Masterclass is designed to support students who may be unfamiliar with study at university level, or need to update their skills particularly in independent research and writing.
All students are welcome, but these sessions will be of particular interest to those returning to study or from outside the UK. All sessions will be held on Thursdays. All classes are free, and you need only come to the specific sessions that interest you.
You must sign up in advance for each Masterclass. The signup sheet will be available in the TESOL Office, Science Park, Unit 3 the week prior to each class.
Masterclass is run by the University English Scheme (UES). For more information on these or other UES classes please come to the TESOL offices, Science Park, Unit 3, or e-mail ues@shu.ac.uk
Session 1 – Getting more from your lectures: how to improve your note-taking and revision skills.
October 16, 11:00 – 12:00, Aspect Court 15303
Note-taking in lectures can be a challenge when you start studying at university; how do you keep up, know what to write and what to leave out, and what do you do with your notes after the lecture? This session will offer some note-taking tips and tricks to improve your work in the lecture, and discuss how to revise your notes after class and prior to exams to get the most from your lectures.
Session 2 – Avoiding plagiarism: how to paraphrase and reference correctly.
October 23, 12:00 – 1:00, Aspect Court 15402
Plagiarism is a very serious issue at university.
This session will show you how to avoid plagiarism by working on how to paraphrase the words of others more effectively, and how to correctly reference your sources using the SHU Harvard referencing system.
Session 3 – Writing literature and critical reviews.
October 27, 11:00 – 12:00, Aspect Court 15404
What does it mean to read and write critically? How do you go about critiquing an article by an expert? This class will look at what it means to read and write critically, and how to improve your critical skills.
Session 4 – Using other’s work in your writing – how to synthesise effectively.
November 6, 11:00 – 12:00, Aspect Court 15405
Continuing on from Session 3, this class will look at using multiple sources of information to support your points and arguments, and how to incorporate these into your work to maximum effect.
Session 5 – Proof-reading – How to check your own work.
November 13, 11:00 – 12:00, Aspect Court 15404
This session will look at how to read your own work critically, both in terms of writing style and content. This is a key skill for those writing essays and reports, and it is also important for those students writing essay exams.
Session 6 – Revision & Exam time.
November 20, 11:00 – 12:00, Aspect Court 15303
One of the key problems for students is that in exams, they don’t always answer the exact question asked. This session will focus on analysing exam questions quickly and recognising exactly what is being asked. We will also focus on getting the most out of your revision work.