ACSH100

ACSH100

Academic Communications in the Social Sciences and Humanities unit is designed to enable students to transition to a university academic environment. This includes developing students ability to critically evaluate readings, raise awareness of different disciplines perspectives, and apply academic practices, language, texts and conventions in their own writing.

This e-portfolio aim is to convey my understandings of the principles that have been taught in this subject.

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Stance

Stance is a textual ‘voice’ in which the writer presents their position through judgement and opinions, and is supported with references. It is used in many forms of writing as it enables the reader to side with or against the author’s perspective.

‘We must stop it. The Australian government must answer to us and be held responsible for its actions. The government should not use ‘national security’ as a screen to hide behind and keep actions secret. Australian’s must speak out. We need to protect our journalists and whistleblowers.’

The above passage is an extract from my research news page on the issue of freedom of press in Australia. In this extract I have voiced my opinion on the topic through my attitude markers and emotive language, and with the use of words such as ‘must’. The short sentence at the start of the passage immediately engages the reader and conveys my voice.

Paragraph Structure

The structure of a paragraph is a critical factor in enabling the reader to understand the main point of the paragraph. It is vital to have a clear thesis statement that conveys the idea of the paragraph without saying too much or too little. This is then followed with clear evidence and explanation to support the point that has been made in the thesis statement. To structurally complete the paragraph, it should end with a linking sentence which ties all the points together and links it back to the topic sentence, enabling the reader to see the connection between the evidence and the point that is being made.

‘Mathematical syntax knowers will show an advantage detecting colour change and answering expressions in neutral and consistent spacing conditions, but this will be eliminated through syntax inconsistent spacing. Three hypotheses were tested in this study which built upon Marghetis, Landy & Goldstone (2016) findings. All three hypotheses were supported by the results of three experiments. Hypothesis one and two were alternative hypotheses which were supported by the significant difference in results. Hypothesis one being tested correct revealed that syntax knowers but not non-knowers will have an advantage detecting colour change within (x), compared to between (+) algebraic expressions sub-groupings. The results supporting hypothesis two, conveys that syntax knowers will keep their advantage when sub-expression groupings are supported by consistent spacing. Hypothesis three is a null hypothesis that was supported with non-significant results. This hypothesis being supported by the results reveals that inconsistent spacing disrupting sub- expression groupings, eliminates the effect of mathematical syntax knowledge, thus syntax knowers and non-knowers will have similar results. Mathematics rule application is impacted by visual perception thus symbolic reasoning revolves more around perception than is usually stated (Goldstone, Landy. 2007).’

The above extract from my psychology research report of mathematical syntax perception, illustrates correct paragraph structure. This logical structure helps guide the reader through the complex differences between syntax knowers and non-knowers in perceiving algebraic expressions.

Reflection of skills

In ACSH100 I learned many new academic communication skills. These have and will enabled my success in my Human Sciences degree. I consider the unit well structured as it taught the basics first and then built on those. I appreciate the different modes of teaching; face to face teaching by my tutor, watching online lectures and completing weekly readings and assignments. The first skill that I learned was reading and thinking critically. This involves establishing what the author is saying, the purpose of the text, the structure of the argument and the intended audience. This has benefited me as I am able to use this skill to understand texts better enabling me to expand upon the existing idea and incorporating it more easily into my own writing. I learned the 4S system of academic reading; searching, skimming, selecting and studying. This has enabled me to speed up finding and reading sources, while still being able to extract the most relevant information. The five tests, which check the reliability of a source, has given me the ability to identify what is a reliable source and what is not. This has and will ensure that I do not use misleading information. I have learned the skill of recognising voices; being able to identify external, indirect and direct voices and the usefulness of each. This has enabled me to purposely write in the style of voice that will best express the point I am trying to get across. In this unit, I also learned about citation systems; the point of them, how to read them and how to implement them in my writing. This has already been extremely useful as three out of my four of my semester 2 units have required me to use a citation system in my writings. Without learning this skill I would have struggled to use a citation system, which may have negatively impacted my marks. The skill of understanding and being able to correctly identify and use nominal groups has greatly improved my writing. It has allowed me to understand the proper sentence structure and which patterns of nominal groups will lead to a certain effect on the reader. I was taught the skill of paragraph structuring. This has improved my writing style as it provides a framework for placing key information, making my work easier to read. I have utilised this skill in writing all my units essays and will continue to do so. I will utilise all that I have learned in this unit and will continue to develop my skills throughout my university course. These skills will undoubtedly serve me well in my future career. 

I will use my word press site (https://acsheromon.school.blog) to present examples of the skills I have learned in this unit. This can be viewed by potential employers thereby increasing my chances of obtaining the job I want.