The Skills Pod

Reassessment for assignments

July 06, 2020 Study Skills
Reassessment for assignments
The Skills Pod
More Info
The Skills Pod
Reassessment for assignments
Jul 06, 2020
Study Skills

Join Jen and Liz for a podcast on reassessment for assignments on 'The Skills Pod'. Grab your cup of tea and biscuit, sit back and relax whilst Liz and Jen give you tips and hints to take you through the reassessment process for assignments.
 
 


 Running order of the Re-assessment for assignments podcast 

·       Process the results

·       Reflect

·       Analyse the feedback

·       Seek assistance for further skills development

·       Breakdown parts and plan/ organise new approach 

·       Re-structure/ Incorporate missing sections or gain further understanding about plagiarism

·       Proofread

Show Notes Transcript

Join Jen and Liz for a podcast on reassessment for assignments on 'The Skills Pod'. Grab your cup of tea and biscuit, sit back and relax whilst Liz and Jen give you tips and hints to take you through the reassessment process for assignments.
 
 


 Running order of the Re-assessment for assignments podcast 

·       Process the results

·       Reflect

·       Analyse the feedback

·       Seek assistance for further skills development

·       Breakdown parts and plan/ organise new approach 

·       Re-structure/ Incorporate missing sections or gain further understanding about plagiarism

·       Proofread

Jennifer :

Hello, welcome to The Skills Pod. A series of podcasts to support your skills development, brought to you by the Study Skills Advisory Team.

Liz :

Okay, then, so we're from Study Skills. My name is Liz. And this is my colleague, Jennifer.

Jennifer :

Hello, everyone.

Liz :

And we're going to talk about reassessment with our cups of tea. Aren't we, Jen.

Jennifer :

Sure. So what to do when you're going through the reassessment process, and we're going to specifically look at assignments for this particular podcast as well. And so if we look at the first point, so the processing of the results, it's really important that you process what has happened within the examination process and if it's an outcome that you weren't expecting, or it's a bit of a surprise and you're a bit disappointed is important to sit down down and go through those feelings, which then leads into the reflection process as well. Would you agree this?

Liz :

I would Yeah. What's happened with the results is in the past and you can't change it. So you can only affect what happens now in the present and what you're going to do in the future, seeing what's happened. processing it, and being able to move on from it is really important and useful place to start because you can't change what's happened, you just put it behind you move forward, but with intention, so that the things that happen next, you feel in control, often you feel empowered by

Jennifer :

and I think that really leads into the reflection process because you will reflect on the marks that you've been given from the initial assessment, and all of these points linking together with let's say, the analysis of the feedback but when you're reflecting, you might want to analyse the assignment. A little Look, read the comment, see where your strengths and weaknesses are. And you need to think about maybe what the best parts are or the bits that could be adapted and developed for the future. And it's that reflective process of your emotions as well. And I think for me personally, when I've had something occur from an assignment, and it's not been the outcome that I wanted, I was hoping for it is helpful to just take that on, read it, and then maybe step away from it. It might be for a few hours or a day, but it's also really important that once you've dealt with maybe that upset or disappointment that you go back to it and really read those comments that you've been given as a starting point.

Liz :

Yeah, absolutely. It does take a bit of time criticism is difficult and painful. And it can, when you first read some of the comments, it can be really quite brutal, but it's being able to disassociate yourself with the comments so that they're not personal so that you can actually come back and look at them through eyes that enable you to move forward and do something so that, Jen Jennifer's right that reflection that did I rush this did to get my head around the subject, what comments are they making? And why can I maybe agree with a few of them that this bit wasn't as consistently good as some of the other things I've written and, you know, try to pick out the comments that you can agree with or pick out the way that they're intended as opposed to seeing them as being full on right, this is all bad or I couldn't do it, look at it as what was going on. There were a couple of bits here and if I can tweak this or tweak this or think about it, then it gives me something to move forward with. It's being able to process that the sometimes harsh words they're not meant to be harsh, but they can come across very personally and make you feel quite vulnerable when you first get the the result. back. So having the time to process those thoughts can really put it into place so that you can move forward and learn from things that have gone wrong.

