For those of you taking Science and Technology Studies, as well as many in the Earth and Environment and Genetics streams, you’ll be expected to write a number of essays. More broadly, formal writing skills are an important part of any university student’s portfolio, as we all will be communicating with members of academic staff, as well as applying for internships and jobs. This section aims to address all of these areas of need.
Language + Writing Support from the Students’ Union.
The SU allows you to have two appointments with this support service per term, which we strongly recommend for STS students to use in order to prepare/proofread major coursework essay assignments.
They also run workshops on different topics throughout the term, as well as “coffee and conversation” sessions allowing you to meet other internationals and practice speaking, as well as asking questions to the peer tutors.
English Modules by the UCL Academic Communication Centre
Available to all undergraduate and taught postgraduate students at UCL, two modules are offered for non-native English speakers:
- English Language Skills for Academic Purposes, focused on developing communication, listening and speaking skills
and
- Academic Writing for Non-Native Speakers, focused on raising awareness of the conventions of written academic literacy.
These modules run from October through March and are credit-bearing. Speak to your personal tutor to discuss arrangements.
E-mails
You’ll be surprised at how many of these you’ll be needing to write, from those to your personal tutor (see student guide to the personal tutoring system) to those to lecturers and demonstrators.
This short presentation from the Purdue Writing lab covers the basics of writing good, concise, appropriate emails to members of academic staff as a student.
UChicago Lecture on academic writing
Watch this video, recommended by a NatSci, for useful tips and a solid base for future writing.