Name in English: Xiaomao Wang

Name in Chinese: 王小毛                    

Programme/Major: Environmental Science

Cohort:   2014

Academic achievement:

Dual master’s degree in Natural Resources and Environment & Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Career development:

Research Assistant in Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Science

Courses learned and/or activities participated:

English I, II, III

Academic Reading and Writing

Project presentation

I personally benefited the most from the English courses related to academic work, which were ‘Project presentation’ (PP) and ‘Academic Reading and Writing’ (ARW). I remember for my final year project, I used many techniques taught in these two courses. For example, I learnt from the ‘ARW’ course ways to find useful and reliable references for academic writing, and learned from the ‘PP’ course about how to cite references in the right format. I am working in academia right now, and I know how important a reference list is for a good research paper because it is proof that the author is a serious scientist. When I was a first-year master’s student, many peers went to take a course named Academic Writing, which I audited for one session and realized the content had already been covered during my undergraduate study. I really appreciate these English courses I took in UIC, which helped me a lot in the past, and will continue to benefit me in the future.