Upcoming workshops

Dissertation support for Undergraduates workshops
'Building on your skills' workshops
Developing your skills for Postgraduate study
Other workshops

Dissertation support for Undergraduates

A mini-series of online workshops to support your undergraduate dissertations

Research skills for dissertation

Wed 29 January 13:00-14:00 (UK time)

This session will act as a helpful reminder of how to access and use key resources for your dissertation including journals, databases and other relevant sources of information. It will also cover the key principles of referencing so that you can confidently cite your sources correctly.

Writing your literature review

Wed 5 February 13:00-14:00 (UK time)

The literature review is an important component of a dissertation. This workshop will explore what an effective literature review involves, focusing on how to structure a review, and how to write critically about the literature

Writing skills for your dissertation (Literature based)

Wed 12 February 13:00-14:00 (UK time)

This workshop will focus on some key writing skills for your dissertations. This will include:

How to use signposting to structure your argument
Writing critically
What to include in your introduction and conclusion
Approaches to editing and proofreading

Writing skills for your dissertation (Primary research)

Thurs 13 February 12:00-13:00 (UK time)

This workshop will focus on some key writing skills for your dissertations. This will include:

How to use signposting to structure your argument
Writing critically
What to include in your introduction and conclusion
Approaches to editing and proofreading

‘Building on your skills’ workshops

These online workshops are designed to help you build on your academic skills so you can excel in your assignments, from making the most of your previous feedback to writing clearly about the evidence. Suitable for UGs and PGTs.

Time management and digital tools

Wednesday 5 February 15:00-15:45 (UK time)

This workshop will explore time management strategies, alongside a range of digital tools to help you study more efficiently and effectively.

Improve your marks using your feedback

Tuesday 11 February 12:00-12:45 (UK time)

You’re told all the time to make the most of your assignment feedback, but what does that mean and how do you go about it? In this workshop, we give you space to reflect on your feedback and to identify strategies for using it to improve future work. There will also be an opportunity to see how other students have used their feedback to make positive changes to their work

Improve your academic writing

Tuesday 18 February 13:00-13:45pm (UK time)

Looking to develop your academic writing style further?

This workshop will help you to:

Develop your academic voice
Integrate critical discussion
Understand how to make your writing clear and concise

Using EndNote 21 to store references

Thursday 20 February 13:00-13:45 (UK time)

Do you want to find a better way of storing your references? New to reference management software or EndNote 21? Come along to this session which will cover the basics: loading EndNote 21, importing references, creating groups, and connecting your EndNote 21 library with MS Word.

Planning an assignment

Tuesday 25 February 12:00-12:45 (UK time)

How do you plan an essay? You might know a bit about how to take notes. You might have been given advice on how to structure a piece of writing. But how you do you move from a few notes to a full first draft? In this mini workshop we’ll look together at how a student at the University of Birmingham plans their essays to give us some inspiration

Critical thinking - how do I get a 2.1 or above

Wednesday 26 February 13:00-13:45 (UK time)

In this workshop we’ll explore how to apply critical thinking skills to your writing in order to achieve higher marks in your assignments.

How to paraphrase

Wednesday 5 March 12:00-12:45 (UK time)

In this workshop we'll look at the role of sources and reporting verbs in your writing and practice paraphrasing using a few simple steps.

Commenting on the evidence

Wednesday 12 March 12:00-12:45 (UK time)

We are often told that we need to make sure our writing is critical. But how do we do this? In this mini workshop we’ll be taking a closer look at what makes a really strong paragraph and how we can comment on things that we have read in interesting, analytical and evaluative ways.

Writing Concisely

Thursday 20 March 12:00-12:45 (UK time)

This session will cover six methods that you can use to write concisely in an academic way. You will have opportunities to practice some of these and get feedback during the session.

Exams and Revision

Thursday 3 April 12:00-13:00 (UK time)

This workshop will help you prepare for your exams whether you're taking them remotely or in-person. It will help reflect on your own approaches to revision, consider different strategies for revising, and ensure you’re prepared on the day for the exam

Developing your skills for Postgraduate study

A series of workshops for postgraduate taught (PGT) students.

Critical thinking

Wednesday 19 February 13:00-14:30 (UK Time)

This workshop includes strategies for success and expert advice, followed by a Q&A where you can ask any questions related to critical thinking and writing.

Developing your writing

Wednesday 5 March 14:00-15.30 (UK Time)

This workshop will help you develop your academic writing, structure your essays, and write more critically, followed by a Q&A where you can ask any questions related to academic writing.

Finding and using information

Wednesday 19 March 14:00-15.30 (UK Time)

This workshop will help you with problem solving, taking the initiative, and effective database searching, as well as how can you make sure you find the information you need and how to make the most of library resources.

Managing your research project

Wednesday 2 April 12:00-13.30 (UK Time)

This workshop will focus on time management, working with your supervisor and the process of research, followed by a Q&A where you can ask any questions related to this topic.

Other workshops

Birmingham Scholars

The ASC run workshops for Birmingham Scholars. If you are a Birmingham Scholar you will have access to the following Canvas course and will be able to find information about our workshops.

Students in Dubai

The ASC are running several workshops for undergraduate and postgraduate students in Dubai. These workshops are for students studying in Dubai.

Colleges

Professional Services