Student Profile with Introduction

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Analee Bracero, 26

Criminal Justice major

Montclair State University

image Start researching the topic you will be writing about as soon as possible. image

When Analee was looking into going to college, she found that Montclair State University in New Jersey had everything she wanted: affordability, online courses, and a variety of student clubs. The college also has a good library that allows her to conduct research and write papers while on campus.

Analee grew up in a small town in Puerto Rico where she attended high school, completed a certificate program in medical office billing and coding, and then worked for a few years. When she decided that she wanted to change careers, she realized a degree in criminal justice was just what she needed. “I intend to join a law enforcement agency,” she says. “My goal is to join the FBI as a behavior analyst.”

Now that she is in college, Analee has had to develop a number of strategies to help her write well-researched papers that are very different from those she wrote in high school. “In high school, they didn’t emphasize how important it was to include your opinions,” she says. “In college, they want you to research your work, cite as many sources as you can, think about your topic, and form opinions. It is very different for me.” She tells us that her best strategy is to start early and prepare to write, rewrite, and edit the same material a few times before handing it in for a grade. “Start researching the topic you will be writing about as soon as possible,” she advises. “Every day, look for more data and take additional notes. That way you can prevent procrastination and reduce your stress when it’s time to put the research together on the paper.”

Analee does most of her research online, where information is at her fingertips. She is careful about checking the validity of material she finds on the Web, especially on sites like Wikipedia. “I use Wikipedia and other online encyclopedias to start learning about a topic,” she explains, “but I rely on other sources for writing my paper and carefully check any information I pull from the Web to ensure accuracy.” She can access the databases she needs from her laptop or at the library.

As Analee’s story illustrates, developing the skills to locate and use information will increase your ability to keep up with what is going on in the world, participate in activities that interest you, and succeed in college, career, and community. The research skills you learn and use as a student will serve you well as a successful professional in whatever career you choose. Whether you’re a student of nursing, political science, or business, one of your main tasks in college is to manage information. In a few years, as a nurse, lawyer, or accountant, one of your main tasks will be the same: to manage and present information for your employers and clients. All colleges and many companies provide libraries for this purpose.

Finding information and using it involves more than operating a computer or browsing the bookshelves. To make sense of the enormous amount of information at your fingertips in a reasonable amount of time, you’ll need to develop a few key research and information-literacy skills.

assess your strengths

Information literacy, writing, and speaking are among the most important skills you will learn in college. Success in your career will also depend on your ability to communicate clearly and think critically about information. As you read this chapter, think about your experiences in communicating and working with information successfully.

set goals

What are your most important objectives in learning the material in this chapter? How can you improve your information-literacy and communication skills? Develop some strategies in this area such as taking advantage of working with staff at the writing center to get feedback on the papers you’ll work on this term, or becoming familiar with library resources that relate to your classes.