Today I have read about...: августа 2016

пятница, 26 августа 2016 г.

How should you summarise?

To summarise correctly:

Identify the key ideas in the original source.
Write down the key ideas in your own words or use quote marks if replicating original text for emphasis.
Do not add your own reflections on the original text, summarise only.
Remind the reader that someone else has written the original piece of writing throughout your summary: Smith (2009) states…, She further indicates…
Cite and reference the original source.

What is summarising?

Summarising is a short and concise representation of the key ideas of source material, in your own words.

A summary is shorter than the original text and provides an overview of the subject matter.

Summaries need to be referenced, just like paraphrases and quotations.

How should you integrate a paraphrase?

To integrate a paraphrase:

Underline key points in the original source.
List the main ideas or concepts.
Come up with alternative phrases and synonyms to describe the ideas.
Rewrite and reorder these ideas in your own words.
Use a signal phrase where necessary to embed the author’s name, eg “Smith (1996) states…”, “As indicated by Townsend and Parks (2013)….”
Cite and reference.

Sequence

To begin
First
Then
Next

Next Topic

Let’s move on to talk about our options.
Now let’s look at some possible reasons.
This leads us to the next part of our presentation, our options.
Moving on to the results of our study, here is some data.
The next thing we’re going to look at is reasons for the problem.

Explanations

So, why does this happen?
So, what can we do about this?
You may be wondering when/why/how…
Let’s look at this in a little more detail.
Let’s examine some reasons for this.

Showing Significance or Effects

What’s the significance of this?
What impact does this have on the process?
Why is this important?
This is important because it shows the risks in the procedure.
This step is important to prevent later problems.

Referring Back

As I mentioned before/earlier …
As you saw in the last slide…

Going Back

Let’s go back a bit here.
Let me go back a minute.
Going back up a minute, …

Promising More Later

I’ll come back to this later.
We’ll discuss this in more detail in a few minutes.

Details

There are two important things/factors/issues/reasons to consider:
First, / The first one/thing is cost.
One reason is cost. The other reason is time.

Examples

Let me give you an example.
To give you an example, …
Here’s an example.
Let’s look at an example.
For example, let’s look at fuel costs.

Rephrasing

To put it another way, …
In other words, it’s too expensive.
What I mean is that everyone can use it, not just tech people.
What I’m saying is that this plan won’t work 100% of the time.

Changing Speakers

Now I’m going to turn it over to Paul.
And now, Paul is going to talk about possible solutions to the problem.
Next in our presentation is the budget projection. Paul?

Conclusions

So, to recap…
To close, I’d like to summarize my main points.
To end,
In conclusion, let me just suggest…
I’d like to close by (verb+ing)
Finally,
Conclusions
Thank you.
Thank you for your attention.

Questions

Feel free to stop me anytime with your questions.
I’d be happy to answer questions at the end of my talk.
We’ll have time for questions at the end.

Postponing to the end

I’d be happy to answer that question at the end.
Let’s talk about that at the end (in a few minutes).
Would you mind waiting to ask that question?

Postponing to Later

Good question. I’ll come to that in a few minutes.
Yes, I’m just about to talk about that.

Asking for Questions

So, does anyone have any questions?
Any questions or comments?
I’m happy to answer any questions.
What questions do you have?

Repeating

Let me repeat the question.
Let me repeat that.

Unclear Questions

I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.
Could you repeat that, please?
I’m sorry. Are you asking how long it will take to launch this?
Do you mean why can’t we get it done faster?

Difficult Questions

That’s a great question.
Yes, good question.
I don’t know the answer to that
off the top of my head
right here
I’d like to think about that / talk to you about that in the break.
Interesting question, but that’s not something I looked at.
That’s a good question, but I don’t know the answer.

Challenges

I understand how you must feel.
I understand that you have a different point of view.
I’m sorry that you disagree.
It’s true that not everyone agrees about this.
I don’t believe you’re right about that.
I don’t think that’s true.
Let’s not get into that discussion right now. Thank you everyone.

Paraphrasing is introducing ideas from another source in your own words. Your “voice” is predominant in a paraphrase and shows your understanding and interpretation of someone else’s thoughts in relation to the topic.

You should be as faithful as possible to the author’s idea, while showing how it relates to others’ ideas and your own.

As a general rule paraphrasing will be used more commonly in your writing than quotations, which should be used rarely and selectively.

How should you integrate a quote?

To integrate a quote correctly you should:

Use a signal phrase such as “According to Smith (2008) …”, “Smith (2008) reports …”
Demonstrate the relevance of the quote to your writing by using an introductory phrase or by providing commentary on the quote.
Include quotation marks.
Incorporate a short quote into a paragraph or indent a longer quote.
Include the number of the page or paragraph where you found the quote.
Demonstrate any changes you have made to the quote, such as shortening it by omitting sections.
Cite and reference it.

What is quoting?

Quoting is reproducing words from another source using exactly the same wording, spelling, punctuation, capitalisation and paragraphing.

As a general rule, quotations should be used rarely and selectively, as it is important that you demonstrate your own view on a topic in your own words.

View an example of a quote.

In the next section you can test your knowledge of when to quote.

