Student workshops
Join a workshop to explore practical strategies and academic skills that are crucial for university success.
Orientation Week 2025
For workshops held during O-Week (24-28 Feb, 2025) please visit Melbourne Orientation
Academic reading, writing and referencing
Learn a range of practical skills for managing your reading, producing written work and using academic literature in your assignments.
Register for upcoming workshops in this series below the table.
Workshop | Description | Dates |
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Academic writing 101 | This session introduces you to the academic writing expectations of the university. Focusing on elements of writing, such as task relevance, basic structural aspects, critical literacy, use of sources, and formality, the session will introduce you to some key ideas and typical university writing tasks to get you started. | 31 Mar |
Academic writing for graduate coursework students | As a new graduate coursework student, you might be encountering some of the increased expectations of writing at this level of study. This workshop explores the expectations of academic writing at UniMelb as well as introducing practical techniques for advanced-level writing that satisfies demanding readers. | 17 Mar Repeated on: 8 Apr |
Critical thinking | The skill of critical thinking is central to academic success. All of us think critically every day, but university academic expectations may be different from those you may be used to. We will explore how to apply critical thinking skills to your studies, especially when reading and writing. | 17 Mar Repeated on: 25 Mar 1 Apr |
Demystifying the passive voice | The use of active voice and passive voice can be confusing for many academic writers. You may wonder, ‘What is active voice? What is passive voice? Is passive voice incorrect? Which should I use in my writing?’ In this interactive workshop, we will answer these questions and give you the tools you need to use active and passive voice with confidence. | 21 Mar |
Mastering punctuation | - ’ : ; ” . ? ( ! : Knowing how to use these punctuation marks can not only make your writing more accurate, but also enhance the impact and clarity of your writing. Attend this interactive workshop to learn how you can use punctuation to take your academic writing to the next level. You will have opportunities to ask questions and practise a range of punctuation rules. | 18 Mar |
The research to writing process | Presented by Library and Academic Skills staff, this session will offer you tools to tackle your assignment submission! The session explores the writing process, including task analysis, planning, research, note-taking, writing, and referencing | 24 Mar Repeated on: 9 Apr 15 Apr |
Take charge of your reading and note-taking | Managing your reading at university is one of the most important things to get on top of early. This session examines making strategic reading choices, organising your reading, optimising reading times, taking notes and strategies for dealing with difficult reading. | 3 Mar Repeated on: 25 Mar |
Understanding referencing | This session explores referencing at university. It looks at how to take information from different sources and incorporate it into your work and how to best use Library resources. | 26 Mar Repeated on: 15 Apr |
Writing your first assignment | You may be asked to complete a variety of written assessment tasks at university. You will consider strategies to approaching written tasks with a process, finding resources and responding to tasks. | 4 Mar Repeated on: 24 Mar |
Writing your final assignment | This session examines what is expected for your final first-year assignment – probably the longest and most important writing task of the semester. We will explore strategies and resources for approaching this task efficiently. | 14 May Repeated on: 20 May |
Writing your first literature review | Reviewing literature is a key academic skill used in many disciplines. This workshop introduces you to the basics of writing a lit review, focusing on the elements of a lit review, the language needed and the key aspects of criticality and interpretation. | 18 Mar Repeated on: 26 Mar |
Upcoming events in academic reading, writing and referencing
Speaking, presenting and engaging in class
Learn a range of practical ways to participate more effectively and confidently in classes, assessments and social situations.
Register for upcoming workshops in this series below the table.
Workshop | Description | Dates |
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Getting the most out of lectures | The main delivery mode of learning at university is through lectures. This session focuses on preparing for lectures in both face-to-face and online contexts, effective note-taking, plus organising and reviewing your notes. | 3 Mar |
Intercultural learning through Story Circles | Join this Story Circles session to develop your communication skills and build connections by sharing and reflecting on lived experiences in a safe and nurturing environment. | 27 Mar |
Participating in class discussions | Learn how to participate effectively in a range of speaking contexts at university by practising strategies for asking questions, engaging in discussions and supporting your views. Featuring authentic academic discussion activities, this class will help you develop confidence and skills for getting involved actively at university. | 6 Mar Repeated on: 11 Mar |
Presenting Effectively | This interactive session looks at the skills of effective presenters focusing on voice, body language and visuals. | 17 Mar |
Upcoming events in speaking, presenting and engaging in class
Study skills
Learn a range of practical strategies and tools to engage with the University and your studies most effectively.
