Academic workshops

Academic support

The Learning Development Team within LLR runs the following workshops and drop-in sessions to support maths and study skills. To book a place please visit the library booking system.

Spring term workshops

Effective Time Management

So much to do, so little time to do it! In fact, once we have a clear picture of exactly what it is we have to do, finding the time is easy. This workshop will help you to develop some strategies for identifying the size of the task and making the time to complete it.

City site: 8 January -
- 12.30 pm - 1.30 pm, Boots Library Seminar Room
- 4.30 pm - 5.30 pm, Boots Library Seminar Room
Clifton campus: 9 January -
- 10.30 am - 11.30 am, Clifton Library Seminar Room 02
- 2.00 pm - 3.00 pm, Clifton Library Seminar Room 02

Answering the Question

Have you ever written what you thought was an excellent essay, only to receive a poor grade, and feedback saying that you failed to answer the question properly? In this workshop we will learn how to interpret the directions given to you within the question, and to ensure that you get it right every time.

Clifton campus: 15 January -
- 12.30 pm - 1.30 pm, Clifton Library Seminar Room 02
- 3.30 pm - 4.30 pm, Clifton Library Seminar Room 02
Brackenhurst campus: 16 January -
- 10.00 am - 11.00 am, Bramley building TG7
- 2.00 pm - 3.00 pm, Bramley building TG5
City site: 17 January -
- 11.00 am - 12.00 noon, Boots Library Seminar Room
- 4.30 pm - 5.30 pm, Boots Library Seminar Room

Structuring your Writing

Want to gain some extra marks in your assignments? Student Writing Mentors are running a workshop to give you some hints and tips on how to plan, structure and proofread your work to help maximise your grades.
This workshop has been put together by students with experience of how to write assignments, who are offering basic hints and tips on how to maximise your marks.

Brackenhurst campus: 22 January - 12.30 noon - 1.30 pm, Bramley building TG6
City site: 22 January - 4.00 pm - 5.00 pm, Boots Library Seminar Room
Clifton campus: 22 January - 4.00 pm - 5.00 pm, Clifton Library Seminar Room 02

Active and Critical Reading

Do you want to improve your reading skills? Reading effectively is at the core of being a successful student. This session will help you to be active and critical in your reading and will suggest different reading strategies that will help you to read more effectively.

City site: 22 January -
- 12.30 pm - 1.30 pm, Boots Library Seminar Room
- 5.30 pm - 6.30 pm, Boots Library Seminar Room
Clifton campus: 23 January -
- 11.00 am - 12.00 noon, Clifton Library Seminar Room 02
Brackenhurst campus: 24 January -
- 10.00 am - 11.00 am, Main Hall 103
- 4.30 pm - 5.30 pm, Bramley building TG6

Note Making and Mind Mapping

One of the most fundamental skills required at university is effective note making. This session brushes up your note making skills and explores different techniques for making notes, including mind mapping.

Clifton campus: 29 January -
- 10.00 am - 11.00 am, Clifton Library Seminar Room 02
- 2.00 pm - 3.00 pm, Clifton Library Seminar Room 02
City site: 31 January -
- 11.00 am - 12.00 noon, Boots Library Seminar Room
- 4.30 pm - 5.30 pm, Boots Library Seminar Room

Introductions, Paragraphs and Conclusions

Essay writing falls into 3 sections: the introduction; the main body and the conclusion. But what goes in which bit? Come along and find out how to write effective essays so that your reader has a clear understanding of what it is you are trying to say.

Brackenhurst campus: 5 February -
- 10.00 am - 11.00 am, Bramley building TG9
- 2.00 pm - 3.00 pm, Bramley building TG5
City site: 6 February -
- 11.00 - 12.00 noon, Boots Library Seminar Room
- 4.30 pm - 5.30 pm, Boots Library Seminar Room
Clifton campus: 7 February -
- 12.30 pm - 1.30 pm, Clifton Library Seminar Room 02
- 2.00 pm - 3.00 pm, Clifton Library Seminar Room 02

Punctuation

Good punctuation is crucial for successful academic writing. By learning how to use punctuation correctly, you will be able to communicate your ideas and arguments more clearly.

