Bespoke offer for StudySkills@Sheffield
The English Language Teaching Centre (ELTC) collaborates with academic departments, schools and faculties to provide you with subject-specific academic literacy and communication skills sessions and drop-in communication hubs.
Bespoke sessions
Working closely with schools and faculties across the University, the ELTC's StudySkills@Sheffield programme provides bespoke seminars and workshops within or alongside your academic modules.
These sessions are available to all students at all levels of study. Sessions provided through the programme are specific to each individual school, and often tailored to a module or assignment. Sessions can vary from one or two workshops to a weekly class throughout each semester.
In the sessions you will explore and learn strategies to improve the academic literacy, language and communication skills required for academic success.
You do not need to register for these sessions as they will be automatically included on your university timetable. Attendance is taken via the university check in system and/or a QR code google form. Please complete your attendance as this is shared with your school if requested.
Content
The content of the sessions varies depending on the school's priorities, specific module requirements and your needs.
Sessions often focus on (but are not limited to):
- Writing reports, essays or other assessments specific to you
- Reading, understanding, summarising and paraphrasing academic texts
- Critical evaluation of texts and how to include this in your writing
- Academic communication styles (including tone, structure, etc.)
- Avoiding plagiarism and unfair means
- Building academic arguments and synthesis of sources
- Presentations and seminar skills
When possible, the academic language and literacy tutors will use materials related to your module topics to help you become more familiar with the language and communication style of your field.
Class material, session slides and links to resources will often be shared via your modules’ Blackboard courses. You can ask your tutor for more information.
Drop-in Communication hubs
In addition to scheduled teaching sessions, the ELTC is also providing drop-in hubs where you can come and see an ELTC tutor with your work or your questions. These hubs are available to all students at all levels of study.
You do not need to book, but just come along at a time that works for you. This means you can arrive at any time during the drop-in slot.
On arrival, check in using the QR code and the ELTC tutor will see you in order of check in. You can stay for as long as you need and as long as the tutor can spend with you. You do not need to stay for the whole length of the session.
These sessions are to help you to improve your communication skills (writing or speaking). Tutors can look at your work to offer advice and guidance on a range of academic language and literacy topics including criticality, structuring your argument use of sources, understanding your feedback. They cannot look at the content of your work or proofread a text for you.
You can attend as many drop-in sessions as you think that you need. Various sessions are scheduled from week 3 of each semester and continue until the end of the exam weeks. The timetable for the current academic year is available here.
Complaints
If you have any problems or complaints, follow these steps:
- Speak to your tutor first. Our teachers are flexible and try to make the lessons useful for all students. In most cases, they will be able to help you.
- If your problem isn't resolved, you can talk to your Student Experience Officer.
- If neither of these is effective, you should contact the ELTC Team at eltc@sheffield.ac.uk or the Programme Manager (in-sessional).
- If we can't resolve your complaint, the student complaints procedure will apply.
Any formal complaints will be logged in the ELTC complaints log.
Contacts
ELTC Support Team
ELTC Programme Manager (in-sessional)
Dr Lynne Newcombe: l.newcombe@sheffield.ac.uk
Other resources
You can also develop your academic language and communication skills with other ELTC development opportunities and resources, including: