Ross Woods, rev. 2020, '21
This guide will help you with some study skills. It is introductory rather than comprehensive and does not replace courses in writing and essay presentation.
Follow a schedule.
We strongly recommend that you try to set aside some time for study regularly each week during semester. If you're a student this should be easy, but probably more difficult if you are working or if you are the parent of small children.
Try making yourself hard to contact during your study time, even if you have to go somewhere else. Stay away from the telephone, and have one person (e.g. your secretary or spouse) who knows where you are so that you can still be contacted in a real emergency. The person should refer non-urgent things to someone else or defer them until later; you'll be surprised how many are not urgent that other people think are emergencies.
Be encouraged.
If you are the only student in this program in your area, you will be vulnerable to feeling alone and discouraged. It would be wise to keep in contact with your supervisor and to keep your goals clearly in mind. Ultimately, however, maintaining motivation is your own responsibility.
Keep reading and learning.
You should have a personal plan for non-fiction reading, and be reading most days of the week. This will be easy to do if you are curious and enjoy reading. Read widely, and not just because it's part of the course.
Feed your curiosity in areas where you have special interest. While WU does not require it, it will contribute to the whole learning experience and will often be helpful later on in your studies.
Keep notes.
Write notes of your reading, your thoughts, and your questions. You might even carry a notebook around with you. An idea that you don't write down is easy to forget and simply goes to waste. Later you'll be able to collate your notes, and they will probably make a pattern that will indicate what direction you should take.
Talk about your ideas.
Your ideas will probably crystallize faster and better if you talk about them with somebody. You probably have friends and colleagues, and your supervisor will assist you.
Don't be overcome with the urgent.
Don't rush from one little emergency to another. Keep the big picture in mind so you can follow a plan. For example, if you have a picture of the whole degree program, you'll be able to set a series of realistic deadlines that will help you finish on time.
Set daily goals.
You will normally achieve more if you set yourself a goal for each study period. Be ambitious but realistic.
Most assessment tasks require you to write a written report of some kind when they ask you to describe
, identify
, write
, etc. It is not really the place of WU to conduct a course in academic writing, even though you might urgently need it. If this is a serious problem for you, please contact your supervisor.
Although academic writing is not a core purpose of some WU advanced qualifications, written reports are very appropriate for assessing advanced skills where you need to collect and interpret information, and reflect constructively on it. That is, written reports provide evidence both of what you have done and of you analytical abilities.
In this sense, good thinking is reflected in good writing. You have the advantage of being able to write a rough draft and improve it through successive drafts. This applies best to biblical studies, program evaluations, and teaching notes. Some documents, such as strategic plans and budgets, are good ways of making quite clear what has been decided and keeping it on record.
Academic writing skills are also helpful for other reasons:
When you get a written task, you will usually be given a total number of words to aim for, and most tasks already specify a word total. This often indicates the amount of information you will need and the complexity of the topic.
All written work needs to meet the academic standards of the units, and these should be your main guide to what will be assessed and how it well be done. Besides it must follow WU's standard guide for academic writing guide.
Your supervisor has the right to ask you to submit early drafts of reports for your feedback. If he/she catches problems at this stage, it will make your final submitted work much better and give you the best chance of success. Your supervisor may also set deadlines, including deadlines for different stages of each report. It is best to plan your work to have a good job done by the deadline.
If you are going to hand a report in after the deadline, you must ask your supervisor's permission first and give the reason for the lateness. (See policy for submitting late work.)
Note: In many cases, a longer paper not only requires more writing, but also has more complexity. A 100-page paper is often four times the work of a 50-page paper because it is not only double the length but also double the total complexity.
Generally speaking, allocate time as follows:
Warning: Most students don't allocate time effectively, leaving most of the task to the last couple of days.
Other than that, your assessor will look for the following:
Scholars normally have different views about most topics worthy of study. Each view has its own supporting evidence, and usually a history of how it developed over time.
