Academic Session 2019

First Semester
January 2019

WUC 131/03 Learning Skills for University

Studies

Guidelines for TMA 2

Question 1 (50%)
In this essay you are required to discuss the five (5) guidelines you can use to help check the
reliability of any information that you can use as references in your assignments for all
courses.

For each of the guidelines that you discuss, provide one example of a reliable source and
include a short description of two (2) to three (3) sentences to indicate why you say it is
deemed to be reliable.

Your answer must have an introduction and a conclusion.

It is important for you to cite and quote appropriately. Remember to list your sources on
the References Page at the end of your essay. You must have at least 2 in-text citations and
references for this question. Use the APA Style of referencing.

Introduction to guidelines to check the reliability of information to

Introduction
be used for references.

1. Who is the author or the institution?

Five (5) guidelines
 If the author is a person, does the resource give biographical
you can use to help
information about him, such as educational and other
check the reliability
credentials, position, institutional affiliation, and street address?
of any information
(sometimes an e-mail address is not enough.)
that you can use as
references in your
 If the author is an institution, is there information provided
assignments for all
about it, such as the purpose and history of the institution, in
courses.
addition to a street address?
.
 If the page is part of a larger institution’s website, is the
information provided put through some screening process or
filtered before it is put on the Web?

Information for guideline number one has been given for you. You
need to discuss four other guidelines. Each guideline must have 3
points as shown above. If it is not in the course material, do a
google search.
You must give an appropriate example for each guideline.

A sample for writing guideline 1 is given below

The foremost important aspects we can use to easily identify the

source of information are by checking who is the author or
institution. Reliable authors can be identified with biographical
information from sources which provide information about the
author himself like his credentials and affiliation. If the author is an
 institution, we can check on the purpose or history of the institution
to strengthen the source as a reliable one (Wawasan Open
Unitversity 2018).The source also needs to be screened before it is
uploaded. The following article published by the University of
Wisconsin is considered reliable
(https://uknowit.uwgb.edu/page.php?id=30276). The reason I
believe this source is reliable is because the article is published by
Example for(5)
a well-known university in USA, and the address of the university is
guidelines
easily found on the web. Therefore making it a legitimate and
reliable source of information that I can utilize to cite in my
assignment.

Now follow a similar style for the other guidelines.

The conclusion can summarise why it is important to check the

Conclusion
reliability of any information used as references.

In-text citations and References

Sentence introducing the source of information. Example:

 According to Kiyosaki (2003), a graduate with

a ..
2 In-text Citations
 The better your education, the better your
[In the text of the opportunity to earn a higher income (Kiyosaki,
article]
2003)
(APA style)
Correct in-text citation with Author and Date

E.g. (Kiyosaki, 2003)

2 references

[At the end of the Each reference entry should be related to the in-text citation
article]

(APA style)
Question 2 (50%)

You have been given the following essay topics:

1. Why are smart phones so popular today?

2. Why do older people prefer to live in condominiums?
3. Why do many people study in open distance learning universities?
4. Why are private hospitals more popular than government hospitals?
5. Why do people prefer to use Grab services compared to taxis?

For each topic, write the introductory paragraph. For each introduction, use one type of hook
that you have studied about in unit 3. You cannot use the same hook twice. Each introduction
should have the following format:

Hook (introduces the issue).

Background Information (broader picture of the issue).
What the writer intends to do.

Each paragraph can be between 80-100 words. A sample introductory paragraph using
a question hook is given below:

How many times have you walked into your tutorial room and seen people pull out their smart
phones to check messages, emails and social networks? (question hook)Smart phones have gained
immense popularity among the population today because of the several benefits offered by them.
They are a smart invention and are assisting the society in several aspects of their lives and one of
the ways is in distance learning.(background information) This essay will discuss the different ways a
distance learner can use a smart phone to assist their learning experience in an open and distance
learning environment.(what the writer intends to do)