Wolfson is running a series of 5 Study Skills Sessions in the Michaelmas Term open to all undergraduate and graduate students in College.
The series is led by Dr John Field (Alumnus and former Wolfson PhD student), who is a researcher in Linguistics and a particular expert in second language acquisition.
The sessions will be especially relevant to students starting a new course, or returning to study after a break. The topics covered include skills needed for academic work in all disciplines, and the emphasis is on achieving a high standard in a focused and time-efficient way.
Session 1: Essential Study Skills
Tuesday 11 October, 5.30-7.00pm, Gatsby Room (Chancellor's Centre)
Studying is like any other job: there are efficient and inefficient ways of doing it.
- Why do I find it difficult to concentrate for long periods?
- Why aren't I retaining most of what I read?
- How should I plan reading to get the most out of it?
- Are there short cuts for memorising items?
- What is the most effective system for taking notes?
Download the slides for this session.
Session 2: Fast, Efficient and Appropriate Reading
Tuesday 18 October, 5.30-7.00pm, OCR (Old Combination Room)
- Are you worried about reading too slowly?
- Can you manage the large amount of reading that Cambridge expects?
- Do you find it difficult to concentrate when reading?
This session will look at: How we read; Myths of 'speed reading'; Different types of reading; Reading techniques; Systems which ensure that you retain what you read; Constructing meaning from a text; Signposts in a text; Dealing with new terms
Download the slides for this session.
Session 3: Listening to Lectures
Tuesday 25 October, 5.30-7.00pm, Roger Needham Room (Chancellor's Centre)
A session on listening skills, to cover:
- Strategies before listening
- Strategies during listening
- Where to find information in spoken academic presentations
- Following lectures that are long or unclear
- Hypothesis formation and testing
- Note-taking from lectures
Session 4: Academic Writing
Monday 31 October, 5.30-7.00pm, (venue t.b.c.)
Session to include:
- The six traps of logic that lose you marks
- Planning. Organisation
- Drafting and redrafting
- The structure of the paragraph
- The structure of the text
- Topic markers
- Academic style
- Text conventions
Session 5: Speaking in Seminars
Tuesday 8 November, 5.30-7.00pm, (venue t.b.c.)
Session to include:
- How to interrupt; how not to be interrupted
- How to disagree politely
- Speaking coherently
- Speaking objectively
- Expressing your views indirectly