Study
Skills
A - Z

Abstracts: how to write

Before you write the final draft of your abstract, look for models in your discipline:

• check the Dissertations Locations List to find out where dissertations by past students are kept
• look at abstracts in journals (paper or electronic) you have used in your research.

Quick start

• This Abstract worksheet sets out a structure for writing an abstract - one or two short sentences under each heading, run them together and you have your abstract!
• This brief guide (from the University of Sydney) outlines the purpose and structure of an abstract, introduction and conclusion. The summary is on the second page – do scroll down so you don’t miss it.

Going deeper: How to write an abstract

Although this is quite an old source, the advice about what to put in each part of an abstract is good.

Academic writing

There are differences between everyday language and the style you use in your assignments and essays. Here are some useful sources of advice.

Academic style

This website from RMIT (Australia) gives guidelines on academic style and the type of language you should use in your reports, essays and assignments.

Quick start: Academic phrases

The University of Westminster’s advice gives useful phrases to introduce, conclude, add information and more.

Going deeper: Academic Phrasebank

The Academic phrasebank is a brilliant resource (from Manchester University) for all writers of academic work, so that includes you! The phrasebank provides lots of ways of introducing ideas into your work, and gives you a huge selection of words and phrases to use.

Annotated bibliography

These are sometimes required, when tutors want to see what students have been reading and how they used what they read.

Quick start

In very brief: Here's what you can do in 100-150 words in a clear 3-point format.

Going deeper

This link to Queensland University gives

• a full explanation of what an annotated bibliography is for, why we use them and how to write them
• critical questions to ask – also useful for writing a 'review'
• useful sentence starters to get you going.

Appendices

What can you include? Appendices are not a dumping ground for material that takes you over your wordcount! They are there to allow your reader to see some raw or illustrative material that you discuss and refer to in your work.

Quick start

• Here's how to refer to material in your appendices and how to refer to figures (Goldsmiths, University of London)
• And how an appendix relates to a report (University of Woolagong).

Assistive technology at Brookes

Two packages are available on pooled computers at Brookes, and anyone is welcome to use them.

textHELP 8.1

Texthelp can read your work back to you and is useful for writing and proofreading your work. You can

• scan in information and
• have it converted to an audio file to listen to later.
• use the clever videos at the bottom of each drop down menu

textHELP is available in all pooled computer rooms. Go to Start > All Programs > Study Tools > textHELP 8.1

These podcasts (from the University of Hull) show how to use textHELP

• Part 1: Introduction and basic editing
• Part 2: More editing and researching
• Part 3: Converting text to a sound file, highlighting to select text from documents or the web.

Inspiration is mindmapping software which you can use to produce mindmaps and turn these into a linear format and word document.

Book reviews: how to write

If you have been given guidance from your tutor or in your module handbook, follow it. If not, take a look at the three outlines below – they all cover the same core points but with differences in emphasis. Draw up a set of headings from these outlines try and follow them!

Try this approach to writing a book review

• 1-side outline  of what a book review is (from Del Mar, US), and how to write one
• A DIY structure (from the University of Brighton)
• The Brookes Library guide on book reviews which also includes guidance on how to find reviews already written.

Brainstorming

Planning structures

These sites show a dozen different ways of organising your ideas and material, according to what you are trying to do with it. Take a look.
Some of these structures are particularly useful with some essay questions eg 'compare and contrast'

• This collection of graphic organisers is nicely organised, but doesn't say anything about how you might use each structure.
• This site suggests when each structure might be useful, but you have to scroll down - check you get the right bit of text with each diagram. Don't be put off by the language of some of them!

Mindmapping

Here's how to do a mind map - definitely worth trying when you have a mass of material whirling around in your head, and you want to try and capture it.

Inspiration Have you tried this package? It is very useful for developing an essay plan from a mind map – and easy to use. With it you can

• Map out your ideas as a mind map, or spider diagram
• Turn this into a structured 'tree' of ideas or linear form
• Add notes
• Save it as a Word document, and get writing with the overall map on the top of the page... and much more.

It is on all networked PCs in Brookes. Click on 'Start' > 'All programmes' > Scroll down to 'Study Tools' > Click on 'Inspiration', and you're away.

