Transitioning to university writing

Our students come from all across the world...

...but every educational system is different...

..so let's take a look at transitioning to UoS.

welcome to

All about UoS

160 nationalities are represented by our student population.

With students from Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, the Middle East and Australia, campuses in Sunderland,London and Hong Kong and global partnerships with learninginstitutions in 15 countries,we really are a globaluniversity!

With undergraduate courses and both postgraduate taught and research courses, UoS has a grand total of 27,814 enrolments!*

We have almost 28,000 enrolments!

Top 50 university in the Guardian University Guide 2023 and internationally recognisedas a leading university, receiving 5stars for teaching, inclusiveness, employability and facilitiesin the QS World UniversityRankings 2023.*

46%

of our students are classified as 'Overseas'.*

* more information herehttps://www.sunderland.ac.uk/about/about-the-university/

Transitioning to UoS

How is university different?

Starting university is an exciting time but it can be challenging. It’s perfectly natural to feel nervous and overwhelmed at first sodon't worry if it takes you a while to find your feet!

Expectations: learning at university is likely to be different from your previous experience. You are in control of your learning which means that you need to give yourself 'time to learn how to learn', so be patient with yourself!Tip:Find a study partner to 'buddy up' with and motivate each other to do what needs to be done.

Teaching: rather than having daily taught sessions, you might only have teaching once or twice a week (depending on your course) meaning that you will cover a lot of material quite quickly and be required to complete your reading between lectures.

Tip:Think of your studies as a job and plan 3-4 hours per module outside of class to work on assignments and reinforce what you've been learning.

Academic workload: unfortunately your tutors won't necessarily be aware of your full workload so be prepared for multiple submissions/dates.Tip: set yourself deadlines at least 24hrs before your work is really due and give yourself a little room...just in case!

Be realistic and try to keep things in perspective.Don't sweat the small stuff - it's not the end of the world!

Academic writing @UoS

Nobody is born able to write 'academically' - it's a skill you learn!

Evidenceuse reliable sources

Structure clear & logical

Vocabularyformal & precise

Academic writing is quite specific in its content, structure and style.Click the images for more info...

Great resource!ALEX writing tool

It's all about interpreting and investigating data, planning and structuring your work and using feedback to improve.

Use our services!

UoS has a range of services to support you throughout your time here...

• Wellbeing Support
• International Student Support
• UoS Students' Union
• University Library Services
• Student Financial Guidance
• IT Support
• Team Sunderland

Click here!

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Book a tour

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Use our library resources too!

UoS Library ServicesClick the yellow dots...

looking for some more help?No problem!

Don't worry - there's lots of support here to help you!

Daily online drop-in - Mon. & Fri. 11:30am-1pm / Tues., Wed. & Thurs. 3:30-4:30pm In-person drop in - Thursday 3:30-4:30 @ Murray Health 1:1 appointments - 1hr sessions available at times to suit you

Click the link below to check out how the UoS Study Skills Team can help https://library.sunderland.ac.uk/services-and-support/skills/one-to-one-support/

Essays are usually written in continuous text (they don’t use sub-headings) and are structured in the following way: Introduction - 'set the scene' and tell your reader why the topic is important. Main body - each paragraph should look at a different (but linked) aspect of your topic. Although there’s no perfect paragraph model, you could try this:

• tell your reader what the paragraph is going to cover (either introduce a new point or link it to the previous one)
• explain why it’s important
• make your argument and support it with EVIDENCE
• conclude by linking to the question/next paragraph

Conclusion - don’t introduce new information in your conclusion, just remind your reader of what you were asked to do and draw your main points together to show how you’ve done that.