Keyskills Handbook
When most of you hear the dreaded words ‘Key Skills’ you probably either assume you have them already, or, that they are a waste of time and so switch off. There are three very good reasons why you shouldn’t!
First, experience has shown that when students (that’s you) rate their own skills they tend to over-estimate their abilities compared to what staff (that’s us) see in their assessments. In other words, you often think you can do something well but just as often can’t!
Second, you cannot get a degree without being assessed and hence learning what staff expect to see when they mark your work will improve your marks immensely. Assessment falls into a number of distinct categories; (i) exams (ii) lab reports (iii) field reports (iv) essays (v) posters and (vi) giving talks. You’ll be assessed on ALL of these things whilst you’re here and each Chapter of this booklet gives you detailed guidance on how to get the best marks. So, when you get given an assessment THE FIRST THING YOU SHOULD DO is read the relevant Chapter in this booklet. That way you’ll know what we’re after!
Third, employers rate generic / transferable / key skills very highly. They often tell an employer MORE about what a potential employee is likely to be like than the knowledge they possess alone! You need both knowledge AND skills these days to compete in the market place. You should, therefore, get into the habit of KEEPING A RECORD of the general skills you acquire during your degree. You’ll need this info not only in your second year for your CV, but thereafter too, when you’re looking for jobs after graduation. DO NOT under-estimate the value placed on these skills by employers!!!
Finally, some advice - upfront. Good exam performance relies on good revision and good revision relies on having a good set of notes. We all learn in different ways and there is no substitute for taking the notes yourself. The bits YOU understand during a lecture may be quite different from the bits your mate understands and his/her notes will reflect this! Take your own set of notes whenever humanly possible. The first Chapter of this booklet gives you some tips on what to expect in lectures and how best to get a decent set of notes on which your exams depend.
This booklet has not been written for fun. It’s be written to HELP YOU get the best out of your degree. REFER TO IT OFTEN and DO NOT lose it!!!
