The Academic Skills Centre can offer the following support related to writing skills.
Request a particular session by completing our booking form.
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D1: Academic writing
This workshop is usually 50 mins long and we cover the basics of academic writing such as planning and structuring, commenting on evidence, writing clearly and concisely. If you’d like this session to be more bespoke, we could accommodate a ‘pic n mix’ approach of the following:
- Getting started with the assignment question
- Planning and structuring a piece of writing
- Using introductions and conclusions effectively
- Writing effective paragraphs and commenting on evidence
- Paraphrasing and using referencing effectively
- Conveying meaning clearly and concisely as possible
- Editing and proofreading techniques
Available as: Workshop, Canvas resource
D2: Writing your dissertation
- We can tailor this session to suit primary and secondary dissertation structures
- It is also possible to request the literature review element only
- We are unable to support students with subject specific areas such as research methods, narrative synthesis, thematic analysis, critical appraisal (including review tools like Covidence) and data analysis
Students will be able to:
- Plan timescales for tackling a dissertation
- Define what the different sections of their dissertation should achieve
- Understand the purpose of a literature review
- Read critically and organise their literature
- Structure and write up the review
- Write an effective discussion section
- Manage transitions and create a sense of ‘flow’ within a long piece of work
- Edit and proofread a long piece of work
Available as: Workshop, Canvas resource
D3:Managing your research project
Students will be able to:
- Cultivate an effective relationship with their supervisor
- Develop time management skills to successfully complete the project
- Consider what makes an effective research question
Available as: Workshop, Canvas course
D4: Reflective writing
Students will be able to:
- Understand the purpose of reflective writing
- Develop and apply reflective practice
- Write reflectively, and understand how this may be different from standard academic writing
- Use reflective models to structure the piece of writing
- Link theory and practice in reflective writing
Available as: Workshop, Canvas resource
D5:Report writing
This is suitable for the kind of reports written in a social sciences context. Students will be able to:
- Understand the purpose of a report
- Define what the different sections of their report should achieve
- Effectively use structure to guide the reader
- Apply theory to practical situations and contexts
- Convey meaning as clearly and concisely as possible
Available as: Workshop, Canvas resource
D6: Scientific writing (including lab reports)
Students will be able to:
- Structure a piece of scientific writing effectively
- Write critically in a scientific context
- Write in a concise scientific style
- Paraphrase scientific ideas
- Write a scientific report, or lab report, according to typical conventions
Available as: Workshop, Canvas resource
D7: Writing a research paper or journal article
This may be suitable for students writing a research paper or journal article instead of a dissertation project.
Students will be able to:
- Understand the role of different sections of the paper/article, with a particular focus on literature reviews and the discussion section
- Write critically ensuring an engagement with relevant research
- Convey meaning as clearly and concisely as possible
- Identify some effective approaches to editing and proofreading work
Available as: Workshop