Study Skills Book, The

Dr Kathleen McMillan is an academic and educator who has taught at all university levels. Firstly, as a lecturer she designed and delivered courses in European politics. From her experience as an assessor and examiner she identified students’ difficulties in acquiring deeper understanding of their subject and translating that into successful attainment. This awareness led to further research into language acquisition as a foundation of learning and study. Consequently, she led a university team providing learning and language support to UK and international students at all levels.  She designed and taught bespoke skills courses in diverse disciplines, such as, accountancy, architecture, art and design, computing science, dentistry, education, engineering, humanities, law, medicine, nursing, and social work.  This unique academic experience provides her with insights into the demands of core study and learning skills within the developing learning environment of universities. As author of The Study Skills Book 4th Edition, she presents students at all levels with techniques and approaches that will help them to demonstrate their learning and so achieve success.

• INTRODUCTION 1. How to use this book 2. What university involves PART 1: CARING FOR YOURSELF Adapting to university life 3. Money matters - tips for university 4. Time management 5. Well-being, stress and mental health PART 2: DEVELOPING CORE UNIVERSITY STUDY SKILLS Learning for university 6. Studying for yourself 7. Understanding learning and thinking 8. Digital and blended learning Learning from listening 9. Active listening for lectures 10. Modern and traditional lectures Learning from source material 11. Successful academic reading 12. The library as a resource Learning to develop your understanding 13. Analysing and evaluating information 14. Notes for study purposes 15. Thinking critically 16. Reflective skills Learning with others 17. Cooperative learning 18. Tutorials 19. Participating in a team 20. Laboratory sessions and field visits Learning from data 21. Interpreting and presenting data PART 3: DEVELOPING ACADEMIC WRITING Preparing for writing 22. Tackling writing assignments 23. Academic writing format 24. Planning writing assignments Adopting an academic style 25. Academic writing style 26. Shaping your text 27. Citing and referencing 28. Plagiarism Presenting written work 29. Reviewing, editing and proofreading 30. Presentation of assignments PART 4: PERFORMING WELL IN COURSE ASSIGNMENTS Understanding assessment methods 31. Assessment at university 32. Multiple-choices and short-answer questions 33. Numerical questions 34. Essay-style assessments 35. Tutorial assessment 36. Assessments of practical laboratory work Tackling research-based assessments 37. Choosing a dissertation or research topic 38. Tackling a dissertation or project 39. Ethics in researching and reporting Presenting research results 40. Report writing 41. Literature reviews 42. Poster presentations 43. Spoken presentation 44. Learning from assessment feedback PART 5: SUCCEEDING IN EXAMS Preparing for exams 45. Priming yourself for exams 46. Creating a revision timetable 47. Revision tips 48. Memory tips and techniques 49. Directing your revision 50. Study partnership Tackling exams 51. Exam-day strategies 52. Doing your best in exams 53. Exam stress PART 6: PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE Thinking about 'graduateness' 54. Reviewing your graduate skills and attributes 55. Planning for a career PART 7: QUICK REFERENCE Essential writing skills 56. Refreshing your grammar 57. Refreshing your punctuation and spelling 58. Enriching your vocabulary Essential numerical skills 59. Refreshing number work 60. Refreshing core Maths Appendix: Student resources References and further reading Index