Due to unfamiliar approaches, differing expectations and perplexing uses of language, international students often struggle to negotiate the transition to the requirements of academic discourse at Masters level and may also lack familiarity with critical approaches to study. As the proportion of international students taking Masters at Leeds increases (44% in 2010), the challenge for staff is to help students gain an understanding of the conventions of academic discourse, threshold concepts which students must to possess to enter the arena where the exchange and creation of knowledge takes place. This session introduces a suite of workshops developed by Academic Skills Advisers, Faculty Team Librarians and Academics working within the curriculum to embed a critical approach to postgraduate research, reading and writing skills with cohorts of mainly (but not exclusively) international students. Scaffolded tasks apply a model of critical thinking to subject specific materials, thus enabling international students to gain the academic skills required to reach their full potential. Student Education Conference University of Leeds Session 34 6 January 2012

1. Off the starting block: academic skills
development for international taught
postgraduates
Anna Seabourne, Skills@Library
Dan Pullinger, Faculty Team Librarian
(Science & Engineering)
Student Education Conference
University of Leeds
Session 34
6 January 2012

2. journal |ˈjərnl| Yes, the writing
noun system for academics
1 a newspaper or magazine that deals
with a particular subject or professional is very difference
activity : medical journals | [in names ] (sic). Like, we did our
the Wall Street Journal. assignments and
2 a daily record of news and events of a
personal nature; a diary. reports by just editing
• Nautical a logbook. some information in
• ( the Journals) a record of the daily the existing articles,
proceedings in the British Houses of
Parliament. informative sources.
• (in bookkeeping) a daily record of But, here we are
business transactions with a required to write
statement of the accounts to which
each is to be debited and credited. essays using own
3 Mechanics the part of a shaft or axle that words. (India)
rests on bearings.

3. • Why did you choose to come to this session?
• What key concepts about study skills do we need to
ensure our Masters level students understand?

4. Is studying at
Masters level
different?

5. Completely, because in our Yes. Technical
Yes, they are quit different.
country universities do not content was
Because MSc writing is
check for plagiarism or given more
academic writing. (China)
similarity in sentences they importance in
check if there is similarity previous study
between whole project with rather than
others (Overseas) Plagiarism was not followed getting a perfect
by us and we never put structure
references in our written without any
Yes, it is. When I do BSc.,
work. (India) technical
I hardly wrote long essay
content.(Overse
in English. (Thailand)
as)
Little bit difference, in the method of
searching for literature review where more
Is it different?
focus is on the articles and journals other
than webpages. And also the writing words No difference. With no
have increased here. (Thailand) specific teaching we were
expected to (and manage
(sic) quite well) to achieve at
More critical + requires you to least at ‘this level’ ie ‘Masters
think more ‘outside of the box’. level’ from even 1st year i.e
(UK student) aged 18 (UKstudent)

6. Food Science & Nutrition: a case study
Masters students:
• Largely international
• Hold good, relevant science degrees
• IELTS 6.0
• Academic skills vary, e.g. info searching, critical thinking,
plagiarism, referencing
• Some have been taught not to question academics and
academic papers

7. Student background
• 108 students
• 24% of survey respondents have previously studied in UK
• 23% have English as first language
• Only 33% of respondents with English as second language
said they had attended pre-session English course

8. Consultation and collaboration
academics
librarian skills
adviser

9. All Faculty Team • Embedded in the curriculum,
Librarians will be developmental not remedial
able to deliver the full • Blended learning; transition to academics
range of academic
• Collaborate with academics
skills
The Skills Team will
provide strategic • Online resources
direction and a high • Generic teaching resources
level of support to
librarians and • Liaise and work more closely with FTLs
academic staff

10. C
S
O
K
N
I
T
L
E
L
N
S
T

11. A threshold concept can be considered as akin to a
portal, opening up a new and previously
inaccessible way of thinking about something. It
represents a transformed way of understanding, or
interpreting, or viewing something without which the
learner cannot progress. As a consequence of
comprehending a threshold concept there may thus
be a transformed internal view of subject matter,
subject landscape, or even world view.
…troublesome knowledge – knowledge that is
„alien‟, or counter-intuitive or even intellectually
absurd at face value.
(Meyer & Land, 2003)
1
1

12. Information
searching
Managing
Threshold concepts information
Critical thinking
Academic integrity Reading
(Best study practices)
Writing
Assessment

13. FOOD5405M: Professional Skills for Employment and
Research
• Core module for all new MSc students
• Module split into two strands
Literature retrieval and Experimentation and data
evaluation handling
• Embedded into programme and linked to other modules
• Blended learning approach
• Online resources hosted in VLE
• Face-to-face workshops
• Assessed work to test their skills acquisition

