does success mean?
'Must possess' implies that students arrive with a set of prerequisite skills. Is this true?
Does success mean the same to all students?
Do all courses require the same set of skills?
Do today's students need the same skills as yesterday's students?
Do students need a range of skills?
Are all skills equally important?
Activity 4
Did you get something like this?
Activity 5
Did your thesis statement look something like any of the below?
- Students need a range of skills to succeed at tertiary study.
- To succeed at tertiary study students do not need a range of skills but one key skill.
- To succeed at tertiary study students first year students need different skills to those required by later year students.
- The skills needed to succeed at tertiary study vary from individual to individual.
- The skills needed to succeed at tertiary study vary from course to course.
- Students do not have to possess a range of skills but need to be able to develop their skills in order to succeed at tertiary study.
Activity 6
Activity 7
- In my opinion - is not necessary, your essay is your opinion (based on your research).
Also you need to avoid the use of first person I, me, my, us, we. - Smith - needs an apostrophe befor the 's' (Smith's)
- was spot on - avoid colloquial expressions
- There is no reference.
This sentence would be better expressed in the following way:
Smith's (2003, p.20) analysis was accurate.
Activity 8
d c c a b a
Activity 9
1. What is wrong with the reference to Toms in this exercise?
The date and page number are not given.
2. Is the reference to Toms’ material a direct quotation or a paraphrase?
A direct quotation
3. Is the second reference a direct quotation or a paraphrase?
A paraphrase
4. Should the reference to Smart’s work have a page number?
In this case inclusion of the page number is not required, but is encouraged.
5. Who made the statement in the third reference?
Black
6. Where will the reader find the words that are quoted from Black?
In Red’s publication of 2000.
7. Would Black or Red be noted in your list of references?
Red
8. What does n.d. mean in the reference to White’s work?
No date is available
9. What does Jones et al. mean? When would you use et al.?
This is short for the Latin et alii, “And others”. Use this expression when you have three or more authors. (Remember to put the stop after “al.”, because it is an abbreviation.)
Activity 10
- Jones (1999, p. 6) states that "success at tertiary study is influenced by many factors."
or
"Success at tertiary study is influenced by many factors" (Jones, 1999, p. 6). - Jones (1999, p. 6) believes that success at tertiary level cannot be attributed to one single factor.
or
Success at tertiary level cannot be attributed to one single factor (Jones, 1999, p. 6). - Jones, J. (1999). Skills for success. Sydney: Tryhard Press.