Student 14061103 Portfolio Task module 1, Rough Draft
(500 words) actual word count 535
Study the following phrase and then write a properly referenced academic essay to discuss it.
“ Effective study skills are the sole foundation of a sound education .“

In order to discuss the above statement one has first to consider the meaning of the words ‘study skills’.
The word skill means a learnt activity performed well, as and when required. It cannot be gained at random and can be depended upon, for use, when similar tasks are required in future (Cottrell 2014). ‘Study skill’ can be used to describe a range of factors including cognitive and affective skills, academic and socio-economic background and environmental factors
Cognitive skills being the ability to concentrate upon, assimilate, store, and retrieve information (Mayer et al 2008). Affective skills are those involving character, personality and emotions. Academic background involves the students past educational experiences, relationships with teachers and family /local community (1) Student number 14061103 experiences; those enabling pupils ’to link experiences of everyday life to the learning which takes place in the educational establishment. The environment, referring to physical and material resources, open to and experienced by, the student.
Do study skills really matter when most people have access to instant communication and information via the internet?
With increase in numbers/types of people entering the undergraduate population from the advent of the post 1992 universities, which enabled access to higher education, by students from less traditional backgrounds, the introduction of a variety of approaches to guide students in their learning, was necessitated. These, often provided by means of ‘study skills’ courses in specialised learning support centres, instead