ACADEMIC READING AND WRITING SESSION 1

Undergraduate Freewriting exercise: write for 3 minutes on what this word and these images mean to you – do not discuss your writing with anyone at this stage!

Group discussion 1. What makes an undergraduate course ? 2. What skills do you need to become an undergraduate? 3. Links to employment – why do graduates earn more ?

Student discussion points ( small groups) What are your experiences of reading and writing prior to coming to university ? What other kind of reading writing do you engage in ? What are your expectations of reading and writing whilst at university ?

Tutor input for discussion: Go through one or more of your core modules and discuss what kinds of reading and writing you will be expected to produce ( they are available on WOLF) There are many ways students can be supported and helped to develop their academic reading and writing at university. Role of Personal tutor sessions for writing support LIS Lynne Richards

More discussion: What do you see as the reasons for writing assignments ? to meet the assessment requirements of my course to demonstrate my understanding of particular topics to my tutor to check that my writing is at the right level for my course To provide an opportunity to think about different viewpoints or perspectives To help create a better, personal understanding of important theories and concepts; to internalise knowledge and ideas, ‘making them my own’ To build an ability to analyse and apply new ideas To allow me to obtain feedback from my tutor and advice on how to improve To help pull the course together and enable me to check out my progress

SWOT analysis and action planning SWOT Create your own SWOT template ( there is one on the webfolio which you can copy) and in the light of our discussions so far think about your personal strengths, weaknesses and the threats and opportunities presented by becoming a undergraduate. Action –planning Go through the action planning handout on the webfolio.