Study Skills

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Study Skills

• Simon Bignell

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In this session we will

• Basic Study Skills
• Computers and IT
• Plagiarism
• Essays Some tips and tricks
• Coursework
• Questions
• Psychology Skills Module (BSc Only)

Everything you need to know is in your Student
induction folder.
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University of Derby OnLine UDO
https//udo.derby.ac.uk
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Further Info

• Keep 2 copies of your work. Use a floppy and your
  space on the network.
• Halls of Residence have free network connection.
  You need PC with a network card.
• Some non-educational and file sharing services
  are barred. ?

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Further Info

• Code of Conduct.
• No eating or drinking in labs.
• No mobiles.
• Printer credit from the Library or NT Lab

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http//psychology.derby.ac.uk/
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Discussion Forum
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Forum

• Username is
• (Please Ask removed)
• Password is
• (Please Ask removed)

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Participation Points

• During Stage 1 you are expected to participate in
  studies being carried out by Stage 3 students
  staff.
•  
• Participating will give you
• Insight into various types of psychological
  research.
• Ideas for your future research projects.
• Qualify to offer points to attract participants
  to your final year research. 

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Avoiding Plagiarism
From Purdue University, http//owl.english.purdue.
edu/handouts/research/r_plagiar.html accessed 14
May 2003
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Avoiding Plagiarism Which Of These Is Plagiarism?

• 1. Copying a paragraph verbatim from a source
  without any acknowledgement.
• 2. Copying a paragraph and making small changes -
  e.g. replacing a few verbs, replacing an
  adjective with a synonym acknowledgement in the
  References.
• 3. Cutting and pasting a paragraph by using
  sentences of the original but omitting one or two
  and putting one or two in a different order, no
  quotation marks with an in-text acknowledgement
  plus References.
• 4. Composing a paragraph by taking short phrases
  from a number of sources and putting them
  together using words of your own to make a
  coherent whole with an in-text acknowledgement
  References.
• 5. Paraphrasing a paragraph by rewriting with
  substantial changes in language and organisation
  the new version will also have changes in the
  amount of detail used and the examples cited
  citing in References.
• 6. Quoting a paragraph by placing it in block
  format with the source cited in text
  References.
• Slightly adapted from Carroll J. 2000 Teaching
  News November, 2000. Based on an exercise in
  Academic Writing for Graduate Students by Swales
  and Feale, University of Michigan, 1993 on
  http//www.ilt.ac.uk/resources/Jcarroll.htm
  Accessed 12/05/2003

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Essay Writing

• The purpose of an introduction is to prepare
• the reader for the body of writing that comes
  
• after it.
• You know what you are writing about and why. But
  unless you inform your readers of this in an
  introduction, they will feel lost and judge your
  essay to be an unclear piece of work!

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A good introduction

• indicates the topic that the essay is about
• describes how the body of the essay is organised
• explains the point of writing the essay
• the point of writing an essay is usually to
  argue for a thesis, so you will need to explain
  what thesis you argue for and how you argue for
  it this is called a
• thesis-statement, and most essay introductions
  include one.

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Practice!

• Practice writing introductions without using
• phrases such as the topic of this essay
• or the thesis argued for is Expressing
• the topic without using words like topic or
• subject may be particularly challenging
• because it is easy to include too much detail
• and end up with an unintended body-
• paragraph. But with practice, you will be
• able to write more effective introductions.

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Frequently asked questions
1. How long should my introduction be?

• One common mistake is to write an
• introduction that is too long the introduction
• is so detailed that it is indistinguishable from
• the body of the essay! As a rule, an
• introduction should not be longer than about
• 8 of the length of the essay. For example,
• the introduction of a ten, fifteen, and twenty-
• page essay should be a maximum of about a
• page, a page and a quarter, and one and a
• half pages respectively.

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2. How detailed should the introduction be?

• Another common mistake is that the
• introduction is so detailed that it fails to
• indicate the topic of the essay in a clear
• way! The introduction only needs to state
• the topic, general structure, and thesis of the
• essay. The longer the essay is supposed to
• be, the more detailed your topic, structure
• and thesis-sentences can be.

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3. Why am I finding it hard to write
the introduction?

• The introduction must indicate the topic,
• structure and thesis of the essay. If you are
• not completely sure about any of these
• things, you will find it hard or even
• impossible to write an introduction. Writers
• block can happen when you try to write the
• introduction before you have done sufficient
• reading and research on the topic.

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3. Why am I finding it hard to write the
introduction (continued)?

• How can you know what the structure of
• your essay will be until you have written at
• least a draft of the body? How can you
• know what your thesis will be until you have
• done the reading and research?! To save
• time, always write the introduction last.

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4. What is an introduction for? Is it a summary?

• An introduction is not a summary. A
• summary repeats the main ideas of an
• essay. An introduction introduces the reader
• to the topic of the essay, describes the
• organisational structure of the essay, and
• explains the point of the essay (the thesis
• argued for).

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5. What should I put in my introduction?

• Do not try to pack everything into the
• introduction. It would then not be an
• introduction at all! An essay introduction
• does not need to do more than tell the
• reader the topic of the essay, describe how
• the body of the essay is organised, and
• explain the thesis that you argue for in the
• essay.

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6. How many paragraphs should I use for the
introduction?

• The introduction needs to indicate the topic,
• structure, and thesis of the essay for the
• reader. In a short ten page essay, all of
• these things should be easy to include in one
• or two paragraphs. In longer essays, your
• topic, structure, and thesis-sentences will be
• more detailed, and so more paragraphs may
• be required to complete the introduction.

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Coursework

• Start Early
• Work together
• Dont Copy
• Plagiarism is a serious academic offence.
• Any questions about Psychology Skills?
• Know how to submit the work (online or hard copy?)

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Personal Development Planning - PDP

• University of Derby online (UDo) to access many
  communication facilities PDP.
• PDP structured way of planning, reviewing and
  reflecting on your personal, academic and
  professional development.
• udo.derby.ac.uk gt Study Resources gt PDP
• Complete Skills Audit (online)