Study Skills
What does critical thinking and reading involve and what does academic writing look like? Learn about strategies and techniques to help you be successful in your studies. These resources provide tips on reading and note-taking, writing style and structure, and ways to participate effectively at university.
UniSA Online Academic Literacy Modules
Academic literacy modules have been developed to assist with learning how to research, analyse and communicate according to academic conventions. These academic skills will help you improve your assessment tasks and succeed in your degree. The modules consist of eight self-paced modules of approximately 90 minutes each focused on specific academic skills. You may choose to complete only those modules that focus on topics you feel least confident about or you might set yourself the goal of completing the suite of eight. There is no open or close time to complete these modules, and they will be available to you to revisit throughout your degree.
Assignments & Exams
What is an essay? What does it look like? How might a report be different? Learn how to approach different types of assignments at university and reference appropriately. Also find out how to prepare for and participate in online quizzes and exams.
Planning & Editing
Referencing
English & Maths
Do you need to brush up on your English language and vocabulary? Will you be working on calculations or formulas in any of your courses? Access resources to improve your English and maths for greater success in your studies.
Articles & Punctuation
Developing English Vocabulary
Need More Help?
Studying online does not mean studying alone. Explore our huge range of student services or speak with someone from our support team to help you with your online studies.
Videos
Writing Assignments at University
Watch this short video about the assignment writing process and get an overview on how essays, reports and reflective assignments differ in purpose, structure and language.
Plan Your Search
You will often need to search for information at University. Watch this short video for tips on how to plan and build an effective search when gathering information for your assignments from the UniSA Library.
Evaluating Information
Watch this short video for tips on how to evaluate information using the C.R.A.A.P. test to assess whether it is appropriate for your needs.
Scholarly Sources Explained
You will often need to use scholarly or academic sources for your assignments at University, watch this short video for tips on how to identify scholarly or academic resources for use in your assignments.
Essays
Essay writing is a common assessment task at university. Watch this short video to learn about the purpose of an essay, what it looks like and how you can best approach it.
Report Writing
Report writing is also a common assessment task at university. Watch this short video to learn about the purpose of a report, what it looks like and how you can best approach it.
Reflective Writing
Another common assessment task at university is reflection. Watch this short video to learn how to best approach this type of task in the academic context.
Referencing
Referencing plays an important role at university and you will hear this word a lot. Watch this short video about referencing: what it looks like and how to appropriately include other people’s ideas into your own writing.
Managing Your References
Watch this short video from the UniSA Library on how bibliographic management software can help you manage your references at University.
Understanding Copyright
Watch this short video to understand your rights and obligations as a student at UniSA under Copyright Law.
Australian Guide to Legal Citation
Are you doing assignments which require the use of legal citations? Watch this short video on how to reference according to the Australian Guide to Legal Citation.