Academic Skills

Studying at university is a very different experience from studying at school. Instead of a structured timetable of lessons and breaks, your time will be much more freeform. You’ll need to arrange your own work around your lectures, supervisions and other contact hours, ensuring you block out time for reviewing lecture material, reading, consolidating notes and supervision work – and relaxing, too.

Supervisions are a key place to learn academic skills. Your supervisors will probe your knowledge, explore your reasoning and push you to develop your thinking. It’s important to note that most academic skills are learnt by practice and by immersing yourself in the learning environment – the more you take part, the more you’ll get out. That’s why the supervision system is such a key part of the Cambridge educational experience: the small groups mean that every student is a part of the discussion, every time.   

In some cases, it’s worth taking a step back to focus on developing your skills in a specific area, such as revision, essay writing, or reading texts or academic papers. In many cases, your DoS or the Department running your course will provide specialist teaching in these skills. For some subjects, DoSes will run sessions, and supervisors will address particular topics and issues as they teach. At Downing, we have a full-time Head of Academic Skills (Dr Hamish Symington), dedicated to helping students ‘learn how to learn’ and get the most out of their studies. He coordinates a programme of seminars and workshops which address these specific areas. You’ll find more information on these in emails from your DoS, or in the Downing Electronic Newsletter (DEN) that’s sent round every week. 

You might feel that you need a bit more practice or feedback in certain areas, or to consolidate unfamiliar skills. This is where one-to-one work with an Academic Skills tutor can be of use. You can book a session with Hamish to talk over where you feel you need help. He can then point you in the direction of other resources, give you some tools to try, be someone to be accountable to, or (subject to approval from your DoS) support you with some one-to-one sessions over a few weeks to help you develop your skills.

However you’re learning, it’s really important to note that you won’t get instant results. You’ll need to practise applying what you’ve learned, in supervisions, in your own time and through talking to others in the College, the University and beyond. This will take time: likely more than a year, as there’s a lot to learn.

It’s also worth taking some time to reflect on how you’re engaging with your work. By doing these things, you’ll be developing your skills of reasoning, critical thinking, explanation and communication – that is to say, your academic skills.

Learning at Cambridge

Every degree course has its own specific set of knowledge which is developed through lectures, supervisions, reading and discussion. But there are also many skills which are shared between courses, and which are often left to students to ‘learn as they go along’. Sometimes, trial and error is the best way to learn them; sometimes, it’s helpful to have a framework or a few suggestions of things to try out, to see what works for you.

The information on these Academic Skills pages is just that: a few suggestions to get you started. There are some further links below which you might find useful. 

More general links

A list of links relating to all aspects of study skills quickly becomes unmanageable, so here are a few to get you going. Of the ones below, the CamGuides site is a very good start. Beyond that, there is a wealth of resources available via YouTube, Google etc. – search for eg ‘note-taking in university lectures’ or ‘preparing for revision’, perhaps with your subject in there too, and you’ll find thousands of pages!

The CamGuides website

The CamGuides website has some great resources across a range of skills – it’s well worth checking out.

LibGuides 

You’ll find some similar resources on the LibGuides website; some of these are a little more aimed at postgraduates, but there are some useful pointers for undergraduates, too.

Academic Societies 

Academic societies in College are more than just a way to be in a room with others doing your subject – they organise inspiring and thought-provoking talks, careers events, socials and more. They’re definitely worth checking out.

Tutorial Office 

Staff in the Tutorial Office are friendly, and can offer advice or point you in the right direction.

Wellbeing Centre

The Wellbeing Centre is a good first port of call if you need help with any aspect of physical or mental health.

One-to-one sessions with Head of Academic Skills 

Book a one-to-one session with the Head of Academic Skills at Downing (Dr Hamish Symington) to explore particular aspects of your work.

Skills Discovery Tool 

Although not strictly academic skills, the Skills Discovery Tool produced by the Careers Service is an excellent way to benchmark your existing transferrable skills (leadership, presentation, entrepreneurship and many more), and to get pointers for how you can get experience in the areas in which you want to develop. 

 

Reflecting on how you engage with your work

These are some prompts to get you thinking about your learning. You might want to discuss these with a couple of friends: it’s better to talk things through than to go through them on your own. Push each other on answers – if you ask a friend ‘should you take better notes?’ and they answer ‘yes’, with a rueful smile, keep going: ‘what do you feel you should be doing? What’s stopping you?’.

  • How do you prepare for a lecture? Do you find the amount of preparation you do helpful? Should you do more? Less?
  • How do you prepare for a supervision? Do you find the amount of preparation you do helpful? Should you do more? Less?
  • Do you take notes in lectures? How? If electronically, are they searchable? What are they for?
  • Do you prepare questions for a supervision? Do you ask them? Do you take notes on the answers? How?
  • Do you take notes in a supervision? How? If electronically, are they searchable? What are they for?
  • When and where do you do your reading, and your supervision work? Is there anything that could be improved about the environment or timing?
  • As you work through your course, how are you preparing for revision and your exams? Is what you’re doing helpful to Future You?
  • When you’re taking time away from work, are you effectively switching off from it? How do you ensure you have downtime?

If you’d like to take some time to talk these through with the Head of Academic Skills, book a one-to-one session with him. This won’t be a judgmental ‘You Must Do Better’ session – instead, he’ll help you explore what’s going well and where you want to improve.