Classroom Rules

Be on time and be
Keep your mobile Ask only relevant
always prepared for
phone switched off questions during
your class. Bring your
or in a silent mode. teaching time.
laptop in class.

Be polite and
Do not interfere with
respectful of the
the teaching and
teacher, yourself, Always do your best.
learning of your
your classmates and
colleagues.
your institution.
Academic Skills for Business and
Management

Week 2 – Evening 1:
• Reflective Essay
• Paragraph Structures
 Academic Writing

Note Taking
Recap of
last week Research Skills

Harvard Referencing
LO 2: Demonstrate an ability to use effective
and appropriate academic skills when
exploring business and management issues.
 Reflective Essay defined

Analyse and practice writing introductions

Aims of and thesis statements

the Examine essay organization

session
Review Essay Coherence

Explore and write a conclusion

 How many parts should it contain?

What is an
essay?
Do you know the names of any of
these sections?
 A writing that looks back at
experience to perform better in the
future
What is an
essay? It focuses on what you have learned
and how you can, or will, use the
newly acquired information.
Writing an Essay

Introduction
• Several paragraphs long
• One topic
• Introduction Body paragraphs
• Conclusion
Conclusion
Introductions
Introductions
General -
1. Introduces the topic of the 1. Essay Topic
essay 2.Background
information
2. General background
leading to thesis statement
3. Overall plan of the essay Specific –
Thesis
4. Arouse the readers interest Statement
Introduction Plan
Introduction

Background What are you writing about? Why is this important? Why is it an
interesting topic?

Thesis Statement The main idea of your whole essay, what you will discuss.

Map the Essay What is the structure of your essay? What order are the paragraphs in?
Example
Background What are you writing about? Why is this important? Why is it an interesting topic?

Hook Academic skills are vital abilities that allow learners to develop strategies and
habits that help them to succeed in the academic setting.
Map the Essay What is the structure of your essay? What order are the paragraphs in?

Structure In this essay, I will evaluate my experiences in using Connell Note-taking skills,
time-management skills and paraphrasing, highlighting their impacts to my
current and future studies.
Thesis Statement The main idea of your whole essay, what you will discuss.

Conveys the In this essay, I will reflect on the three skills I have learnt and used this term.
Purpose/topic of the
essay
Rewrite the scrambled paragraph from most general
statement to most specific/ Thesis statement

(1) When writing formal essays and reports we have to take extra
care that our texting and emailing habits do not creep in by accident.
(2) Academic writing is formal, because informal writing is not always
understood in the same way by every reader.
(3) In our everyday lives we are used to communicating by writing
texts and instant messages. These have their own conventions, such
as using abbreviations ("txt"), using symbols (" :>)"), figures (4 rather
than four) and not writing in sentences.
(4) Academic writing doesn't mean using lots of long words and
complicated sentences!
 The structure of the essay is as follows:
Introduction (150 words) –
- Give a definition of academic skills (use a citation)
- Explain why they are important
- Describe how they can lead to academic success ( use a second resource)
- Mapping out your plan of what the essay will cover
Main body (900 words)
a) An identification of a range of academic skills, taken from research, such as the core textbooks.
b) Choose only three skills from the list below to base you essay on:
• Research skills
• Referencing skills
• Proof Reading
• Note Taking
• Planning
• Structure and Academic Tone
• Time Management
• Paraphrasing
c) Now discuss each of the three academic skills you have chosen.
- Include a detailed description and explanation of how developing this skill further can positively impact academic writing.
Note: All information must be drawn from research including the core texts.
Conclusion (150 words) – Refer to the topic of the essay. Summarise, why core academic skills are important for students.
Note: You must not introduce new ideas into this section.
Body Paragraphs
A good academic paragraph contains three main parts:

•A topic sentence, which presents the main idea of the paragraph.

•Supporting sentences, which give details and explanation about the
main idea in the topic sentence.
•A concluding sentence (optional), which restates the main idea.
Topic Sentences
Are the most general statement in a paragraph and include the:

1. Topic – names the subject or main idea of the paragraph

2. Controlling idea – limits the topic and indicates what the rest of the paragraph will
discuss
Note: Remember that each paragraph deals with one specific idea/theme. When you move to a
different idea you need to move to a new paragraph.

• ‘Being a successful entrepreneur requires hard work and creativity.’

• ‘Tourism provides jobs both internationally and domestically.’

Circle the Topic and Underline the
controlling idea
• Effective leadership requires effective communication.
• Success in higher education requires hard work and dedication.
• International students can struggle to participate in class
discussions.
• Fast food can cause a variety of health problems including obesity.
• San Francisco is famous for its temperate climate.
Supporting Sentences
Supporting sentences are what make up the main
bulk of a paragraph. They ‘support’ the topic
sentence, i.e. they give details about, explain, or
provide examples for the topic sentence. In other
words, supporting sentences give evidence that
your topic sentence is true.
Activities
 [1] Over the past ten years, Google has often been named as one of the best
places to work due to the many employee benefits both personally and
professionally. [2] Firstly, Google provides full medical care to all staff with onsite
clinics and doctors, so no employee has to worry about their healthcare needs. [3]
This is also supported with generous paternal leave and post-demise support. [4]
Furthermore, from a professional standpoint, Google provides funding for any
employee wanting to continue their studies and all employees are free to share
their ideas with the CEO, managing directors and any other management. [5]
Finally there are numerous other benefits of working at Google including flexible
working patterns, free coffee and being able to bring your pets to work. [6] It is
understandable why Google has such a positive work environment.

• In the example, which is the topic sentence? Which are the

supporting sentences? Which is the concluding sentence?
• How many controlling ideas are there in the paragraph?
• Find and underling the linking words and phrases
in the paragraph.
Where are the supporting sentences?
Tourism is a major source of employment globally. A high proportion
of the jobs are undertaken by women, 54 per cent, significantly higher
than in most other sectors, and young employees, meaning the
industry is seen as inclusive. There is also a significant amount of
indirect employment in construction and infrastructure development,
plus supplying food and drink and souvenirs to tourists. Furthermore,
many employees have direct contact with tourists in travel agencies,
airlines, ships, hotels, restaurants, shopping centres and various
tourist attractions.

How are these supporting sentences helping the topic

sentence?
Review

• Define essays and paragraphs

• Topic Sentences
• Supporting Sentences
• Concluding Sentences
• Self and Peer Edit paragraphs
 Please do ask Questions?
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