Case studies

Case studies are designed to help you think about the link between theory and practice. As a student, they are often the closest you can get to a ‘real life’ situation. All case studies require you to pull apart intertwined elements in a situation (analysis), and most ask you to think about solutions to a problem.

You have probably been given guidance on how to tackle a case study – possibly modelled on seminar sessions, but if you really haven’t got any guidance take a look at the outlines and structures suggested here (from Monash).

Conclusions

• This quick guide helps to keep you on track, making sure you follow a pattern in your conclusion. See second page for an outline structure.
• There is more advice on conclusions under Essay below – click on ‘Conclusion’
• For dissertations, try using the blue headings of the Manchester University Phrasebank as a structure for your conclusion.

Critical analysis

This link takes you through to information about a book: Critical thinking skills by Stella Cottrell. The blurb includes an audio file which you might like to listen to as an introduction.

Critical appraisal using CASP

Students in health and social care are sometimes asked to carry out a ‘critical appraisal’ of research articles using one of the frameworks (or ‘tools’) from the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP). You may have been told which of the 7 to use, or may have to decide yourself – the FAQs on this link may help.

The introduction to each version of CASP shows 3 or 4 main headings the questions are grouped under. These can make useful headings for your appraisal.

Critical review

You may be asked to write a ‘critical review’ of a text – an article, a book, a chapter in a book. Here are some suggestions on how to approach this task.

Very quick start

to get you thinking, consider the basic questions for an annotated bibliography entry.

Writing a critical review: The two links below suggest approaches you might like to try.

• This guidance (from Monash University, adapted) gives an outline of two elements to include: summary /description and evaluation.
• How to tackle the task in 4 steps (from London Met).

For a comparison of two articles, you could try

• Using the headings of the abstracts if the abstracts of the articles you are comparing have headings (most likely in science subjects)
• Use the headings from the Monash outline above

Whatever structure you use, make notes on both articles before you start writing. This will help you to avoid ‘telling the story’ of each article and you will find you become more ‘critical’.

Critical thinking

Start here. Take a look at this animated speech comparing being a critical student with choosing an apartment. 5 minutes on this could save you hours of effort trying to understand what ‘being critical’ at university means.

Getting into it

For critical thinking tips, an introduction to reading critically and analysing an argument look at this site from Edinburgh Napier University. It's clean, clear and easy to read with neat examples.

The OU sets out some common sense tips – which are all good for study anyway.

Going deeper

This guidance from Palgrave outlines specific ways of reacting in a critical way to material you read.

Critical writing

Quick start

‘Too descriptive’? If you get this comment on your work and wonder what it means, this outline gives the basics of what this means.

Going deeper

• 'Be more critical' is for anyone who wants to understand what they need to do to get that 'critical' dimension in their writing – especially for students in Health and Social Care.
• Manchester University's Academic Phrasebank is great for language to use in your writing to show how you are thinking and reacting critically to the material you have read.

Dictionaries

Always useful! Here's a shortcut to the library Dictionaries, thesauri and translators page.

Dissertations

About dissertations

If you are writing a dissertation, you will have a tutor or supervisor to advise you, and there will be written guidelines in the Handbook to help you. You need to find out precisely what your supervisor expects of YOU right from the beginning.

What exactly do you have to do?
Knowing exactly what is expected of you will help you get started.

The feeling of 'lift-off' with any research first happens when you can see exactly what it is you are trying to achieve or find out - your research question.

Your introduction is your shop window for your reader – it’s worth working on to get it right. See also Introductions below.

Writing a conclusion

For dissertations, try using the blue headings of the Manchester University Phrasebank as a structure for your conclusion.

Structures for your dissertation

It can help you get started if you have an idea of what it might look like when it is finished.

The 'science' model [PDF 135 Kb]
The 'social science' model [PDF 135 Kb]

An Action Plan for Brookes

Your time and task planner for final year undergraduate dissertations at Brookes.

More advice?

Checkout Brookes Library for

• Library guide: Researching and writing a dissertation or project .
• look at dissertations by previous students – check the Dissertations Location List for details of where they are stored
• books!

Dissertation checking service

Oxford Brookes International offers a professional service in checking dissertations for language accuracy for international students. This is a fee paying service.