Finding out more about referencing styles

To find out more about a particular referencing style:

Talk to your tutor, lecturer or professor.
Search your college or university’s website for information about the style.
Search Google for information about the style.
Talk to a librarian or learning advisor.
For a definitive answer, find the official style manual for a particular referencing style. Most referencing styles have an official manual or guide with specific rules for referencing. Your library catalogue is a good starting point for this.

What is referencing?

To acknowledge the work of others in your written work, you must cite and reference them correctly. You must do this every time you refer to someone else’s ideas or writing.

Referencing is an important part of academic writing. It may seem tricky to start with, but it’s worthwhile taking the time to learn to reference correctly. Referencing is an essential academic skill and you may be marked on it.

A reference generally consists of two things:

The in-text citation: An in-text citation acknowledges your source in the main body of your document. When you use or refer to another person’s ideas, you provide an in-text citation.
The reference list: The reference list sets out all the sources you have used, either as a footnote or at the end of your document.

Using and acknowledging others' work is important

Learning about and acknowledging the authors who have contributed to the body of knowledge in your discipline is an integral part of the process of creating your own academic work.

When you use and acknowledge the work of others, you:

Make meaningful connections between other authors’ ideas and your own.
Question and evaluate the ideas of other authors.
Provide credibility for your work and allow your lecturer to track down the original sources.
Provide evidence that your ideas or argument are backed up or supported.
Give credit to the original author or authors.

Not acknowledging correctly is considered plagiarism and may result in penalties.

Useful Language and Guidelines: Presentations

General Guidelines

Prepare and practice.
Breathe deeply.
Stand tall.
Find a few people to look at.
Face the audience, not the screen.
Do not read a script.
Project your voice.
Do not speak too quickly.
Use pauses, stress, and intonation to emphasize important points.
Make sure your audience understands any abbreviations you use.
Limit “fillers” in your speech.

Effective Introduction Techniques

Ask a question.
Tell a story.
Give some surprising information.
Establish your credibility.
Give an overview and/or state your goals.

Expressions for Attracting the Audience’s Attention

My name is… / I’m …
Today, I’m going to be talking about …
In this presentation, we’re going to show you…
How many of you…?
Please raise your hands if you…
Did you know that …?
Here’s a statistic that may surprise you.
Let me show you our plan.
Here’s an overview of…
My goal is to …
Here’s what our objectives are today.

Effective Introductions

Presentation Guidelines

Scenario Effective Presentation (A & B)

Communicating Change Effectively

Delivering Bad News

Interview with Starbucks HQ Manager

Communicating With Your Manager

пятница, 19 августа 2016 г.

What is a function?

What is the role of functions in mathematical modeling?

понедельник, 15 августа 2016 г.

Why do some students cheat?

Over the past week we have explored what is meant by academic dishonesty, discussed responsibilities when working with others, and touched on the benefits and limitations of getting and giving help.

Cheating is never acceptable. In this final section, we will explore some of the reasons why students cheat even though they know it is wrong.

Reasons include feeling:

Under pressure (high pressure for grades/marks from self or others)
Uninterested (low task value or interest in learning the material at hand)
Unable (feeling incapable of succeeding honestly)
Unsure (uncertain of how or when to acknowledge the work of others)

Working in groups

Examples of exam misconduct

Exam misconduct may include:

Writing after the exam has finished
Getting someone to sit the exam on your behalf
Bringing prohibited notes into the exam

The following are examples of the types of evidence you could keep to prove that your work is original:

If working in a group, make a note of the information sources used by the group (books, articles, etc) as well as the sources used by individual group members. This way you can show how your work developed. It can also provide evidence that you did not copy directly.
Keep your own notes and files as evidence of your contribution to a group project.
If working independently, keep a detailed file of all the books, articles, and sources you have used.
Save different versions of electronic documents and computer files so that you can show your progress over time.
Keep copies of any revisions. If someone else is revising your work, always ask for revisions and comments on a printout, or if using an electronic copy, use electronic “tracking”. This is evidence of how they helped you and how you used their suggestions in later revisions.

When getting and giving help...

When getting help with your university work, you must take care that this assistance does not endanger the integrity and originality of the work. Remember that your lecturer or course tutor should always be the first person you turn to for help.

When giving help to fellow students, the help you offer must not compromise the integrity of their university work. Helping someone cheat also shows poor academic integrity on your part. You can remind your friends that they should ask their lecturer or course tutor if they need help.

Getting help and giving help at university

Discussing your assignments and projects with others may be helpful, but you need to be aware of the limits of getting and giving help.

You can ask your lecturers or tutors for help or ask a third party for assistance. At university third-party assistance is generally defined as getting help with your academic work from someone other than your lecturers or tutors.

A third party could be a:

Fellow student
Friend
Family member
Librarian
Professional editor or a private tutor

What do we mean by 'making false claims'?

Making false claims is also considered to be a form of academic dishonesty.

Examples include:

Misrepresenting your results
Changing or omitting data to fit a preferred outcome or particular theory
Making up data
Making up references
Pretending to be sick to avoid an exam or assessment
Getting someone to impersonate you in an exam
Getting someone to write your assignment but submitting it under your own name.

пятница, 26 августа 2016 г.