All 12 entries tagged Follow-Up

Follow–up on Introduction to Academic Writing

Workshop Tutor: Dr Emma Smith

Heres a summary of how I've been getting on with my action points

Thank you for your last blog comments and i hope this blog will meet your requirements on reflective writing.

It took me quite a while to figure out where i used to go wrong. I looked up at all my past assignments and literature reviews and after having read the feedback and having analysed some common mistakes as far as my writing is concerned, are highlighted below.

One of the most common mistakes i make is while using the apostrophes. I have a habit of being impatient which leads to these errors. One of the common mistakes that i have made in the past is writing it is as its wherein it should have been it's, and writing does'nt as doesnt in a hurry.

Secondly, flat writing and big sentences in certain cases have been highlighted by my reviewers. I will have to learn to give my sentences a proper depth and texture to make it interesting for the reader. Basically, the sentences i put up convey the same meaning but since they are huge sentences the interest of the reader in reading them decreases.Thus this is another aspect of my writing which i will have to take great care of in my disseration.

Thirdly, where to put in commas is a big thinker for me. I specially make a lot of mistakes in this regard which i can clearly see in my past work. Sometimes i forget putting in a single comma and on the other hand sometimes i put loads of them into my text which is wrong. I need to learn how to properly phrase my sentences and put the commas in appropriate places so as to make the text interesting and give a better impact on the reader with properly defined pauses.

Lastly, i have a habit of exaggerating things. Since i am a science student i cannot afford excessive exaggeration of things and provide greater detailed facts for that matter, but i am very prone to exaggeration which leads to big sentences.

These are some of the common writing errors that i have noticed with some of my past work which i believe can be sorted out and overcome provided i read my work atlease twice or thrice before submitting. Since i have my thesis and disseration due soon i will definately have a deadline of getting rid of most of these mistakes as soon as i can, so as to improvise and get better marks for my literary work in the future.

Fahad Shaikh : 26 Jun 2014 01:35 |  Tags: A6 Portfolio Actions Follow-Up Wspa |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Follow–up on Introduction to Academic Writing

Workshop Tutor: Dr Emma Smith

Heres a summary of how I've been getting on with my action points

Academic Writing is the very heart of our academic life. Expressing ones ideas and sharing of thoughts through writing is indeed a difficult task because the perceptions of the writer and the reader do not match. Thus to percieve our ideas into the mind of the other person is quite a task i believe.

After thorough reading and speculation of my previous works, I have discovered some SMART action points about which i will focus in my future endeavours.

Firstly, I have noticed that proper structuring of your work is very important. The work that you present should be neat, concise and clear. There is no point is giving the best work without a proper structure as it wont arouse the interest of the reader. Thus for a good report, a well defined Introduction followed by a main body and then the conclusion followed by references is very important as it helps the reader to focus on specific aspects of the report. A small significant introduction helps the reader identify the topic areas covered in the article and hence is very important.

Secondly, punctuation plays a very important role in effective writing. Good punctuation makes the relationship between the words in the sentences clear and easy to understand for the readers perspective. Misusing or inappropriate punctuation can cause a possible obscuring of the intended message contained in the sentence.

Thirdly, reasoning your work, grammer, punctuation and structure can help you in preparing a perfect draft to match the expectations of the reader. Each sentence should have a proper element of reasoning to it to help keep the interest of the reader intact. Be clear about what we intend to say and thus put it in a simple and easily able to understand manner so as to develop a lasting impression on the reader.

Lastly, reviewing your work is very important as it helps us identify the areas of error and helps us correct it. A good writer always reviews his work over and over again to help construct the next to ideal article. Reviewing helps us find a better way of constructing a sentence, making a long sentence smaller and adding more detail to a specific sentence. Thus the above list of some of the SMART action points that i will keep in mind in all my future works will help me present my work in a better and more efficient manner.

Fahad Shaikh : 30 May 2014 15:04 |  Tags: A6 Portfolio Actions Follow-Up Wspa |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Follow–up on Effective learning strategies

Workshop Tutor: Gillian Marriot

Heres a summary of how I've been getting on with my action points

1. Positive state of mind
   

   In the past days i have noticed that how significant an effect having a positive state of mind have on our overall personality. Having a positive state of mind with enough sleep can help you perform at your maximum efficiency particularly during exam times and when there are a lot of assignments and reports to submit during the busy days of the term. Thus this particular action point helps me a lot in getting away with the peer pressure of submissions and work deadlines and helps me focus on my work better.

