Pathway Reflection
We all know the education systems between America and China are quite different, and the requirement for getting a graduate degree may different from the requirements in China. Therefore, I felt little confused about what should I do to achieve my degree in America. However, after about 2 semesters of study, I really understand and get something I need for my academic study. From my pathway program, I found that following instruction, academic citations and academic writing are very important for successful graduate study.
Following instruction is the basic element for studying in America. I remember, in the first class of my major course, my professor asked us to read the instruction while doing the assignments. It is no doubt that this rule is very important for every course. For example, in EAP 507, we need to write many article. When I write the article, I have to read the instruction carefully because I need to understand what the professors want me to do and every article may follow different instruction. I remember the first article we wrote just including 3 parts, a brief summary, key concept analysis and language pattern analysis. However, the second article included 4 parts. Some of my classmates did not write the forth part and got a poor grade. Therefore, following professors’ guidance is necessary. In the future study, this rule also is extremely important. If I want to achieve my masters degree, I have to follow the professors’ word because it would affect my grade directly. In America, the professors would post the clear standard for grade. If we cannot follow this standard, we would get poor grade.
In addition, in academia, plagiarism is a very serious problem, but using others’ source is inescapable, so how to cite the resource in the writing is the basic skill in academic writing. When I studied in China, I rarely wrote the academic writing and knew little about how to cite others’ studies. In the pathway courses, such as PROV 501, PROV 502, EAP 506, and EAP 507, I learnt the citation style in my field and the functions of citation. For example, if the author chooses direct quotes, that means this study’s language is very important. It may come from a famous people, introduce a unique concept, and so on. The language cannot be changed. In the future writing, I also need to cite other resources to support my paper, so this skill is absolutely necessary.
And last but not least, academic writing plays a very important role in graduate study. Before, I studied in America, I never wrote an academic paper in English. Although I also wrote some articles in English, it is total different. American writing focuses on argumentative edge, which is different from Chinese writing. Critical thinking also is very important in western countries’ study. In the pathway courses, the professors help us how to write an article in America and ask us to practice. That would help my future study, because I have written the academic paper in America and know how to handle my paper in my discipline.
In general, my pathway program helps me gain some abilities or skills for my masters degree, such as following instructions, writing citations, and academic writing. Although I just talked three elements for success in graduate study, actually, there are still some other elements I learnt from pathway program. In my opinion, all of these I learnt in the program not only promote me being success in the future study, but also benefit for my future career. For example, following instructions teaches me that I have to comply with some rules, such as employee handbook, and I should understand what I need to do before I deal with the task. Therefore, all I learn now are for my future.