Leisure and Behaviour Development

Gold Guide to Academic Quality 18 January 2011 1 of 4 Prepared by Alison Dean (Please provide any feedback to [email protected])

Gold Guide to Academic Quality 18 January 2011

Introduction

Good communication skills are critical to success. They help you to achieve good grades at university

and are highly valued by employers. This guide provides you with general information about academic

requirements for high quality communication. However, please note that some courses have special

requirements and you should always follow the instructions in the course outline.

Important Note: The Learning Support group at the University offers all students free help with

academic skills. They provide workshops, an excellent website with many resources, and individual and

confidential help. See: http://www.newcastle.edu.au/unit/ctl/lsp

This gold guide is a very brief summary of some academic skills. It gives provides you with useful web

addresses from our online teaching and library resources. The library website has a great deal of useful

information and many excellent online tutorials. You can access them via:

University of Newcastle>Library>Training>Online Tutorials…..

1 Criteria for grades

The meaning of each grade (High distinction, Distinction, etc) is outlined in University of Newcastle

policy at: http://www.newcastle.edu.au/policylibrary/000649.html

Some courses provide more information to explain how the criteria are specifically interpreted.

2 The basics of academic writing and critical thinking

Basic skills

The University of Newcastle InfoSkills modules provide an overview of all the basic activities involved

in planning, researching, and writing academic work. The modules are available at

www.newcastle.edu.au/services/library/tutorials/infoskills/

The five modules provide excellent information with respect to academic skills:

1. Planning 2. Finding information (using the Library) 3. Evaluating information (writing critiques) 4. Writing and plagiarism 5. Using information ethically

Module 4 includes links on strategies for good practice in writing. These strategies include effective

notetaking, paraphrasing appropriately, and summarizing correctly and efficiently. If you use Module 4

well, you will be able to save a great deal of time, and simultaneously improve your writing. Module 4

also provides important information about academic integrity and honesty, and avoiding plagiarism.

Academic writing and critical thinking

To achieve highly at university, you must be able to demonstrate high levels of „effective‟ writing and

„critical‟ thinking. Can you explain each of these terms?

Go to the UniLearning (University of Wollongong) site for succinct sections on each area. (This can be

accessed directly or through the UoN library Services site.) http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/main.html

The summary below is based on the UniLearning site:

Effective writing has

 A logical flow of ideas and cohesion

 Links between sentences and paragraphs

Effective writing is achieved by

 Macro devices (organisation and structure; flow; focus in sentences; paragraphs)

 Micro devices to support each of the macro

Gold Guide to Academic Quality 18 January 2011 2 of 4 Prepared by Alison Dean (Please provide any feedback to [email protected])

Critical thinking means that you demonstrate the ability

to

 Assess the validity of information and its sources for your context

 Distinguish between fact and opinion

 Synthesise a number of factors and articulate a response

 Provide a convincing argument in favour of your response

Critical thinking is achieved by

 Evaluating and critqueing the information in front of you (see Infoskills Module 3)

 Incorporating the skills of evaluation and „hard thinking‟ into your reading and note-making prior

to your writing

 Using evidence to support your point of view

NB: Critical thinking is continued in Essays below.

You cannot demonstrate critical thinking if you cannot communicate! Note the following:

Grammar, punctuation and spelling

Excellent work must demonstrate clear communication

and be free of errors in grammar, punctuation and

spelling. The OWL (Online Writing Lab) website from

Purdue University is recommended to you. This site

includes exercises and feedback. You can access it

directly or through the UoN website:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/index.h

tml

Another site with a wide variety of exercises on

grammar can be accessed at:

http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/cill/exercises

Finally, the UniLearning site referred to above has a

useful section on writing sentences:

http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/writing

Eliminating some common errors in language

 Provide a topic sentence for each paragraph. Do not have one sentence paragraphs. A paragraph

develops/argues a point.

 Use short sentences (up to 20 words) wherever possible.

 Minimise the use of “this, these, those”. When you do use them, state the subject afterwards, for

example, “This result..”, “These studies..”

