Study skills guide

QA has a team dedicated to supporting and guiding you through your studies. This short video explains the ways in which the ACE team can help you, such as delivering one to one academic tutorials on subjects including how to write in an academic style, how to use sources in your assignments and think, read and write critically.

Check out and sign up for ACE workshops which cover topics such as Academic Vocabulary and Grammar, Writing Introductions, the Main Body and Conclusions, Reading Strategies, Digital Literacy and more.

In addition, you can find a wealth of guides and videos on the ACE page on Canvas.

Using English for Academic Purposes (UEfAP)

• Blog for students in Higher Education.
• Articles on the Harvard system of referencing, as well as on academic writing books, such as the 'Little Quick Fix' series.

FluentU

• English language and culture blog.
• Articles on English learning resources and tips, as well as on English vocabulary and grammar.

Books available on VLeBooks. Go through them looking at the introductive summary and the contents to decide which ones are useful for your research.

Go The Distance: Academic Writing

• Academic writing course provided by the BBC.
• Topics include academic vocabulary, language of argument, written assignments, essay structure, criticism and evaluation, project presentations and writing for exams.
• Activities and downloadable course content, along with videos from students and tutors on all aspects of writing in an academic context.

Academic Writing in English (AWE)

• Interactive course on academic writing skills (working with sources, arguments, essay structure, writing style) provided by University College London (UCL).
• Pop-up tasks and exercises.
• Contains a glossary of key grammatical terms.

A Beginner's Guide to Writing in English for University Study

• Free five-week online course provided by the University of Reading through FutureLearn.
• Learn how to use English for study and develop your writing skills, vocabulary and grammar.

English for Academic Study

• Free two-week online course provided by Coventry University through FutureLearn.
• Increase your knowledge of English for academic study and learn key vocabulary in an academic context.

English Vocabulary Exercises

• Exercises on the Academic Word List.

Exam English

• Practice tests on the Academic Word List.

Oxford Academic Vocabulary Practice

• Exercises on academic vocabulary by Oxford University Press, depending on your level (Lower-Intermediate or Upper-Intermediate).
• The sections include vocabulary skills, analysis and evaluation, and functions in academic writing.

Prepare for Success

• Learning activities to prepare you for study in the UK compiled by the University of Southampton.
• An interactive web learning tool containing learning resources which are activity-based.
• Includes the subjects of academic writing at University, understanding course assignments and using what you read in your academic writing.

Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)

• Search for journals and articles on your subject.

Academic Phrasebank

• Bank of academic phrases provided by the University of Manchester.
• Provides examples of academic writing according to the main sections of a research paper.
• Contains phrases that are useful in classifying and listing, comparing and contrasting, defining terms, describing trends and quantities, as well as referring to sources, describing methods, reporting results, discussing findings and writing conclusions.

Academic writing

• Information on grammar (words, sentences, paragraphs) from the University of Reading.
• Use the 'Thinking about grammar' section.

Grammar guides

• Resources on grammar provided by the University of Leicester.

Grammar and punctuation

• The University of Bristol's advice on grammar and punctuation, including exercises.
• Sections on writing style, confusions in spellings and meanings, and the use of quoted material.

Grammarly

• Application that checks grammar and vocabulary.

Oxford Dictionary

Cambridge Dictionary

Thesaurus.com

• Synonyms and antonyms

Referencing

Cite this for me

ZoteroBib

• Software that creates references in various citation styles and for different source types.

PaperRater

• Free online proofreader offering grammar, spelling and plagiarism check, along with writing suggestions.

Academic Writing: The Basics - video by Simon Fraser University (British Columbia, Canada)

An Introduction to Academic Writing - video by AWUC (Academic Writing University Center)

Critical Writing - video by the University of Hull