Tips and guidance on effective study - simply choose the links that interest you!
The Skills Check is a short survey which should take you no more than 3 minutes to complete. Once you have completed the Skills Check we provide you with a personal learning plan targeted to your personal study needs and goals.
Sign in to work on the Skills Check.- Home
- A-Z
A-Z
Select the letter to filter by page title and/or click on the table headers to sort the information.
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- A-Z - Index to Skills for OU Study
- Academic writing style - Explanation and techniques to help the student write in an appropriate style
- Acquiring a computer for study - How to prepare for a course that involves the use of a PC
- Active reading - Description of active reading and techniques to aid reading comprehension
- Advance planning - Advice on how to prepare for examinations, what to take, how to get there
- After the examination - Advice on how to analyse an exam just taken
- An effective forum - How to tell whether a forum is working well
- Applying yourself to the learning cycle - Advice on how to improve learning by periodically reviewing what works and what can be done to improve understanding
- Assessed writing - Explanation of what is looked for in assessed writing at post-graduate level
- Assignments - Top page for assignments - explains types of assignment, how to prepare for them, paraphrasing and preferred style
- Assignments
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- Be aware of your habits - How reflective learning can aid in improving comprehension and quality of work
- Benefits of developing computing skills - The benefits of developing your computing skills
- Benefits of forums - The benefits of online forums for the OU student community
- Booklets - Page of helpful booklets on a variety of topics for the student to download
- Broadband or dial-up? - Choosing between broadband and dial-up internet connection
- Buying a computer - Thinking of buying a computer; enusring it has the right specification for OU study
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- Changing the size of text - How to resize the text on a web page to make it easier to read
- Check for gaps in your knowledge - Techniques for identifying weak areas and topics to revise
- Choosing an ISP - Choosing an ISP (Internet Service Provider)
- Clean up your PC - How to keep your computer in good order
- Comparing academic sources - List of academic sources with summary of strengths and weaknesses
- Computer health and safety advice - How to avoid injuries when using your computer
- Computer security - How to ensure you and your data are safe when using computers
- Computing help and support - Outline of computer support available to students
- Computing online - How to connect your computer to the internet
- Computing skills - Computing skills
- Conducting a literature review - How to carry out a literature review
- Conducting an interview - Guidance on how to design an interview
- Coping with difficult content - Advice on understanding difficult ideas
- Coping with exam stress - Advice on how to cope with exam stress
- Copying and pasting text - How to copy and past portions of text from a web page to your own documents or for safe keeping
- Core skills - Page leading to more comprehensive explanations of core skills
- Critical reading - An explanation of what critical reading is, and how to achieve it
- Critical reading techniques - Techniques on how to read faster, understand more, remember better
- Critically processing what you read - Advice on how to select and evaluate material critically
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- Demos - Watch some video demonstrations on using Word
- Develop your listening and speaking - Activities to help develop listening skills
- Develop your reading - Advice on how to develop strategies for reading academic material
- Develop your writing - An overview of what is required for a well-structured piece of writing
- Developing academic English - Top page for developing academic English including tips and activities
- Distractions and procrastination - Common distractions and procrastinations identified and methods for eliminating them
- Dividing your work into paragraphs - Advice on how to write in paragraphs
- Drafting your answer - Description of the three stages of writing - outline, draft, final essay
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- Editing and checking - Guidance on how to proof-read and edit your work
- Elluminate - How Elluminate can be used for your study
- Email a friend about this page - Form to fill out to notify someone of this page
- Emotional intelligence - Definition of emotional intelligence and how to improve it
- End-of-module assessment - Explanation of EMA and how to complete it
- Essays - Guidance on how to structure an essay
- Evaluating websites and content - How to evaluate the quality of websites and their content
- Examinations - Overview of examinations, and techniques to make taking them less stressful
- Exams
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- Favourite sites - How to save, or 'bookmark' your favourite web sites
- Feedback - Feedback form
- Find out about the exam - Explanation of an exam paper's structure
- Finding a place to study - Finding a good way to study
- Finding appropriate academic material - How to search for, and evaluate, academic literature
- Finding text on a page - How to find text on a web page
- Forum activities - The types of activites online forums support
- Forums - An introduction to online forums at the OU
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- Gathering and processing evidence - A description of how to collect information for postgraduate study and the ethics involved
- Gathering your materials - A guide on how to prepare for an assignment
- Getting yourself ready - Check your computing skills before your module starts
- Giving a presentation - Advice on how to prepare a presentation
- Giving presentations - Overview of how to create and deliver a presentation
- Grammar, spelling and punctuation - Suggestions on how to improve grammar, spelling and punctuation
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- Hardware explained - What is computer hardware?
- Help with the cost - Advice about getting help with the cost when buying a computer
- Helpful tips - Suggestions on how to make studying easier
- Highlighting and annotating - Making notes in study texts
- Home - Home page for Skills for OU Study
- How do I use my own words - How to reformulate someone else's words
- How to help a forum to work - Ways to help a forum run effectively
- How to recognise links - How to recognise and use links in websites
- How to take notes - Explains how taking notes is part of critical reading
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- If you fall behind - What to do when you fall behind schedule
- If you get stuck with maths - How to deal with problems with understanding mathematics
- Improving my general study skills
- Improving my general study skills
- Improving my general study skills
- In the examination hall - Techniques to enable you to prepare for the examination
- Index cards - Notetaking techniques using index cards
- Instant messaging - Tips about instant messaging and when you should use it
- Internet accessibility - A guide to accessibility features of internet browsers that cater for specific user needs, including visual, hearing, mobility and cognitive impairments.