   
   
2. Self awareness
   

   The lectures at wspa paricularly also focus on better and greater self awareness that an individual should have towards himself and his surroundings. Being self aware helps you to understand your needs and requirements better and helps you integrate with the society around you without much fear or shyness. Being self aware and having the confidence in you can help you stand and deliver your thoughts and ideas in front of multiple other people without the fear of rejection and being laughed up at. Thus being more self aware is helping me a lot with my academics and i am noticing a positive change and an upward trend in the amount of confidence and faith that i am having in myself nowadays conpared to earlier days when i had just joined the university and it was a strangers land for me, now i can get along better with my class mates and can ocassionally hang out with them because of this particular action point

   
   
3. Reflective
   

   Adopting some of the actions points at wspa and working along and implementing the action points in day to day life at the university has helped and continues to help me a great deal in my studies and academics at the univesity. Being time bound and setting up priorities i beleive is one of the most important action point that i always implement in my day to day life because that helps me to plan my work better and in turn work more efficiently towards a particular deadline and hence avoid the frustration and the peer pressure of the less amount of time that i have to finish off the work.

   
   
4. Time management
   

   Wspa particularly also focusses on better time management and how to improve our time management skills while at the university and beyond. I definately beleive one of the most important aspects in our time at the university is time management. Better time management skills which thanks to wspa, i have learnt in these past few months have given me the composure and calmness with which i can approach a huge number of assignments and test wich are due soon. Thus setting up my priorities with the amount of work and the date by which the work has to be done by gives me better work handling capabilities and thus helps me to get rid of nervousness and last minute panic attacks.

Fahad Shaikh : 17 Jan 2014 01:39 |  Tags: A4 Portfolio Actions Follow-Up Wspa |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Follow–up on Getting started on skills development and the Warwick Skills Portfolio

Workshop Tutor: Amanda Randall

Heres a summary of how I've been getting on with my action points

1. Academic skills
   

   Here i would like to point out that i primarily think that because of warwick skills and portfolio classes that i had attended i have noticed that i am more and more better off with my studies.

   Now, i can concentrate better on my studies which is being reflected on my marks and my overall development.

   Improving academic skills is a very significant point as far as overall experience at warwick is concerned and i am noticing a positive change in my marks and my attitude towards academics.

   
   
2. Motivation
   

   Motivation keeps you going and its one of the significant factors needed to help you work and study at the university. Being away from home and friends can sometimes have their effect as a demotivating factor and hence can have an adverse effect on our studies as well as time management. Thus by wspa, i realised the importance of identifying my time stealers and be more confident and dedicated and hence i am noticing a positive change in my marks and my personality as a whole

   
   
3. Setting priorities
   

   Attending wspa classes helped me a great deal with one of the most essential things needed during my course at the university and that is setting up priorities and setting them up as according to deadlines and the amount of work that needs to be specifically done.

   Just after the christmas vacations in january saw a huge rise in the amount of assignments and tests to be done and setting up my tasks and the subjects to focus on a particular day in advance helped me a great deal to cope up with the busy time at the university

   
   
4. Measurable
   

   Once again, the word measurable today has a big significance in my life. It was because classes and lectures at wspa emphasized a lot on quantities that were measurable as in the amount of chapters that are needed to be done from a particular book or the amount of questions that are to be done from a particular assignment. Thus by measuring things and assigning them a set priority based on their measure helped me a lot with my academic studies and submissions during the busy first two weeks of january at the university. I would definately continue using all these action points in the future as i can see a positive change in my attitude towards things and the way i handle a lot of study pressure at the university

Fahad Shaikh : 17 Jan 2014 01:01 |  Tags: Actions Follow-Up P1 Portfolio Wspa |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Follow–up on Organising yourself and your time

Workshop Tutor: Lisa Faulkner

Heres a summary of how I've been getting on with my action points

1. Being Motivated
   

   Being motivated is one of the crucial action points that i have set up for myself. The reason being i am away from my family and friends and hence sometimes i get to morally and emotionally demotivated and spend an entire day just in thinking about my past life and experiences.