14. Key concepts Information
• Planning a search searching
• Boolean logic
• Truncation
• Tracking citations Managing
• Academic journals information
• Peer review
Issues
• New resources Reading
• Previous access to databases
• Over-reliance on Google
What I do differently: I try my best to pick only
articles and journals rather than webpages. Writing
(Thailand)
Research extensively in order to make informed
contribution towards the topic as well as update
myself on issues pertaining to the topic (Ghana) Assessment

15. Key concepts Information
• Academic integrity searching
• Accountability
• Bibliographic data
• Record keeping Managing
• Citing and referencing information
Issues
• “Cut and paste” as the norm
Reading
• Plagiarism a new concept for many
What I do differently: The way that I search
for my references and the way that I put my
references into my work. EndNote proved
Writing
to be very useful software.
(Portugal)
Assessment

16. Key concepts Information
• Structure of an academic article searching
• Purposes of reading
• Criticality
Authority Managing
• Evidence information
Issues
• Permission to challenge the „sage on the stage‟
Reading
• Volume
• Selection
• Independence
Writing
What I do differently: Read it and analyse it
well. Analyse it critically.
(India)
Assessment

17. Key concepts Information
• Academic language searching
• Certainty vs. probability (hedging)
• Structure, signposting
• Using other people‟s research Managing
information
Issues
• Language
• Grammar
• Conventions Reading
I can now better plan how to go about with the writing. To
read and really understand any questions I am suppose to
answer. To structure my writing. (South Africa)
Understanding what the question asked and give details Writing
(Brunei)
Of course, learning to write it the Uni’s way
(India)
Assessment

18. Information
searching
• Skills self-evaluation questionnaires and
250-word screening essay (10%)
Managing
information
• Literature review (30%)
Topic: “Salt reduction in foods: implications
for the food industry and consumers.” Reading
• Lab report (30%)
• Dietary survey report (30%) Writing
Assessment

19. Information
searching
Systematic Managing
reviews information
Reading
Presentation
skills
Writing
Assessment

20. Can you identify these features of academic
writing in the article on Japanese HE?
• Hedging – circle = certainty/uncertainty
• Signposting – [brackets]
• Academic voice – wavy underline
• Using other people‟s research – underline

21. Have the students shown any improvement in their work?
They have definitely improved. Most
noticeable is the use of Hedging and
Signposting to structure their arguments.
Their referencing skills have greatly
improved, and I think, generally, they have
realised that published work is there to be
evaluated/criticised.
Dr Caroline Orfila, Module Leader
2
1

22. Is MSc writing different to your previous study?
34
UK educated Overseas
12
9
6 6
4 4
0
Yes Not much No No response

23. How useful were the sessions (overall)?
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Very useful Useful Not useful Not Absent No answer
relevant
UK educated Overseas

24. Post-course confidence in academic writing at
Masters level
UK educated Overseas
4%
No
37% change
44%
Positive
change
56%
59% Negative
change

25. Have the skills sessions changed how you write
assignments?
UK educated Overseas
No
response No
19% response
26%
Yes
No 48%
19% Yes
62%
No
26%

26. What aspects have changed most for overseas
students?
14 13
12
12
10 9
8
6
4
4
2
0
Info lit Academic writing Criticality Other

27. Non-native speakers‟ confidence re academic writing
before the course
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Very confident Confident Not very Worried
confident
Attended pre-session Did not attend pre-session

28. Non-native speakers‟ confidence re academic writing
after the course
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Very confident Confident Not very Worried
confident
Attended pre-session Did not attend pre-session

29. Reflection
C
• Compulsory for non-
D
• Compulsory for local
native speakers graduates
• Three-way collaboration • Cohort size – challenges for
• Academics in the timetabling and teaching
sessions – student buy-in space
• Using subject-specific • Timing within semester
materials • Language – listening skills
• Tied to assessment of some students behind
• Use of the VLE writing skills

30. Recommendations
• Schedule early in semester
• Tie in with curriculum
• Non-compulsory attendance for local students (student)
• Assignments compulsory for all
• IELTS 7.0 (student)
• Attendance at pre-sessional English courses
• Make expectations explicit
• „Homework‟

31. What experiences, ideas, insights or
suggestions do you have to share?
How could this model work for you?
How would you provide context for your
students?

32. Apply the model? Thank you!
• Session resources available from Caroline Orfila
Skills@Library
Victoria Burley
• Contact your Faculty Team Librarian
about support for academic skills
development
• Contact Skills@Library for general a.e.seabourne@leeds.ac.uk
skills enquiries d.j.pullinger@leeds.ac.uk

33. References
Academic Skills Strategy, 2010 Leeds University
Library, Available from:
http://library.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/AcademicSkillsStrategy.
doc
Meyer, J. and R. Land. 2003. Threshold Concepts and
Troublesome Knowledge: linkages to ways of thinking and
practising within the disciplines. Edinburgh: University of
Edinburgh.