Before you start, note down the full publication details:

• author’s name/s
• title of text/article
• publisher
• place of publication
•  year of publication

Print them clearly to make sure you get them exactly right when you use them later. You will put them in alphabetical order to make your reference list which will be provided at the end of your essay.

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What techniques can I use for notetaking? 

1. Direct quotations

These should be carefully selected and copied exactly from the text/article. It is best not to use abbreviations when taking notes of direct quotations. Use inverted commas “ ” in your notes to show exactly which words are being quoted.

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2. Paraphrasing

This means writing in your own words without changing the original meaning. The paraphrase is usually as long as the original passage. Read the passage several times to understand its meaning, check the dictionary for any words you do not understand, and identify:

• the main idea
• the main supporting points

Write the passage in your own words by:

• keeping any technical terms
• substituting synonyms for general words
• changing the word order of sentences, eg active to passive or vice versa
• where possible, linking your paraphrase to the purpose of what you are writing
•  if you are stuck, saying it aloud to yourself and writing down what you said, then changing it into academic style

In your essay, you must reference all paraphrases; this is just as important as referencing direct quotations. This means you must include the page numbers in your notes – try in the margin or above the line.

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3. Summarising

Read the passage several times to understand its meaning, check the dictionary for any words you do not understand, and identify:  

• the main idea
• the main supporting points
• details about each point
• examples and illustrations

Write the main ideas of the passage in your own words. Use the same techniques as for paraphrasing, but include less detail. Leave out details and examples unless they are necessary for understanding or you think you may use one in your essay. A summary is usually much shorter than the original passage.  

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4. Using outlines

Write the main ideas in point form and use numbers and letters, headings and subheadings to indicate main ideas and subordinate ideas.  

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5. Using abbreviations

This can save you a lot of time. A couple of warnings:  

• Only use abbreviations that you will understand when you read your notes – which may be in 3 months time!
• If you want to start using new abbreviations, choose a maximum of about 5 and use them until they become automatic before you introduce more new ones.  

Otherwise you risk being unable to read your notes!  

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Any other useful websites?

Some of the best websites dealing with this topic have been bookmarked for you on del.icio.us  notetaking.reading

This resource was created by
Amanda Pearce and Wendy Fleet, 2003

If you have any suggestion as to how it could be imnproved, or any other comments, please feel free to leave a comment/ reply below. 

At all levels within the university you will be required to do research; even as a new first year student (undergraduate) there will be tasks that require you to find additional information, besides what is given in lectures and tutorials. Different units of study or courses use different types of material/information/references.

What you then have to do with the information will vary from task to task, from lecturer to lecturer, and from subject to subject. This Canberra Uni site gives some tips, after which you will probably need to visit VU’s library. Alternatively, to get started, do this practical online information skills tutorial.  

When you research materials for your essay topic, you will need to locate primary and secondary sources. Primary sources include original documents such as newspapers, interviews and historical documents. Secondary sources include textbooks and journals which provide interpretations of events, issues and concepts.  

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What sources exist?

• Refereed Journals

These contain articles on specific topics that have been reviewed by peers. This means that, for an article to be published, it has to be read by colleagues in the field who assess whether it’s worthy of publication. Journals are published regularly, sometimes two or three times a year and every discipline has its own set of local and international journals. Authors of journal articles can be practitioners in the field or academic staff members who are experts in the discipline.

Published articles can present results of research and a range of perspectives on current issues. Because they are published so regularly, journals keep up-to-date with changes and new perspectives in the discipline. Some of these refereed journals can also be online (called e-journals).

Victoria University has quite an extensive collection of these journals, which you can search through on their e-journal database.  

• Other Journals

Non-refereed journals (online or otherwise) and magazine articles can also be sources of information. ‘Non-refereed’ means that the articles published in the journal have not been reviewed by colleagues in the field, therefore, as sources of information, these articles would have far less credibility than refereed articles. You would need to view the opinions and information published in these sources with great caution. Magazine articles would often be written in a journalistic, persuasive, sensationalist manner, to capture readers’ interest and to boost sales.

• Textbooks

Texts will probably be your initial source of information for your assessment tasks and, like journal articles, they are a highly credible source. Because of the long time-line involved in the publication of texts, these sources will not be as up-to-date as journals. However, texts are also reviewed by colleagues and by the editors who commission the publication of the texts. For texts to be published commercially, a rigorous quality auditing process is undertaken.  

• Newspapers/Television Reports

These are primary sources of information and can provide useful current factual information and perspectives on issues. Again, you need to treat information in newspapers and on television with the same caution as you would with magazine material.  

• Websites

You need to be very cautious with website materials. Anyone can put information on a website, so it’s important to check the credentials of the authors of sites before using information from these sources.  

