In addition to the Student Success team, the University Library and the Academic Language Support Service also provide a variety of online resources and workshops.
Library support
The Library offers a wide range of resources for students undertaking a project or dissertation. This includes Learn modules, other online tools, and individual appointments. You can contact an Academic Librarian for your School who can provide advice on referencing, literature reviews, and sourcing information.
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Learn modules
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Study skills: Materials about a variety of study skills topics, including time management, reading and note-taking, writing and presentation skills
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Academic Research Kit (ARK): Self-help tutorials on information searching, evaluating, and using information and referencing
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Managing references with Mendeley: Bite-sized videos and guides on using Mendeley, a referencing management software tool.
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Search help
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Library Catalogue – Search the catalogue to find books and e-books, or use the ‘Articles Plus’ tab for access to online full-text journal articles and conference papers accessible at Loughborough University.
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Subject guides - These guides are your starting point for finding information in a specific subject area. They provide quick access to key resources for finding journal articles, books and other information for your project.
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All databases – An A-Z list of available online resources.
The Academic Language Support Service (ALSS)
The ALSS offers a range of support in academic English and study skills for students across all levels and disciplines. The team is made up of qualified and experienced teachers who specialise in academic language and study skills.
On-demand resources can be accessed via Learn module LUA001 – this looks at relevant study skills for your degree such as time management, reading and notetaking and presentation skills. Live sessions facilitated by experts linked to the topics in this module are also available to sign up to.
If your first language is not English, you may find the resources in English Language Support Learn Module LUA010 helpful. The team also run a comprehensive suite of live sessions via MS Teams that can be booked from this module (a list of sessions and dates for Semester 2 can be found here).
Upcoming events
Over the coming weeks, the Library and the ALSS are running sessions aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate taught students. More information can be found below.
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Referencing (online drop-in, no need to book) – 9 March (10am-12pm) and 22 March (10am-12pm) via MS Teams.
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Note taking techniques – 22 March (12pm-1.30pm)
This in-person interactive workshop gives students an opportunity to learn and experiment with a series of recognised note-taking techniques to help them develop and hone the skill.
Workshops aimed specifically at postgraduate taught students:
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Writing the literature review – 9 May (12.30pm-2pm)
This session aimed at postgraduates focuses on constructing a coherent argument and integrating the literature within. It begins with looking at the structure of simple arguments, to building more complex arguments where literature can be synthesised and critically evaluated.
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Writing coherently and making connections between chapters – 12 May (12.30pm-2pm)
This workshop aims to raise awareness of how to ensure coherence in writing. It begins by introducing students to ways to organise sentences so that they logically follow each other and build a unified and coherent paragraph. Then, it moves to understanding how cohesion can be built at the whole dissertation level.