Ben Wilde
I'm a student at the University of Reading who also works part time in our International Study and Language Institute.
Location UK
Activity
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Ben Wilde replied to Sanjana Basu
That's amazing! Glad to hear you feel achievement.
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Ben Wilde replied to Sunday Joseph Olatoye
It seems you've taken a lot from the course then, that's great to hear.
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Make sure to check your visa information carefully on hours you're allowed to work.
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Very right, well done.
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Yes! A lot of university courses offer "Years in industry" where you get such experience. It's definitely something to look out for if you're interested in a course.
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Ben Wilde replied to TESLIM LAWAL
Great!
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Ben Wilde replied to ZAW ZAW HTUN
Brilliant to hear you're writing daily, that can only lead to significant improvements.
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You're welcome!
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Glad to hear it's useful!
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Glad to hear it!
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Thanks for your feedback, especially pertinent I think is the last point! Academic writing is built on a foundation of references.
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That's some great feedback, thank you for your comment!
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Ben Wilde replied to Khine Aye Zan
Have you done any academic writing in the past?
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Ben Wilde replied to Yin Yin Win Phyu
That's great! Have you checked our answer?
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You're welcome, glad it was helpful.
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Good to hear you've done lots of academic writing for your course, what kinds of things have you written?
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Ben Wilde replied to Sadaf Khan
Good qualities, why these in particular?
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Ben Wilde replied to TESLIM LAWAL
Thank you for your answer!
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Ben Wilde replied to Thura Naing
That's brilliant you've found something that works for you, how do you decide what's 'important'?
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You're very welcome!
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That's brilliant! What will you do?
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Ben Wilde replied to Thant Aung Paing
I'm glad you've found the system of preparatory reading helpful. Certainly if all students have the same baseline of knowledge before the class begins the lesson can proceed much more smoothly. Thank you for your comment!
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Ben Wilde replied to Lin YadiAung
I feel sure that you will be able to overcome that problem, just as you overcame the problem with grammar structures. Good Luck!
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Ben Wilde replied to Faith Chacheka
That's excellent, just what we like to hear.
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Ben Wilde replied to Tarek Kalaji
You're very welcome, I hope you're enjoying the course!
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Thanks for your detailed answer!
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Ben Wilde replied to Waing Chit Aung
Do you ever find group work useful?
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Best of luck then!
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Hopefully you can enjoy these experiences as well!
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You're welcome, glad it helps!
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Ben Wilde replied to Kylie Matthews
That's great. What made you choose the university you have?
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Ben Wilde replied to Kylie Matthews
You're very welcome!
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Ben Wilde replied to Cherish O. Umunnakwe
I'm a student of history as well! What areas are you interested in?
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Which areas do you aim to study?
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Brilliant, glad to hear it's helpful!
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Ben Wilde replied to Amir Shahzad
That's great news, well done!
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Ben Wilde replied to Kevin Ching
You're very welcome! Hope the course is helpful.
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Ben Wilde replied to Nan Chit Chit Kyi
Sounds like you have a good plan! If you want to work at the same time as being a student remember to check the visa you get to see if you're allowed to work here as well as study. Best of luck!
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That sounds fantastic, what courses will you be applying for?
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You're welcome! Good luck going forward
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Very interesting! Why have you chosen to study these courses?
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Ben Wilde replied to Su Myat Nwal
Glad to hear it, excited to have you!
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Ben Wilde replied to Mai Lu Aung Mashi
That's brilliant! What are you hoping to study?
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Ben Wilde replied to Alejandra Alvarez
Thank you for your comment. Very well done finding all these examples!
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Thank you for your very detailed answer!
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Ben Wilde replied to Hairuo Feng
Whether or not IELTS essays and Academic essays require more or less words than each other very much depends on the academic essay you are writing. Some can be short, others such as PhD theses can be very long!
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Three theses! It sounds like you have a lot of experience then! What have you written about before?
You have a nice week too.
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Ben Wilde replied to Alejandra Alvarez
Glad to hear it has been helpful for you, thanks for your comment!
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Ben Wilde replied to Matsumi Yonemochi
As with almost all skills, practice makes perfect! Skimming is a useful skill to acquire.
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Ben Wilde replied to Tricua Yang
In this case it seems that the students are probably thinking critically in their daily lives, but their teachers have never guided them to apply those skills to their school work. Do you think it would benefit education in your country to encourage this?
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Hopefully that prompts them to, well, think!
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You're very welcome! I am glad you've found the information useful!
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You're definitely right, it would be impossible to succeed without reading anything.
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Ben Wilde replied to Wasi Haider
Quite right! The role of the library for research is absolutely crucial, thank you for your comment.
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Thank you for your presentation, I certainly learned new things about Saturn! My feedback would be that for a minute's presentation, which is very short, you should be wary of your introduction running too long (I would have liked to hear more Saturn facts instead!). Your speed and pronunciation were excellent though, and the presentation had a fun air about...
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Ben Wilde replied to [Learner left FutureLearn]
Very nice presentation! I'm only partially familiar with the intricacies of Dante's work so I think a lot of it went over my head. Nonetheless from an English standpoint, I think it could be helpful to slow down a bit, and check pronunciation on some words before you deliver it, but then again there was a lot of subject matter so I can see why you spoke fast...
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Ben Wilde replied to Thaung Min Latt
Very inspirational sounding, thank you!
