Action Plan - Personal Statement Example

The first thing scholars need to know how to do is an effective library and/or internet search. Before a search can be started the student needs to choose keywords which will narrow down the search criteria. For example, if a student is considering doing a paper on the Civil War and reconstruction then those would be your keywords. However, if you are given a broad subject area then you will need to narrow down your search. For example, you need to write a 10 page research paper in American History to 1877.

That includes a large number of topics. During the course of the class you are drawn to the Jacksonian Era, so you decide to write a paper about Andrew Jackson. Next you need to narrow down even more because Andrew Jackson is just too big of a topic for a 10 page paper. So you decide to do your paper on his term as the President. That narrows down your time frame to just eight years, manageable but still too big for your assignment. Next decide on what aspect of Andrew Jackson Presidency you are going to focus on.

You find yourself interested in the Nullification Crisis that involved South Carolina. Now you have a reasonable size topic for a paper and your keywords would be: Andrew Jackson, Nullification, and South Carolina. These keywords allow a student to perform an effective library and/or internet search. . All students should know and understand the definition of plagiarism. My definition of plagiarism is using somebody else's ideas or words in your own paper without giving them proper credit. An example of a plagiarized quote would be if you were to use a direct quote without offsetting it with quotation marks and not giving the original author credit.

Another thing that you cannot do is just replace two or three words and call that a paraphrase. The safest thing to do is to summarize an author's main point in your own words. Another area of upholding academic honesty is to not cheat. This means that you personally will not cheat on papers or test. Yet, it also means that if you find another student cheating you have a responsibility to report him or her. My personal action plan for upholding academic honesty is to follow all posted school rules regarding academic honesty.

Developing effective study skills consists of finding what works for you and using it to the best advantage possible. The most important elements of effective studying are lecture notes, reading notes, place, and time. The lecture notes are important because they tell you information that will be on the test. Lecture notes should be read immediately after the lecture and again in preparation for any test, at a minimum. Reading notes are notes taken while you are reading your textbooks. Some classes use regular text books and other classes will use novels, fiction and nonfiction, so you need to learn how to take notes on booth types of books.

The place you study is important also. It should be a quite place where you will not be interrupted by friends and family. It should be comfortable but not so comfortable you fall asleep. It