City site: 12 February -
- 9.30 am - 10.30 am, Boots Library Seminar Room
- 2.00 pm - 3.00 pm, Boots Library Seminar Room
Clifton campus: 13 February -
- 11.00 am - 12.00 noon, Clifton Library Seminar Room 02

Learning from Feedback

One of the major differences between learning at college and university is that at university you normally only receive feedback after you have completed your assignment. This requires a more sophisticated approach to learning from your studies and this workshop will explore how to develop strategies for learning effectively from your feedback.

Clifton campus: 19 February -
- 12.30 pm - 1.30 pm, Clifton Library Seminar Room 02
- 4.30 pm - 5.30 pm, Clifton Library Seminar Room 02
Brackenhurst campus: 20 February -
- 9.00 am - 10.00 am, Bramley building TG8
- 2.00 pm - 3.00 pm, Bramley building TG7
City site: 21 February -
- 11.00 am - 12.00 noon, Boots Library Seminar Room
- 4.30 pm - 5.30 pm, Boots Library Seminar Room

Be More Critical

Are comments such as ‘too descriptive’ and ‘more critical analysis needed’ a common theme in your feedback? In this session we will look at what is meant by critical thinking in Higher Education and develop a resource that you can use to critically evaluate your own and others’ work.

City site: 27 February -
- 12.30 pm - 1.30 pm, Boots Library Seminar Room
- 4.30 pm - 5.30 pm, Boots Library Seminar Room
Clifton campus: 28 February -
- 10.00 am - 11.00 am, Clifton Library Seminar Room 02
- 2.00 pm - 3.00 pm, Clifton Library Seminar Room 02

Structuring an Essay

Once you have broken down the question and worked out what you are being asked to do, it is important to read widely around the subject so that you can construct your argument, or state your case. This workshop will help you to start writing once the material has been found and the thinking been done.

City site: 5 March -
- 9.00 am - 10.00 am, Boots Library Seminar Room
- 2.00 pm - 3.00 pm, Boots Library Seminar Room
Clifton campus: 6 March -
- 10.00 am - 11.00 am, Clifton Library Seminar Room 02

Revision Skills

Got an exam in the summer term? You really need to be thinking about revision now. This session will explore how to plan your revision and get the most from all your revision.

Clifton campus: 12 March -
- 10.00 am - 11.00 am, Clifton Library Seminar Room 02
- 2.00 pm - 3.00 pm, Clifton Library Seminar Room 02
City site: 14 March -
- 10.00 am - 11.00 am, Boots Library Seminar Room
- 4.30 pm - 5.30 pm, Boots Library Seminar Room

Revision Techniques

It is always best to ensure that you have a firm understanding of your course as you go along, but coming up to exam time it is advisable to think about your approach to tackling the assessment and how to consolidate your revision. There will be many things to think about and this revision workshop will help you to get organised so that you feel more confident and in control. We offer advice on: time management; getting organised and revision techniques.

Brackenhurst campus: 18 April -
- 3.30 pm - 4.30 pm, Bramley building TG3
City site: 18 April -
- 12.30 pm - 1.30 pm, Boots Library Seminar Room
Clifton campus: 18 April -
- 12.30 pm - 1.30 pm, Clifton Library Seminar Room 02

Drop-in sessions

Student mentors are current students who are happy to help through bookable, one-to-one sessions, small group workshops and lunchtime drop-ins.

Student mentors are available daily on the City site and Clifton and Brackenhurst campus to discuss any aspect of your writing and maths, to help you perform better in assignments and exams.

City site: 12 pm - 2 pm, Boots Library Seminar Room

Clifton campus: 12 pm - 1 pm (1 pm - 2 pm Wednesday until March 2013), Clifton Library Seminar Room

Brackenhurst campus: 1 pm - 2 pm Monday - Tuesday, 12 noon - 1pm Thursday - Friday

For information on one-to-one and small group support, please visit the student mentor pages.