What is Academic Skills Support?
University education is not only about learning subject material: it is also about learning to communicate that material effectively, and developing as an independent thinker and researcher. As such, you will be expected to develop your academic skills. Some key academic skills are:
- Reading effectively
- Good note-taking
- Time management
- Presentation skills
- Referencing and citation
- Essay and report writing
- Finding your ‘Academic Voice’
- Revising for exams
- Exam technique
These skills will help you to succeed in all parts of your life, whether that means achieving to your full academic potential; making sure that you have time to have a social life alongside your studies; or learning to communicate effectively throughout your career.
Developing your academic skills can help you to succeed in all parts of your life at university, and beyond.
Academic Skills Support is not a proofreading service or a way to get feedback on drafts of your essays. The Academic Skills Support Fellow is happy to discuss your writing style and structure, but cannot give feedback on the content of academic work, whether it is assessed or not.
Although the teams for Academic Skills Support, Disability, and Welfare work closely together, they are distinct. The Academic Skills Support Fellow provides support for specifically academic matters such as structuring essays, planning your week effectively, and revising well. You should consult the Disability & Grants Officer in College for all matters relating to disability assessment, diagnosis, exam arrangements, reasonable adjustments etc. The Welfare Team is available to support students experiencing any difficulty whether related to their studies or not.
Who can benefit from Academic Skills Support?
Academic Skills Support is for everyone. At Jesus College, skills support is offered in a non-judgmental environment away from your tutors and the Academic Office, and is part of your professional and personal development whilst at Oxford. Support is flexible and tailored to your availability, and development needs.
Academic skills support is available to all students at Jesus College.
It is a common misconception that seeking Academic Skills Support means you are ‘struggling’ or that skills sessions are a punishment for poor work. Skills development is an intrinsic part of your degree. No academic skill is innate. Academic writing and reading are not things that you ‘should’ have already learned at school: they are skills that even professional academics continue to hone over their careers. Over the course of your degree you will continually build on skills that you have already acquired, and also develop new ones. Academic Skills Support will help you to reach your study and career goals, and allow you to enjoy everything that Oxford has to offer.
Academic Skills Support Fellow
The Academic Skills Support Fellow is Dr Luisa Ostacchini. Luisa is responsible for providing study skills support for the College. She offers a variety of skills development opportunities, including one-to-one, group study, and workshop sessions. She has lectured at undergraduate and postgraduate level at Oxford since 2018 so is extremely familiar with what tutors and examiners are looking for and can help you to master your study skills and get the most out of your degree. Luisa offers workshops, group sessions, and one-to-one training: please see below for full details.
Dr Luisa Ostacchini, Nelson J Carr Career Development Fellow for Academic Skills Support.
Luisa’s office can be found in the Cheng Building, Staircase XXVI (26), Floor 3. Exit the café at Staircase 26, go up one flight of stairs (or use the lift), then follow the corridor around. Or just follow the signs for the Fellow’s Terrace: Luisa’s office is just next to the door out to the Terrace.
Workshops
Luisa offers workshops during term time to help you with general skills such as plagiarism avoidance, essay writing, good note-taking, and time management: the timetable is available in each term’s Study Support leaflet, or you can visit the dedicated Workshops page below.
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