   
   
2. Setting up priorities
   

   Setting up priorities is like finishing your tasks midway. We dont waste time in doin gmultiple tasks at the same time and hence finish up each task at their set time more productively and efficiently.

   
   
3. Reflective
   

   By being reflective i can analyze and evaluate from my past experiences in life and thus avoid similar instances in the future. For eg, i started off with an assignment late in time and had a tough time finishing it off by the deadline, hence being reflective i will avoid similar situations in the future.

   
   
4. Activeness
   

   The weather in England is very lazy and lousy to work and you feel sleepy at all times in the day. Hence i make sure that i am active at most times of the day by taking long walks regularly around the universities campus and exercising and breathing in fresh oxygen so that i can concentrate better on my academics.

Fahad Shaikh : 02 Dec 2013 23:45 |  Tags: Actions Follow-Up P7 Portfolio Wspa |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Follow–up on Getting started on skills development and the Warwick Skills Portfolio

Workshop Tutor: Amanda Randall

Heres a summary of how I've been getting on with my action points

1. Academic skills
   

   Improving on my academic skills is a major action point. I believe knowledge is endless and the more you can gain the better. Thus to gain better skills i have made an action plan that every week i'll read a new book issued from the library from any genre. This will help me broaden my horizons in all directions and i wont particularly be a person who just has the knowledge of science and maths. My aim now is to make the most of my time at warwick and its library and learn the most out of it in all possible directions.

   
   
2. Priorities tasks
   

   I have noticed that prioritising things in the way it should be completed gets your task half done. The month of November saw a rise in the number of assignments and tests and submissions. Thus planning things in the way it should be completed one after the other thus helped me successfully to complete and submit my assignments on time.

   
   
3. Self promote
   

   Leadership skills i believe is something that opens you up. Hence recently we had a MATLAB exam and i had done MATLAB in my undergraduate studies. Hence i got an opportunity to self promote myself in front of my friends and teach them from scratch. Thus it was a very interesting time i had while teaching everyone and thus we got to know each other better since then.

   
   
4. Being Motivated
   

   I have noticed that one of the most significant action points that i should set for myself is being motivated because over here i am all alone without my family members and friends and hence some times it becomes to morally and emotionally demotivating to spend an entire day thinking about your past life and the times you had back home. Hence this is a key action point for me!

Fahad Shaikh : 02 Dec 2013 23:05 |  Tags: Actions Follow-Up P1 Portfolio Wspa |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Follow–up on Effective learning strategies

Workshop Tutor: Gillian Marriot

Heres a summary of how I've been getting on with my action points

1. Being Motivated
   

   Being motivated is something i believe one of the most crucial action points for myself and my studies. The reason being i am here doing my masters while my friends and my family members are back in India, having left everything behind and to study independently in a new country is something that can let you back by thinking about the past and missing out on friends and family members specially when you have never stayed alone without them!

   
   
2. Having a positive state of mind
   

   Always having a positive state of mind helps and i myself always try to have a positive state of mind, having which can see that my job is half done just because of the kind off approach i have towards a particular task. I believe, leaving all the negative things and thought behind and approaching towards a task with the willingness and the will, will always get you the task done more efficiently than before.

   
   
3. Cream Strategy
   

   Activeness is one of the main action points which according to me suits me the most. The weather in England is very lousy and lazy and thus is one particular action point on which i am focussing the most at this point of time. I try to exercise daily, if not then go for long walks around the university and breathe fresh oxygen so that i am always active all the time to do my work on time and better than before.

   
   
4. Setting up priorities
   

   The month of november which is almost the last month of the term before christmas vacations had a series of exams and submissions which i had to complete effectively and submit on time. Thus i noticed using the CREAM strategies helped me a lot in being time bound and effective in submitting all the assignments on time. I hope to take it up in the future for the terms to come!

Fahad Shaikh : 02 Dec 2013 22:28 |  Tags: A4 Portfolio Actions Follow-Up Wspa |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Follow–up on Effective learning strategies

Workshop Tutor: Gillian Marriot

Heres a summary of how I've been getting on with my action points

1. Self Aware
   

   Self awareness is the ability to recognise onselfs abilities and achievements in a group of people. By implementing an active learning strategy for myself, i can try and strive in a particular type of work. Secondly, by being more self aware i can organise my space, time and priorities in a constructive way.

