12 Study Essentials

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New to study? Returning after a break? Take a look at our 12 Study Essentials to get you started! 

1. Studiosity

The University subscribes to Studiosity; an on-demand academic feedback service. The service comprises of:

Writing Feedback platform: upload a file and get formative feedback in less than 24 hours on your structure, idea development, grammar and referencing. Students have up to 10 submissions per academic year; use them wisely!

Connect Live app: the instant access app for asking a quick question – the specialist won’t give you the answer, but they will work with you until you figure it out!

 

2. Academic Skills Team

The University has a team of professionals who are on hand to assist you and provide advice on your research and assignments. They are:

User Education LibrarianSteve Gunard

Study Skills LibrarianTom Nicholls

If you are working remotely, you can contact them via Microsoft Teams, or if you are onsite, their office is based on the First Floor of the Library, near the lockers. Click on their names to email and book an appointment. 

3. Referencing

Referencing is the act of acknowledging others in your academic work when you have used words, concepts or ideas that are not your own. It is essential to conducting your work with academic integrity. Marjon uses the APA Referencing style. You can find the official University guidance here.

4. Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the act of presenting someone else’s ideas, words or concepts as your own; whether intentionally or unintentionally. Plagiarism is a form of Academic Dishonesty, and can lead to serious sanctions. All forms of academic dishonesty and University regulations can be found here.

5. Research

Every assignment you undertake at University will require independent research. You will need to identify and gather a number of sources that you can consult and consolidate to build an evidence-base for your assignment. Through Discovery, you can access a vast amount of resources to assist with your research. Don’t know how to use Discovery? Book in with Steve Gunard, your User Education Librarian now!

6. Academic writing style

Academic writing is very different to other kinds of writing that you may be used to. It is formal, precise, objective, impersonal and purposeful. There are a number of techniques that can be used in order to create an academic style of writing. These pages will guide you on the features of academic style, and provide you with examples of how to include this in your own writing.

7. Drafting and editing

Writing an assignment is a process; one which you won’t get perfect the first time around! You should expect to create multiple drafts of an assignment in order to produce a piece of work before handing it in. You will need to edit your work to meet word count demands, ensure your writing is coherent and to achieve an appropriate structure. If you aren’t sure where to start with this, then consult our pages on Drafting, Editing & Proofreading

8. Critical writing

At University, the majority of your assignments will be critical in nature; that is to say that your writing will formulate an evidence-based argument in response to an essay title. This is a skill that is learned whilst at University. To get started, take a look at our introductory Critical Thinking pages

 

9. Dealing with deadlines

It’s entirely likely that whilst you are University, you will have multiple deadlines for assignments in the same period of time; not to mention social demands, family demands, work comittments and anything else life throws at us! If you need some advice on how to manage these time and workload pressures, visit our page on Time Management.

10. Exam preparation

Exams are a part of most University course assessments. Get ahead of the game and learn how you can manage your revision schedule effectively, how you can save time by investing in your lecture notes, good exam techniques, and how to cope with exam stress. Click here for advice on Exam Preparation & Revision.

 

11. Know your assignment

Spend some time reading your assignment brief and getting to know the assignment requirements. Clarify any ambiguities with your module leaders and start reading around the topics early. Don’t be afraid to take your assignment questions and reformulate them until you understand what is being said. Visit our pages on Essay Questions.

12. Effective reading

Reading will play a big part in your time at University, so make sure you spend some time getting the conditions for effective, active reading right! Your envrionment makes a big difference, so find out your preferences and make sure you read in environments that are conducive to reading. For more information, visit our pages on Reading at University.