Name: Nguyễn Hương Ly

Class: 2D19-ACN

Student ID#: 1906090062

Essay Reflection
Topic: Which topic in this course has made the biggest impact on your life/
your studies? Explain how and why in 300-500 words with examples.

Becoming successful at university means having to acquire a great number

of skills, principally academic skills. After learning “Study Skills”, I am convinced
that reading is one of the wise choices in college and exerts the biggest influence
on my studies as well as my life.

To begin with, seemingly reading is among the most necessary skills in

college due to various reasons. Firstly, during my studies, I am expected not only
to read many thousands of pages from textbooks, reference books, journals,
handouts, web pages, etc. but also to write essays, research papers and to take most
of the tests based on reading. Secondly, by reading, I am able to better understand
the materials as well as the core concepts in my field. Reading helps gradual
improvement in my vocabulary that in turn enhances my written expression.
Thirdly, the active reading strategy to collect key concepts, ideas in this topic plays
a great part in promoting deep and lasting learning, which leads to high grades.
Apart from the academic benefits, reading unquestionably allows me to diversify
my fields of knowledge and to enjoy the beauty of the english language.

Following the Wise Choice Process, I have drawn up my Academic Skills

Plan for Reading with specific strategies throughout three stages. First of all, for
“While reading” section, it is the “Read in chunks” method that I applied
immediately into my homework reading assignments and even the term tests.
Chunking is the grouping of words in a sentence into short meaningful phrases,
enabling me to read faster while understanding clearly and therefore, saves time,
especially with the limited time of the tests. For instance, instead of “I frequently
fall out with my brother since we have nothing in common.”, my mind would read
“I frequently fall out/ with my brother/ since/ we have nothing in common.”.
Thanks to this skill, I can prevent word-by-word reading – my former mistake and
make more efficient use of my short-term memory. Furthermore, I have learned
how to “Mark and Annotate the text”. For example, by underlining, highlighting,
writing in the margins, sticking notes on the pages, etc., it is easier for me to
collect the main ideas with supporting details from which to later create powerful
and effective study materials, particularly for revising for exams and to develop
critical thinking. Thus, I got a grade A for my final-first term reading and writing
tests by utilizing these methods.

Additionally, the “Before reading” and “After reading” sections also provide
me with some helpful strategies. Firstly, I always “Preview before reading”, skim
or have a quick look at all the table of contents, chapter titles, headings and other
features highlighted, in order to get an overview of the reading text, which further
increases my comprehension as well as heightens my concentration. Moreover,
“Talk about what you read” after reading is especially advantageous as it tests my
reading comprehension skill while my study partners can provide me with useful
feedback. To give an illustration, my teacher usually requires us to give
presentations in small groups or class after studying the texts for further review
and evaluation.

In conclusion, the Active reading strategy that aims to collect key concepts,
ideas has brought about an enormous change in my reading skill – mindful and
active instead of mindless reading. I now become more confident when dealing
with reading and at the same time, develop other vital learning methods to achieve
the university’s success.
 REFERENCES

1. (2016). 8 benefits of Reading (Why Reading is Important for Students).

iEduNote. https://www.iedunote.com/benefits-of-reading
2. (2016). Chunking and Questioning Aloud Strategy: Summary Sheet. National
Center on Educational Outcomes.
https://nceo.umn.edu/docs/Presentations/NCEO-LEP-IEP-
ASCDHandoutChunking.pdf
3. (2019). Study Skills: Guidelines to efficient methods of learning at university.
Hanoi University, English for Specific Purposes Department