5. Plagiarism.

It is the view of many people that plagiarism is simply copying somebody else’s work or borrowing their ideas they put forward. But the words ‘borrowing’ or ‘copying’ mask the severity of the act of plagiarism.

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, to "plagiarize" means

• To steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own.
• To use (another's production) without crediting the source.
• To commit literary theft.
• To present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

Therefore it can be said that plagiarism is in fact an act of fraud. With this in mind most educational institutions take plagiarism very seriously. The consequences range from generally a minimum of a fail in the module plagiarized to even possible expulsion from the institution.

Students regularly claim exemptions form plagiarism sanctions for varying reasons such as their sources were somehow exempt from referencing or they only had to reference quotes and not the paraphrases.

At any time that I have an essay or assignment to do referencing is one aspect of the assignment that I consider and review constantly. I have a Harvard reference guide laminated and with me at my desk at all times. A good tip that I always found helpful is to reference as you go. Attempting to do this at a later stage is near impossible and you will probably miss some and get accused of accidental plagiarism. Referencing is a difficult thing to do but follow the referencing list step by step. I always feel like a stupid kid obediently following an adults instructions but it’s worth in to not mistakenly Plagiarize. 

9. Time Management.

Time management can sometimes be seen as the most important tool available to all students but utilised by very few. For good time management you must prioritise, be specific and break the tasks down into bite size chunks. When you are doing this remember to USE ALL YOUR TIME EFFECIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY. Schedules are the most common way of attempting to ensure that this can happen much more productively. Put down on a personal calendar where and when you wish to spend time working on college work.

I am personally a procrastinator and if I’m not strict on the way in which I approach my studies it is far too easy for me to waste my productive or work time. This wasting of time leads to serious amounts of hours being lost every week. Most students, when asked about completing assignments what would have helped you gain a better grade the common answers back are an extra week to perfect it or less other things happening at the time leading up to when it needed to be done by.

Considering this, common sense tells us that there has been poor time management leading up to this date and the person has wasted some time and therefore needs the extra time to make up for that. All this considered, always remember to time manage so down time into your schedule too. Do sports. Go to the pub with friends. Watch the soaps. This is just as important too.

8. Emotional Intelligence.

Emotional Intelligence (E.Q.) is fast becoming an important factor of distinguishing between potential employees in the recruitment process. The cognitive intelligence (I.Q.) or qualifications that you hold are still extremely important but employers are now taking other factors into account such as E.Q. and can now tests these factors and so in many large organisations they test this similarly to how it has become the norm for aptitude testing.

E.Q. is said to be the process of monitoring emotions and feelings of one’s self or others to guide their thinking and action processes. Higher E.Q. has been said to show trends in more positive interactions with friends and family and reduced chances of participating in delinquent behaviour. It has been shown that people with better E.Q. are more successful and productive, both themselves and others around them and have lower levels of stress in their daily lives with better control of conflicts and relationships.

Negatives towards E.Q. will state that it is little more than a glorified personality test and is not a legitimate test of any relevance to the work place or prospective employees. I personally believe that it can be used as an extremely useful tool to distinguish between people at the interview stage.

The good news to all this is that E.Q. can be learned. This fact is proven by the way that it does increase with age alone suggesting it may be experienced based. Some people are born naturally more emotionally intelligent than others but to increase it people must be personally motivated and willing to receive feedback, regardless whether it be a positive or negative criticism.

A list of E.Q. in a brief document can be found at this site for further reading if you wish http://www.epsyconsultancy.com/resources/EQ-i%20scales.pdf

4. Effective Presentations

     Presentations are one of the most difficult things for people to do. Depending on the person and the situation in which the presentation must be delivered many different factors weigh on people’s mind. These pressures generally manifest themselves in a similar form for everybody, ‘fear’. Everybody in my class had to do a presentation as part of our communications module and, even though many tried to get out of it, there were no exceptions.

     I am a confident enough person at the best of times even boarding on the cocky, but still when I had to stand in front of my peers and talk for a mere five minutes the heart rate was definitely elevated above a comfortable level. If you yourself are doing a presentation, not to scare you but to prepare you, be very aware you will feel this too. It’s only natural.

     I found that what definitely eased fears for me the best was preparation. Do the presentation to yourself several times and as many times as you can talk your family into listening to you, present to them to. When it comes to the real thing, it really is no different. That old trick of imagining everybody in their underpants would have been absolutely no use to me as there are a few in my class that may have been, to say, a little more than distracting. Focus is the key. Know your subject matter, know your slides and appear confident. People don’t know how you are feeling inside, just how you look outside. Deliver with confidence and get that first slide out of the way, the rest will the same so nail that first one.

Good Luck!

1. Effective Note Taking.

     Good note taking can be the most important tool to help a student through their college year. Not only cataloguing the lectures notes into forms of information that you understand, you also take in more information when you write it, opposed to simply listening.

     Note taking encourages engaged listening, provides a record of learning and promotes the memory during and after the learning experience. Lecture notes may be the primary source of information used on a daily basis for a student but it should not be the only source. Journal articles, specific chapters from books and possibly even other people’s blogs can provide back-up information to the notes.
     The act of taking the note is not sufficient. You must find a ‘home’ for your notes. It is always recommended to find a well organised location for the notes. Coloured folders or hard backed folders are recommended.

     I was tested to be a kinaesthetic learner and visual prompts were the best way for me to learn. It was suggested to me that mind maps would be of great benefit to me. I had never used them before and I’m very stubborn in the whole ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ so it took some persuading for me to get on board. It’s one of the best decisions I ever made. The first couple of weeks were hard but they have made all the difference to my study much becoming more efficient and productive.

     I am now a true believer in trying something new if it has the possibility to improve my grades and make my time in education a more productive one. http://www.mind-mapping.co.uk/make-mind-map.htm