Get back to studying with Academic Skills

Learning to use effectively the software and tools available to you to create your document is critical. You will spend a long time creating these for assignments,presentations, as well as notes from your lectures and reading. You need these to be stored securely and to be well-rganised so you can easily locate what you need.  

Microsoft Training material

• Office 365 Training Center - starting point for training documents, videos and tips for all Office 365 applications
• Office 365 Quick Starts
• OneDrive video training
• Word for Windows training
• PowerPoint for Windows training

LinkedIn Learning online video training

LinkedIn Learning  provides a huge range of online video training covering business, creative and technology topics.  The courses below cover the essentials of Office 365, but there are lots more courses for you to explore as well.  

• Login to LinkedIn Learning

Recommended courses on Office 365

• Learning One Drive
• Word Essential Training (Office 365)
• PowerPoint Essential Training (Office 365)
• Microsoft Teams Essential Training
• Excel Essential Training (Office 365)
• Outlook Essential Training (Office 365)

Key Features of good academic writing

• It is objective - based on facts and research rather than your feelings and opinions.  
• It uses formal language – making points clearly and accurately without waffling.
• It should avoid using personal pronouns, ( I, we, me, our). Unless of course,  you are asked to write a reflection.
• It should be structured - you will need to plan your work so that it guides the reader step by step from the introduction, through your argument supported by evidence, to the conclusion.
• It must Include evidence which is properly referenced  - in text quotations or citations are key to proving and supporting your point and are an essential part of academic writing. You'll need to provide a list of the references you used.