Academic Skills Project - International Relations
This page contains details of the ASP workshops run by the School of International Relations. For further information and to register for these workshops, contact the School ASP Coordinator Hira Malik by email at hm280@st-andrews.ac.uk
Programme details:
Semester 1:
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2 sessions - IR1005
This workshop is designed to welcome first-year students to the School of International Relations at St Andrews, and to foster a sense of community amongst first-year students. The workshop has been conceptualised as an introduction to the School, but also to the way we study at IR at St Andrews. The main objectives of the workshop are:
- Explore what IR is and what it means to be a student of IR at St Andrews.
- Ensure students are aware of the online learning environments, databases, and resources available to them.
- Provide tips to help differentiate between the quality of sources and understand why we reference.
- Introduce effective notetaking and time management methods.
- Provide guidance on how to avoid academic malpractice.
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1 session - IR1005 and IR2005
This interactive workshop is designed to help Honours and sub-honours students understand how to conduct research, find sources, reference appropriately for academic essays, and manage their time whilst doing so.
The main objectives of the workshop are:
- Make students aware of the resources and databases available to them during their studies.
- Help students evaluate the quality of the sources they are using and how to recognise academic sources.
- Understanding how and when to use direct quotations, summarising, and paraphrasing.
- Introduction to reference management software.
- Provide guidance on how to avoid academic malpractice.
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1 session - Honours students
This workshop is designed to help all honours students understand how to conduct research and reference appropriately for longer writing projects and research essays. This workshop has been conceptualised to address the often-challenging transition from sub-honours to honours, and to provide students with an understanding of the differences in research and referencing at the honours level.
The main objectives of the workshop are:
- Develop research skills for longer writing projects.
- Understanding how and when to use direct quotations, summarising, and paraphrasing.
- Introduction to reference management software.
- Tips for organising and prioritising sources.
- Understand the transition from sub-honours essays to honours essays
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1 session - IR1005 and IR2005
This interactive session has been designed to help students gain confidence in delivering presentations and public speaking. The session has been designed to address a key skill which students often struggle with in tutorials and outside of University.
The main objectives of the workshop are:
- Understand what makes an effective presentation.
- Help students improve communication skills and convey ideas clearly.
- Provide guidance on designing slides for audience engagement.
- Understand how to display strong body language to support confident speaking.
- Support students in understanding how to manage time effectively while presenting.
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2 sessions - 1 for IR1005, 1 for IR2005
This interactive workshop is designed to help sub-honours students understand how to write academic essays. This workshop has been conceptualised to address core weakness of essays at the sub-honours level.
The main objectives of the workshop are:
- Understand essay structure and how to formulate strong introductions and conclusions.
- Help students to analyse and understand essay questions.
- Understand how to develop a clear argument throughout an essay.
- Make students aware of expectations for a sub-honours essay in relation to the marking criteria.
- Understand how to engage with literature and sources and avoid academic malpractice.
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1 session - IR4099
This interactive workshop is designed to help honours students, namely IR4099 students, understand how to write a literature review for International Relations. This workshop is conceptualised to provide students with the skills necessary to write up a literature review for their dissertations.
The main objectives of the workshop are:
- Help students understand how to structure a complex piece of work.
- Understand the general purpose of a literature review.
- Recognise appropriate methods to identify and prioritise relevant literature.
- Tips for organising and prioritising sources.
- Provide guidance on referencing and how to avoid academic malpractice.
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1 session - IR2005
This workshop is designed to help students build on and develop the essay-writing skills gained in their first year and address the transition from first-year to second-year essay expectations. This interactive session aims to help second-year students understand how to write more complex academic essays and incorporate theoretical and conceptual approaches to International Relations.
The main objectives of the workshop are:
- Make students aware of expectations for a second-year essay.
- Reflect on their application of theoretical and conceptual approaches to IR in second-year essays.
- Understand what it means to think and write critically and analytically.
- How to analyse and understand essay questions.
- How to incorporate past feedback in order to produce an improved piece of work.
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2 sessions - 1 for IR1005, 1 for IR2005
This interactive workshop is designed to help all sub-honours students prepare for their final assessments. This session is delivered at the end of the semester to encourage students to reflect on the material covered and feedback received throughout the module, and how to apply this in their Final Assessments.
The main objectives of the workshop are:
- Understand how final assessments are structured and assessed.
- Reflect upon module material.
- Provide students with tips on how to manage their study time and how to perform well in the Final Assessment.
- Develop revision techniques.
- Support students to consider how feedback from previous essays can be utilised in the Final Assessment.