What’s it about?

This course is for anybody who is thinking of studying for a university degree and would like to develop the English reading and writing skills needed to succeed. You'll be introduced to academic reading and effective note-making strategies. You'll develop your essay writing. You'll look at academic style and vocabulary-building strategies. You'll also enhance your understanding of sentence structure and punctuation. You will learn through a range of engaging activities aimed at extending your existing language skills.

What will I learn?

 After completing this course you will be able to:

• follow an active reading method to help you read academic texts and make notes
• critically read source texts and appropriately use the information they contain in your writing
• link ideas in your writing so that your readers can easily understand your ideas
• make use of vocabulary and grammatical structures to express yourself more formally
• make the most of online dictionaries and look at ways to record new words for future use
• understand how to organise and punctuate sentences to increase clarity.

What’s involved?

Although the course has been designed to be studied over eight weeks, the course is open all year for you to join at anytime and study at your own pace.

You’ll use plenty of real-life examples and opportunities to practise your new understanding and skills, through a combination of weekly interactive quizzes, AV and text. During the first two weeks you will be introduced to academic reading and some effective reading and note-making strategies. In the following three weeks, you will develop your essay writing skills. You will then spend two weeks on academic style and vocabulary building strategies. Finally, in the last week, you will focus on sentence structure and punctuation. 

By completing the course you have the opportunity to earn a digital badge to demonstrate your new skills.

Prerequisites?

 None