IS103 module 5

• Managing the Technology


  1. Use electronic forms of communication for most of your learning activities

  2. Familiarize yourself with how to use Moodle - the Learning Management System (LMS)

  3. Check your email daily so that you do not miss essential information

  4. Use your DWU student email for all official correspondence
• Independent Learning


  • Tertiary study may differ significantly from your previous experiences in education
  • There is no close monitoring of how you use your free time
  • Lecturers and tutors will not often ask about your progress on an assignment
  • As an independent learner you are in control, and you need to be organized, motivated and able to manage your time well
• Plan your time


  1. There may be fewer hours of class than you expected

  2. An essential part of your learning will be time spent studying independently

  3. You are responsible for managing your own learning and for reading widely in order to complete assignments, get them in on time, and keep up to date with your studies

  4. You will need to locate and read relevant texts, take notes, and work on assessment tasks
• Assignment Requirements


  • Your unit outline will give you an overview of the content of the unit
  • You are given the assessment requirements at the beginning of the semester so you can prioritize tasks and manage your time to complete all assignments by their due date
  • Lecturers set a number of different kinds of written assignments including essays, reports, case studies, literature reviews, reflective assignments and portfolios
  • You will need to write in a formal style using the terminology and format of your subject area
• Developing a critical approach

  • Examine the evidence and arguments presented by authors, and compare this with what other authors have to say on the issue
  • Form your own considered point of view after reading widely
  • In some assignments, lecturers want your considered judgement as a scholar, not just your personal opinion
• Referencing


  • When you use information or ideas from other writers, you must provide a reference
  • You need to cite the source of your information both within your writing and in a reference list at the end of the assignment
  • You need to reference even when you paraphrase, summarize, or quote a writer's work
• Collaborative learning


  • You will sometimes be required to work in small groups with other students
  • Forming an informal study group can provide support and encouragement during your studies and help you stay motivated
• The assignment writing process

  1. Analyze the question

  2. Brainstorm the topic

  3. Create a preliminary argument/position

  4. Make a preliminary plan

  5. Research, read and make notes

  6. Revise the plan

  7. Write the assignment

  8. Edit and proofread work
• Analyze the question


  Prior to reading or writing, make sure that you engage with the question, understand it, and see its potential
• Analyzing the assignment question

  • Identify direction/task words
  • Identify content words
  • Identify limiting words
• Common direction/task words


  • Analyze
  • Compare
  • Discuss
  • Evaluate
  • Examine
  • Explain
  • Justify
• Brainstorming


  Encourages you to make connections between ideas
• Preliminary argument/position


  A claim that you will attempt to support throughout the assignment
• Thesis statements for the topic "A successful leader is born not made"

  • Nature has always won over nurture in the creation of successful leaders
  • Most successful leaders are the result of good genes, though a few have rise to positions of power through exposure to the right people and experiences
  • Some successful leaders are born that way, but most are the result of life experience
  • All successful leaders are the product of a good education and varied experiences
• Preliminary plan


  Gives direction to your research and helps you think about how ideas will be sequenced and the supporting evidence and examples to include
• Structure of a good academic argument

  • Introduction making the argument clear and indicating the points that will be presented
  • Body consisting of a series of paragraphs, each with a topic sentence introducing a new main point
  • Conclusion drawing together the main points
• 10:80:10 rule for assignment structure


  Introduction takes up no more than 10% of the total word limit, the body has about 80%, and the conclusion has the remaining 10%
• Research, read and make notes

  1. Generate questions to guide reading

  2. Decide on type of evidence to strengthen argument

  3. Summarize key points in own words
• Revising the plan


  Modify and add details to the plan as the idea develops
• Well-structured paragraph


  • Focus on one key idea signposted in the topic sentence
  • Remaining sentences provide support and evidence
  • Final sentence brings together main points and links to next paragraph
• Editing


  • Identify why each piece of information is included and how it connects with other information
  • Remove irrelevant information and replace with more relevant points
  • Improve connections between ideas
• Proofreading


  Identify and correct inconsistencies of language and presentation such as misspellings, wrong word usage, and poor punctuation