Study Skills Booklets

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Clicking a link below will scroll the page to the relevant Study Skills booklet. 

Cite Me I'm Yours: Harvard Style

This booklet aims to give you clear guidance on how to cite material in your assignments. It deals with the exacting issues mentioned in the title, and should save you much time once you are aware of the conventions. It also models accepted practices which, it is hoped, should become second nature to you.

NOTE : If you are writing a Humanities assignment (e.g.literature, philosophy, history – but not Art & Design), you should use the Numeric Style below.

 

Booklet

Mp3 Audio

 

Part 2 - Appendix and Notes
  1. Title [00:08 : 130Kb]
  2. Contents [00:20 : 316Kb]
  3. Appendix [03:00 : 2.8Mb]
  4. Notes [12:00 : 11.4Mb]
  5. Bibliography [11:00 : 10Mb]
Part 1
  1. Title [00:06 :114Kb]
  2. Contents [00:57 : 185Kb]
  3. Introduction [02:00 : 2.24Mb]
  4. Why reference? [05:18 : 4.81Mb]
  5. References, Bibliographies & Notes
    [04:00 : 4.15Mb]
  6. Citing electronic forms of communication [30:00 : 27.7Mb]
  7. Quotations [08:00 : 7.34Mb]
  8. Presentation [04:36 : 4.2mb]
  9. Conclusion [00:40 : 745Kb]

 

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Cite Me I'm Yours: Numeric Style

This booklet aims to give you clear guidance on how to cite material in your assignments. It deals with the exacting issues mentioned in the title, and should save you much time once you are aware of the conventions. It also models accepted practices which, it is hoped, should become second nature to you.

 

Booklet

Mp3 Audio

 

Part 2 - Appendix and Notes
  1. Title [00:08 : 130Kb]
  2. Contents [00:16 : 257Kb]
  3. Appendix [02:53 : 2.65Mb]
  4. Notes [17:43 : 17.2Mb]
  5. Bibliography [07:54 : 7.23Mb]
Part 1
  1. Title [00:12 : 205Kb]
  2. Contents [00:40 : 639Kb]
  3. Introduction [02:03 : 2.8Mb]
  4. Why reference? [04:18 : 3.9Mb]
  5. References, Bibliographies & Notes
    [02:16 : 2Mb]
  6. Citing electronic forms of communication [23:00 : 21Mb]
  7. Quotations [07:00 : 6.5Mb]
  8. Presentation [04:00 : 3.7mb]
  9. Conclusion [00:49 : 777Kb]

 

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Essay Writing

This booklet discusses ways of maximising your chances of writing a successful academic essay. It is divided into three main sections: Answering the question, Structuring your answer and
Presenting your work.

 

Booklet

Mp3 Audio

  1. Introduction [00:46 : 725Kb]
  2. What is an academic essay? [01:26 : 1.3Mb]
  3. Why write essays? [00:39 : 615Kb]
  4. How to write essays [02:15 : 2Mb]
  5. Instructional words [04:20 : 4Mb]
  6. How to write essays. Structuring your answer [03:45 : 3.4mb]
  7. How to write essays. Presenting your work [01:45 : 3.2Mb]
  8. Essay writing MOT [03:23 : 3Mb]
  9. Further reading [05:36 : 5Mb]

 

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Giving a Presentation

What is many students' worst nightmare? It is not usually as sensational as swimming in shark-infested waters; for most, the answer is 'giving apresentation'. This booklet seeks to confront such fears, to give you some techniques for coping with them, and some ideas on how to make that hazy presentation into something concrete and achievable.

 

Booklet

Mp3 Audio

  1. Title [00:09 : 147Kb]
  2. Contents [01:00 : 1Mb]
  3. Introduction [01:19 : 6.3Mb]
  4. The individual, that is you [06:57 : 6.3Mb]
  5. The material [08:36 : 7.8Mb]
  6. The audience [02:00 : 1.9Mb]
  7. Fequently asked questions [04:13 : 3.8Mb]
  8. Further reading [03:47 : 3.4Mb]

 

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Note Taking

In this booklet you will be shown a number of note-taking techniques. Some of them are easier to undertake in lectures, others are better in taking notes from written sources. After this there are some specific tips on taking notes from lectures, followed by some ideas about abbreviating your notes.

