Study Strategies and Academic Development Portfolio Sample (GBS, Level 3)

For information and reference only – not to be submitted as your own work.

This model extract shows how a Level 3 foundation-year student might approach the Study Strategies and Academic Development portfolio (1,500 words, individual reflective portfolio, 100 per cent) on a Global Banking School programme validated by Bath Spa University. It follows the structure of the brief, uses Harvard referencing and draws on an illustrative student scenario, so every example, date and result below is invented for demonstration. You can compare it with the original brief in our recently solved questions archive, and our guide on how to write a study skills reflective portfolio explains the marking logic in more detail.

Planning map for the portfolio

Model-answer extract (illustrative)

1. Introduction

Moving from school or work into a foundation year means that learning becomes largely self-directed. Cottrell (2019) argues that successful students are not simply those with the strongest prior knowledge but those who manage their own learning deliberately, by planning, monitoring and reviewing what they do. This portfolio therefore examines three academic skills that I expect to use in every module of my Level 3 programme: note-taking, time management, and goal setting with self-assessment. I use Gibbs’ (1988) reflective cycle throughout, moving from description to evaluation and action. The aim is to compare the approaches I have tried, judge which suit me, and plan how to carry them forward into my degree pathway.

2. Note-taking methods and digital tools (LO1)

I compared the Cornell method with Microsoft OneNote. The Cornell method divides a page into a note-taking column, a cue column and a summary space at the bottom (Pauk and Owens, 2014). The cue column is completed after the lecture, which forces a second encounter with the material. OneNote, by contrast, allows typed notes, searchable text and quick reorganisation across notebooks.

My example comes from a seminar on how academic sources are evaluated. In Cornell format I wrote key points in the main column, then added cue questions such as “What makes a source reliable?” and wrote a three-sentence summary from memory. [Evidence 1: photo of your handwritten Cornell notes – insert your own] In OneNote I typed the same session in outline form and added a hyperlink to the reading list. [Evidence 2: screenshot of your OneNote page – insert your own] When I tested myself two days later, I could answer the cue questions from the handwritten page with few errors, whereas the typed notes were longer, and I had copied phrases without processing them.

This matches research by Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014), who found that students typing on laptops tended to transcribe lectures near-verbatim and performed worse on conceptual questions than those writing longhand, although the strength of this effect has since been debated. My experience suggests the method matters more than the medium: typing allowed speed, but the Cornell cue column promoted recall.

In terms of understanding, Cornell was stronger because the summary required me to paraphrase. For retention, the cue column supported self-testing. For recall, OneNote’s search function helped me locate a definition within seconds, which paper could not do. My preference is therefore a hybrid: handwritten Cornell notes during teaching, then a short OneNote summary for searching and storage. I would now reduce my OneNote entries to key terms, rather than copying slides.

3. Time management (LO2)

I used the Eisenhower Matrix, which sorts tasks by urgency and importance into four categories: do now, schedule, delegate and eliminate (Covey, 1989). Each Sunday I listed every task for the week, placed it in a quadrant and then transferred the “schedule” items into a weekly planner with fixed blocks. [Evidence 3: screenshot of your matrix or planner – insert your own]

My clearest example of prioritising involved two competing tasks in the same week: a draft of the portfolio section on note-taking, due in six days, and a ten-question online quiz due the next afternoon. The quiz was urgent and moderately important, so it went into “do now” and I completed it on Monday evening in a single 40-minute block. The portfolio draft was important but not yet urgent, so I scheduled three 45-minute blocks across Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Without the matrix, I would probably have started the draft first because it felt more worthwhile, and rushed the quiz.

The strategy worked well for deciding what to do first, and my weekly planner showed that I completed 11 of 14 planned study blocks (illustrative figure). Challenges were also clear. I underestimated how long reading would take, and part-time work shifts changed at short notice, which broke two blocks. I learned to add a 20 per cent buffer to my estimates and keep one unallocated evening each week. I also protected one full afternoon for rest, because Cottrell (2019) stresses that planned breaks sustain concentration. I considered the Pomodoro technique, which uses focused 25-minute intervals (Cirillo, 2018), and I intend to combine it with the matrix on days when I struggle to start.

4. Goal setting and self-assessment (LO3)

I set one SMART goal: to improve the quality of my academic writing by using the PEEL paragraph structure in every written task for the next six weeks, scoring at least 3 out of 4 on a self-assessment checklist by week six. Doran (1981) proposed that goals should be specific, measurable, assignable, realistic and time-related, and later versions adapt these terms to achievable and relevant. My goal is specific because it names one technique, measurable through the checklist score, achievable because I write one paragraph at least twice weekly, relevant to every assessed task, and time-bound at six weeks. Locke and Latham (2002) found that specific, challenging goals lead to higher performance than vague intentions such as “do my best”, which supported my choice. [Evidence 4: your completed SMART goal template – insert your own]

For self-assessment I used a checklist with four criteria: clear point, evidence, explanation and link to the question. After each paragraph I scored myself and added a short journal comment. [Evidence 5: your tracking checklist – insert your own] After two weeks my average was 2 out of 4 (illustrative), because I often gave evidence without explaining it. The goal was not yet achieved, but the checklist showed exactly where marks were being lost.

I therefore adjusted my plan. Instead of reviewing paragraphs at the end of each week, I began checking each one immediately after writing it, and I added a prompt to my checklist: “So what does this evidence show?” Following Gibbs (1988), my action plan is to keep this prompt for the remaining weeks and to ask a tutor to review one paragraph for external feedback, since self-assessment alone can be too generous.

Conclusion and next steps

Overall, the evidence suggests that deliberate methods improved my study habits more than extra hours did. Cornell notes supported understanding, the Eisenhower Matrix improved prioritising, and a measurable goal made progress visible. In my next module I will use a hybrid note-taking approach, schedule a buffer in every week and review my checklist fortnightly.

How to adapt this extract

• Replace every example with your own notes, planner and checklist, and insert genuine screenshots where the placeholders appear.
• Keep the word count close to the allocation for each section; the brief allows a tolerance of ten per cent.
• Choose only one manual method, one digital tool, one time-management strategy and one SMART goal, as the brief requires.
• If you are on the psychology pathway, convert the citations and reference list to APA 7th edition.

If you want expert guidance on structure, our reflection portfolio assignment help page explains how we support students, and our wider university assignment help service covers other modules.

References

Cirillo, F. (2018) The Pomodoro Technique: the acclaimed time-management system that has transformed how we work. New York: Currency.

Cottrell, S. (2019) The study skills handbook. 5th edn. London: Red Globe Press.

Covey, S.R. (1989) The 7 habits of highly effective people: restoring the character ethic. New York: Free Press.

Doran, G.T. (1981) ‘There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management’s goals and objectives’, Management Review, 70(11), pp. 35–36.

Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by doing: a guide to teaching and learning methods. Oxford: Further Education Unit, Oxford Polytechnic.

Locke, E.A. and Latham, G.P. (2002) ‘Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: a 35-year odyssey’, American Psychologist, 57(9), pp. 705–717.

Mueller, P.A. and Oppenheimer, D.M. (2014) ‘The pen is mightier than the keyboard: advantages of longhand over laptop note taking’, Psychological Science, 25(6), pp. 1159–1168.

Pauk, W. and Owens, R.J.Q. (2014) How to study in college. 11th edn. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Prepared by

Students Assignment Help UK Editorial Team

This model answer was prepared by our editorial team in response to a real assignment brief we received. It shows one way to approach the task and is meant as a study guide, not for submission.