Dyslexia

If you think you might be dyslexic, contact the Brookes dyslexia service

Email dyslex.sup@brookes.ac.uk

Phone 01865 484650

If you know you are dyslexic, you probably know what works for you and what doesn't. Have a browse through this A/Z – you might find something you like!

Dyslexia friendly websites

These websites are designed for dyslexic students, but anyone might find them useful. Equally, as a dyslexic student, you may find other approaches suit you better. Take a look.

See Assistive technology for details about software packages for planning, writing and checking your work.

Check out the Library support available to dyslexic students (more books, free photocopying and more) – and of course you are welcome at Upgrade!

Essays

Essay planning

What kind of planner (or non-planner!) are you? Scroll down to the 4 pie charts (from the University of Leicester) that show different ways of using time to research, plan and write essays. Time to change?

Essay writing

If you are rusty on essay writing, or just don't know how to get started…

• Read your module handbook carefully - there will always be some advice there, and sometimes a lot
• Seek advice as soon as possible - see your module / seminar leader.
• Don't get miserable! Get help. You can email Upgrade to see someone

Meanwhile, try some of the advice here.

Essay writing: an overview

shows the whole process of writing an essay, from start to finish.

All about essay writing

This website gives clear, logical advice and great animations (from RMIT) in the examples. If the graphics don't work properly, it's because your machine doesn't have Adobe Flash. You can download it or try another computer at Brookes.

What do tutors really want?

Your tutor is the best source of advice and models for your essays. Meanwhile, take a look at the examples in these annotated essays (from Monash University) and tutors' comments. Pick the subject areas closest to yours - just click on the highlighted text and the advice pops up.

Instruction words in essay questions

This page lists all the favourite essay instruction words: analyse, compare, contrast, define, discuss etc (the University of Kent calls them 'instruction verbs'). Useful, because they make it clear how each instruction word requires a different response from you, the writer. Take a look when you're planning.

Answer the question

Pull the question apart and see how it is constructed (from London Met). Then  start thinking about how to answer it – addressing each bit.

Essay structure

This advice from the Open University suggests ways to structure different types of essay: argument, discussion, comparison or multi-task. Simply click on the type you are writing at the top of the webpage and you are away.

Exams

The three links below all have a slightly different approach to advice on exams – all good.

• Advice on everything from the night before to strategies in the exam itself from Aston University
• A mix of advice and students’ experience (from Napier University)
• Students talking about their approach, plus a checklist and advice from examiners (from University of Sussex).

Or listen to some advice on Exam skills from Stella Cottrell’s Study Skills Handbook on your mp3.

Feedback

Feedback from tutors is the most direct and perhaps THE most explicit advice you will get about what you do well and where you need to change to get better marks. DO READ IT CAREFULLY however tempting it is to chuck it to one side if you are disappointed with your grade.

If you get feedback, written or verbal, on an early draft, go through it and try and work out what each point means for you in practice, and how you could act on it.

• Here students from University of Sussex talk about how they use feedback.
• And tutors talk about how they expect students to use their feedback. You can pick out sections from this longer ‘conversation’.
• The second page of this advice sheet is designed as a self check list – worth checking through for ideas on how you could use feedback.

Grammar

The basics: handy if grammar never happened for you at school (BBC skillwise)...

Some explanations: a fuller account with examples.

Groupwork

You will almost certainly have an assignment involving groupwork every semester, and even if your groupwork is not assessed, working with others is a crucial skill. Getting the basics right at the beginning will help to keep your group on track - for an enjoyable experience as well as a grade based on everyone's strengths ...

Getting started

This 2-side action sheet suggests ways of getting your basic group dynamics working well, and includes a 'record of meetings' sheet to use.

About groupwork

These 10 video clips show a group at work, and give food for thought about the pleasures and pitfalls of groupwork. Enjoy!

Inspiration

Inspiration is mindmapping software which you can use to produce mindmaps and turn these into a linear format and word document. Really useful at the planning stage of your assignments to help you sort out your ideas.

• This podcast (from the University of Hull) shows how the bubble version of Inspiration works.

At Brookes Inspiration is available in all pooled computer rooms. Click on 'Start' > 'All programmes' > Scroll down to 'Study Tools' > Click on 'Inspiration', and you're away.

Introductions

Top tip from Upgrade – write your introduction LAST! … when you know where you are going and what you are going to introduce! If you write it after your conclusion you can make sure it leads to where you ended up!

