Study Skills Toolkit Weblinks

To view each resource click on the links below:

Learning Skills

Wikipedia - Brainstorming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainstorming.
An overview of the techniques used in brainstorming.

University of Southampton Academic Skills
http://www.academic-skills.soton.ac.uk/index.htm
A comprehensive set of study skills tools.

Study Skills Self-help Information
http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/stdyhlp.html
Reference material and Powerpoint slides on different study skills from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Oxford Brookes-Time Management
http://cs3.brookes.ac.uk/student/services/health/time.html
A guide to managing your time effectively.

Gathering information and using the library
http://www.academic-skills.soton.ac.uk/studytips/gather_info.htm
Tips for using a university library system effectively provided by the Unversity of Southampton.

University College Berkeley: Teaching library internet workshops
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html
How to get the most from your internet use.

Search Engine Watch: Search engine tutorials
http://searchenginewatch.com/2156611
Useful information on using search engines.

Google.com: Advanced search made easy
http://www.google.com/help/refinesearch.html
How to use Google effectively.

Internet for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting
http://www.vts.rdn.ac.uk/tutorial/nurse/
A useful tutorial that lets you practise your internet information skills in your own subject area. Provided by the University of the Bristol

Aston University - How to revise
http://www1.aston.ac.uk/current-students/studentsupport/studyskills/howtorevise/
Revision tips from Aston University.

Harvard university - how to work in groups
http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/html/icb.topic58474/wigintro.html
Six online handouts with suggestions as to how to work effectively in groups.

Improving your memory
www.studygs.net/memory.htm
Useful guide to memory techniques.

Medical mnemonics
http://www.medicalmnemonics.com/
An open-source database of mnemonics covering medical subject areas

Managing your stress and anxiety
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/success/stress.html
A website dealing with aspects of stress management provided by Dartmouth College.

e-Pad: an electronic Personal Achievement Document
http://wsa.soton.ac.uk/guide-to-e-pad/
A specialist PDP resource developed by the University of Southampton.

Dr. Helen Barrett's Electronic Portfolios
http://electronicportfolios.org/
A rich source of information about electronic portfolio development from one of the world's leading authorities in this area.

About e-Portfolios
http://portfolio.psu.edu/
A general introduction to e-portfolios and examples of students' e-portfolios provided by Penn State University, USA.

Association of Graduate Recruiters
http://www.agr.org.uk
A website providing information about what kind of skills graduate recruiters look for.

 

 

 

 

Academic Writing Skills

University of Southampton: Getting started with academic skills
http://www.studyskills.soton.ac.uk/studytips/write_essay.htm
A guide to academic writing and assignment writing.

Academic writing: organising the answer
http://www.uefap.co.uk/writing/writfram.htm
Using English for Academic Purposes (UEfAP) Comprehensive reference and practice material provided by the University of Hertfordshire.

Exeter University: A guide to the stages of writing an essay
http://www.education.ex.ac.uk/dll/studyskills/essays.htm
A breakdown of the various stages of essay writing.

Presenting Facts and Opinions
http://carhart.wilderness.net/docs/curriculum/3-2.pdf
A document dealing with the different way of expressing facts and opinions.

Plagiarism test
https://www.indiana.edu/~tedfrick/plagiarism/
A short self-marking test in which you decide whether or not examples of written work are plagiarised provided by Indiana University.

Princetown University: Examples of plagiarism
http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pub/integrity/pages/plagiarism.html
Exploration of plagiarism including source paragraphs and essay extracts illustrating acceptable or unacceptable practice.

Paraphrase: write it in your own words
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_paraphr.html
Practice exercises in paraphrasing with sample answers provided by Purdue University.

ABC of quotations and your own words
http://studymore.org.uk/copy.htm
A guide on referencing provided by Middlesex University.

Harvard style of referencing
http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1206008
An explanation of how to use the Harvard referencing system.

Citing references
http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/library/citing_references/citing_refs_main.html
A comprehensive overview of how to cite references correctly provided by the University of Bournemouth.

Online Materials giving advice on how to improve your writing
http://www.essex.ac.uk/myskills/skills/writing/default.asp
Study skills material focusing on the areas that are important in academic writing, provided by the University of Essex.

