Online Resources

Online resources that might help with getting through the non-academic side of things.

We’re all under pressure and find things difficult, from time to time. This page is intended to highlight some resources that may be useful if you’re feeling the strain.

Note

If any of the links on this page are broken or outdated, please email Leighton Pritchard, or feel free to submit a pull request or issue report at GitHub.

1 University Resources

  • Who should I talk to? - A table of which university service to contact first, depending on the situation.

1.1 Health and Welfare

1.2 Personal Circumstances

1.3 Finances

1.4 Academic Support

1.5 Careers

1.6 Student Union Resources

  • Advice Hub - Central point of contact for advice.
  • Hear to Listen - Informal, confidential wellbeing support from the Student Union
  • Housing - SU support and advice with housing.
  • Money - SU support and advice with money.

2 Academic Support

2.1 Active Reading

Reading takes time, however you do it. “Active reading” attempts to focus effort on getting meaning from the text efficiently - reducing it to its key points. This can help with mind-mapping, note-taking and other techniques. It’s also transferable to taking notes from lectures, either live or pre-recorded.

2.2 Taking effective notes

It’s a pain to have to go back to the original material and read through it all/watch it all. Identifying what’s important in the material the first time around is a skill that it’s possible to train and develop.

2.3 Essay-writing

It can be difficult moving from writing short, concise answers to questions, to longer, academic essay-style writing. There are large numbers of sites out there offering advice (see below), and some key points they have in common include:

  • An essay lays out an argument that’s meant to convince the reader of your view.
  • You can only really write about one idea at a time in a sentence or paragraph.
  • You need to present your ideas in an order that makes sense to the reader, so that they understand your argument.
    • Your ideas should lead on from one to the next.
  • In general, a structure that starts broad (set the scene with general context), and becomes narrow (makes the final point) works well.
    • This is sometimes called an “inverted pyramid”.
  • Outline your argument in bullet points (or a mind-map, see below) to check the flow of the logic.
  • Get feedback early - earlier than you think!
    • The earlier you get advice, the easier it will be to incorporate it, and the less work will be needed to make changes.
    • Make use of your friends, family and other students: can they understand the flow, even if the topic is unfamiliar? (and making your text understandable to non-technical people is real and valuable skill)
  • Academic Writing - Purdue’s OWL.
  • Beginner’s Guide to Writing an Essay - Courtesy of Scribbr.
  • How To Look Clever Without Even Trying - Advice from Cambrdige University about essay-writing.
  • Strategies for Essay-Writing - Good advice from Harvard University.

2.4 Mind-Mapping

I found mind-mapping useful when I was a student. It let me link topics and ideas in an order that made sense to me and let me see the connections that led from one to the other. That was good for exams, and for just understanding the overall structure of a topic. I know quite a few lecturers who use them to summarise seminars they attend, and others who use the technique to plot out papers and lectures. It doesn’t work for everyone or every topic, but you might find it useful.

  • Mind Mapping - A guide, with links to tools, from Vanderbilt University.
  • Mind Mapping - How to use Mind-Mapping, from the University of Hull.
  • Mindmapping - Guidance and links, at Oxford Brookes University.

3 Careers

  • Life Sciences CV Checklist - CV checklist produced by Strathclyde’s Careers Service.
  • Writing Professional Emails - Email can seem like an informal medium, but when applying for jobs/internships/whatever you will be assessed on your ability to communicate appropriately for the situation (i.e. professionally).

4 Physical and Mental Health

  • Imposter Syndrome - Imposter Syndrome is common among students and academics. We’re willingly putting ourselves into positions where we are not - yet - fully comfident or on top of the work we’re doing. This document proposes some strategies and lists resources that might be helpful if you’re feeling it. - LP
  • Mental Health for Undergraduates - A US-centric poster (the phone numbers won’t work) highlighting aspects of mental health for students.
  • Think Positive Scotland - Mental health support for students in Scotland.

5 Charities and Other Support

We all need help sometimes. And sometimes more than the university can provide directly. Just in case.

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