   
   
2. Motivated
   

   A motivated learning is when you are enjoying learning something and are motivated to go further in the process of acquiring more and more knowledge about a particular task or activity. For example, if i take up dancing, i should always derive fun out of it to be motivated at all times and be able to think of a set goal and keep on working towards it and always go on encouraging myself to do better and better with every passing day.

   
   
3. Reflective
   

   By being reflective i can analyze and evaluate from my past experiences and draw lessons from it. Secondly, if the past experiences were bad its always better to face our fears, because by doing that you leave your comfort zone and hence makes you more energized with a positive state of mind.

   
   
4. Positive state of mind
   

   Our state of mind has amazing effect on our lives. Firstly, i believe to be able to have a positive state of mind one should start playing sports or be active physically because by doing so it helps your blood to flow to all the parts of the body which makes you feel better and in a better mood and well being. Even a 10 minute work out can do wonders to your self esteem and confidence.

Fahad Shaikh : 08 Nov 2013 01:28 |  Tags: A4 Portfolio Actions Follow-Up Wspa |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Follow–up on Organising yourself and your time

Workshop Tutor: Lisa Faulkner

Heres a summary of how I've been getting on with my action points

1. Time Bound
   

   A task should be time bound because it exercises control over the amount of time spent on a particular task. Hence by being time bound for example we can allocate sufficient time for our project research and our day to day studies, etc. Being time bound also helps in protecting our time efficiently because of strict time measures allocated to a particular task.

   
   
2. Leadership
   

   If i get an opportunity to lead a team for example lead a group project i will make the most of the experience. For a leader to be effective i believe the ability to communicate one's hidden ideas to a group of people is of utmost priority. A leader should have a dominant personality and the ability to think like a visionary.

   
   
3. Specific
   

   A specific goal has much greater chances of becoming accomplished rather than a general goal because of a precise particular task that a person sets himself.For example, I want to be more specific about my project thesis and i intend to finish it by end of July so that i have enough time to work on my thesis and dissertation.

   
   
4. Realistic
   

   A realistic goal must represent something that you are willing to work towards irrespective of the amount of hardships that you will have to achieve while attaining it. If you are realistic in setting up tasks and achieving it then you have set your unconscious mind working towards a specific realistic goal.

Fahad Shaikh : 08 Nov 2013 00:50 |  Tags: Actions Follow-Up P7 Portfolio Wspa |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Follow–up on Getting started on skills development and the Warwick Skills Portfolio

Workshop Tutor: Amanda Randall

Heres a summary of how I've been getting on with my action points

1. Time Bound
   

   For a specific task to work it should be time bound. Hence i have set myself a goal and have i have to work towards it in a particular amount of time. Hence having a time frame in mind helps one to achieve a goal systematically and in an efficient way. So before starting with a task now i always question myself, "How much time should i spend on this task?". Hence it makes things easier for me.

   
   
2. Leadership
   

   If i get an opportunity to lead a team i will make the most of the opportunity to gain something significant out of it and help me improve further in life because by being a leader you have to be confident of what you speak. Think before judging other peoples ideas and be more specific and hence speak wherever appropriate and to have the most interactive ideas of them all. I will be looking forward for a chance to show my leadership skills and to be able to communicate my ideas to a group of people and working together to achieve common objectives.

   
   
3. Measurable
   

   This action point leads me to measure the things i do in day to day life. To be able to measure the number of articles or the number of companies i have applied to for graduate job positions. Hence measurability is of a significant and distinguished importance for myself because it get me more and more organised and efficient.

   
   
4. Achievable
   

   A goal is achievable if its something that you know you can achieve hence i have set myself an achievable goal to finish my project dissertation and thesis by the end of july so that i get plenty of time to apply for graduate positions and i think it is something i can commit to and i know that i am time bound hence need to calculate the optimum amount of time i should put in to get the optimum results.

Fahad Shaikh : 08 Nov 2013 00:31 |  Tags: Actions Follow-Up P1 Portfolio Wspa |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem