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General transferable skills: numeracy

(Transcript of a section of the General transferable skills report, 1998)


Competence Statement A student is able to:
  • make use of numerical and statistical information as part of an argument or in a report
Basic Level Able to:
  • identify and collate relevant statistical information
  • comment on the relevance of numerical information provided to them
Advanced Level Able to:
  • evaluate using an analysis of numerical and statistical information
  • generate relevant numerical or statistical information
Illustrations of activities At basic level:
  • essays and tutorials: students using and identifying statistical evidence to support their arguments
    At advanced level:
  • carry out empirical research collecting data and analysing data – could be small research exercises based around the university, for example, a group exercise looking at the victims of crime on campus
  • presenting statistics or financial information with accuracy and appropriate commentary
  • law clinics – able to obtaining financial information from a client and analyse it correctly
  • negotiation exercises – for example, surrounding a contract
  • dissertation – budgeting the cost of the research and completion of a final year project
Illustrations of evidence
  • use of statistical evidence as part of an essay commenting on the law
  • ability to use numerical information to support analysis, for example in assessing damages or considering distribution of funds or shares in trusts
  • presenting numerical information in a cogent form
  • analysis of relevant numerical information
  • gathering statistical information from published sources
  • awareness of different ways of using numerical information

Last Modified: 30 June 2010