Academic skills and assessment expectations-Leadership in Contemporary Organisations 2016

1. Academic skills and assessment expectations-Leadership in Contemporary Organisations 2016 Dr Heba Batainah

2. Introduction • ‘I’ve heard this all before why do I have to keep hearing about it?’ • ‘I feel like we are treated like children, I already know how to read and write.’ • ‘Why can’t we get on with learning about something we can actually use?’ • Why does it matter? • http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/CareerPlanningandResources/StartingYourSearch/GraduateSkillsWhatEmployersWant/index.htm • https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/wa/a/16260598/graduates-lack-literacy-skills/ • https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/01/20/study-finds-big-gaps-between-student-and-employer-perceptions

3. Introduction Communicating is an art and there is always room for improvement (there is no ‘end point’)

4. Academic Communication • Each discipline has its own approach • Disciplinary text, language and conventions • Learning to be flexible and curious • Understand the expectations of the discipline • Independent and collaborative work • Verbal communication • Seminar/workshop debates • Ability to express complex ideas and concepts

5. Academic writing is… • Formal • Targeted • ‘Impersonal’- More on this later • Based on research • Multiple approaches: • Depending on the discipline • Technical needs • Style (essay, report etc.)

6. Learning • Every Week: • Do the required reading • Take notes: Highlight and/or summarise the key points • Think about the broader implications of the concepts we are learning • This is a research unit so your note taking should be about broadening your understanding/challenging your thinking

7. Assessment cont… • Reflective Diary • 8 pm Monday (Week 12)(on Moodle) • 30% • 2,000 words • Moodle Quiz • 30% • More on that at a later date

8. What is an essay? • A search for evidence • An evaluation of differing understandings, theories and practices • Having a critical eye • In short, an essay is the product of your research • It shows your understanding of a question or topic

9. Is the essay descriptive?

10. What is an argument? • A position (from a range of positions) • Your approach to answering the question, supported by evidence to provide logical conclusions

11. Developing your argument • Have a position • Do you agree or disagree with the question? • Which concept or theory explains the evidence most convincingly? • Your position = your argument • Understood as theme of your essay • Argument must be clear in introduction

12. Description and Analysis • The essay is a whole entity made up of interrelated parts • Description = the foundation of the essay • Analysis = the building blocks

13. What is analysis? • Analysis = breaking the question or topic into various parts to understand what each part means and explain how parts link together to form the whole essay • Being analytical = examining all the parts of a question and constructing an explanation of why things are the way they are • All essays have description in them but analysis holds the essay together

14. Being critical • Knowing what question to ask • What analysis is all about • More than describing a topic • Not just a summary of your reading • Evaluating your material • Strengths and weaknesses of the evidence • An objective assessment • Questioning why something is the way it is

15. What is supporting evidence? • Good supporting evidence is relevant to the topic • Has enough detail and examples to support its position • Is properly referenced from a credible source • Bad supporting evidence is overly vague and not related to the argument and not adequately referenced • Inappropriate supporting evidence = a biased essay that’s one sided, ignoring alternatives

16. Always reference all ideas and concepts that are not your own. • The written assessment items for this unit are based on ‘research’. This means that you must conduct appropriate research in order to write the report and essay. • In order to ‘use’ the research you will have to reference all ideas that arise from your research. This means you must attribute every idea that is not yours. EVERY IDEA! • You cannot have too many references however your references should only be quality, academic references. More on this in a later slide.

17. Follow Instructions • It is important to follow instructions set out for this unit. • Please read the unit outline and the assessment criteria/guidelines set out in the unit outline before attempting the assessment item. • You should revisit all the information, including the question you have chosen to answer, one last time before submitting your assessment item. It is important to answer the set question. • This means you should never paraphrase the question!

18. Rules of essay writing • Consider a context (situate the question) • You must have an introduction, a body of evidence and a conclusion (make sure you answer the question!) • A clear argument • A logical flow • Write to the word limit • Reference material and have a reference list • Correct spelling and grammar

19. Three simple principles you should keep in mind: • In communicating, be clear and simple. • In style, be consistent. • In acknowledging intellectual debts, be thorough.

20. Structuring your essay • Introduction • Tell me what you are going to tell me • Make sure you include a thesis statement • Body • Tell me! • With references to support your argument • Conclusion • Tell me what you proved to me (never repeat the introduction as your conclusion)

21. Referencing • Even if you are writing an argument in your own words, it needs to be referenced if it is someone else’s idea. • Do not rely on someone else’s citation. • Do not reference any non-published materials used in this unit. • You should not reference youtube videos. Instead you should find the published version written by the speaker/author if there is any. If not, the youtube videos should be treated as ‘lectures’ and should not be referenced.

22. Referencing • Be consistent. • Use the author/date system. Also known as ‘Harvard’ or ‘APA’. Do not use referencing systems that use ‘footnotes’. • Include page numbers in your in-text reference unless you are summarising an entire argument from an article or book. • Reference the author of a chapter in an edited collection.