 

Booklet

Mp3 Audio

  1. Introduction [00.08 : 120kb]
  2. Contents [01:00 : 1Mb]
  3. Notes [07:08 : 6.5Mb]
  4. Note taking formats [07:00 : 7Mb]
  5. Tips on taking notes from lectures [03:00 : 2.7Mb]
  6. Abbreviations [06:00 : 5.6Mb]
  7. Further reading [02:00 : 1.9Mb]

 

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Preparing for Dissertations and Projects

"I wish I'd started earlier"

"Given more time, I could've done something better"

Ask anyone who's completed a dissertation, or project, what their main regret is and they're likely to make comments similar to these. This booklet offers some advice on the key elements of preparing and writing a dissertation, to minimise the likelihood of your making similar statements. It is organised into the following sections: Ideas, Planning, Literature Searching, Research/ Analysis, Writing Up, and Presentation.

 

Booklet

Mp3 Audio

  1. Contents [01:19 : 1Mb]
  2. Introduction [00:39 : 609Kb]
  3. Ideas [04:27 : 4Mb]
  4. Planning [09:00 : 8.2Mb]
  5. Literature searching [11:33 : 10.3Mb]
  6. Research and analysis [02:29 : 2.27Mb]
  7. Writing up [04:12 : 3.8Mb]
  8. Presentation [06:25 : 5.8Mb]
  9. Conclusion [01:21 : 1.2Mb]
  10. Appendix [02:00 : 1.8Mb]
  11. Further reading [05:51 : 5.3Mb]

 

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Report Writing

This booklet has been written in response to requests from students who wanted an example of how a report should be laid out. It covers the organisation of a report, indicating areas where confusion often occurs (as between a summary and introduction), and issues of style. It does not
give any information on the planning of a report, on the sources of information, nor on how to collect evidence.

 

Booklet

Mp3 Audio

  1. Title [00:29 : 461Kb]
  2. Contents [00:49 : 774Kb]
  3. Contents 2 [02:29 : 2.3Mb]
  4. Summary [01:24 : 1.3Mb]
  5. Introduction [00:34 : 541Kb]
  6. Writing a report [13:00 : 12Mb]
  7. Style [09:40 : 8.8Mb]
  8. Conclusion [00:38 : 601Kb]
  9. Recomendations [00:25 : 393Kb]
  10. Appendix [01:33 : 1.4Mb]
  11. References [06:10 : 5.6Mb]
  12. The end [00:37 : 588Mb]

 

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Writing: the basics

It is certainly the case that many assignments fail to impress (especially projects and dissertations) because of a lack of good, clear English; likewise, many students, impressive in person, can fail to be called for interview simply because of poor English in their applications.
So, this booklet tries to cover the various conventions: of Grammar,Punctuation (including apostrophes),Spelling and Style.

 

Booklet

Mp3 Audio

  1. Writing: the basics [01:05:00 : 59.7Mb]

 

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Revision and Exam Techniques

In this booklet we shall be looking at Revision and Examination techniques. The emphasis will be on the former because, unless you've done the revision, exam techniques won't be of much help to you.

 

Booklet

Mp3 Audio

  1. Title [00:07 : 118Kb]
  2. Navigation information [00:52 : 823Kb]
  3. Introduction [00:56 : 876Kb]
  4. Exam paper 1 [02:57 : 2.57Mb]
  5. Assessment of exam paper 1 [01:57 : 1.79Mb]
  6. Exam worries [03:08 : 2.87Mb]
  7. Preparing for revision [07:48 : 7.15Mb]
  8. Revision itself finally [32:28 : 28.7Mb]
  9. Exam tips [04:11 : 4.8Mb]
  10. Exam paper 2 [02:13 : 2Mb]
  11. Analysis of exam paper 2 [06:39 : 6Mb]
  12. In summary [02:25sec : 2.21Mb]
  13. Further reading [02:00 : 2.1Mb]

 

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