• The Media

It might also be useful to explore how a particular issue has been discussed in the media. This is a useful way to pick up some background information on a topic that you perhaps do not know very well, or to examine the extent to which particular issues are of concern to society at large. Be careful, however, about the accuracy of some of the information as facts are often skewed to appeal to a particular readership. The following online resources have search-able databases:

• The Age Newspaper
• Australian News Network
• CNN Interactive
• ABC Online
• Amazon Books
• Bookwire (online portal providing librarians, publishers, booksellers, authors, and general book enthusiasts with book industry resources).
• Ingenta (a service for free online searches of published material from reliable research sources)

• Interviews

Data from your interviews are obviously valuable primary data for your case study report. You need to sift through the data in interviews carefully, to extract the information which is relevant for your purposes.  

If you have ideas or suggestion on how this resource could be improved, please leave a comment/ reply below.

A postgraduate student is someone who has already graduated with an undergraduate degree and wishes to pursue higher study. Some students find that being a post graduate is very different because they have to work much more on their own and be even more responsible than in their first degree for organising their own time and motivating themselves. It is for these reasons that you must make sure you enroll in a post graduate course in which you are very interested.

It is likely that as a postgraduate, your needs will be different from when you were an undergraduate. Ask yourself what your expectations are about study at this level and then talk about this with your supervisor very early in your studies. Your supervisor will advise you as to what is expected, and in this sense, he/ she is one of your greatest resources. 

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What postgraduate courses are available?

There are various types of PG courses available such as Graduate Diplomas, Graduate Certificates, Masters, PhDs and Professional Doctorates. These can be coursework and/ or research based. If it is coursework based, then students attend classes and submit assignments in a similar way to undergraduates but the work is at a higher level.Research Masters and PhDs differ from coursework degrees because there is no coursework and often no classes.

The individual student is supervised by a lecturer (their supervisor) who is an expert in the field of study they wish to pursue. The student has to conduct research and write up this research with occasional input from their supervisor.  The highest level of postgraduate study is a PhD. A person who graduates with a PhD is referred to as a Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor for short (an academic doctor as opposed to a medical doctor). For more information about postgraduate research at VU contact the relevant faculty. Check the VU Library Research Resources, or browse the library’s Online Guides page 

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Post graduate writing 

One issue that can confront post graduates for the first time is writing at a much longer length than they have in the past (usually over 3000 words). Writing in a formal academic style is also sometimes an issue.

If you are studying via coursework, your assignments will be longer and more detailed. If you are a Masters or PhD student, you will have to design and conduct a piece of research, analyse the findings and discuss the findings. Have a look at some online resources which deal with Research-based Writing. For research and documenting sources, see Resources for Documenting Electronic Sources from the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University.  

Some time is available during semesters for postgraduate students to receive advice and feedback on their writing. For more information, contact the SLU via the contact details on the “about us” section on the SLU Homepage. If you are thinking about employment, VU’s Student Career Development Site is excellent. See also a site by the Graduate Careers Council of Victoria.

If you have any queries about postgraduate studies or writing, or on how this resource could be improved, feel free to leave a reply below!

One difference between an oral presentation and a written text is the immediacy of the feedback. When you give an oral presentation you have a chance to adjust the content and presentation style to suit the audience. You can change the sequencing of the overheads. You can use the question time to determine the level of understanding and interest. A written assignment is a fixed document prepared for an audience (eg. your lecturer). Once you have submitted it there is no changing the appearance or content.

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What are the aims of individual or group/ class presentations?

• provide an opportunity to research a topic
• present information to a live audience  
• practice public speaking skills 
• provide an opportunity for discussion based on the topic

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Any other hints?

You will be a more enthusiastic speaker if you choose a topic you know something about, or are interested in. Similar to a written assignment, you will have an introduction, body and conclusion and you will also need to connect your ideas.          

• Maintain eye contact with the people you are speaking with 
• Emphasise your main points with your voice and your body
• Practise, practise, practise

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Any more useful links?

We have bookmarked some useful links for you on del.icio.us on the topic of Oral Presentations

If you have ideas or suggestion on how this resource could be improved, please leave a comment/ reply below.

This area is a public space where students may talk with study skills lecturers and with fellow students. If you have a language or study skills query that you would like to discuss with an SLU lecturer and/ or other students, you can post a question to the Online Discussion Board.

We will try to respond to your query as promptly as possible.

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How can I benefit from it? 

Even if you don’t pose a question or join in the discussion, you may find some answers to your problems by viewing discussion responses.

We would encourage you to post your query to the Discussion Board – that way, other students can benefit from your question and answer!

Exam preparation starts the night before the exam, right?  WRONG !  

It should start at the beginning of semester – and this is something most students learn the hard way. Of course all students learn differently, but some revision strategies are better than others.  

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What strategies can you use to help you revise?