Quick start

See this quick reference guide from the University of Plymouth. The second page gives a really short summary of a structure you can use for both introductions and conclusions.

Going deeper

The 5 bullet points at the top of this page of the Manchester University Phrasebank give you a structure for an introduction, especially useful for dissertations. These headings are then repeated in the blue subheadings below – and you’ll see some useful language for you to use as well.

Literature review

How to write a lit review

These pages give clear advice on the what, why and how of researching and writing a literature review.

Literature Review: an example

This annotated example (from Purdue University) gives a helpful running commentary about how it is structured. Read through the pointers and use the tips you learn in your own literature review.

• See advice on Starting your literature review  (from the University of Reading)
• And on Developing your literature review 

Losing it!

Save your work! Save it … save it …save it … save it … save it … Save your work!

Everyone says it … nobody does it well enough … and everyone pays the price sooner or later. It never impresses tutors. Here are some suggestions:

• Consciously save versions of your work as you go (don’t wait till the end of a work session). Date your files to make it easier to find them.
• Email your work to someone else (or yourself) so you have it in your ‘Sent’ as well as the other inbox
• Copy it to a memory stick
• Use Dropbox Basic. It gives you 2GB of free storage on the cloud.

Save your work! Save it … save it …save it … save it … save … Save your work!

Masters

This MSc Study Skills Guide is from Brookes School of Social Sciences and Law and has useful advice on reading, writing, referencing, revision and presentations for Masters’ students.

Many of the other links on this A/Z will be useful to you:

Dissertations – and the links in this section

Introductions – especially the Phrasebank link for the structure of a dissertation.

Conclusions - The bold blue headings from the Phrasebank give a useful structure for the conclusion of a dissertation, especially for a Masters’ dissertation. Not all the subheadings may be relevant to you, but the first four are a useful place to start for most people.

Memory

Tips to help you improve your memory (from the University of Hull) using different techniques:  organise information using trees, peg words, memory palaces and even your own room to remember your learning.

Mindmapping

How to mindmap (or make spider or pyramid diagrams) and use these to produce notes for planning your work. It mentions Inspiration – which you can access on any pooled computer in Brookes.

Click on 'Start' > 'All programmes' > Scroll down to 'Study Tools' > Click on 'Inspiration', and you're away.

Notes: notetaking from reading

This pdf includes an online tutorial as well as tips for notetaking in lectures as well as from your reading (from RMIT).

Tips include using abbreviations, linear notetaking and organising information.

Making notes

• The OU offers good, clear advice on note making:
  advice on different approaches to use

• Techniques for taking notes – explore different ways to take notes

Templates for notes

You might like to use one of these templates for notes (from the University of Bradford).
The first gives you some prompts; the second is the 'Cornell' style with  a wide column for key points, a narrow column for thoughts when you review the notes, and a full width space at the bottom for a summary.

Index cards

A neat way of making yourself focus on key points, especially useful for revision. This Open University webpage suggests a way to use index cards for notetaking or summarising. Make sure you include full reference details (not shown here).

Inspiration is useful for note making - it's on all pooled computers in Brookes.

Notemaking: thoughts by Brookes students

Is there anything here you could use? And can you contribute any ideas? Email Upgrade with your suggestions.

Paragraphs

How to write a paragraph

If you can write a paragraph, you can write anything! This 2-side sheet shows how to use the paragraph structure in your writing, through a model, example and a checklist.

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is an essential skill for expressing the ideas you have read in your own writing. You do have to be careful that you acknowledge and reference ideas from authors you use – putting their ideas into your words doesn’t make them yours! Summarising key points (in your own words of course to make it shorter!) and referencing them (Williams 2011) is better than lots of paraphrasing.

Quick ref

• This Open University page explains what paraphrasing is, how to do it and provides some useful guidelines.
• Explore the Academic Phrasebank for different ways to reword your work.
• Here is some clear advice on paraphrasing and avoiding plagiarism from RMIT University.

Going deeper

These pages (from The University of Wisconsin) illustrate successful and unsuccessful paraphrasing showing exactly what is considered to be plagiarism and what is not.

PhD

Advice on doing a PhD from PhD application, proposal, through research and right on through to your viva, from Postgraduate On-line Research Training (PORT). Although this has an arts context, much of the advice is applicable to other disciplines.