Hit Parade of Errors in Style, Grammar and Punctuation
http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/style-and-editing/hit-parade-of-errors
Useful reference material on proofreading for common errors provided by the University of Toronto.

Plymouth University: Writing a conclusion
http://www2.plymouth.ac.uk/millbrook/rsources/litrev/lrconc.htm
A guide to writing essay conclusions.

Plagiarism: What it is and how to recognize and avoid it
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml
Useful reference material with examples provided by the University of Indiana.

Avoiding Plagiarism
http://www.uefap.com/writing/plagiar/plagiar.htm
Information and exercises to help you avoid plagiarism provided by the University of Hertfordshire

 

 

 

 

Reading and Critical Thinking Skills

Using the Internet to support studies in Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting
http://www.vts.rdn.ac.uk/tutorial/nurse/
A tutorial that lets you practise your Internet Information Skills provided by the University of Bristol

Strategies for efficient reading
http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/reading/readin_1.html
Practice in using different reading strategies provided by the University Wollongong.

How users read on the web
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html
A detailed analysis of how reading on-screen is different from reading paper-based material.

Speed reading test online
http://www.readingsoft.com/
Material to help you test your reading speed.

Speed reading techniques
http://english.glendale.cc.ca.us/methods.html
A range of techniques to help you read faster provided by Glendale Community College.

Critical reading
http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/reading/readin_2.html
Reference and practice material on reading critically provided by the University of Wollongong.

Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html
Useful advice on how to evaluate web-based information provided by the University of California, Berkeley.

Note-taking skills from lectures and reading
http://www.education.ex.ac.uk/dll/studyskills/note_taking.PDF
Useful guidance on reading and note-taking from the Department of Lifelong Learning at the University of Exeter.

Reading and note-taking for essays
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Users/ssfj3/study1.html
Helpful information about how to approach reading and note-taking from the University of Sussex.

Reading and remembering academic text
http://www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/learning/reading
Practical advice on how to remember what you read for your academic studies provided by the University of Canberra.

 

 

 

 

Aspects of Academic Language

Academic style: some guidelines
http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/cill/eap/academicstyle.htm
Some guidelines on academic style along with several interactive exercises from the Centre for Independent Language Learning at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

The Academic Word List (AWL)
http://simple.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Academic_word_list
A resource developed by Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand which can help you identify vocabulary more commonly found in academic written contexts.

Practise using the tools of writing
http://www.open.ac.uk/study-strategies/english/pages/tools_index.asp
The Open University website provides guidance and practice in improving different aspects of language for university study.

 

 

 

 

Academic Speaking, Listening and Note-taking

Language and Academic Skills: Listening
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/lasesl/listening.html
Tips on how to approach listening to lectures from La Trobe University, Australia.

Note Taking
http://www1.aston.ac.uk/current-students/studentsupport/studyskills/notetaking/
Useful guidance on note-taking techniques from the University of Aston
Five note-taking systems.

Note-taking Systems
http://www.sas.calpoly.edu/asc/ssl/notetaking.systems.html
Five different note-taking systems are presented on the website of California State University.

Giving an oral presentation
http://www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/learning/oral
A practical approach to preparing an oral presentation provided by the University of Canberra.

Palgrave Macmillan Study Skills Audio Downloads
http://www.palgrave.com/skills4study/html/mp3.htm
Practise your listening and note-taking skills using these audios files on exam skills and critical thinking.

Because netiquette matters
http://www.netmanners.com/courtesy1.html
An introduction to manners and style for emails and other forms of online communication.

 

 

 

 

Dictionaries

Dictionary.com
http://www.dictionary.com
Comprehensive and easy to use dictionary online.

Alphadictionary.com
http://www.alphadictionary.com/index.shtml
An online dictionary that searches through 992 online dictionaries at once. A dictionary tool that searches for your chosen word through a massive database of dictionaries and provides several definitions from the different dictionaries available.

Online dictionary and translation service
http://www.dictionarylink.com/
A dictionary with a translation service included.

Online Medical Dictionary
http://www.online-medical-dictionary.org/
A comprehensive online glossary of medical terms

Dictionary of Pregnancy, Parenting and Preconception
http://www.mommyguide.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=index
A site which gives information on pregnancy and has a glossary of terms relating to pregnancy, parenting, breastfeeding, infertility. (You may need to register to access this information).