INTRODUCTION
This chapter opens by introducing the necessary skills to be able to study for a qualification in health and social care. It begins with a stepped approach to getting started. Writing skills are introduced to provide guidance on sentences and grammar, subjectāverb agreement and punctuation of full stops, commas, colons and semicolons. Using reading effectively explores reading, managing reading lists and using the internet, skimming, scanning and reviewing, before paraphrasing and citation and referencing are discussed. Essay writing skills examine planning, structure, sign posting and cohesion, conclusions and proofreading. Examples in the conclusion, at the end of chapter, allow you to apply the skills to real situations.
GETTING STARTED
Writing at university involves skills in reading critically and writing in a manner which is understandable and credible. This chapter will assist you in developing these skills so that your experience of learning will be enjoyable: you will learn how to learn.
Step 1
Identify available time and space for study ā a separate room or a corner of a room to accommodate the necessary equipment (paper, pens, PC and printer, books and learning resources, and so on). Work out how much time has to be spent on commitments such as lectures, seminars, tutorials, family, paid or voluntary work, and so on, and then plan how to use the remaining time effectively by setting targets to achieve specific goals. (See SMART targets under essay writing skills.)
Step 2
Become familiar with the library and read ā reading is vital, not just to gather the information needed to complete assignments, but because it introduces the academic writing style necessary at university. Pay attention to the words and expressions used, sentence and paragraph structure and referencing conventions, and consider how they can be used in your own writing.
Step 3
Identify any problems with your skills in studying ā such as not being clear about computers or writing well. Get help from tutors or sources of student support as early as possible before problems become overwhelming.
WRITING SKILLS
The object of good academic writing is to communicate ideas and evidence clearly and effectively. Academic writing therefore needs to be well structured and analytical, with a strong argument that takes the reader logically step by step to a persuasive conclusion. Correct grammar and punctuation are two of the tools which help writers to achieve clarity so this chapter will explain how to write clear, well-formed sentences and avoid the pitfalls of ungrammatical or incomplete sentences.
Punctuation is important because it helps the reader to make sense of what has been written. When speaking, facial expression, hand gestures, tone and pitch of the voice are used to convey meaning, but with written material, the reader has to rely on punctuation. This chapter will, therefore, also consider the use of punctuation, particularly commas, full stops, semicolons and colons.
This chapter will cover some of these fundamental writing skills because although many students are confident about how to study, some are less sure of their writing abilities.
Sentences
Children learn in primary school that sentences begin with a capital letter, end with a full stop and make complete sense on their own, but problems can arise with the more sophisticated constructions required for academic writing. Common problems include beginning sentences with conjunctions (words such as although, because, while, whereas, and so on) or with a continuous version of a verb (words such as judging, listening, working, and so on) because this can result in incomplete sentences.
For example:
ā¢ Suggesting that removing children from families is not always effective.
ā¢ Whereas the Youth Justice Board wants to ensure that custody is only used as a last resort.
These phrases do not make sense on their own because they only provide limited information so they are called sentence fragments. In the first example, there is no indication of what demonstrates that removing children from families is not always effective. In the second example, whereas indicates that the information is providing a contrasting point yet there is no other information to contrast it with. These fragments could be converted into complete sentences with a simple adjustment.
For example:
ā¢ Looked-after children frequently underachieve educationally, suggesting that removing children from families is not always effective.
ā¢ Public opinion regularly demands that all criminals should be jailed whereas the Youth Justice Board wants to ensure that custody is only used as a last resort.
OR
ā¢ Whereas the Youth Justice Board wants to ensure that custody is only used as a last resort, public opinion regularly demands that all criminals should be jailed.
Subjectāverb agreement
Another issue which causes problems for students is subjectāverb agreement. The subject of a sentence (the person or thing doing the action) has to match the form of the verb (the action word). This is because the subject of a sentence can be singular (there is only one of them) or plural (there are lots of them) and the verbs change accordingly.
For instance, if the above sentence read Looked-after children frequently underachieves educationally it would sound incorrect because the subject is plural (children) while the verb (underachieves) is in the singular form.
This adjustment is usually made automatically when speaking, and when writing too. The problem arises when writing becomes more sophisticated and sentences become longer, such as in academic writing, so extra care needs to be taken to clarify the subject of a sentence.
ā¢ The group of social workers (agree, agrees) to meet the following week.
ā¢ A wide range of sentences (is, are) available to the youth justice system.
ā¢ In the gym, only three treadmills (was, were) unoccupied.
ā¢ All of the assignments, including the one submitted electronically, (was, were) marked before the end of the week.
ā¢ The group of social workers agrees to meet the following week. Because āthe groupā is the subject of the sentence and is singular.
ā¢ A wide range of sentences is available to the youth justice system. Because āa wide rangeā is the subject of the sentence and is singular.
ā¢ In the gym, only three treadmills were unoccupied. Because ātreadmillsā are the subject of the sentence and are plural.
ā¢ All of the assignments, including the one submitted electronically, were marked before the end of the week. Because āall of the assignmentsā are the subject, not just āthe one submitted electronicallyā.
PUNCTUATION
Correct punctuation makes meaning clear to the reader. Incorrect punctuation can make written work confusing or even incomprehensible so it is vital to get it right.
Full stops
Full stops separate one statement from another and indicate to the reader that a sentence is complete. As has been stated, a sentence must express a complete idea and make sense on its own.
Commas
Commas are used to separate items in a list and to separate parts of a sentence. They are also used to link simple sentences, but care needs to be taken not to use a comma when a full stop is required.
ā¢ The student dropped her pens, books and lecture notes.
ā¢ The pathways included working with children, caring for the elderly and supporting offenders.
ā¢ The social work profession, which is frequently criticised by the press, provides a vital service for vulnerable people.
The first two examples show commas being used to separate listed items. In the second sentence, the listed items are more complex but they all have the same grammatical structure.
In the third example, the commas are separating parts of the sentence. Indeed the section contained between the commas could be omitted and there would still be a complete grammatical sentence. This allows the writer to place the emphasis on the vital service provided by social workers rather than on the press criticism (Rose 2001).
Colons
Colons provide a pause before introducing items in a list.
ā¢ There are many assessment formats at university: essays, spoken presentations, reports, poster presentations and exams.
They can also indicate further information about or amplification of a preceding point.
ā¢ Social work is gruelling: it can be highly rewarding or very distressing.
Semicolons
Semicolons can separate items in a list when a comma is already in use.
ā¢ The speakers at the conference were: Dr Sally Jones, Sheffield; Dr Martin Long, Leeds; Prof. Jane Davies, Swansea; and Dr Phil Wh...