Academic Skills Analysis and Critical Assessment - Personal Statement Example

Academic Skills Analysis and Critical Assessment The first part of this essay explains and examines the important academic skills needed to help achieve my purpose for being in the University. The second part is a critical assessment of my skills set and summarises my personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats with the objective of crafting a personal plan to develop the skills and attitudes needed to achieve my goals. The eight academic skills I need to develop as a business economics university student are listed in the Quantitative and Academic Skills Module (Handbook, 2007, p.7): (1) How to get reliable and useful data (2) Gaining new insights from raw data and observations (3) Critical analysis (4) Scientific reasoning (5) Logic and mental discipline (6) Sharing what I know (7) Working with and getting things done through others, and (8) Using time well so I can balance what I want with what I can do. These eight basic academic skills are tools I need to attain the higher level goals that are the purpose for my being in the university. These skills in turn help develop seven ‘transferable’ skills (Handbook, 2007, p.5) that are useful for me not only in my studies but in my life: (1) Oral and written communication (2) Ability to improve my learning and performance (3) Analysing problems and coming up with solutions (4) Working with and getting things done through others (5) Maths, statistics, and data analysis, and (6) Using computers, electronic databases, and statistical analysis software. My goal to be a good professional starts by being a good student, and mastering these skills would help me be more independent and responsible, two qualities I need in my studies and in my personal and work life. Independence means learning as much as I could on my own or with the help of others like the tutors who want to help students like me. Responsibility means knowing what I have to do, when, and according to high standards I set for myself. It also means taking charge of what I do with the resources I could legitimately and ethically use to get things done and accepting mistakes when I commit them. As I develop independence and responsibility and master the academic skills, I would hopefully develop the three graduate attributes the university wants for me (Handbook, 2007, p. 2): (1) Self awareness (2) Performance, and (3) Creativity and Ethical behaviour. Self-awareness means knowing my self better and accepting my self, knowing my strong points so I learn to use them and my weak points so I can overcome them. If I achieve this, I can be more confident, learn to respect and manage myself in my studies, and develop self-esteem, because knowing who I am is important if I want to express myself and understand others better. Performance means knowing my profession well so I can succeed, and includes having a broad and open mind, ready to learn from personal experience and learning from others who know more like professors and tutors. I have many things to learn, and I have to work with others and depend on them to get things done. Creativity means coming up with new solutions to problems, and contributing to what others know. Learning how others learn, I could develop new ways of understanding and solving problems. I can also teach others new things or how to solve problems in different ways. Ethical behaviour means knowing the ethical (right or wrong) and moral (good or bad) ways of thinking and acting. Ethical and moral rules will guide me if I learn to follow them. I see these rules not as boundaries to limit what I can do, but as roads to guide me through the challenges in life. Being sensitive to cultural differences amongst people means respecting others and what they believe. This means correcting people around me who may not be following these ethical and moral codes. One ethical rule is the policy on plagiarism which means “stealing…other people’s work and ideas and passing them off as (my) own” (Handbook, 2007, p. 6). I can use or paraphrase other people’s ideas, but I should acknowledge it following established academic rules of honesty and integrity. I am in the university to prepare myself for work and life. Developing these academic skills and attributes are important steps I have to take if I want to succeed. Knowing where I want to go, I need to know where I am right now so I can plan my path towards the future. As a business economics student, I need to gain high levels of knowledge and proficiency in accounting, macroeconomics, and international business. My studies require quantitative skills like basic and advanced mathematics, modelling techniques, and statistics (Handbook, 2007, p. 10-13). Since my studies and future work require data analysis, presenting the data, and working with others, improving my academic skills would be important. I need to improve myself in doing research, analysing and presenting information, and communication. I think I am good at teamwork, working with others, managing my time, and in the use of information technology. My main problem is to know which information I need and learning to choose the right information. There is too much information, in libraries, the Internet, and in the media, so I need to learn how to assess the reliability of my sources such as journals, databases, articles, and surveys. I need to develop my ability to analyse information critically, because what may look like facts are not really true. I know my tutors will guide me on this. I need more practice in presenting and communicating information visually and orally in English, since English is only my second language, but I hope to practice more as I go along. As I did in preparing this essay, I needed help from fellow students who speak English better so they could help me express myself better. I still have a long way to go, but I know I can succeed in improving my skills in oral and written English communication. I need to spend more time reading good materials and data sources in English, understanding how the experts in the field analyse information and present it, and being involved in discussions in and out of the classroom. I need to make cultural adjustments so I can express myself better, like most Europeans who love to share their ideas, have an opinion on anything, and express themselves well. In my culture, we were trained to obey and believe those in authority, and to ask few questions in public. Here, I notice that people say what is in their minds, and I want to learn how to do this. Professors and tutors are open to questions and criticisms. Making adjustments is difficult, but with the help of others I can learn fast. Lastly, one threat I see is losing the balance between my academic studies and my social life. My studies are my top priority right now, but if I do not continue building up my personal discipline because of poor self-management or I allow myself to be influenced by others, my path to success is in danger. I hope my professors and tutors correct me when they see I am not going along the right path. Developing all these skills and qualities is hard work, but I know there are people in the university who will help when I need it. But knowing and doing are two different things, and my great challenge is to be able to do what I know I must do. I have high goals in the future, and if I want to succeed, my foundation in the basic academic and mathematical skills must be strong. I chose this university because I want to get the quality education to prepare me for life. If I do my best, I will get what I want. Reference List Elven, C. & Tootoonchian, S. (2007). EC1H13CN: Quantitative and Academic Skills Handbook. Autumn 2007. Read More