Study skills
Study Success
Study Success is here to help you develop the skills needed for your University studies. Work through our guidance with tutors, in groups, or when studying alone.
There are a variety of options to choose from. You may wish to work through Search Success to develop a range of search skills, or you can get support with specific study skills or your dissertation:
If you're brand new to being a university student, we also offer a module in Moodle on making the transition to university life.
Help with study skills
From writing clearly to using evidence effectively, our self-help resources are here to support you with academic writing. Our resources include writing guides, examples of different skills and templates to help you structure your work.
If you need help using any of the tools or resources on this page, you can book a study development tutorial.
Critical thinking
Critical writing
- Critical paragraphing examples (docx, 25.4 kB)
- Critical signposting (docx, 21 kB)
- Descriptive vs critical writing and paragraphing (docx, 37.9 kB)
- Four devices to make your writing clearer (docx, 19.3 kB)
Editing and proofreading
- Editing in practice: example (docx, 15.1 kB)
- Proofreading exercise (docx, 18 kB)
- Proofreading tips (docx, 22.4 kB)
- Sentence troubleshooting (docx, 71.6 kB)
Lectures, reading, researching and notetaking
- Note taking tips and chart (docx, 14.1 kB)
- 3 stages of note making: lectures (docx, 50.9 kB)
- Active reading guide (docx, 0.2 MB)
- Active reading note-making tool (docx, 17.4 kB)
Online study
Preparing and planning assignments
- Decoding the question (docx, 22.6 kB)
- Assignment outline builder (docx, 33.6 kB)
- Feedback self-assessment (docx, 27.8 kB)
- Referencing
- Academic integrity and plagiarism (Moodle course)
- Submitting work to Moodle (Sharepoint)