Plagiarism

For a definition of plagiarism, and tips on how to avoid it, see Brookes Library guidance. The link to PLATO is on the right of this page.

PLATO: Online Plagiarism Tutorial

This interactive tutorial on plagiarism and referencing has clear explanations, animations, quizzes and video clips. It is designed to show you what plagiarism is and to understand the pressures and practices that lead people to take these shortcuts. Well worth a look to help you develop good study practices.

This link explains how to find it. Alternatively

• Go to  the Brookes Virtual Gateway page and just above the blue boxes you will see  'Self-registration courses' click on this.
• Your PIP page will appear - log in.
• From the list of self-registration courses, scroll down to PLATO and click on the 'Register' button.
• Now, go back into the Brookes Virtual / click on VLE / log in and PLATO will appear in your list of self-registered courses.

This interactive tutorial from the University of Leicester gives an excellent, clear description of plagiarism, how people slip into it, and how to avoid it.
Choose the version closest to your subject area. The first few screens are a bit slow, and don't be put off by the suggestion that it takes 30 minutes! Keep clicking, and from the fingerprints onwards you will find an accessible, user-friendly explanation of plagiarism, and hints on how to develop a systematic approach to study so you don't plagiarise by accident.

Poster presentations

Why do a poster? When you are set the task of designing a poster, it helps to know how they are used as a means for communicating the outcomes of people’s research in academic conferences. Scroll down and look at the pictures and sample posters (from Swarthmore College, US) to pick up some useful tips.

How to do an academic poster

• For clear easy-to follow practical advice and explanations see these pages from Napier University. The section on layout gives three basic designs to get you thinking about yours.
• Run your eye down the contents on the left on how to do an academic poster (from North Carolina State University). Go straight to 'Examples of posters', and read the + and - points and the discussion. Then go back to the 'how to' sections if you need to.

A great time waster! This periodic table of visualisation techniques is mindblowing. Just hover your cursor over the squares and look at all the methods you could use to present ideas visually. You may be inspired by one – if so, great, but if it’s all too much go back to ‘How to do…’  above.

Presentations

Take your pick of these sources of advice we thought look useful.

Quick start

These pages from Napier University will give you all the advice you need to get going on a presentation and helpful comments from students.

Going deeper

• Planning and giving a presentation: these pages (from RMIT) take you screen by screen, step by step, through the whole process. It's clear, visual and easy to follow.
• The 4Ps of giving a good presentation (from the University of Hull) for a quick summary of what’s involved. It's well worth printing off the first page! Then skim the rest.

Proofreading

A sure way to lose marks is to hand in work without carefully checking (or 'proofreading') it. A common sense approach is often enough:

• try reading it out loud somewhere
• Does it sound odd to you? Then it probably is. Rephrase it.
• Does it make sense to you? If it doesn't make sense to you, it won't make sense to anyone else reading it! Rephrase it, to make it simpler and clearer.
• Write short sentences!

Then check for little mistakes: take a look at this checklist (from the University of Indiana)

Punctuation

Lists clear advice on the use of all those bits of punctuation you never knew how to use (but are useful in your writing) as well as the ones you really do need to use correctly to write coherently (full stop, comma, apostrophe).

Reading

Getting started

This link starts with student comments, gives clear and helpful reading skills from skimming and scanning to reading journal articles. All clear and easy to see (from Napier University).

The OU has good, clear no-nonsense advice on various aspects of reading. Try:

• Fast reading techniques - to make your reading more effective
• Active reading - and notetaking so you are fully focused on your task

Reading critically

Quick start

Questions to help you be more critical and questioning in your reading

• What good readers do – try out some of their ideas
  Five steps to better reading – improve your understanding
• Great mindmap on SQ3R (from the University of Hull). Survey, Question, Read, Recall, Review (SQ3R) a reading technique that is widely used.

Going deeper

Strategies for reading and critical reading (from RMIT, Australia).You don't have to read every word of a chapter or article - read as little as you can to get the idea, and go back for the detail if you need to.
This website has quick, clear advice and activities getting you to skim and scan and analyse text - you can do the exercises in a couple of minutes. It get you to examine the logic behind a writer's argument – critical reading.

Reading: thoughts by Brookes students

Check out these thoughts - is there anything here you could use? And can you contribute any ideas?