Jennifer :

And I agree with this. I mean, you need to remember that that reflective process of the information that you've been given in maybe a feedback form, it is there to help you and guide you. That's why as Liz has said that maybe step away approach and going back and looking at objectively is helpful to kind of absorb that information. But all these things tie in together, and you might identify or you might find, actually, do I have that specific skill? Or am I able to reflect because reflections are really hard thing to do. When you have to write a reflective piece about yourself. It's usually one of the hardest things a person has to do, because they have to pick apart what are their strengths and weaknesses. And as Liz has said to hear or gain feedback from someone about yourself is very hard to absorb at times, but try and look at it in a positive nature. And that might be at that point that you seek further assistance from Study Skills. You might want to ask your module leader or your PAT for further assistance as well. But Study Skills are here to assist you, we might be able to help you break down the assignment, look at the feedback and think right, okay, maybe it's a critical analysis issue, in line with your referencing, and in some instances, as a learner when you're working so closely to a piece of work, there's things that just you bypass, whether that be through the proofreading process, or you might just have to develop your skills in a certain area, possibly you're referencing, and I found in many instances, a lot of things can be adapted quite quickly, and they resolve a problem because I think we develop habits. As we all do, we develop positive habits and negative habits. Or we get in a habit of putting a full stop in a certain place or not putting commas in and things. And those things can really help, especially with regards to referencing I find anyway.

Liz :

Jennifer's absolutely right. We all have habits, we've all got things that we fall back on. It might be if you listen to yourself talking, you find you've got particular words that you've put in when you pause. So you say oh, well, how about this, or for example, whatever it might be. And you'll find you do that with your writing style as well. So being able to identify those things and say, is this getting me any further, if I take these out, what happens. Something that we see quite a lot, I would say is that people have got quite a long complex thought in their mind, and they put quite a few commas into one sentence in order to express it and it ends up with quite a confused long sentence that the person who's marking it is struggling to understand. So if you're looking at your feedback, and you've got things in there that says, what does this mean, or I'm not quite sure I see your point, have a look at some of those sentences. And sometimes by turning them completely around, start at the end and rephrase them, you can put the idea in a different way, this actually is a bit easier for the reader to get the meaning of, which means it's easier for you to get the marks. There are quite a few good bits in whatever you've written, that you'll be able to pull out and do something with and move around and look at and say, well, if I've just done it this way, or if I do it this way, in future, then it's going to enable me to get maybe more in depth understanding, it's going to show that you understand the theories that I was talking about, or it's really getting to the heart of this matter instead of me talking about it around the edges in two or three sentence And not being able to really pull out what's important. And

Jennifer :

and as Liz said, you know, when you're seeking assistance to look at those different parts, that might be a good step to then go, okay, this is what I have currently. These are the comments I've been given and you've reflected upon them and analyse that feedback. And then you really need to start making a plan. And what I would say is, this might be the area that maybe you've got wrong in the first instance, or you didn't do with your initial hand in because having a plan is a really important stage of developing an assignment. And you should be doing a plan before you even put pen to paper or start typing and researching cushie it really collects your thoughts in one place. And I find it helps to distribute those key points throughout the assignment while as well and it helps with you achieving your word count. It produces a really good solid piece of work and as you've probably got quite a lot of good points within the original submission, it might be a case of just picking those parts and and collating them into a new plan. So it's kind of like going back to the drawing board. Wouldn't you agree Liz?

Liz :

Absolutely Jennifer, that's really important that plan. If you've got comments that say your writings, a bit too descriptive in places, or you've talked about this point before, that can be a sign that you need to go back to your plan. Have a look at it. See if you can put things in different places. If you haven't made a plan before you've done your writing, then go and make a plan before you start writing for your assessment. The plans give you something to work against. They give you a way of processing your thoughts and working out where the gaps in knowledge are that you might need to do some research. They can give you something to look back on to make sure you're actually following through in a logical order you've not missed anything out, it's very easy without a plan to just do a random scattergun effect, and just talk about everything that's in your brain. And that's not necessarily what you need to do, because your assignments about not what you know, but about what you show. So if you're trying to put in everything, you know, you end up not showing in detail that you understand the concepts and the theories. And you've got a point of view that you're arguing, it's just more fact dumping. So if you haven't got a plan, it can be very, very easy to just meander from bits of things that you've read without actually having a reason for doing it. And that's what you want that reason.

