Critical Reflection on Academic Skills

Critical Reflection on Academic Skills: Insights, Evaluations, and Future Actions 

Need Customized Essay Help?

---

Our Experts Can Be Your Supporting Hand!

Hire Essay Helper!

Description

This is the first step where I will describe what activities and learning were involved in the course work (Dhaliwal, Singh, and Singh, 2017). I learnt about reading and comprehension; I learnt to write in different academic styles, which are very necessary while studying at the University level; and I also learnt the presentation skills. All these were part of coursework, and we were expected to produce an essay at the end of the coursework which should be written properly in the academic writing style that is expected of the student studying at University Level. At each stage and after every assignment, there was a system of giving feedbacks where we would receive feedback comments from our teachers or mentors who would guide us regarding what are the different areas in which  I  lacked and it was also stated that what are those areas at which I  excelled. This was done so that we could identify and analyse our performance levels during the entire course work. All these activities were covered in the coursework that I took at the university.

Feelings

I felt a myriad of feelings and emotions throughout the entire coursework and the activities that we were involved in. In the reading activity, we were tasked to do this in a group activity and initially I found myself very apprehensive regarding my pronunciations and fluency. This made me frequently trip and miss words because of the nervousness but I slowly gained confidence. I also realized that my vocal abilities are well-developed and many people found my voice soothing and pleasing to hear. I also learnt how to present my point and give rationale behind that belief without offending another person. In the presentation task, I failed miserably because we were all nervous that we might mix up the facts for the history project or even forget what we had to say. It was not a very great performance and I think that our audience was left confused many times regarding what we wanted to convey. The last task was the essay, and I was very nervous because I had no prior experience of writing academic essays at university level and I also failed to address or achieve the objective of the essay initially. But after two trials, I was able to understand how I was to write in a relevant and concise manner, keeping essay to the point.

Evaluation

The evaluation point helps me in analyzing what went well during the entire coursework and which were those aspects where I lacked or where I did not perform well (Waltz, 2019). I can clearly state that during the reading comprehension part, I was not able to perform very well in starting and during the initial days I even got negative feedback comments where I was told by my teachers that I was getting too nervous and was consistently fidgeting with the words. But later I improved, and they told me that the improvement was significant and a major contributing factor in my personality building. However, my presentation was not so good because feedback comments from teachers stated that I lacked enough confidence but then again, here also I received something positive that my entire class was feeling nervous and despite that, I was able to at least make a comprehensive speech where I spoke what was relevant and people understood my point. The last task of academic essay went extremely well, where I received positive feedback comments from the teacher, and he stated that I wrote a fine essay for someone who was attempting to write the essay for the first time at the university level.

Analysis

There was a lot that I learnt during the entire coursework, as I was able to recognize my strengths and weaknesses related to the academic and study skills that I possess (Markkanen et. al., 2020). I was able to identify that public speaking is not really my forte and I need to work extremely hard upon that, but I was also able to identify that my voice is a soothing sensation and I have the capability to present my point well. Further, the best analysis was that I can write really well and the way in which I was praised by my teacher really boosted up my confidence level.

Conclusion

On the basis of the entire coursework and while looking back at it, I can effectively conclude that I was able to recognize and critically analyze what are those areas on which I need to work and how hard I need to work on them. Although I lack in all the aspects and the learning process still has to continue, I need to work really hard on the presentation skills that I have.

Action Plan

Based on the conclusion I drew above, I plan to join a class where they will teach me presentation skills and also help me in improving the gestures that I use while giving presentation, eye contact that I should maintain while speaking, etc. I have also decided that I will further enhance my writing skills by regularly writing up mock essays or anything and I will regularly get feedback on those from my teacher so that I can effectively develop myself in that field.

Therefore, using the Gibbs model, I was able to analyse myself and the entire experience that I had during the coursework. I was also able to develop a proper action plan for the future.

You May Also Like To Read:

Reflection Essays: Presentation and Debate Samples

Feminist Critiques in International Relations

Role of HR, Marketing, and Finance in TESCO Case Study