Referencing

The concept

In a couple of screens this great site (from the University of the West of England) really does explain clearly and simply what information about a source you need for a reference, and how to set it out.

See  Citing information sources and plagiarism for advice and guides on referencing from Brookes library.

Referencing styles

First, you need to know the style of referencing you are expected to use in your course. This will be in course or module handbook. It is likely to be one of these:

• APA: often used in Psychology, some health studies
• Harvard: used in most subjects and over all the most used in universities world wide
• MHRA: most used in subjects like literature
• OSCOLA: for Law and legal subjects
• Vancouver (often called ‘numeric’): used in sciences

• MLA referencing: used in Modern Languages and other arts-based disciplines

Cardiff University Library has most of them!

• Click on the first resource listed (‘Tutorial’ or ‘Manual’)

From here it gets more inviting, with easy to follow, short explanations, colour-coded examples, flowcharts and tips. You can go back to the first page for test yourself quizzes and activities.

Referencing at Brookes

In general

• listen to a podcast
• see guides to British Standard and Harvard methods of citing sources including electronic sources
• 'Endnote' software (supported by Brookes library) enables you to organise and record your references in your own database for each assignment as you go. You can create your references list directly from this personalised database. Great for dissertations. There are other software packages you can download free

Referencing: How to reference (Brookes)

Three Faculties or Departments at Brookes have guides on Harvard referencing for their students:

• for Health and Social Care students (1Mb)
• for Westminster Institute students (2.6Mb)
• for Business students (Word doc)

The examples are specific to these Schools, but the guides work fine for anyone using the Harvard system. They show what academic writing should look like, how to reference in your text as you write, as well as how to list your sources (journal, book, electronic) in the 'References' section at the end.

DIY reference sheets. Many students find these prompt sheets useful to get the hang of recording all the details of a reference correctly. The examples come from the HSC guide above.

Reflective writing

You may be asked to 'reflect' on your work or experiences, especially if you are in the health, social care, education or business fields. The links below offer guidance on how to do this in an organised way.

Get the idea

This PDF (from Southampton University) starts with a reflective journal, and go on to give a really helpful outline of what reflection means, why it matters, and how to write in a critical and reflective way. Definitely start here.

Quick start

Reflective writing: a basic introduction (from the University of Portsmouth) provides a useful introduction and a basic structure to follow. The second page suggests strings of words and phrases you could use in your reflective writing.

View all-purpose reflection cycle, (from RMIT) with bullet points suggesting what to include.

Going deeper

Read fuller guidance on reflective writing. It explains what reflective writing is, why you are asked to do it, and gives guidance and examples on using specific frameworks especially relevant to Health and Social Care students: Gibbs, Holm and Stevenson and Johns.

Report writing

The report form is used mainly in science, social science and business related subjects, and in each discipline the form will vary. It is a very flexible form of writing, and can be adapted to any investigative context - which is why it is one of the most used forms of writing in the working world, and why students are asked to write them.

All about reports

Click your way through this site (from Learn Higher) for

• the difference between reports and essays
• what makes a good report
• writing styles for reports

. . . and more . . .

Report writing: a science report

This model outline for a science report is used in Life Sciences, and will be acceptable to other science courses. Always check the detailed advice you are given.

Report writing: a business report

This is the advice (on Powerpoint) given to first year students in the Business School 2011/12. Check the detailed advice you are given on other courses. 

Research

Brookes library can help with:

• Finding information: tips about how to find information and how to get started on research
• Listings of where to find information and journal articles on your subject.
• Various guides on researching. Research Guide 1 lists general books on research in Part 1 and subject specific guides in Part 2.
• Under Subject help you will find links to all the main resources you will need and, most important of all, to your friendly subject librarian!

Searching databases

• See Brookes library guide 
• See how search terms work together. George Boole, way back in the 1800s came up with this model ('the Boolean machine') - still useful in doing effective keyword searches.

Move the cursor over the boxes on the left and see how it works – and then try using it in your own searches.

Research process

This ‘hourglass’ model of research caught our eye as an interesting way to understand the research process. You don’t need to read on. If you do, you will find a comprehensive website on research methods and issues.