When an assignment asks you to draw a conclusion on a topic, you normally need to evaluate different views. To do so, you need to find suitable sources (primary and secondary sources where possible, see below), compare and evaluate them, present your conclusion, give the reasons why your view is strongest, and give supporting information.
You do not have to agree with a particular view, but you are required to consider their strengths and weaknesses. Many weaker views have at least some good features and the stronger views often have some weaknesses or limitations.
Avoid these mistakes:
Some students have done studies of themes and have presented an opinion that they present as the truth.
However, by failing to consider other views, they easily make errors of interpretation or of judgement, and draw poorly informed conclusions.
If you are doing a teaching project, part of the task is to present your teaching notes for assessment. The same principle applies. Except in very simple subjects, you should be comparing different views and giving your students the means to compare them and draw conclusions.
Some very basic subjects comprise training on simple procedures, so they are generally not suitable for assessment in this kind of project.
Assignments often contain tasks that use the words describe, define, analyse, and critique. These words have specific meanings.
Describe: What are the main features or characteristics?
Define: What is the set of characteristics that is unique to the thing being defined? (Because it is a definition, that set of characteristics may not apply to anything else.)
Analyse: Of what elements does it comprise? Elements may be defined in many ways, such as a combination of key concepts, a set of assumptions, or a series of aspects added over a period of history. If you are asked to analyse, you are probably free to choose the approach that best suits your assignment.
Critique: Evaluate something, mention its strengths and weaknesses, and give reasons for your conclusions. Personal value judgements are not the same as critique. Whether you personally feel something is right or wrong is of limited relevance. You need to present some kind of information to support your conclusions.
A syllogism is a method of drawing conclusions that comprises two statements (called premises) and a conclusion. For example:
It is a helpful tool because it lays out the logical basis in short, one-sentence steps. Consequently, you can check your thinking by laying it out in syllogisms. For example:
(Incorrect, because Fluffy could be a cat, a horse, a rabbit, or any other four-legged animal.)
Logical fallacies are incorrect ways of drawing conclusions. A logical fallacy usually does not show that the statement is false, but that it is not necessarily true. Some logical fallacies have well-known names, which are italicized below.
They are most useful in discussion and for learning how to think more accurately.
Criticizing the person rather than what they say.
X is true because there is no evidence X is not true.
You won't understand X unless you believe X.
Wealth is a criterion of truth.
X is wrong, because if it true, then it will have harmful consequences.
X is true or superior because it is new.
The starting assumptions are the same as the conclusion.
Make an incorrect representation of an idea (e.g. an oversimplification or a caricature) so that it is easy to critique.
Draw cause and effect conclusions from correlations or associations.
cause and effectrelationship.
Manipulate emotions rather than present logical arguments.
Because someone has made a logical mistake in their argument, their conclusions must be incorrect.
Doing X will inevitably lead to Y.
Respond to critique with critique rather than respond to the statement.
X is non-existent or wrong because it is difficult to understand or to believe.
Consider a statement right or wrong based on who said it.
Limit choices to two.
Consider everything natural to be good.
Use personal experiences as evidence that something is true.
The plural of anecdote is not evidence.(To that I might add,
The plural of anecdote could be unproven hypothesis.)
The middle path between two extremes is correct.
Lots of weak evidence is adequate proof.
X is true because lots of people believe it.
Everyone else is doing it, so why aren't you?)
The support of many opinions is adequate proof of X.
The support of many expert opinions is adequate proof of X.
X is true if it is sincere.
X is true if it is easy to understand.
X is true if it is difficult to understand.
I have a deep knowledge. You don't need to understand it, just trust me.
Identifying a problem is the same as solving it.
If X has limitations, it must be wrong.
mysticalas if it were insightful, then extrapolating conclusions from it.
scientific,so it must be true.
*A condradictory statement is one with the word not
inserted in front of the finite verb. A contrary is different; it is to state something that is incompatible with the original. For example:
Statement X: Fluffy is a cat.
Contradictory to X: Fluffy is not a cat.
A contrary to X: Fluffy is a dog.
