Introduction Welcome to the College of Science, Health and Engineering (SHE) at La Trobe University. The Schools of Allied Health, Cancer Medicine, Nursing and Midwifery, Psychology and Public Health, Rural Health sit within this College. If this is your first time studying at university you will notice that there are a lot of new things to get used to. This Survival Guide has been written to introduce you to university life and study and to help you to develop the academic skills you will need, not only to survive, but to thrive in your studies! In the following pages, you’ll be introduced to independent learning skills, academic writing style and basic grammar, referencing and paraphrasing, guidelines for the common assessment tasks of essays and oral presentations, and tips for doing exams. What clubs should I join? Where do I go for lunch? How do I use the LMS? Who will I make friends with? How can I contact my lecturer? How do I do my timetable? Where’s the office? How do I manage all my reading? What’s APA referencing?
Use of academic style While you will need to use different styles of writing for different subjects and tasks, there are some characteristics of academic writing which are common to all subject areas. Order points logically This is important at the planning stage of your writing. It is very difficult to make a piece of writing flow well if the ideas are not presented in a logical order. Make sure you have one main unifying idea per paragraph and that the ideas within the paragraph lead logically from one to the next. Also take note of the order of paragraphs so that there is a logical progression from one main idea to the next. Link ideas within and between paragraphs Good flow in a piece of writing can be achieved by making clear links between your ideas and also making it clear how each main idea is related to the topic. Where possible, linking words and expressions should indicate the relationship between ideas. The point in one sentence should also be connected to the following sentence. For example, if you want to show that a second sentence is a result of the first sentence, you could start the second sentence with ‘as a result’. The following table gives a brief list of linking words and expressions. Function Linking word examples Examples in sentences Similarity Similarly, Likewise, In a similar way, A similar study… Similarly, the plasma membrane plays several roles… A similar study of hyperthermia also found a correlation between … Contrast In contrast, Conversely, On the other hand, (less formal) While…, … Although…., … ….; however,… ….However,… In contrast, the blood flows at high velocity ….. While there has been much discussion about the factors that contribute to the development of an eating disorder,……… Although the design of the study was adequate, insufficient planning had gone into the implementation stage. There was an increase in the health adjusted life expectancy of women; however, there was no change in… Cause → Effect X causes Y X leads to Y X results in Y X leads to Y A reaction of this type causes extensive damage to the cells. Acclimatization to cold leads to a higher
Remember nervousness is normal. Thorough preparation and practise decreases anxiety. Organise equipment and visual aids early and ensure power point slides are simple and clear. It may help to bring detailed notes to get you started and as a ‘safety net’ throughout the presentation. Breathe deeply. Develop positive mental thoughts. If fear is extreme see a counsellor! Know the criteria for assessment It is important that you plan your presentation with reference to the criteria for assessment. In general, assessment criteria cover two broad areas: content and delivery. Marking schemes also often include marks for quality of visual aids. Below is a list of the kinds of things that may be assessed: Sample marking criteria sheet for assessing oral presentations Level of competence: 1 = poor, 2= fair, 3= good 4 = excellent 1 2 3 4 Content Student does not have grasp of subject matter; student cannot answer questions about subject. Student is uncomfortable with subject matter and is able to answer only rudimentary questions. Student is at ease with subject matter, but fails to elaborate. Student demonstrates full knowledge (more than required) of subject matter and elaborates on subject. Presentation is difficult to follow because it is not ordered logically. Presentation is difficult to follow because student jumps from subject to subject. Presentation is in logical sequence and able to be followed. Presentation is in logical and interesting sequence. Communication aids (visual or auditory) Student uses superfluous aids or no aids. Student occasionally uses aids that rarely support text and presentation. Students’ aids relate to text and presentation. Students’ aids explain and reinforce screen text and presentation. Writing/editing of visual aids Presentation has four or more spelling errors and/or grammatical errors. Presentation has three misspellings and/or grammatical errors. Presentation has no more than two misspellings and/or grammatical errors. Presentation has no misspellings or grammatical errors. Delivery Student mumbles, incorrectly pronounces terms, and speaks too quietly for students in the back of class to Students’ voice is low. Student incorrectly pronounces terms. Audience members have difficulty hearing Students’ voice is clear. Student pronounces most words correctly. Most audience Student uses a clear voice and correct, precise pronunciation of terms so that all