 Do not use “etc”, “various” or “so on”. They are imprecise. If there are other cases, refer to them.

 Do not use contractions such as “don‟t, didn‟t, can‟t”. You should write out the words in full.

 Never use “it’s”; use “its” or “it is‟.

 Learn when apostrophes are used to show ownership and if in doubt, do not use them.

Never use an apostrophe to show a plural.

 Learn the difference between affect/effect and their/there and use them correctly.

It is important to understand the meaning of instruction words. For example, can you distinguish

between terms such as: analyse, compare, contrast, debate, discuss, evaluate, interpret, and justify?

3 Essays – structure and style

You may access help via Blackboard on http://www.newcastle.edu.au/unit/centre-for-teaching-and-

learning/learning-development/online-resources.html. The Study Help website from Murdoch

University (no longer available) is the source of the information summarized below.

The nature of university essays – this highlights the need for your essay to be

 Focused and relevant to the topic

 The result of wide reading and critical thinking

 A logical argument o Shows points that are relevant to the argument (omitting the others) o Demonstrates a logical and coherent structure (including links) o Provides evidence (citations, quotes, examples) to support the argument

 Presented in the conventional format o Has an introduction, body and conclusion o Uses appropriate language o Uses citations correctly and has the corresponding reference list o Is error-free in terms of language skills

The functional stages of an essay (shown as a diagram on the website)

 Introduction – orientate/respond to topic; state purpose; outline what you will do

 Body – write the main part here using sections that address the purpose of the essay. Each section will be a series of paragraphs, in logical order, that state your argument and

provide evidence for it; and link to the next paragraph

Gold Guide to Academic Quality 18 January 2011 3 of 4 Prepared by Alison Dean (Please provide any feedback to [email protected])

 Conclusion – summarise and draw out any implications of the discussion

4 Referencing – according to discipline conventions

Newcastle Business School requires you to use the APA (6 th ed.) style of referencing. This style uses the

author/date system of „in-text‟ citations in which you place the author‟s family name and year of publication in

parentheses immediately following the use of, or reference to, their work. At the end of your document you

generate a „Reference List‟ which provides full bibliographic details of the citations. (Full bibliographic details

include elements such as journal or publisher, edition or volume, place of publication, page numbers of journals

and date accessed for web sources).

Details of the APA style are available in the book: American Psychological Association (2010), Publication

Manual of the American Psychological Association (6 th

ed.). Washington DC, USA: American Psychological

Association. Below, you are provided with a brief summary covering the most basic requirements.

Summary of rules for referencing using APA style:

Rules for in-text citations Examples Paraphrasing or using ideas: include the author and

year in brackets or as appropriate

Two or more citations are placed in alphabetical

order, separated by a semi-colon

(Use „and‟ in text, „&‟ within brackets)

In a study of ethnic marketing, Pires and Stanton (2005) found

that loyalty differences exist between groups.

A recent ethnic marketing study showed… (Pires & Stanton,

2005).

Various authors have found a link between… (e.g., Carlson,

1999; Rosenberger, 2003a, 2003b).

Direct quotations: copy exactly, use quotation

marks and include the page number

Dean (2002) found that “Service quality of the call centre affects

customer loyalty to the organization” (p. 420).

Secondary sources: name the original author and

cite the secondary source. Include the secondary

source in your Reference List (that is, the one you

have read must be in the List)

The results of a study by Baxter (cited in Griffiths, 2005)

indicate…

Online material: use author, year (or n.d. if no date

is given), page number, paragraph number or the

heading of the appropriate section.

Kriz (2006) found ….

Studying sense making, Cowley (n.d., para 4) suggests …

Ngo and O‟Cass (2003) debate the…

Rules for the Reference List Examples Book

Solomon, M. R., Marshall, G. W., & Stuart, E. W. (2006). Marketing (4 th

ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Chapter in an edited book Dean, A. M., & Rainnie, A. (2004). Symbolic analysts in the new

economy: Call centres in less favoured regions. In A. Rainnie & M.

Grobbelaar (Eds.), The new regionalism in Australia (pp. 103-122).

Sydney, Australia: Palgrave Press.

