Future students

Study support for you

For most students, academic writing is the main form of assessment. Depending upon the nature of your course, you may be expected to write reports, essays, exams, or reflective writing such as journals. There are important rules and conventions for all these forms of writing. It is important that you learn and use them.

Academic writing support

You should always start by trying to understand the expectations for each type of writing. Start by looking in your module or course handbooks for rules and guidance. Make sure that you read the assessment criteria so that you understand what the tutors will be looking for. There are also several study support guides on writing available in our NTU Online Workspace (NOW).

Your tutors
Tutors can help you with your assignments. Most tutors will have office hours when they will be available to see you, or you could email to book an appointment. Unlike college though, they will not usually proofread your work, but will discuss your ideas and how you have approached the question.

Specialist advisers and student mentors
Some academic schools have specialist advisers to help with your written work; others use teams of highly-trained student mentors. Find out who can help.

Your fellow students
Is working with another student allowed? Isn't it called collusion, or academic misconduct? Well, if you sit down with another student and both write the same essay, or the same essay with a few words changed, then that is cheating. However, if you have a discussion with your peers about how you are going to tackle a question and discuss different approaches, we call that good academic practice. Perhaps the safest way to avoid any collusion is to talk to your fellow students is early in the writing process as you develop your ideas.

Many students find that there is a maths element to their degree and can struggle with aspects of statistics, quantitative research or financial analysis. Don't worry, help is on hand. You will find that in maths, often each new subject builds on the one before and so it's important to keep up. Don't assume that things will become clearer later. If you are struggling, make sure that you deal with the problem immediately.

Maths support

Your course
If your course has a maths element, then it's highly likely that you will be taught the relevant skills within the curriculum. It is extremely important that you attend lectures and seminars and conduct all the preparatory reading and homework for each class.

Your tutors
Tutors can help you with your assignments. Most tutors will have office hours when they will be available to see you, or you could email them to book an appointment.

The Maths Café
The Maths Café is a term time service run by student mentors during term time:

• Tuesdays 12.30 pm to 2.30 pm – Clifton campus - Cafe Eliot
• Thursdays 12.30 pm to 2.30 pm – City site - Newton Deli Pod (lower ground floor, central court)

Student mentors
Academic Peer Mentors also provide Maths support within Nottingham Business School and the School of Science and Technology.  

Information literacy support

Our Libraries and Learning Resources (LLR) will help you to develop relevant information literacy skills and become an independent learner. The LLR Events Programme is accredited by STRIDE (NTUStudents Union training and development programme) and includes sessions on: 

• referencing
• RefWorks
• copyright and plagiarism
• research methodology
• dissertation research
• subject specific resources
• current awareness (RSS feeds and social bookmarking)
• ePortfolio
• Nottingham Trent University Online Workspace (NOW)
• Microsoft Office 2010. 

Our Liaison Librarians provide a wide range of information literacy support across the University, on a School, course, and individual student basis. 

IT services

You will have access to the following:

• relevant hardware and software
• email and network file storage
• internet services
• printing and copying facilities
• audio visual and media services
• resource areas
• wireless access both on and off campus
• remote access to email and file storage.

Our Students' Union Stride Programme also runs sessions to improve your employability and personal skills.

Library resources

The libraries at NTU give you access to a wealth of information and the resources you need to study. We have nearly half a million books available as well as a growing online collection of eBooks, eJournals and databases. All of these can be found using Library OneSearch.

Our libraries also provide exceptional study spaces giving you the ideal environment to work. The libraries are split into silent, quiet and free-time areas. You can also book individual rooms to use for group study sessions. If you need help finding the information, our knowledgeable librarians are available to point you in the right direction. 

IT resource rooms

The university has over 7,000 workstations available for student use. Some of our resource rooms are open 24 hours a day giving you the access to a computer when you need it. You can now locate your nearest free resource room pc with our new pc availability system. Screens across each campus will show where you can find a free pc or you can find out the latest availability online.