Academic skills workshops

The Student Learning Unit run a number of academic skills workshops throughout the year. These programs run for most of the year and cover a wide range of skills.

A full description of workshops can be found below. Please note that not all workshops will run each session due to staff availability.

New workshops in Maths and Academic Literacy are being added frequently. Check the Academic skills workshop registration system for the most up-to-date workshop details and availability.

Developing your writing

This workshop covers:

• Paragraph structure
• Techniques for linking paragraphs coherently in a long piece of writing
• Stages of an essay
• Academic style
• Use of evidence and referencing

This is a basic workshop for first year students or students who have little experience with academic writing at the university level. If you have attended AcPrep or UniStep, you do not need to attend this workshop.

The Developing your writing workshop is a series of ongoing sessions that meet in consecutive weeks; students are encouraged to attend the entire workshop series.

• Find out when Developing your writing is on (Autumn Session only)

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Introduction to academic writing style

This workshop introduces students to:

• Grammatical features of essays
• Making lexical choices in assignment writing
• Linking ideas and paragraphs in a long piece of writing

This is a basic workshop for first year students or students who have little experience with academic writing at the university level.

If you are registered for the Essay Writing or Developing Your Writing workshop or have attended AcPrep or UniStep, you do not need to attend this workshop.

• Find out when Introduction to academic writing style is on

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Introduction to assignment preparation

This workshop concentrates on the early stages of the writing process, specifically:

• Question analysis
• Assignment planning

This is a basic workshop for first year students or students who have little experience with academic writing at the university level.

If you are registered for the Essay Writing workshop or have attended AcPrep or UniStep, you do not need to attend this workshop.

• Find out when Introduction to assignment preparation is on

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Introduction to critical analysis

This workshop focuses on:

• Defining critical thinking
• The purpose of critical analysis
• Applying critical thinking to your reading and writing

This workshop is designed for undergraduate students who wish to explore techniques they can use to make their writing more analytical.

• Find out when Introduction to critical analysis is on

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Introduction to essay structure

This workshop covers the following topics:

• The stages of an academic essay
• Paragraph development
• Introduction to academic argument

This is a basic workshop for first year students or students who have little experience with academic writing at the university level.

If you are registered for the Essay Writing or Developing Your Writing workshop, or have attended AcPrep or UniStep, you do not need to attend this workshop.

• Find out when Introduction to essay structure is on

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Introduction to essay writing

This all-day workshop covers the following topics:

• The writing process
• Task analysis and assignment planning
• The stages of an essay
• Paragraph development
• Argument development in analytic essays
• Grammatical features of essays
• Lexical choices in assignment writing
• How to avoid plagiarism
• APA system of referencing

This is a basic workshop for first year students or students who have little experience with academic writing at the university level. If you have attended AcPrep or UniStep, you do not need to attend this workshop.

If you register for this workshop, please do not register for the following workshops at the same time:

• Introduction to assignment preparation
• Introduction to essay structure
• Introduction to academic writing style
• Introduction to paraphrasing, summarising and quoting references 
• Developing your writing

After you have attended the essay writing workshop, if you feel you need further assistance or information, you will be welcome to register for additional workshops.

• Find out when Introduction to essay writing is on

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Introduction to paraphrasing, summarising and quoting references

This workshop focuses on:

• Why referencing is important in academic writing
• Using evidence in academic writing
• How to avoid plagiarism

This is a basic workshop for students who would like to improve their ability to include material from their readings in their university assignments, such as essays or reports. Other students may find it a useful review of referencing skills. Strategies, such as summarising, paraphrasing, and quoting, will be explored and practiced.

For help with basic referencing techniques and conventions, please see the library website under "resources/citing resources" or consult a librarian.

• Find out when Introduction to paraphrasing, summarising and quoting references is on

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Education technology orientation (online skills)

A new initiative, the Education Technology Program (ETP) has recently been introduced.

This collaborative project is funded by the Higher Education Equity Program (HEEP) and operated jointly by the Student Learning Unit, Teaching Development Unit, Library and IT Services. It is aimed at supporting UWS equity students in the development of skills in using UWS online systems and services and e-learning as a way to enhance their first year learning experience and success at UWS.

• Find out when Education technology orientation is on

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Contact us

Student Learning Unit
University of Western Sydney
Locked Bag 1797, Penrith NSW 2751
Kingswood Campus, Building O, Level 2
Tel: 02 4736 0850
Fax: 02 4736 0853
Email: slu@uws.edu.au

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