23. Referencing (cont.) • Do not use too many quotes. Use quotes only if it is necessary. It is best to paraphrase however paraphrasing can be a bit tricky for students new to writing essays. Make sure you understand the idea that you read and that you write it in your own words (you must still reference the idea). • Never, ever copy an idea without using quotation marks to indicate a quote and using proper referencing techniques.

24. Where to find references: • The best place to do your research and find references is the University of Canberra Library Database. • Other places include: • National Library www.nla.gov.au • Trove http://trove.nla.gov.au • ABC News • Government websites • Be careful using the internet and you should only use quality academic sources. If in doubt about the credentials please find a substitute. • If you use ‘google books’ please make sure you treat the books exactly as you would a book in the library and this means proper referencing. If google does not divulge enough information about the book then you must not use it.

25. Online references: • No URLs (with some special exceptions including quality online newspapers, government websites, industry websites etc) • This will avoid rubbish websites.  • Do not use URLs for journal articles. When you reference a journal article you should write out the full reference and do not use a URL.

26. URKUND • Your essay will automatically go through text-matching software. • This software will indicate whether the student has copied from a source without acknowledgement. • Please be aware that academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. 

27. Grammar and syntax • Verbiage: n Needless accumulation of words. • Do not try to sound clever – it rarely works! • Instead aim to sound like you have done the research. • If you really understand a concept, you can express it in simple, clear English • You do not need to use big words

28. Punctuation A woman, without her man, is nothing. A woman: without her, man is nothing. (Truss 2003, p9) • It’s = It is • Its = possessive • James’s biro

29. Singular and plural • The following words are plural: • Data, media, phenomena, criteria • The following are singular: • Range, number, scope • The data indicate that the range of phenomena under investigation is limited. • The news media are reporting that the sole criterion for winning the leaders’ debate is the choice of a cool tie.

30. Grammar • What is the subject of the verb? “A bomb exploded in Kabul outside the offices of an American security firm that killed seven people.” • Don’t use contractions Do not • Avoid colloquialisms

31. Archaic language • Words to avoid: • Whilst • Amongst • Hence • Purports • One (as in me/I) • Please do not use rhetorical questions and please do not repeat (verbatim) the question in the introduction.

32. Waffle • “many people argue…” • Who does? • “more than ever, people are arguing…” • Evidence? • Does your sentence mean anything?

33. Proof read your work

34. Do not trust the spell checker • Proof read your work. The spell checker can get it very wrong as the following will attest: • “Greek semen ruled the Aegean” (Henriksson 2002, p12) • “Alexander the Great conquered Persia, Egypt, and Japan. Sadly, he died with no hairs” (Henriksson 2002, p13) • “Explorers went to look for trade roots” (Henriksson 2002, p47)

35. Key points • Conduct general research. • Analyse the question – break it down! • Write your thesis statement in the introduction. • Conduct specific research. • Organise your structure. • Ensure you answer the question directly in the conclusion, based on your analysis (but no new ideas here!).

36. Key points (cont.) • Write more than necessary, then edit, edit, edit! • Plan your report/essay first and conduct specific research, do not ‘info overload’. • Structure, structure, structure! • DO NOT PLAGIARISE! • Use academic references! • Write in full prose – you will fail for using bullet points or ‘lists’. • No pictures! But you can use graphs and tables in the report (not the essay!).

37. Referencing: • A reference list (a list of the references actually cited in-text) must be included as part of the essay (separate files will not be accepted). The reference list must use a recognised scholarly referencing system using the author/date format (Harvard or APA style). • All information relating to the reference is to be included - if you cannot find the year of publishing or the author, then it is probably not an appropriate academic reference. Page numbers are required for in-text references.

38. Word Count Rules: • The word count is conducted by using the word count function in Microsoft Word by highlighting the first word of the first sentence to the last word of the last sentence. • The word count includes all in-text references and quotes but does not include the title or the reference list. Plus or minus 10% leeway is given for the word count. • Markers will ignore those parts of the essay that exceed the word limit. • Essays which are under the word limit will be considered as not representing a completed assessment task. • Excessive use of quotes will be heavily penalised. Writing to a set word count is a requirement in almost every profession, and presenting an argument within the bounds of a word count demonstrates achievement of the graduate attributes relating to communication skills.

39. What is referencing? • A technique used by you to show the marker where you got your information • Marks come from the ability to find, organise and explain relevant information • You will lose marks if you do not acknowledge your sources • You should read widely

40. Referencing • The Harvard System • Single author: Heywood (1994: 12) states that… • Two authors: Stewart & Ward (1996: 15) argue that… • Citing multiple authors: A number of authors have found… (Galligan 1995; Jaensch 1997; Dow 1998) (semi-colon separates authors) • Two or more authors: Singleton, Aitkin, Jinks and Warhurst = Singleton et al (1996: 76) claim that… • Two or more references by the same author: • Smith (1998a: 45) argues…. Smith (1998b: 6) states...

41. Referencing continued • Government reports/books without authors: • In essay: (Department of Industrial Relations, 1994) • In reference list: Department of Industrial Relations (1994). Best Practice: Achieving Success, Canberra, AGPS • No obvious author: • ----- (1994). Best Practice: Achieving Success, Canberra, AGPS • How to reference newspapers: • State paper’s name and date: (Sydney Morning Herald, 7-8 July 2001) • If the article has an author, use the author’s name in the text = (Sheehan, 2001) • In reference list: Sheehan, P. (2001). ‘The War of Independents’, Sydney Morning Herald, 7-8 July.

42. Examples of referencing: • ‘During the Howard years, successive governments have shown concern, even antipathy, towards policies which favoured multiculturalism as a concept…’ (Batainah and Walsh, 2008: 228). • Batainah, H. and Walsh, M. (2008). From Multiculturalism to Citizenship in Aulich, C. and Wettenhall, R. (eds). Howard’s fourth government: Australian Commonwealth Administration, 2004-2007. Sydney: UNSW Press.

43. Examples of referencing: • Batainah and Walsh (2008:229) state that ‘ In November 2006, it was reported that the Howard government was looking for alternative words to ‘multiculturalism’…’. • Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) (2009a). Fact Sheet 8 - Abolition of the ‘White Australia’ Policy. URL: http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/08abolition.htm(Accessed 3 January 2010). • Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) (2009b). Fact Sheet 4, More than 60 years of Post-War Migration. URL: http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/04fifty.htm(Accessed 23 March 2010).

44. Examples of referencing: • Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) (2007). Multiculturalism: A position paper. Sydney: Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. • Mazzocchi, J. (2001). Secret raids by ASIO have Sydney Islamic Community wary, AM, ABC Local Radio program, Monday, 1 October. URL: http://www.abc.net.au/am/stories/s379396.htm (Accessed 20 June 2011).

45. Examples of referencing: • Murphy, D. (2007). Nile’s Muslim Moratorium, Sydney Morning Herald, March 12. • Canberra Times (2002). ASIO raids - A judgment call, 1 November.

46. Reference list • Goes at the end of the essay • Includes a list of all the information referenced in the essay • Organised in alphabetical order by the surname of the first author of a book or article • Author’s name, year, title of book or journal article, where published and who published it • Is different to a bibliography

47. Other issues: • Do not use contractions – i.e., Don’t, Can’t • Do not use colloquialism (i.e., No slang) • Do not use clichés (At the end of the day…) • Do not use abbreviations (such as: e.g., &, i.e.) • Do not use sexist or racist language • Avoid unexamined generalisations • Use the author/date system of referencing and provide page number for in-text references.

48. What do the grade levels indicate? • High Distinction - ESSAY MARK 36-40 • Has an excellent structure - a context, introduction with an argument, description and an analysis of the question that applies the argument, with a conclusion. (May even have an original interpretation of the question). Demonstrates breadth of research and reading are clearly demonstrated. Clear central argument supported by evidence and a high degree of critical analysis. No spelling and grammatical errors. Exceeds minimum references. • Distinction - ESSAY MARKS 30-35 • The essay demonstrates the same level of achievement as an essay in the HD range, however, it falls below what is required for a mark in the HD range. For example, whilst being widely read and demonstrating a high level of effort, there is a disjunction between the evidence and the central argument or it may have too many grammatical and spelling mistakes to be considered in the highest category. Exceeds minimum references.

49. What do the grade levels indicate? • Credit - ESSAY MARKS 25-30 • Good structure. Well written with minor grammatical and spelling errors. Reasonable level of research and reading was demonstrated. Understanding of relevant concepts may be imperfect but there is a reasonable grasp of the key concepts. A central argument is identifiable and is supported by some evidence and a reasonable level of critical analysis. Minimum 15 references. • Pass - ESSAY MARKS 20-25 • This is a basic pass essay. It has an argument and 5 references. However, the essay is somewhat disjointed with grammatical and spelling mistakes detracting from the overall ideas in the essay. A basic level of research and reading. Understanding of concepts is somewhat confused, although not obviously incorrect. An attempt has been made to develop an argument and there is some evidence and analysis in the essay, although it falls short of developing a clear argument with convincing evidence and analysis. Minimum 15 references.

50. What do the grade levels indicate? • JUST BELOW PASS ESSAY MARK 18-19 • Essay is disjointed and poorly written. There are not 15 minimum references and the essay demonstrates limited effort and reading. The essay summarises the work of others rather than developing its own position through critical analysis. • BELOW 18 • Poorly structured. Very poorly written. Limited or no research. Poor understanding of concepts - and/or essay does not answer question. Descriptive not analytical.