There are three very basic revision strategies:

• Setting goals
• Studying in small bites
• Assessing your progress

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1. Setting Your Goals

First the student would set their revision goals for that revision session by deciding which part of the subject they want to revise. For example, they might decide to revise the first three weeks of the semester or they might decide to break their revision into specific topic areas and so on. Or they might decide to revise twenty key words. Then the student decides to spend the next twenty minutes trying to memorize the key words.  

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2. Studying In Small Bites and Assessing Your Progress

After twenty minutes or longer, if you feel you can concentrate for longer, you should stop and review your progress and decide whether or not to continue with the same task or to change to something else. The aim is to monitor and be in control of your own learning. 

Give yourself a short break where you get some fresh air or have a drink of coffee but be disciplined about returning to your study in a short time. Don’t let others stop you from returning. 

Go back to your desk and decide on your next goal and repeat the process. 

At the end of your study session you need to decide what you feel confident about and what you feel you need to spend more time on in your next revision period which might occur the next day. 

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Other SLU Resources

The SLU has further information below on Exam Skills.

• Open Book Exams (pdf)
• Past Papers (pdf)
• Multiple Choice Tests (pdf)

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Other Useful Websites

Some other Exam Skills websites have been bookmarked for you on del.icio.us

If you have any queries about exam techniques, or on how this resource could be improved, feel free to leave a comment/ reply below!

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Subject-specific Resources 

These have been created by lecturers working within your subject area, and are organised according to the faculty that you are in:

» Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science
» Faculty of Business and Law
» Faculty of Arts, Education and Human Development 

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General Resources

» English As A Second Language (ESL) | Study Skills | Mathematics

If you have any queries about language and learning skills, or on how this resource could be improved, feel free to leave a reply below!

If you have looked through our resources and feel that you still need support, you may like to make an appointment to see a language and learning skills lecturer. If some of your classmates have the same sorts of queries, then you may also book a Group Consultation. 

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What happens in an appointment?

An SLU lecturer will look at any concerns you have, and skills you need to develop, then work out various strategies to help you. The sorts of topics which students raise in ICs are often similar to those that are covered in workshops: 

• critical analysis

• referencing and citation

• grammar

• vocabulary

• presentation

This may lead onto other areas such as:

• study skills (time management, study strategies etc.)

• note-taking skills

• vocabulary development

• academic expression.

There are also ICs available in:

• mathematics
• statistics
• general science.

Support is offered to students requiring assistance with understanding theory, problem-solving, and preparation for tests and examinations. In the case of projects, solutions are not provided, though students are guided through the requirements.

SLU lecturers do not proofread or help you actually write an essay. Do not expect to arrive at an appointment a few hours before an assignment is due to be handed in, and have someone correct your mistakes. This is not how the SLU works.

 

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How many appointments can I have? 

For reasons of equity, we only offer one hour per student per week, but if you feel you have special circumstances, then please contact either Bernadette Trickey or Monica Kemp on the phone number below.  ICs are often in high demand, especially at certain times of the year. For this reason, we advise that you book at least two weeks in advance.

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How do I book an appointment?

1. Come into the SLU reception in person -
   we are located in Building M, Footscray Park ( Map available here)
2. Call us on: 9919 4744
3. Email: studentlearning@vu.edu.au

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What should I bring?

• the assignment question (if relevant)
• the task instructions
• the assessment criteria
• your essay/ dissertation draft (preferably in hard copy)

SLU welcomes your feedback on any individual consultations that you have attended.

These are for students enrolled in VU degrees or higher awards.  They are for both new students to the university and for students who have been at university for a while but who still feel unsure about some of the academic expectations.  Usually we divide the students into Faculty groupings and separate undergraduate students from postgraduate students.  

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What are the aims of these courses?

To make explicit the skills required to be successful at university.

• To assist the transition to higher education from a wide range of student backgrounds.
• To acknowledge the experiences that students bring with them to higher education.
• To make explicit the meaning of academic writing.
• To assist students with a range of strategies to help cope with university life.

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What will I study?

The timetable will be developed in conjunction with the participants of Uniskills.  In the past the program has focused on how to tackle different types of assessment, in particular different writing styles.  There are often questions and discussion around plagiarism, referencing and finding appropriate academic sources.  For the new students the program tends to concentrate more on how to get the most out of lectures and tutorials.

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When can I start?

Uniskills usually runs at Footscray Park in the week before Semester 1 starts (February) and in the week before Semester 2 starts (July). 

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How do I apply?

You need to register for Uniskills.  This can be done in person by coming to Student Learning Services Reception, Level 3, Building M, Footscray Park Campus or by using the phone number or email address below.

The Student Learning Unit reception:  9919 4744, otherwise email studentlearning@vu.edu.au .

If you have any queries about uniskills, or on how this information could be improved, feel free to leave a comment/ reply below!