Jennifer :

There's many other reasons as well for developing a plan that I think a lot of people maybe don't identify. So for your own mental well being and stress levels. So definitely for me, when you've got a lot going on, and that might be a lot of modules or family or things with your friends socially, trying to keep everything in your mind is is quite hard. And that's why you forget things or key points. So how I would see a plan is I'd pull in my title, I put down my word count on a Microsoft sheet initially, I'd even look at the objectives or the outcomes within my course handbook to make sure that I'm going to hit all those key points for the assessment. And then at that point, how I perceive it and how I structure things. Now, when you think about an academic paragraph, being around 200 and 250 words, what I would do is say if you had a word count of 4000, I would go Okay, usually every assignment structure will have an introduction. So there's 250 words, it'll always have a conclusion or a summary. So there's 250 words. So that's 500 together. So then what do is I'll put in numbered bullet points. And I'll allocate 250 words per numbered bullet point because I'm a bit of a chatter. So I always tend to go to the 250. And I break it down. So 4000 takeaway 500 for the intro and the conclusion, these new 3500. So, when you break it down even further, that's on count now for 812 14. That's 14 paragraphs. And I have these points put in, and then I'll go Okay, what was in my title? What were those key words? Or what are those key out assessment outcomes that I need to hit? And I'll start putting in little subheadings next to these bullet points, and I'll go okay, well, really talking about ethics might not fit into 250 words within one paragraph. So I might allocate two paragraphs to that. And that's how this plan starts to be created. There's also those areas where you're kind of like, oh, well, maybe I don't know too much in this area. Yeah, so I will put spare next to the number of bullet points of the button. Because naturally as you research things, you will come across different theories, concepts, paradigms, that will enlighten you and you can add them to this plan it's an ongoing working document, I think which is important. And usually I would then continue to develop in document and then just delete where appropriate once I've written that certain section. And I find, for me personally, this is really helpful because all that stress of going, Oh my God, I've got this big assignment to write, I take out the title and I've broken it down, I take out the word count, so I don't have to worry about hitting my word count. I know that as long as I hit all those points, I will hit my word count, and it will be really well distributed. And it just makes that process easier. And, and again before I pass over to Liz, what I would say is everyone has good days and bad days. Being an independent learner in higher education is a bit like being on a roller coaster, you know, you do have those ups and downs. And because you have all those external commitments as well with family and friends and things. So by having this plan, I personally would pick the areas that maybe I think I would struggle on. Once I've had a really good night's sleep and I'm feeling really positive, and I'll tackle them then. And maybe when I'm a bit tired, but I'd be like, like, I have to do 250 words today to hit my organised time management. I'll write the bits that I am a bit more, you know, I enjoy them a bit more knowledgeable about so I feel I know that that'll go a bit quicker. And you will find if you follow that process, your assignment will develop quite quickly. And what we're doing within the reassessment process is making a plan and stripping out what you've inserted already, and allocating the good bits that you've identified to this new plan. What do you think Liz do you agree or do to do it in a slightly different way?

Liz :

I would agree, I do do slightly different things as well. But the thing that you've said that I would really pick up on, Jennifer is that it is different for everybody. So try some of these different ways. If you've got something that works for you already, then keep doing it. But don't be afraid to try new things. And if they don't work, then don't do them again, try something different. Something that I'm quite a visual learner, and I find it quite difficult to have lots and lots of pieces of spreadsheets and writing and whatnot. So I do something I use a nine grid square. So I'll take an actual physical piece of paper and fold it into three lengthways and then fold it into three width ways as well. So you end up with a grid with nine squares, and I put the first square in the top left hand corner and label introduction and then the bottom square in the right hand corner on conclusion and then our number 123456 As the starting place for me to plan the paragraphs that I might have in a two and a half thousand word essay, and then look at the different ideas and make sure they link together because then I've got a physical piece of paper that I can look back at. And that's got just my initial thoughts on it then I can build on. And it gives me something tangible, that it just it just makes me feel more competent and more reassured that this is the plan that I'm working to. And if I change it, it's not a problem. But at least I've got a plan to start off with. And the other thing that I do, I always used to quite strangely, I always used to quite enjoy exams at school. So I'm quite bad at leaving things till the last minute because I like to have that pressure of a fake exam. So what I've done is played with my own psyche, and I set myself a fake exam at the beginning of having to write something. I'll say, right, I've got two hours I need to do this in. I'll do it as a fake exam using the plan that I've already setup and then I'll go back and use that as like a first draft, so that I've got something to build on. But if I'm not careful, I can lead leave it until the last minute. And then I put too much pressure on myself. And then I don't have time to go back and refine my piece of work and turn it from something that's good to use in an exam to something that's supposed to be more refined, like assessment work is, when you've got time to go back, think about it, do something with the ideas. So it's working out the way that you learn, and working out what you've already got that can use again for the reassessment and what bits you really need to focus on and think of, what do I need to pull out? What do I need to do more of what's in the general marking criteria that I can see that maybe I didn't do as well as in some areas that I could have done in others, other particular bits that I can pull out and like Jennifer said, you know, LTIskills@chester.ac.uk you can email us, we can help you and support you. We've got loads of online one to one appointments. So you know if you just need a sounding board sometimes to say this is what I've done. I know it's a bit raw, but I'm not quite sure what to do, we might be able to help to give you some more structure to work around.

Jennifer :

I think that's the great thing about the team. I was just sat here Liz and I was thinking I definitely wasn't one for exams. We're different that way, I quite liked the Distributed Learning course coursework and assignments.

Liz :

I used to write it once and I was like, Oh, do I have to go back and write it again, I

Jennifer :

No the pressure just overwhelmed me in the exam process. But I think that's the great thing about the team is so many different people within the study skills team that have had different experiences and approach it in different ways. And I love that visual square representation of breaking down an assignment. And again, and I completely agree that I think sometimes that's part of the learning process as well, where people have to identify what works for them, and how they can use that to the benefit of their work and how they organise themselves. I think, once you've created a plan, and remember, you can ask us for assistance as well, that when you're looking at the structure, you might find that maybe you have areas where you've maybe not included critical writing, because I find, in many instances, people, when you come from a different form of education into higher education, you've been taught to write in a really descriptive way and then you come to university and like you're going to critically analyse things. And I think once you're developing that skill, people get really good at pulling out information and paraphrasing those sentences into their own words, but they forget that final step of critiquing it, and I've seen many assignments come through our feed forward for which you can also use as well, where they've just missed that critical analysis section that's supposed to be intertwined through their work. Or it might be again, that you're still developing those referencing skills, or you need to perfect those in text citations and how they're linked to your reference list. But, as I've said, in the past, those two things really connect to one another. And I found, from my own experience, and with other learners that if you have fallen down on maybe critical analysis, you have an issue with your referencing, or if you have an issue with your referencing, it affects critical analysis. So that can be quite as I say, quite a quick thing to resolve because you just need to learn this skill or be aware of the skill of how to do it in the way that it needs to be done. So what I'd say is don't become overwhelmed or pressure yourself to think oh, this is going to be huge task and things. It really is a case of identifying what you've got using that to create a structure that is going to hit all those assessment criterias and then adding in those missing areas or sections that you might need to include. And it becomes easier, I would say, I don't know what you would say there's I think it becomes easier or you just become more used to it in the future assessment process because you are like, I understand now how I'm supposed to structure it, and how it's supposed to lay out?

Liz :

Absolutely. I would completely agree with that, Jennifer. It's that chunking of the information on chunking of your understanding of what you need to do with it and how you need to use it. You can see it as one big mass and it overwhelms you. Or you can see different aspects of things right I can I can do this descriptive bit. How do I make it a bit more critical? Have I talked about something in depth have I understood the question, right, so I've got these bits of chunks, but I need to get a bit more more on this one. I had a teacher at school that is partly impacted on my way of, of my job choices really. He used to say to us, you'll get it, it'll suddenly click, and you click his fingers. But he never explained it any more than that. And it didn't click, I didn't understand what I needed to do. And so that's one of the reasons that I'm passionate about study skills is because I don't want other people to be stuck in the never ever decreasing circle that I was of thinking, why isn't it clicking? Why is it? When is it going to click? How do I know that it's clicked? Because it's a matter of understanding some of the skills you can learn and some of the mechanics you can put into your own writing, in order for you to understand how you get to that next step, how you get to the critical writing. It is a process that you have to unpick and you have to look at what you already do and say so what bits missing And figure out how to do it. And it is a skill and it is easier, the more you do it. And as Jennifer said, it's something that progresses, you know, students at graduate level don't become graduates until they they've studied for a while, because you grow when you learn as you go along. If you knew all the skills from the get go, there wouldn't be any point coming and getting a degree because you already know. So it is about finding out new things, looking at new information, finding new ways to put it together, and working out where your argument is, and where you sit in all of that and how you dissect information. And that's going to change. The more information you know, the more knowledge you gain. And the more you process it because your opinions will change about things, which is the beauty of higher education really gives you the time to actually look in depth. Have some thoughts, change those thoughts, do some more reading and put your own ideas out there and really figure out what sort of arguments are important and why?

Jennifer :

I agree, I think it's sometimes I think we go into things with the perception that it's quite black and white, and that it's a pass or fail, and you know it or you don't. And I think it's about identifying. It's that lifelong learning experience. It's a bit like a journey that you're still on, and you will continue to be on. And I think, thinking about you talking on Liz, we used to call it the lightbulb moment. Well, that's how they used to refer to when I was in school. I was like, with Liz I was like, well, how do you know when my lightbulbs been switched on? I don't understand. I think for me, I probably spent so much time focusing on that goal. Am I doing it right or am I doing it wrong, and that's what I mean when there's that that black and white kind of contrast. But for me, personally, I found, as I said, with the chunking. Once I could ask and see what the structural aspects of what they were asking for me, and then I was able to break it down into those smaller chunks it took all that stress anxiety away from me. And it took out that aspect within my mind that was causing the fog that could go Actually, I've got headspace now, to deal with this and start developing these sections. And I found it just really helped me to pull all my ideas and thoughts together. And I think that really kind of links down into the proofreading aspect for me because, again, people think of proofreading probably from past conversation as something that you do at the end. When you're developing these paragraphs, you should be proofreading them as you go along. proofreading your sentence, and when we talk a lot about and we have earlier Liz, we're talking about different words and and things you should be looking about. Have I developed my academic terminology, as well as my specialist terminology, am I using different words, because we all get into a habit of using comfortable words that we're safe with but that can produce a strcture where its like this suggest which suggests then suggests so it's it's proofread. And that thing to check will have I use the same analysis word within each sentence. And as it follows have I use I call them little words? Have I used too many little words? So I've wasted my word count within the sentence structure. Can I take any of that away and make it more factual and concise and structure so you should be doing this proofreading process throughout, as well as at the end, which a lot of people I think, overlook or possibly bypass and it's a really important part of it proofreading.

Liz :

Yes, it really is. And it is a separate skill to writing. Quite a lot of magazines and newspapers they don't have them as much now, but they used to have editors and sub editors and it was their job to take the broad piece of writing that someone had done and to filter it to make tighter to make it really have no loose words in at all. And that is a skill in itself. So you have to do that. As a student, you have to be a writer and an editor. And it's very easy to not do the editing bit as well as it could be. And as Jennifer said, there are lots of little words you can get rid off like the word very people use the word very a lot in their academic writing, it doesn't really do anything, you can replace it with something else, instead of saying very important put in just put in important, whatever it might be. But there are lots of easy wins like that where you can take out 7,8,9 words throughout an entire essay quite easily, which doesn't sound much but it then enables you to put another sentence in, that potentially you might get a mark for you're not going to get a mark for using the word very, it doesn't add any value. So having a look with different eyes with editing eyes, I'm thinking what's what's the serving me well here and what's just something that could be written something that's maybe not in as academic a style as it could be something that perhaps, I need to think about not using perhaps again, because I used it two sentences ago, is something else I could put in. There are lots of different tricks that you can use. And it is a different skill. So if you can separate your writing from your editing in some way, it will give you a little bit of distance to be able to actually see the words that are on the page. It might be that you use the word format, where it actually reads the words back to you so that you're not then looking at them on the page and filling in things. Because you know what you've said in your own brain. If you get the programme to read it out to you, then you can say, Oh, hang on a minute, I've put, I don't know I've missed a word out or I've put a comma in or this is a really long sentence, no need to break it up, which you'll be able to hear when it's another voice reading it out to you. But you don't when it's in your own voice because you're hearing it in your own head and the way you mean it, not in the way you've actually written it down on physical paper or electronic paper. So it's thinking about proofreading and maybe being consistent because that's something again, that stands out quite a lot in assignments if you've changed tenses throughout, or if you've put something referred to something in one way, and then later on, you've not used the same capitalisations, perhaps in a title. So that sort of stuff will stick out and it's quite an easy editing function to do but you know, don't necessarily see it when you're in writing mode. So then you got an overall shape and you've got some time to work on it. And it is a good idea if you have it to try and take some time at the end just to do a couple of final proofread. When you are in editing mode before you move on to the submitting version of this is something I'm happy this is something that represents the best of what I'm capable of. And I want to submit it. Now because this is a piece of work that I have some affiliation to, I've got some pride attached to I feel I've done a good job. So I'm going to submit it now, it doesn't always work, things go wrong, sometimes you don't have quite as much time as you want to. And you still want to be able to work on a report, there has to come a time where you say, right, this needs to go in. I need to stop writing now.

Jennifer :

I think something that we've maybe not talked about as well, and I think it refers to reassessment and how we write assignments in general as well is that organisation and time management. So when you're planning for your reassessment as you would with your assignment, it's about going okay, when's the deadline and working backwards from that? And the reason why I mentioned that is because in the proofreading process, you really need to leave enough time to do that separate skill of proofreading. I mean, the final cut so you'll be doing it throughout but when you looking at your sentences, and when you're looking at your paragraphs, but the end stage of proofreading, you need to be thinking, Okay, how do I have enough time? I always ask a family friend actually asked my partner, and I say, Can you read this for me? And he'll go don't make me read it? I, you know, I don't understand what you're looking at or because we're not in the same specialisms, like what you're missing the point, I want you to read it because as a writer, or as a researcher, as all learners are, you will sometimes just assume that the audience or the person marking it knows what you're talking about. So that foundational knowledge, so you skip parts. So I always say, to him, can you just read it because as he reads, things that I've developed, you'll go, Well, I don't understand how you got from this point to the next point. And it's that process of highlighting it. So as I said before, if there's someone that you trust and you might have someone and you're fortunate that's very good at spelling, you might have someone that's very good at grammar. But if not, it might just be a case of that any person can read an assignment go, I don't understand how these things connect, or I don't understand how you've got from this or it feels like there's something missing. So I think that can be really helpful as well in the proofreading process. But that organised time where you have enough time to do the proofreading process is important. Because as a learner when you're so close to that assignment, I think it's important that you step away from it once you finished it, and just let your brain switch off and calm down before you try to then do those final proofreading processes.

Liz :

Yeah, absolutely. I would completely agree with that. It is, it is a difficult thing to do. If you get someone else to maybe read it out loud as well. Yeah, you can hear where they're taking a breath, because you've they've run out of air and you've done got five or six words in the sentence to go in? Okay, might need to look at that one again. And if they're saying to you, as Jennifer said, I don't quite get how this point relates to that, then you can go back to your plan and be like, right? Well, I was going to talk about that there. But I've actually gone off on to talk about something else that similar. I wonder if maybe I need to change the order of things. Maybe it would make it flow more. And you can't always see that when you write in it. If you've got a bit of distance, then you you can juggle things around. And then you end up with something that's a better jigsaw fit than what you had originally. Yeah, that's Yeah, I think that's a really good point.

Jennifer :

And I think, then at that stage, when you're happy with it, and you're looking at submitting it again, again, give yourself enough time to submit don't leave it technical problems. But I think that I don't know s a final kind of part in it. Comment or, you know, a suggestion would be, just remember that there's so many of us to help them isn't there Liz and yeah, so many people and especially within study skills, but you've got your administration staff, library staff, your PAT, your module tutor to really kind of use that. Yeah,

Liz :

absolutely. We're all here to support you, to help you to learn. And it's, it's what we want to do. It's to make those connections for you help you to see your work and how you progressing and help you to make connections so that your reassessment comes back and it's got this is a really good point. This has got lots of interesting ideas. you've discussed this really well. And it gives you something that you could look at and be proud of and know that bits of the structure and the skills are starting to fall into place and you've actually been able to work out what it's all about, you've not had somebody say, it's going to click or it's going to be a light bulb. And you've come away none the wiser. You've got a few of the little nuts and bolts that you can put together and make your own kit, you make your own foundations because it's starting to make sense. And that's what we really want to do is to help you to make sense of it all.

Jennifer :

I think it's, you know, remember that these are all skills, just like riding your bike, learning how to cook, which I'm still learning how to do these skills, the more you practice, the better you will get at them. And I think that's my point really. So don't just give up on the first kind of like hurdle, just keep pushing it and it will develop over time, the more you put into it, and then you'll get that click or you'll get that like light bulb moment. And I think just you know if you do want to have further assistance or you want to improve your mark further As well, you know, just get in touch with the study skills team at LTI skills@chester.ac.uk UK, and we'd all be really more than happy to help, wouldn't we Liz?

Liz :

Absolutely, we would. Definitely Jennifer, that's what we're here to do. We've got loads of resources online. We've got our Moodle spaces, we've got some videos on stream that can go through things and, and critical writing and critical reading, because they're two separate skills, which we tend to put together. But it's all about knowing what to access, knowing how to access it, and just taking those first steps, but anything we can do to help we will with study skills, as Jennifer said, it's LTI skills chester.ac.uk.

Jennifer :

And remember, we have the feed forward service at that email that we've both suggested. And you can use that through your whole academic experience. So again, take advantage of that send in three paragraphs of your work or send in a piece of text or your reference list. And let us assist you to develop that skill.

Liz :

We've been Jennifer and Liz from the Study Skills team. We hope you enjoyed this and thanks for listening.

Jennifer :

Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai