Study Skills

Study Skills Learning Advisors are now running online drop-in sessions Monday to Friday. Access these live sessions through the 'ASK Advisor and Study Skills Drop-in Service' link in the 'Virtual Room' (left menu) of the Study Help site. In these sessions, students can get help with:

• Understanding assessment task requirements
• Assignment writing and structure
• Feedback on assignment drafts
• Finding journal articles and other information resources
• Avoiding plagiarism and referencing
• Time management, study planning and exam preparation

Study Skills also offers specialist drop-in sessions for:

• English Language Help
• Referencing Help
• ePortfolio (Mahara) Help.

For more information about this service, please click here or email Study Skills.

The timetable for the Study Skills online drop-in sessions in Winter Term, 2020 is below:

Study Skills accepts referrals for individual consultations from RSU staff for students who may need additional support to achieve their academic goals.

An online referral form is available on the MyRSU staff portal to enable staff to refer students for an individual consultation with a Study Skills Learning Advisor.  Study Skills now has online individual consultations available Monday to Friday 9.30 am to 4.30 pm. Consultations may be arranged outside of these hours on a case-by-case basis. Staff can access the online referral form through this link (staff login required).

MASH (Maths and Stats Help) provides drop-in learning support for mathematics and statistics for students across the University.  These drop-in sessions run Monday to Friday each week during semester, and a reduced program is also available during Winter Term.

In the Maths and Stats help sessions, students can get help with a range of mathematics and statistics inquiries, including introductory mathematics, solving chemistry and nursing equations, introductory and business statistics, and data analysis.

The MASH Centre is currently running online in the MASH Virtual Room in the Study Help canvas site. You can access the Study Help RSULearn (Canvas) via this link:

MASH sessions start in week 2 of Winter Term. The timetable for Winter Term MASH is available here.

For more information contact Study Skills by email or phone (02) 6201 2205.

PALS (Peer-Assisted Learning Sessions) are weekly group study sessions designed to support large-cohort foundation units. PALS are led by Peer Learning Advisors who are students that have successfully completed the units themselves. The Peer Learning Advisors share their effective learning strategies and also provide structured group activities specific to the unit.

PALS is running online sessions for Winter Term. The online sessions will be run in the Virtual Room in the PALS RSULearn (Canvas) site. You can access the PALS canvas site via this link.

In Winter Term 2020, PALS is supporting the following units:

The timetable for Winter Term Online PALS is available here.

If you have any questions about PALS, please email Study Skills.

The  ASK (Academic Skills and Knowledge) Advisors are RSU students who have been trained to help you with a range of areas including Library searching, borrowing and renewals, printing, scanning and Wi-Fi assistance as well as understanding assessment tasks, assignment structure, finding information, and referencing. The ASK Advisors can also assist with campus directions, navigation of the Home, RSULearn (Canvas), Mahara ePortfolio and MyRSU. The ASK Advisors offer 20 minute individual consultations.

During Winter Term, the ASK Advisors can be accessed through the 'ASK Advisor and Study Skills Drop-in service' link in the 'Virtual Room' (left menu) of the Study Help site.

For more information about this service, please click here or email Study Skills.

The ASK Advisor Study Help timetable for Semester 1 is below:

Study Skills Services

All Study Skills programs and services are available online during Winter Term, 2020. See the individual tabs on this webpage for timetables and further information.

The Study Help site

The Study Help site (RSULearn login required) is available for all RSU and RSUC students to access 24/7. The site contains a large range of self-paced interactive modules and e-resources to help students with assignment writing, referencing, researching, time management, exam preparation and more.

Studiosity Online study support

The Study Help site also provides access to the online writing and study support service Studiosity on the left course menu.Studiosity can also be accessed through most unit RSULearn (Canvas) sites in the left course menu.

1. Writing Feedback: Students can submit assessment drafts for Writing Feedback on structure, writing style, grammar, referencing and more. Studiosity supports Harvard, APA and Chicago referencing styles. Studiosity specialists provide feedback on writing usually within 24 hours. Writing Feedback is available 24/7.
2. Connect Live: This service connects students with live study help for general study skills, including writing help and English, as well as foundation level assistance with subjects including mathematics, science, business, statistics, economics and accounting. Connect Live is available 24/7 with easy sharing of questions through and interactive whiteboard and text chat.

English Language Support

English Language Help Drop-In

Study Skills runs a drop-in service providing individual English language support for students with a focus on:

• academic reading and writing skills
• paraphrasing and academic integrity
• grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary
• academic listening and speaking skills

Dates and times are available on the Study Help site (RSULearn login required) during semester. Access the English Language Help service through the 'ASK Advisor and Study Skills Drop-in' link in the 'Virtual Room' of the Study Help site.

This is a free service, no appointment necessary.

For more information about this service, please click here or email Study Skills.

English for Uni Course

This is a free one-week course, delivered by Study Skills and is designed to help students develop their English language skills, with a focus on:

• academic reading strategies
• academic writing style
• paraphrasing and academic integrity
• grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary
• tutorial discussion and academic presentations

Students may attend the entire course select sessions to suit their study needs.

The next English for Uni courses will run from:

• Tuesday 28th to Friday 31st January (the week before Semester 1 Orientation)
• Monday 30th March to Friday 3rd April (Week 8 Semester 1, class-free week)
• Monday 20th to Friday 24th July (the week before Semester 2 Orientation)
• Monday 21st to Friday 25th September (Week 8 Semester 2, class free week)

For more information and to register your interest in this course, email Study Skills.

Want to know more about:

• study planning?
• navigating online resources?
• writing at university level?
• researching and referencing?

In the free Study Skills for Success program, Study Skills Learning Advisors will provide strategies and information to help you succeed at RSU.

The next Study Skills program to be delivered in real-time will be held early in Semester 2, 2020; details to be confirmed. Students can register their interest by emailing Study Skills.

Now available: Online Study Skills for Success (SS4S), complete the full program online in your own time.

This online program allows students to explore the same topics as the facilitated version in an interactive self-paced format. Access the online program now through the RSULearn (Canvas) Study Skills for Success (SS4S) site.

For more information and to register please email Study Skills.

EndNote Support

EndNote is a referencing tool, allowing users to organise bibliographic references and use them in MS Word documents. EndNote is a useful tool if you are required to reference more than 20 sources in an assignment but is not recommended for undergraduate assignments as it can be complex to learn and requires a competent understanding of manual referencing practices.

Would you like to know more about how to use EndNote? There are useful resources produced by the Library including the Library EndNote Guide. There are also EndNote Basics and EndNote Advanced self-paced modules on the Study Help site (RSULearn login required).

Library and Study Skills staff may also be able to help with your EndNote enquiry, ask a staff member during Library and Study Skills drop-in opening hours.

Are you a postgraduate research student needing EndNote support?  If so, please contact a Liaison Librarian.

ePortfolio (Mahara) Support

Study Skills Orientation

New to university?  Do you want a head start to help you develop the key skills to succeed?

Study Skills for Success is a free, one-day preparation program run at the beginning of each semester at Campus. See the separate tab above for more information.

Study Skills also provide a range of sessions during Orientation week each semester. These include:

• Navigating Study @ RSU – Find out how to navigate the RSU environment, including information about the different RSU services, how to find your unit information, how to plan your studies, where to get study help and more.
• Mature Age Study Skills Q&A – A 90 minute after hours session discussing essential Study Skills with insights from current mature-age RSU students. This is a great opportunity to network with your peers. Light refreshments provided. Designed for mature-age students and those working full-time (all welcome).

Study Skills also provides online orientation information to assist you when commencing studies at RSU through the New to RSU section of the Study Help site (RSULearn login required).

Support for units through in-lecture presentations and online resources

Study Skills staff can provide in-unit presentations and tailored resources for specific units and assignments for RSU and RSUC.

Some examples of the support provided to date include:

• 5 to 10 minute in-lecture presentations that provide an overview of the Study Skills programs and academic integrity
• 20 to 50 minute in-unit presentations tailored to a specific assessment task - these can cover the task requirements, how to find relevant information, how to reference appropriately, and/or how to use Mahara, and also include the Study Skills support available.

More information can be provided by the Study Skills team.  Please contact Study Skills (email or phone 6201 2205) at least two weeks in advance of the session.

Library support for units:

The Library also collaborates with academics to embed scholarly literacy into the curriculum and develops and delivers curriculum-based scholarly literacy modules for classes (both face to face and online). See the Library Liaison page for more information.

The Rainstar University(Scottsdale) offers a range of workshops and programs to support HDR (Higher Degree by Research) students including writing groups, coding sessions, statistical support, research integrity workshops, ethics drop-ins, literature review workshops and much more. The full calendar of Researcher Development Workshops is available here.

Students enrolled in research units or who are completing an Honours or PhD thesis, dissertation or project can enrol and work through the free, self-paced course Research and Writing Skills for Dissertations and Projects. This course includes modules on:

• Preparing your research and managing your supervisor
• Project-management techniques
• Managing your time
• The literature review
• The importance of ethics
• Research methodology and methods
• Data collection methods
• Data analysis
• Structuring the argument and chapters
• Writing up and disseminating your research

Study Skills administers the Student Readiness Survey (SRS) each semester.  This survey is sent as an email link to all newly-commencing students.  The survey is designed to help us to understand the study needs and preferences of our students, as well as to interpret other factors which may affect their study, including the amount of paid work undertaken.

All students who complete the survey each semester are entered into a prize draw.  Please email Study Skills for the terms and conditions of the prize draw.

Contact Study Skills by email or by phone (02) 6201 2205.