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Well done for keeping up with everything, we'll see you in the coming weeks!
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Glad to hear they're helpful!
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It seems you have had poor experiences with group work partners in the past. I am glad to hear that tutors have been able to resolve problems with you. Hopefully during future study your group-mates listen without threat of higher authority!
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Thanks for your comment! How would you deal with one member of the group being unhappy about the reception of their work?
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It can certainly be a little awkward to do, but Alejandra makes a great point there about where it can be useful. It's also good to remember as the lesson states that these are just suggestions, and aren't necessarily applicable to all situations, but hopefully are helpful nonetheless.
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Ben Wilde replied to Abdenour EL DJILALI
Your nerves are understandable but you shouldn't worry too much about vocabulary mistakes in front of native speakers, think of them as opportunities to learn. Most people are aware of the difficulties of learning another language as well, so don't fret as they should be understanding.
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Ben Wilde replied to Joel Diehl
Best of luck in your applications to these universities!
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Ben Wilde replied to Joseph Kamuikeni
You are very welcome!
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Ben Wilde replied to Joel Diehl
Hopefully this course is helpful for you then!
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Ben Wilde replied to Fatima Abdulkarim
Learning about other cultures from those around you is definitely exciting! Hopefully this course prepares you a little more about the culture of being a student.
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Don't fret about making mistakes! They're the best ways to learn, as long as you learn from your mistakes you'll be fine.
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Ben Wilde replied to Linda Dunleavey
Sounds like you make a lot of drafts for your work, it's good to see you have such a thorough process, well done!
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Ben Wilde replied to Ricardo Rosario
I completely agree with your assessment here, I find my writing always needs little changes for various reasons. Thank you for your comment!
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Do you find that you never deviate from your plan when writing?
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Ben Wilde replied to Dainess Chisha Mhlanga
Thank you for your feedback, it's very interesting to see the perspective you have from your own students!
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Ben Wilde replied to William Rocha
Interesting! You seem to be the only person in comments who doesn't plan so I would like to know, why not?
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While not the focus of this lesson, how important it is that information is current varies across disciplines. For example, a history student would often cite sources more than hundreds of years old, but a research scientist would have to cite the most recent data. For this specific case, it seems apt that Patrick cites material from 2011. I hope this answers...
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This is a really great answer! I think you're spot on.
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This is a good succinct paraphrasing of a specific point, well done!
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Ben Wilde replied to Ugulhan Nabieva
There are some grammatical errors but focusing just on the paraphrasing (as this lesson does!) this is a good paragraph, the references have been well worked into the sentences, well done!
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Ben Wilde replied to Rachel McKie
Thank you for your comment, I just wanted to add that depending on the referencing style used the reference to the paraphrased section may be in text as you say, or take another form such as footnotes. Just worth bearing in mind!
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Thank you for your explanation, I think you've definitely gotten the hang of the idea of paraphrasing.
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That's great! Which parts did you find most interesting?
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I'm glad this has been helpful!
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The essay is quite specialised in it's language so it's understandable to find it difficult. Make sure to give your attention to the focus of the lesson and concentrate on the essay's grammar rather than it's subject.
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Ben Wilde made a comment
Very well done to all those commenting here, you all seem to have understood the lesson well and arrived at sensible conclusions.
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This is brilliant, thank you for giving such an in depth answer!
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Ben Wilde replied to Asba Saqib
Glad to hear it's helped!
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Ben Wilde replied to Tina Dettwiler
If your university doesn't have all the information you require, also consider asking about inter-library loans.
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Ben Wilde replied to Rachel McKie
Glad you've found a new tool! It's a very useful resource though it does differ from normal google so it can take a little practice to make the most out of it.
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Ben Wilde replied to [Learner left FutureLearn]
Especially for academic purposes, google can sometimes be lacking, so I'm glad to hear this has expanded your search options.
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Ben Wilde replied to herve ketsebou
Thank you for providing others with the sites you use! I hope they come in handy for people.
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Ben Wilde replied to Madison Beecher
You're very right that key terms are vital to research using these engines.
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Ben Wilde replied to Ugulhan Nabieva
Google scholar is a fantastic resource you're very right. I'm glad you're also keeping an eye on your own university's system. If they don't have the resource you're after as well, it can be worth asking them about inter-library loans.
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Why do you think the last one is unimportant?
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The consensus among the comments does certainly seem to be that point 6 is the most important. I would suggest that while all points are very important, 2 & 3 seemed to be most striking to me. I think they are the skills I developed that most improved my academic writing during my studies, but of course this will be different for everyone. Thanks for sharing...
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I hope you find this course a helpful starting point for developing these skills then. Good luck!
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Ben Wilde made a comment
Glad to hear no one so far seems to be too surprised by this information! It seems everyone has been doing their research into academic integrity, good work!
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Ben Wilde replied to [Learner left FutureLearn]
Asking others to review your work (And doing the same in return!) is an excellent idea.
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Ben Wilde replied to Marwa Shakour
You may find with many assignments at university that only doing them a few days in advance isn't enough time! But at least it's not completely last minute
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Ben Wilde replied to Ibrahim Ali
This may be true, but it can also be useful to integrate some of the academic techniques you learn in university into your own personal projects as well!
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Ben Wilde replied to [Learner left FutureLearn]
What do you think are the most common things making students nervous?