Research: writing up

This link takes you to the framework of a typical dissertation (Introduction, Literature review, Design, Results, Conclusion) - but strangely, no 'Discussion' section, the most important for many subject areas and many students. Nevertheless, it is a neat format, and you can click forwards and back to useful guidance on various sections. For example, see this page for advice on your Research Question.

• See Structures for your dissertation in this A/Z
• See specific advice that relates to your subject in your module/course handbook.

Research methods

Upgrade is not the place for a discussion of specific research methods. These are discipline specific and you should look to your module for advice (content, handbook or Module leader). However, students do ask us about approaches to research, so here are some start points:

• Qualitative / quantitative
• Structured interviews (and how to critically evaluate this method)

See also the Brookes Library guide to books on research methods: Researching and writing a dissertation or project 

Revision

Take your pick of the advice here – you’ll find a common core of tried and tested approaches, as well as suggestions that might just work for YOU.

• First, tips and comments from students at Sussex University. Scroll through the questions in the student interviews to find their suggestions on revision.
• This advice from Aston University is clear and direct and even includes what not to do.
• Try index cards. Worth trying for or summarising information, or mapping possible answers to exam questions.
• And our top tips.

Saving it!

See Losing it!

Save your work! Save it … save it …save it … save it … save it… Save your work!

Science: researching and writing

This website (from the University of Reading) is well organised and offers good, clear advice. It is designed for Science students (of course!) but you don't have to be studying science to find helpful and practical advice like

• Getting started (thinking about research questions)
• Reviewing literature (how to tackle your lit review)

… especially if you're doing a dissertation. The remaining sections are particularly geared to science students and offer practical advice on planning research, statistics, writing scientifically and presenting.

Spelling

The basics: if you want to go back to basics and check what you never learnt at school …

Time management

The timeline: a must for logging all the deadlines of all your modules on one sheet!

Use Upgrade’s Brookes semester planner [PDF format or editable Word format] from and complete the Timeline if you do nothing else! Then stick it up somewhere you can’t miss it ….

• Semester 1 2011-12 PDF
• Semester 2 2011-12 PDF

If you can get your head around what you have to do and when you have to do it by, you're pretty much there ....

• More tips and strategies to get your time management under control from LearnHigher. Try the 5-step plan to get your time under control.
• Priority planning: if you’re feeling overwhelmed, try sorting what you really have to do from the rest. Print off this colourful page from Bradford University. You can either fill in the columns or follow their suggestion to use stickers. You can try writing your ‘must do’ items on ‘post its’ and put them on this handy planner (also from Bradford).

Turnitin

Turnitin software ‘matches’ text – your text with the millions of other pieces of writing in its archive. This Powerpoint presentation from the Faculty of Business (by Lindsey Williams) shows you how it works and how to interpret your Turnitin report. A must for any student who wants to understand Turnitin, and improve their writing.

Website evaluation

It can be hard to know what you're looking at on the web. Is it any good? Can you use it for your assignment or research? Is it good solid research, by qualified and reputable people, or is it…. just something random …You need to know, because YOU are responsible for the quality of information you use.

Getting started

• The Brookes Library guide Evaluating web sources for questions you can ask to evaluate web sources.
• Section 2 'A critical approach to anything' p5 in 'Be more critical!' shows this approach in action.
• For a quick checklist (using different headings) try this from Leicester University.

You can use any of these sets of criteria if you are asked to evaluate sources as a set piece of work eg in a wiki posting.

Going deeper

This starts with a neat summary of questions to ask yourself about any website. You can go into it in real depth is you decide to follow the ‘tutorial’ by clicking on the blue headings (from Ohio State University).

Writing

See also 'Academic writing' above.

Linking words

It's well worth taking a close look at the little words that help your writing to link and flow: however, likewise, moreover, finally - and alternatives to these, when you are redrafting and editing your work. This site lists a good number in a no-fuss format.

Checking your writing

textHELP is a useful package to help you with writing, editing and checking your work, available on networked pcs in Brookes - and much more.

Go to Start > All Programs > Study Tools > textHELP 8.1

Academic writing style

The suggestions here (from Glasgow Caledonian University) may help you to make decisions about how you write.

If you need more advice on writing style, see your tutor, or contact Upgrade.

An overview of writing

From this overview (from Napier University), you can find your way into any specific aspect of writing that catches your eye. It’s all good advice!