LS100 Eight Skills Prof. Jane McElligott

 Final Exam opens the first day of Unit 9, Wednesday, January 11 th and remains open through Tuesday, January 17 th at midnight.  Total of 37 Questions – 15 True/False (worth 4 points each) and 22 Multiple Choice (worth 5 points each) for a total of 170 points.  You have 2 hours to take the exam.  To prepare for the exam, be sure to review the following chapters in Cornerstone: Chapter 3, Prioritize (Time Management) Chapter 4, Read (Active Reading Skills) Chapter 5, Learn (Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles) Chapter 7, Remember (Memory Tools) Chapter 9, Think (Critical Thinking)

 1. When you think critically, you are evaluating all of the information you have available, deciding what is true or not true, and making your own decisions about what you believe. True or False?

 The answer is ….. True! When engaging in critical thinking, you evaluate all available information, decide what is true or not true, and make your own decisions about what you believe based on this analysis. It’s all about employing your own analysis and looking at the issue in different perspectives to come to your own conclusions.

2. Guidelines for trying to distinguish fact from opinion include which of the following:  Listen to everything that is said in a statement  Listen for what is not said in a statement  Do not bother asking for documentation to support the statement, as they probably do not have it with them  Follow your intuition regarding those whom you trust

 Answer: Listen for what is not said in a statement  See Chapter 9, Cornerstone, p. 214, “Step Six: Distinguishing Fact from Opinion,” where it lists guidelines to consider when trying to differentiate fact from opinion. Listen for what is not said in a statement means that the statement does not cite reliable sources as authority; doesn’t address arguments against the statement; and perhaps leaves key points out.  Key methods to distinguish fact from opinion are to research, read, and question – seek out reliable relevant articles and scholarly sources to get the real story and question proponents of what seems to you to be mere opinion to see if they have anything to back themselves up – play Socrates!

 3. Knowing why you are reading something can help you become a more active reader. True or False?

 Answer: True. An important part of active reading is your “mind-set” – (attitude) as you begin the reading process (Chapter 4, p. 85). Knowing why you are reading an assignment (thinking about the purpose of this assignment and what you are learning) and approaching it with a positive, open-mind will help you delve into it and engage in active reading.  The Surveying step of the SQ3R reading method is a good way to figure out for sure why you are reading this assignment and what you are about to learn – see Chapter 4, p. 93.

 4. Unfamiliar words will only become part of your vernacular if you stop and look them up. True or False?

 Answer: True. To build your vocabulary, it’s essential when you come across a new or unfamiliar word in a reading assignment to stop and look it up in the dictionary. By getting in the practice of looking up new words and remembering such meanings, you’ll be building your vocabulary and these words will become part of your vernacular (ordinary language) and you will not have to stop and look them up anymore. Chapter 4, p. 90.

 5. Reading for pleasure can help you on your road to critical thinking. True or False?

 Answer: True. Reading for pleasure is a great way to build not only your reading comprehension skills and vocabulary, but it is also valuable for building critical thinking skills, given that reading a variety of topics increases your breadth of knowledge and exposes you to issues and ideas you might not run into in the reading you do for your classes. Chapters 4 and 9.

6. The best way to develop a dynamic vocabulary is to:  Listen to public orators  Study a dictionary  Read, read, read  Learn a foreign language

 Answer: read, read, read. The key to building a dynamic vocabulary is to read, read, read! The more you read for school and for fun, the more variety of new words you’ll run into and by looking them up and remembering them (you could make flash cards of the new words), they will be part of your everyday vocabulary!  Studying a dictionary by itself is not as valuable because you won’t see the words in context as you do when reading – by seeing how words are used in a book or article and then looking up the words, you’ll have a much better grasp of the meaning of such words.

7. A conclusion that you come to based on evidence, which can help you determine the main idea of a paragraph is a(n):  Inference  Guess  Generalization  None of the above

 Answer: Inference. An inference when you make a conclusion or deduction from the evidence and is a key part of critical thinking. It is important to first research the issue and find reliable evidence relating to the issue and then deduct or infer your conclusions based on this evidence.

8. Paul communicates well through language, likes to write, and loves to read. He is high in which intelligence?  Musical/rhythm  Visual/spatial  Logic/math  None of the above

 Answer: None of the above. Paul would have a high score in the verbal/linguistic intelligence. Those who score high in this category are “word smart” and it’s all about words for such learners – enjoying reading, writing, and speaking words. Word smart learners are very effective communicators and writers and enjoy reading and telling stories. Verbal/linguistic learners often score high on the VARK as Read/Write learners.

9. The way in which each learner begins to concentrate on, process, and retain new and difficult information is known as:  Audio-visual integration  Learning style  Educational strategy  Mental articulation

 Answer: Learning style. Learning style is defined as “the way in which each learner begins to concentrate on, process, and retain new and difficult information” (Chapter 5, p. 113). Note that a learning style differs from learning strategy in that a learning strategy is a technique used to learn and remember key material, such as taking notes, creating and reviewing flash cards, etc., but learning style is sensory, involving “seeing, hearing, and touching” (Chapter 5, p. 113). Visual learners learn best by seeing information; auditory learners learn best by hearing information; and tactile (kinesthetic) learners learn best by touching or doing – hands-on practice.

10. When you have literally memorized something and find that it is gone from memory days later, you have engaged in:  Rote memorization  Long-term memorization  Comprehension memorization  None of the above

 Answer: Rote memorization. “Rote memory is a task of repeating until you have memorized” (Chapter 7, p. 162). This is done by students who just want to pass an exam without really wanting to learn the material so they “know” it and “own” it and commit it to long-term memory. Always strive to know (understand) the material. “Knowing is making a commitment to understanding relationships, making relationships, making associations, comparing and contrasting, classifying, demonstrating, describing, and applying what you have learned” (Chapter 7, p. 162).