Successful Academic Strategies
Amanda Zywiec
Kaplan University
CS121-Pathways

Successful Academic Strategies It can be hard to be a successful academic student. There are strategies that each student need to practice and work on. This paper will discuss different strategies for reading, writing, and speaking. Having focus with each category is important to achieve success. There are many different reading strategies that each person has. Some might enjoy reading while others struggle to stay focused. There are different ways of reading strategies such as reading for a short amount of time and taking breaks. You can also take notes while you read so you can review what you have encountered while reading. It is also a good idea to take notes on the text that you do not understand so you can diagnose what is being said. Some people can read quickly and fully understand what the text is explaining, while others will read slow and not be able to comprehend the message. In order to increase reading speed you should try to move your eyes faster, notice and release ineffective habits, and stay flexible (Ellis, 2015). When you move your eyes faster, you tend to see words quickly. It is not necessary to read every word that is in the text, such as and, but, the, etc. Your eyes will focus on the bigger words first. You can release ineffective habits with reading by covering up the words that you have read. You can then note how often you stop and move the card back to reread the text (Ellis, 2015). I have found that it is easier for me to read the text out loud. This helps me focus on the vocabulary. When there is a word that I do not understand or know how to speak, I write it down and search the meaning to the word. In order to stay flexible with reading, people might try to use different speeds of reading. An example of this would be to first go through the text quickly to get the main message, key words, or ideas of the text. Then go back to the difficult sections for a slower and more thorough reading (Ellis, 2015). Also, when I decide to read I like to go in a separate room from my daughter. It makes it less distracting so I can focus on the message of the document that I read, or the homework that I am doing. Before I go read I make sure she knows where I will be, and I make sure that she is comfortable with me going into a separate room to focus on reading. Another idea would be to ask others to watch the children when reading or studying. The next area, writing, ties into reading. Writing is a good way to process what you are learning. Writing is a good way to focus on what you process, and is nice to have when reviewing what you are reading or learning is a class. I like to take notes so I can have some kind of document on hand with me. When I take notes I write down technical terms, names, numbers, and words with their meanings. There are different phases of effective writing. Using outlines or the Cornell method can be helpful for anyone. An outline starts with a key word or main point. Then it can go to sub points to explain what the main points are. The Cornell method splits a paper in three sections (Ellis, 2015). In one section you have the notes from the reading or lesson. The next section is called a cue column. The cue column is for reflection on the reading or lesson. Finally, the summary section is to summarize the reading or lesson. You can write little things that will help you remember the different points of the reading or lesson. You can also use your outline or Cornell method to write paper. When writing a paper it is very important to use your own ideas and beliefs. There are times when you will need to back up things that you put on paper such a phrases or ideas that come from other sources. When doing so, you must have an in-text citation. It is important to use an in-text citation if writing with someone else’s ideas. If you do not use an in-text citation, it is considered plagiarism. At the end of the paper, one must include a reference page so the reader can recite where the writer is getting the information from. There is no justice for plagiarism when writing papers. It is not right for someone to take a different person’s ideas and act as if they are their own ideas. If a person decides to plagiarize, they can get a failing grade on the paper, and possible for them to fail the class that they are taking. It is importing to read and write well, but also to be able to speak properly. There are different techniques when speaking. Verbal and non-verbal communication, and listening are key. When you are in a conversation you should be quiet, maintain eye contact, display openness, and send acknowledgment to the speaker (Ellis, 2015). I tend to have good eye contact with people when I am having a conversation with them. I like to see the expression on their faces and be able to know that they are paying attention to me and not having other distractions. It is also good to be quiet when the other person or people are talking because you can take in what they are saying and have time when they are finished talking for quick thinking of how to reply to them. There is also verbal communication in each conversation. Some things to remember with verbal communication are choosing when to speak, giving feedback and having meaning of feedback (Ellis, 2015). It is important to take turns when speaking so people feel like you are interested in what they have to say about the certain subject. When giving feedback you can also ask questions to make sure that you understand what the speaker is saying. In some conversations, there can also be emotions involved. Some people might share things that they feel deeply about and might have deep emotions about. A listener needs to be prepared for emotions such as crying or shaking. Other emotions could be positive such as smirking or laughing about a subject. Emotional release can bring relief and trigger unexpected insights (Ellis, 2015). When having a conversation, keep in mind that conflicts can arise. Some things to help keep conflicts from happening are stating the problem, focus on a solution, and focus on the future (Ellis, 2015). It is important to speak up and tell people your thoughts, feelings, what you want and what you intend to do. I am one who does not like conflicts at all. I keep a lot of things inside and have found out throughout the last few course weeks that I need to focus on the problems, and to speak my mind to others. There are times where I find myself having a conflict simply because I cannot say no. I feel bad when I say no but in the book Becoming a Master Student there are five strategies to say no in a respectful way. Thinking critically about your assumptions, plan your refusal, avoid apologies or qualifiers, wait for the request, and remember that one no leads to another yes are the five strategies the book gives (Ellis, 2015). After the reading I have learned that I need to say no or I will not have control of my own time. When my friends or family always want to get together and do things there are times that I do not have the time to spend with them plus get my own things done at home. I have also learned that there will be other requests for spending time with them and that there will be different times that I can say yes and other times that I will need to say no. Another part to speaking is to be able to speak to the public.
When you create a presentation to give to the public, you basically are speaking as if you are writing a paper. You have to prepare and deliver your presentation, and also reflect on your presentation. Be sure to analyze who your audience will be. When speaking you should try to keep the audience focused and entertained. When you are delivering the presentation it is important to speak loudly and clearly. Sometimes the audience with sigh or have body language that can say they are ready for the presentation to be finished. Reflect on the presentation and ask yourself questions about the presentation and your performance. I like to take note of my refection to keep in mind the things that I need to change or add to the presentation. There are strategies that each student need to practice and work on for reading, writing, and speaking. It can be tough to succeed as an academic student. Having focus with each category is important to achieve success.

Reference

Ellis, D. (2015). Becoming a Master Student (Vol. 15e). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. 137, 155-157, 236-237, 246-247, 249, 261-263