Register for upcoming workshops in this series below the table.
Workshop | Description | Dates |
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Successful exam preparation with early revision | Get started early with techniques and resources for effective exam taking. Through interactive activities, you will reflect on your preparation approaches and discover a range of active study strategies. | 3 Mar |
Exam preparation and active revision | This workshop will provide you with techniques and resources for effective exam taking. Through interactive activities, you will reflect on your study approaches and discover a range of study strategies. | 7 May Repeated on: 27 May |
Translating study skills into employability skills | Skills such as research, critical thinking, teamwork, time and project management, communication and writing do equip you for job seeking and are highly valued by employers. This session examines the critical skills you develop through tertiary study and explores how to rethink these skills for job seeking. | 20 Mar |
Upcoming events in study skills
English language
Learn a range of strategies and practise techniques to build your confidence communicating in English at university and beyond. These workshops are for students who speak English as an additional language.
Register for upcoming workshops in this series below the table.
Workshop | Description | Dates |
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Grammar & expressions for giving opinions in class | University classes often require students to share their opinions. In this interactive workshop, you will learn and practise expressions and grammar that can help you effectively and confidently share your opinion. | 12 Mar |
Grammar and expressions for concise and cohesive writing | Strong academic writing is concise (short and sharp) and cohesive (connected). To help us write in this way, we often use a grammatical structure called ‘nominalisation’. In this interactive workshop, we will practise using nominalisation to improve our academic writing. | 19 Mar |
Grammar and expressions for talking to your teachers | All students need to speak to their teachers to ask questions and seek advice. In this interactive workshop, you will learn and practise grammar and expressions that you can use when communicating with your teachers. | 5 Mar |
Improve your English in 10 Minutes a day – Listening & Speaking | In this session you will practise listening and speaking activities that you can complete in around 10 minutes per day to improve your English over an extended period. | 4 Mar |
Improve your English in 10 minutes a day – Reading & Writing | In this workshop you will practise reading and writing activities that you can complete in around 10 minutes per day to improve your English over an extended period. | 11 Mar |
Listening in lectures 1: Foundational strategies | Learn how to listen for main ideas and key detail, use context clues from surrounding content, recognise lecture structures and understand signposting language. | 5 Mar |
Listening in lectures 2: Speech, accents & body language | This session will help you become more familiar with local variations in speech and different accents, suggest ways to cope with fast speech, and show you how prosodic features such as stress and pausing affect meaning. | 5 Mar |
Listening in lectures 3: Note taking techniques | This session covers common abbreviations and symbols, gives suggestions on how to listen and write simultaneously, covers different note-taking techniques and using technology for note-taking. | 12 Mar |
Listening in lectures 4: Post-lecture skills | Learn what to do after you have listened to a lecture, how to review and organise your notes, use recorded lectures effectively, turn notes into summaries for revision and manage your time for lecture-note revision. | 12 Mar |
Messaging and emailing in English | A lot of university communication occurs over email and messenger, but the two ways of communicating require very different writing skills. Attend this practical workshop to learn and practise ways of emailing your teachers and other students, as well as strategies and expressions that you can use when messaging your peers in group chat. | 7 Mar |
Navigating new and complex vocabulary | Learn strategies for recognising, understanding and remembering useful words and expressions so you can apply them to your academic speaking and writing. | 19 Mar |
Academic reading 1: Pre-reading strategies | Set yourself up for success by using our three steps for approaching a new reading text. In this interactive workshop, you will use one of your reading texts to practise useful pre-reading strategies. | 4 Mar |
Academic reading 2: Skim, scan & succeed | University study often requires a lot of reading. Attend this interactive workshop to practise reading strategies that can help you read more quickly and find the details you are looking for. | 11 Mar |
Academic reading 3: Note taking techniques | Taking notes while reading is a key skill at university. But how should we actually do it? And what should we write? In this workshop, you will practise using a range of note taking strategies and techniques that can help you make more effective notes while reading. | 18 Mar |