Getting Started With UniSkills

This topic introduces you to the step up from undergraduate to taught postgraduate (PGT) study. We will help you to recognise and understand what the expectations are in relation to academic research, reading and writing skills at this level. We will also introduce you to the many ways you can access support during your time at Edge Hill.

You can explore this topic further through our interactive toolkit.

Before your lecture or seminar familiarise yourself with your online course area:

• What topics are coming up?
• Is there any pre-session reading?
• Have you checked your online reading list?

You may want to think about any keywords or concepts being used and could even prepare some questions for your tutor. This will not only improve your learning experience, but your tutors will be delighted to see you enthusiastically engaging independently with your subject.

Before engaging with your lectures or seminars, it is wise to decide on your note taking method. Handwritten or digital is fine, it’s about what works or feels most comfortable to you. There are lots of different note taking methods, as well as a range of external apps to support you in capturing your ideas and making sense of the information made available to you.

You may also wish to make note of any questions you have, remembering that doubt and even sometimes confusion is a normal part of the academic experience. Although asking questions can feel daunting, more often than not your peers will be wondering the same and they can often spark interesting discussions. As you settle into your course and get to know your peers and tutors, engaging in class discussions, asking questions and sharing your research will become much easier. You might be surprised how much you all learn from one another.

After your lecture or seminar don’t be too quick to file away your notes and move on to the next task. Revisit your notes and ensure you’ve recorded any critical dates or sources of information that were discussed. This will boost your memory of the material, help you identify anything you missed or didn’t understand, and give you an opportunity to review any feedback.

You will be expected to read widely from a range of academic sources and your tutors will guide you with suggestions that can be found in your module reading lists. Once you’ve begun to develop your confidence in accessing theses resources you can begin to read more widely by searching for literature via Discover More On here you can access a range of texts which could include books, eBooks, journal articles, websites, policy documents and government websites.

Journals are scholarly publications that share current research with the academic community. Journals are made up of a collection of articles and tend to be published on a regular basis (often quarterly). Whatever you are studying, there will be a vast range of academic journals that relate to your subject area.

Journal articles tend to be preferred as sources of evidence in academic writing because they are:

• Peer-reviewed: This means that other academics in that field have rigorously evaluated the research before it can be published.
• Timely: New research is being published all the time (journal articles will often offer you more recent research than you can access in books, which can take longer to write and publish).
• Seen as credible academic sources because they have to offer evidence for any claims that they make.

A great place to start reading a journal article is the abstract. The abstract is a succinct summary of the complete article and usually includes key details that will help you to learn more about the features of the paper. The abstract usually includes an overview of the research undertaken (for example how, why and where), the methodologies used and the key findings and / or recommendations. From reading the abstract you should get a good idea of what the article is about and if it would be useful for your own research.

Reading academically differs from reading for pleasure. When you have your module reading list it might seem overwhelming, but remember you are not expected to read every word, or even every source. Select a few key readings to get started (your tutor may have marked them as on the reading list) and think strategically about how to read.

Academic reading strategies:

• Skimming is where you skim the text to help you get the gist of what it is about.
• Scanning allows you to pick out any key information from the text to help you decide whether to continue reading.
• Comprehensive reading: once you have skimmed and scanned you will know whether it is worth reading the whole text from start to finish.

Start by skimming and scanning as a strategy to decide whether to read comprehensively. This will help you save time as you can identify which sources are relevant to your assignments, without reading entire articles or chapters from start to finish.

Once you are enrolled as an Edge Hill student you will have access to thousands of resources including books, eBooks (an electronic book you can access and read online) and eJournals (an electronic journal article covering the latest research you can access and read online). You will also be given a reading list which will contain books, journals and digital resources that your tutors have highlighted as essential and/or recommended reading. You will find a copy of your reading list within your module handbook and can also access your reading list online when you start your course.

There are lots of guides, toolkits and videos available to help you access and make the most of these resources on our Finding Academic Information web page. This page is primarily used by our current students, who are already working within their subject discipline, so don’t worry if they don’t quite make sense to you right now.

Effective note taking is a good skill to develop at university as it will help you to make sense of what you are learning and help you to remember it later. However, it is important to remember that it is a skill that develops with practice. There are no set rules for how you make your notes, other than they need to work for you.

Try out some of the methods below:

• Lists can work well if you are someone who prefers a linear, bulleted list of key points.
• Mind maps can allow you to visualise your ideas, identify links and most importantly recognise the gaps in your knowledge.
• Note taking apps: you can even try using note taking apps such as Evernote, OneNote.

Whichever method you choose make your notes actively, rather than highlighting text or copying information out word for word, so it sticks in your mind and you can check your own understanding. Think about the points being raised, what are they telling you? The more questions you ask, the more it will impact on the quality of the notes you make. If you would like to know more about note taking you can also visit our preparing to study web page.

Writing at university will probably feel different to other writing experiences you have had however it is important to realise that writing at university is a skill you will develop over time. Your tutors understand this, and you are not expected to be a fully formed academic writer at the start of your course.

The information and resources available on our Academic Reading and Writing web page will help you to develop and enhance your own style of writing, whatever your subject or level of study. Again, these pages are used by our current students, who have experience of writing at university, so do not worry if there appears a lot to think about when it comes to your academic writing.

At university you will become part of a learning community where you will develop, discuss and share new or long-standing ideas – this is what studying is all about. However, when sharing or presenting these ideas, it is important you acknowledge where they have come from through a practice called ‘referencing’.

Referencing is the acknowledgement of all the original sources of information that have been used in your work. Whether you have quoted academic sources directly or in your own words, you will need to learn how to cite each source according to the referencing style used on your course. These sources can include books, journal articles and webpages. Referencing is a skill you will develop throughout your time at university, no one is expecting you to be a referencing pro just yet.

As well as accurately acknowledging where information comes from, referencing is also a way to demonstrate all the reading and research you’ve carried out on your topic, which in turn may boost your marks.

There are various referencing styles available and, although Harvard is the most commonly used style at Edge Hill, your tutor will let you know which one they want you to use and give you plenty of help. If you would like to learn more about referencing in general, or take a look at some of the different styles, why not work your way through our Referencing Toolkit or visit our Referencing web page.

We would love to reassure you that university is an easy breezy academic experience, but the truth is to develop your knowledge, skills and be able to face new challenges, there will be times when you encounter setbacks or disappointments. This is all an important part of learning – we grow through what we go through.

Nurturing your academic resilience can help you to face the challenges you encounter. From receiving a disappointing mark to feeling out of place in your seminars, recognising that you have the potential to succeed despite the adversity you face is paramount. We have created an Academic Resilience Toolkit for you to work through at your own time and pace, to discover more about how you can improve and enhance your own academic resilience.