Our job as Academic Skills Advisers is to support you and ensure you have the support and guidance to help you succeed. 

We offer advice and support on a wide range of academic skills including:

• Academic Writing

• Critical Thinking, Reading and Writing

• Exams Advice

• Presentations

• Referencing

• Software to Help with your studies

• Time Management

• Reading skills

• Note-taking

• Writing essays, reports and dissertations

• Using software to support your studies

This is not a complete list as there are many other skills we can advise on. Visit our resources in this website for much more, and if there is anything you're not sure about in relation to your studies, get in touch with us and if it's not something we can directly help with we can put you in touch with someone who can. 

As well as our many resources on this website, we also offer:

 One-to-one appointments - when we can chat with you for 30 minutes about an assignment or anything academic skills related.

 Small group appointments - if a few of you (2-6 students) have the same type of questions we are happy to chat with you all at once. Please e-mail skills@uws.ac.uk to arrange.

 Dissertation appointments - although we are not subject specialists, we can help with the structure and academic language of a dissertation as we have all had experience completing one. These sessions last one hour to allow you plenty of time to discuss your work.

 Monthly Question and Answer webinars - open to all students, covering the most popular academic skills topics such as referencing, digital skills, and being critical. 

You may also see us during In-class sessions where we work with lecturers and come into speak to you as a group on topics such as referencing

Please provide the following prior to your appointment:

• A copy of your essay question

• Up to three pages of what you’ve written so far

• Any briefing notes or rubrics/marking grids you may have been given

• Any relevant feedback you’ve received from your tutors or supervisors

Prior to booking an appointment, please use our online resources. Often this will be a quicker way to have your questions answered, or will help you to narrow down the support you need to enable you to make the most of your appointment time.

A few key pages related to our most frequently asked questions are:

• Referencing & Plagiarism

• Introduction to Academic Writing

• Study Support Tools

• Time Management

When you click through to the booking calendar from the Academic Skills Appointments page, you will see a list of available appointments for your selected location (online or campus). Select your chosen date and time and add a note to let the adviser know what you wish to discuss, then click Book This Appointment/Event. There is an icon that looks like a calendar in the top right and you can use this to add the appointment to your calendar, but be aware that clicking on this does not book the appointment. You will receive a booking confirmation email after you book.

While you are able to book more than one appointment, please do not make multiple appointments at the same time. If you book more than one appointment at a time, all but the first one will be cancelled. Excessive appointment booking may result in restricted access to our service.

Small group appointments can be arranged by emailing skills@uws.ac.uk with details of what you wish to discuss, along with the names and Banner IDs of the students who would be attending. These appointments will be delivered via Microsoft Teams. 

Remember to cancel your appointment if you cannot make it as it can go to another student who also needs help!

If you are unable to attend your appointment, please cancel your booking in order to free up the appointment for another student. You can do this by visiting your booked appointments and cancelling your booking, or by emailing the adviser. 

If you are more than 10 minutes late for an appointment you may not be seen. If you are seen, your appointment time may be reduced. 

Access to our services may be restricted if you fail to attend more than two appointments without notification. So try not to lose your appointment!

You can contact us by email at skills@uws.ac.uk if you're having a problem booking an appointment; if you wish to request reasonable adjustments; if you wish to request a Small Group Appointment; or if you have a quick enquiry. You will receive a response within 5 working days.