Academic Skills Portfolio

Advancing Your Academic Skills Profolio

Learning Outcomes
After completing the Assignment, you should be better able to:

1. Use appropriate language and structures when composing common academic
texts
2. Write from academic sources with confidence, adhering to the values
associated with academic integrity
3. Demonstrate the ability to interpret numerical data when presented within a
subject-specific context  
4. Graduate Attribute 4: ‘Professionally knowledgeable in the subject area’.
Describe key academic conventions that are associated with their subject
area and discipline.
All learning outcomes must be met.


Assessment task instructions
This assessment requires you to practice the research, reading and writing you will
do throughout your degree. In summary, you will need to:
• Read at least 3 sources of information provided to you on a given topic
• Write an academic response to a question on the given topic
• Refer to the 3 sources in your written response, adhering to standards of
academic integrity (applying AU Harvard Referencing)

Aims of the assessment

We are assessing your ability to read, understand and then respond to these
sources in your own words, writing in the academic style you have learned on this
module. It is crucial that you
a) use the sources we provide to you to learn about the topic and then answer
the question and
b) write in your own words, paraphrasing and summarising the key ideas you
have taken from the sources.

Portfolio Task A: Essay (1500 words) (LOs 1, 2 and 3)

Social Sciences Pathway: ( I NEED YOU TO COMPLETE THIS ONE AS I HAVE ATTACHED THE SOURCES FOR IT )

Referring to the viewpoints expressed in the three sources in the given source pack,
write a short essay answering this question:

• To what extent does sport unify people?


Leadership and Technology Pathway: ( DONT ANSWER THIS ONE)

Referring to the viewpoints expressed in the three sources in the given source pack,
write a short essay answering this question:

• To what extent is hybrid-working beneficial to employees?

In Task A, you must answer one of the two questions provided above. It is advised
that you respond to the assignment question relating to your Foundation Year
pathway. You must present your essay according to the structure and academic
writing skills you have developed throughout the module. This includes:

• Providing an introduction, main body and conclusion
• Using appropriate sentence types
• Referring to, interpreting and evaluating numerical data to develop your
argument as per LO3 in the assessment criteria (see pages 11-12)
• Paraphrasing and summarising information from sources
• Using linking words
• Using cautious language (or ‘hedging’)
• Referencing and citation in line with AU Harvard



Portfolio Task B: Commentary (500 words) (LOs 1 and 4)

In this task, you will comment on the development of your academic writing skills. To
complete this task, follow these steps:

1) Choose one paragraph from your Task A essay that you believe best
demonstrates the development of your writing skills.
2) Copy and paste the paragraph so that it is the first paragraph of your Task B
response. This does not contribute to the word count of your submission.

Then, use your example paragraph to comment on the development of two writing
skills listed below:

• Using appropriate sentence types
• Presenting and interpreting numerical data
• Paraphrasing and summarising information from sources
• Using linking words
• Using cautious language

3) Provide a full reference list at the end of your assignment in alphabetical order
by surname.

I will attach the sources needed, when discussed in private.