Academic Skills Project - School of Business/Management

• Workshop 1: What is critical thinking?

  Date: 24 September 2025 (Wednesday, Week 2)

  Audience: Primarily first year entrant students but might also be of interest to second year students.

  Intended Learning Outcomes:

  At University, you will be expected to demonstrate 'critical' thinking, in your academic work, but what exactly does this mean?

  This session will explore what critical engagement with your reading, essays and classes looks like and provide you with some strategies and tools to start becoming more critical with your work. You will also have the opportunity to practice some of these skills through guided exercises during the workshop.

• Workshop 2: How do you make the most of lectures and tutorials?

  Date: 1st October (Wednesday, week 3)

  Audience: First year

  Intended Learning Outcomes: 
  Have you ever felt overwhelmed or unsure about how to prepare for your tutorials? Or are you just curious about how to you can better manage your time and make the most of lectures and tutorials?

  This interactive workshop will offer practical tips on preparing for and participating in lectures and tutorials. You will learn strategies for note-taking, managing your time effectively, and making the most of your university learning experience.

• Workshop 3: A guide to reading journal articles

  Date: 8th October (Wednesday, week 4)

  Audience: First year

  Intended Learning Outcomes:
  Are you struggling to cover all the required reading for your modules each week? Do you find yourself stuck in a trap of reading passively unsure of what you should be taking away from your reading?

  This workshop will help you understand the structure of academic articles in Management and give you strategies start reading more actively. You’ll practice identifying the author’s main argument(s) and supporting evidence and learn how to get the most out of the time you spend reading. 

• Workshop 4: How do you find and evaluate sources for an essay?

  Date: 15 October (week 5)

  Audience:  Primarily first year students but would also be of interest to second year students looking for some additional support with essay writing.

  Intended Learning Outcomes:
  Now, more than ever, we have access to multiple sources of data available at our fingertips. While the breadth of access is commendable, not all sources are equal when it comes to academic essays. Academic work requires a certain rigour to ensure validity and reliability of the sources of information. Different assignments during your time at University will require you to engage with a variety of sources, both academic and not, to craft your arguments.

  This workshop will provide a hands-on opportunity for you to understand how to search for reliable sources, how to access them, and know when to stop the search. Part of using sources is knowing how to cite them. This workshop will also cover how to cite sources in your work. This workshop forms an essential part of academic skills learning that forms the basis of your assignments throughout your time at University.

• Workshop 5: How do you structure an academic essay and build an argument?

  Date: 29 October (Wednesday, Week 7)

  Audience: Primarily first year students but would also be of interest to second year students looking for some additional support with essay writing.

  Intended Learning Outcomes: 
  In this session we will explore what an academic argument is and how to break down and interpret essay tasks or questions. You will learn how to plan and structure your essays so that your main points are clearly organised and contribute to a coherent overall argument.

  We will also cover how to structure individual paragraphs that support your argument with evidence as well as highlight some common pitfalls to avoid when writing academic essays.

• Workshop 6: What makes an effective presentation?

  Date: 5 November (Wednesday Week 8)

  Audience: First year

  Intended Learning Outcomes: 

  This workshop will explore the elements of an effective presentation covering best practices for structuring a presentation, designing visual aids and adapting communication styles to suit a variety of audiences.

  Students will also have the opportunity to practice creating and delivering a presentation in small groups and receive feedback from their tutor.