This version of digital literacy relates specifically to online faculty and students' use of library facilities for academic purposes. It does not include aspects of general computer skills, broad organizational capacity, use of non-text sources, nor related study skills in critical thinking and writing.
Each student needs to be able to:
You should also develop your own personal reading strategy, manage information so that it is not lost or misplaced, and be able to ask for help when you need it.
Differentiate between primary, secondary and tertiary sources. For example, what's the difference between a blog written for marketing purposes and a refereed journal article of original research?
Some assignments specify primary and secondary sources. When you get a source, ask what kind it is. Sources generally fit into the following categories:
* Journals are published in several different categories:
• Refereed
journals are those where one or more peer experts reviewed the article before it was published and recommended it to an editor as being worthy of publication. (Some journals are not refereed and are considered of lower quality.)
• Research journals
contain reports of original research (or reviews of original research) and are intended for researchers.
• Professional journals
are intended for practitioners who are not doing research, but want to know how to incorporate new techniques and ideas into practice.
Start by looking at the task given by your instructor. It might specify the kinds of sources you must use, and it might include a list of other recommended sources.
Have a reading strategy. Avoid reading whole sources unnecessarily (e.g. skim-read, read the abstract only). You will find that you can read some sources very quickly, especially if they are well written and you are familiar with the main ideas. You can also read very quickly if you omit sections that are irrelevant to your purposes. Some sources require slow, careful reading, and you should take notes as you go.
Your purpose is to narrow the search. Locate sources that are very relevant to your topic, and don't read things that are irrelevant and not helpful.
How much information is enough?
Students frequently ask, How many books do I have to quote for this assignment?
It is not so simple, because a simple number of sources is often unrealistic.
The standard is more abstract: Do you have enough to achieve your purpose? In some cases, three sources might be adequate. In other cases, twenty sources might not be enough. It is easier to achieve your purpose if it is very clear and focussed. For example, have you satisfactorily narrowed the topic to something achievable?
Link opens new window: Internet searches.
Use the catalog search facility; it probably works the same as an online search. When a catalog gives the reference number for a suitable book, check the shelves under that reference number for similar sources.
Consider the difference between kinds of sources. Books are more thorough, but usually take a long time to get to print. Journal articles tend to be newer and more focused, although in some very fast-moving fields of research, they might still be nearly out of date by the time they are actually issued. Don't overlook reference books. Items are all in one volume and you are only looking for specific entries or articles.
Check related fields of study. If searching for a particular theological field, the parallel secular field might also have useful information: e.g.
Identify major publishers in your language. Each publisher has a scope of the kinds of items they produce. Some represent a narrow set of opinions, while others might address a wider forum. Some are general reading for laypeople, which others are academic. The publisher's name alone might indicate what kind of book you are probably getting.
If you find gaps or unanswered questions in the information, you might need to go back to searching for more sources. Just be sure you don't get distracted into something that is not essential to your topic.
Most likely, your sources will represent a variety of opinions, each with its own supporting evidence. It will be your role to interpret, evaluate and compare them, propose a satisfactory conclusion, and support your own conclusion based on the information available. This is a key conceptual skill in writing.
To evaluate some sources, you need to be sure you correctly interpret them. Many are quite clear, but it is very easy to make errors when interpreting sources from another era or another culture.
You can prevent some errors in interpreting sources simply by scanning the reading document and at least reading the whole passage rather than picking small sections in isolation. the follow the basic steps;.
The order of these steps is not important, except that some of the first steps must be done first, and the last steps must be done last. Most of these steps are relevant to the study of any document.
In academic works, you will most likely ask whether the data is correct and whether the conclusions are justified. Does the source contain errors, biases, or gaps?
fair dealingprovisions of US law mean that you can keep copies for your personal study, but you may not re-publish them (even for free) or sell copies.
Ethical aspects
To avoid plagiarizing, give references for anything you use from other sources as well as a bibliography item. WU has strict guidelines against plagiarism. Plagiarism is unethical, and it is possible to plagiarize work without breaching copyright. For example, it is plagiarism to take an idea without using the exact words, and to take something from a non-copyright document.
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