• Understanding tutor’s expectations…

    Date: 2009.10.07 | Category: Learning Skills Exercises, Unit SSK12 | Tags: ,

    Learning Skills Exercise
    Unit:     SSK12
    Week: 4 (in Week 6)
    Date: 07 October 2009
    Exercise: Exercise 22 – Understanding tutor’s expectations and your objectives

    Activity 1: Expectations of university essays
    What you think is expected
    I believe my tutor’s expectation of me in this essay is to demonstrate learning I have acquired regarding worldviews in this unit; to demonstrate essay structure, including an introduction, thesis and conclusion; to demonstrate fluent, correctly structured and well-articulated prose; and finally, to demonstrate appropriate referencing.

    Differences in expectations
    I made no reference in my expectations of a university essay to the relevance to the set topic; use of sources; and reasoned argument. These items are a given for me, because there is no point writing the essay if it’s not relevant to the set topic; doesn’t use the sources instructed and doesn’t adequately articulate its argument.

    Activity 2: Your objectives for essay writing
    My objectives in doing this essay are first and foremost to develop my essay writing skills. I look forward to the constructive criticism that I expect from my tutor in order to improve my essay writing ability. Secondly, I am excited by the challenge to successfully complete the essay according to the instructions. I must admit I am finding the topic more challenging than I had expected. It is stimulating for me to have to examine myself, and my understanding of the world and how they ultimately affect my beliefs and attitudes toward education and learning.

    Reflection
    I want to say that this exercise was helpful for me, but I feel that it didn’t add anything new to what I have already learnt about essay writing and expectation of my tutor or myself. Maybe I am being too hard; maybe I didn’t put enough into it and consequently didn’t get enough out of it. It bothered me a little that the exercise referred to Exercise 21, but we don’t do that exercise until later in the course. I would have liked to have done the exercise beforehand, but I am a little pressed for time at the moment and couldn’t fit it in.