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Preparing for Academic Writing

Understanding the question

 

In this video recorded live during the Introduction to the Key Skills Workshop on the 22nd September 2020, Alex from the Skills team outlines tips and advice for ensuring that you understand the assignment question so that you can ensure that your answer in relevant and hits the marking criteria.

How can I check I am answering the question

 

In this 8 minute video from the Understanding the Question livestream, Naomi and Alex from the Skills Team discuss ways that you can check that you are answering the question throughout your assignment.

The First Steps: Understanding the Question

 

In this episode of the Assignment Journey Podcast Alex and Naomi (Senior Skills Officer), go through what the first steps are that you could take when you are given an assignment. They discuss using the assignment brief and what questions you can ask to understand the question. Their advice is backed up by voices of current University of Derby Students.

Managing time over the course

 

In this video from the Time Management workshop, Naomi from the Skills Team discusses how you can manage your time over the course of a semester through backwards planning.

Academic writing in assessment

 

In this hour long livestream, Alexander and Naomi discuss their advice for thriving in assessment season, including how you can time manage during this tricky period and how to manage multiple assessments at once whilst looking out for your mental health. 

Structure and Planning

 

In this episode of the Assignment Journey Podcast Alex and Diana (Skills Graduate Placement), discuss how you can use your understanding of the assignment to structure your assignment. They go through what is expected in an introduction, main body and conclusion of an essay as well as a simple paragraph structure.

When and How to Start Writing

 

In this video from the Academic Writing workshop, Alex from the Skills Team, discusses how to overcome the difficulties of starting to write an assignment.