Journal article

(Include all authors in Ref List; in text,

use Rust et al., 2004)

Rust, R. T., Lemon, K. N., & Zeithaml, V. A. (2004). Return on

marketing: Using customer equity to focus marketing strategy. Journal of

Marketing, 68(1), 109-127.

Websites

Author (if available) and/or title of

document, date of publication (if

available, otherwise use n.d.), date

accessed (only necessary if the source

material may change over time), URL

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2007). 8624.0 - Retail and Wholesale

Industries, Australia: Commodities, 2005-06. Retrieved from http://0-

www.abs.gov.au.library.newcastle.edu.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/DetailsP

age/8624.02005-06?OpenDocument

Newspaper article Lee, J. (2005, August 6). Retail revolution. Sydney Morning Herald, p. 17.

Please note: 1. All references are listed in alphabetical order by surname of first author 2. Citations and references are for published materials, not lecture notes. Do not quote lecture notes: instead

you should access and cite the original sources.

3. As a UoN student, you are entitled to download a copy of EndNote from the library. EndNote is a database (a „bibliography manager‟) whereby you can input and manage all your references. It will

generate a selected Reference List very rapidly in any predetermined or customized style. If you obtain

EndNote early in your course and file all your references in it, you will save many, many hours over your

degree program. The library has resources and online training available for EndNote. See

http://www.newcastle.edu.au/service/library/endnote/index.html

Gold Guide to Academic Quality 18 January 2011 4 of 4 Prepared by Alison Dean (Please provide any feedback to [email protected])

4. While APA style is the general style used at Newcastle Business School, different disciplines and courses may require different referencing styles. Check your Course Outline and, if in doubt, speak with your

Course Coordinator. You can easily change the output style from EndNote.

Gold Guide to Academic Quality 18 January 2011 5 of 4 Prepared by Alison Dean (Please provide any feedback to [email protected])

5 Business reports

The UniLearning (University of Wollongong) website is an excellent resource for business reports. It

describes their structure, and has embedded links that provide detail on the purpose and contents of each

section in a report. You can access it directly:

http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/rep_business.html

Note that a business report should include the following sections

Title page - Report title, your name, course, date

Executive summary - A snapshot of the whole report including key findings and

recommendations

Table of contents - List of sections and page numbers

Introduction - Background and outline of structure

Body - The main part with sections and sub-sections that address the purpose of the

report and are distinguished by appropriate headings and sub-headings

Conclusion - States main inferences/implications of findings

Recommendations - Numbered, clearly stated, specific and actionable suggestions

Reference list - Essential for an academic report

Appendices - If appropriate, supporting data/information

It describes the structure of business reports, and has embedded links that provide detail on of each

section in a report.

Note: A ‘briefing paper’ is often a modified report on a specific topic or area.

6 Presentations

http://www.newcastle.edu.au/unit/centre-for-teaching-and-learning/learning-development/online-

resources.html (enter Blackboard and select „Making great presentations‟)

When preparing the content of your presentation, make sure that you:

 Have clear objectives, and signposts to help the audience follow you

 Choose the content carefully (you cannot cover everything)

 Provide some background or introduction

 Build in a logical structure and flow (this helps you when you are speaking)

 Use convincing (show evidence) and interesting arguments/comments

 Have an appropriate conclusion (do not „whimper‟ out)

Basic pointers for your delivery:

 Communication must be clear and polished

 Engage the audience, and use body language that shows enthusiasm

 Facilitate questions that include as many members of the audience as possible

 Provide relaxed, but serious, responses to questions

 Use a suitable pace and manage your time

 Prepare thoroughly and practice before the event!

7 Team work

Enter Blackboard as in 6 above and select „Working well in teams‟

Suggestions to help you work successfully in groups:

 Meet regularly for specific purposes

 Develop a timeline of meetings and outcomes

 Discuss and agree members‟ roles in the group

 Discuss and agree the expectations and study output of each group

 Ensure everyone understands the contribution that each member will make

 Use disagreements as an opportunity to discuss and improve overall outcomes

 Be prepared to communicate, co-operate and compromise.