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- Language settings - How to change your language setting to view web pages that offer content in other languages or alphabets
- Learning computing skills - Resources to improve your computing skills
- Learning from feedback - Explanation of what can be learned from feedback
- Line diagrams and system maps - An explanation of line diagrams and system maps
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- Making a timetable - Advice on how to create a revision timetable
- Making audio recordings - The value of audio and points to consider when using audio
- Making the most of your learning style - Overview of different learning styles
- Managing stress - Overview of different methods for dealing with stress
- Microphones and headsets - Choosing the right microphone to suit your recordings and budget
- Microsoft software offers - Visit this page for details of free and cheap software and hardware for Open University students
- Mind maps - Explanation of mind maps
- Mobile recording devices - Recording your thoughts on the go
- Mobiles - Tips on using mobile devices
- More advanced help with maths - How to deal with problems with understanding mathematics
- Moving a window - How to move a window
- Multiple intelligences - Explanation of the different types of intelligence
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- Notetaking techniques - Overview of the different methods of taking notes
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- OU Google Apps for Education - Advice on using OU Google Apps for Education
- Off you go! - Encouragement to start revising
- Ongoing skills - Top page for Ongoing skills
- Online IT help and information - Links to useful websites concerning computing information
- Oral examinations - Explanation of the format of oral exams and techniques to help
- Oral languages assignments - Techniques to prepare for oral languages assignments
- Organising your notes - Suggestions on how to organise and store your notes
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- Page not found - Page not found
- Paraphrasing - Explanation of how to paraphrase
- Passwords - The importance of passwords and how to choose one
- Planning and prioritising - Explanation of how to plan and prioritise your time
- Pop-up windows - What are pop-ups, and what are they for?
- Postgraduate study skills - Overview of postgraduate study skills
- Preparing assignments - An overview of how to prepare assignments
- Presenting your findings - Explanation of how to present your findings at postgraduate level
- Printing a web page - How to print off a web page
- Problem solving - Explanation of different methods of solving problems
- Protecting your PC - How to protect your PC from viruses and other attacks
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- Reading and writing maths - Overview of reading and writing maths
- Reading efficiently - Explanation of scanning and skimming text
- Reading maths - Techniques to understand written mathematics
- Reading skills for postgraduate study - Explanation of what reading skills are needed at postgraduate level
- Recording audio on your computer - How to record audio onto your computer
- Recording quality - How to improve the quality of your recording
- Recording your notes - Tips for audio-recording your notes
- Referencing - Importance of referencing your work explained
- Referencing - Importance of referencing your work explained
- Rehearsing exam answers - Tips for preparing for a written exam
- Remaining motivated - Advice on remaining motivated in your studies
- Reports - Description of the layout of a report
- Resizing a window - How to resize a window
- Review your progress - Diagram explaining how learning progresses
- Reviewing what you know - Techniques to help revise
- Revising and examinations - Top page for revising and examinations
- Revising with others - Tips on running a study group for revision
- Revision - Overview of how to revise
- Revision techniques - Overview of revision techiques
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- Safety online guidance - Advice on how to stay safe when using computers and the internet
- Saving a web page - Saving web pages to your computer to enable you to refer to it later
- Searching online - How to search effectively on the web
- Self-talk - Explanation of how self-talk can be helpful
- Sending it in - Explanation of how and when to send in an assignment
- Setting your home page - How to set your homepage in your browser
- Short answer questions - Definition of short answer questions
- Sitemap - Sitemap
- Skills Check
- Software explained - What is computer software?
- Strategic study techniques - Strategies to make better use of time and energy studying
- Structure of text - A guide on how to structure text appropriately
- Study goals - How to identify short term goals and plan for them
- Submitting assignments online - There's a simple process for submitting your assignments online
- Summarising your work - A variety of methods to summarise your work for revision
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- Tables - Explanation of using tables for notetaking
- Taking notes for languages students - Tips on how to take notes for language students
- Taking notes from speech - Tips on how to take notes from speech
- The importance of language skills - The importance of language skills explained for differing levels of study
- The web - taking part - Tips on using the World Wide Web
- Thinking about intelligence and mindsets - Explanation of the different types of intelligence
- Time management skills - Overview of the various ways to manage your time
- Tips for language students - Revision tips for language students
- Tips for oral exams - Revision tips for language students
- Try to stay positive - Positive thinking before exams
- Types of assignment - Summary of the different types of assignment
- Types of forum - How different types of forums can support study
- Typical problems - Some common problems with forums and how to handle them
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- URL short-cut - How to create a URL shortcut to get quickly to any web page
- Understanding the question - Advice on how to understand exactly what the assignment requires
- Use an efficient approach - Advice on how to read effectively
- Use of source materials - How to use source materials
- Using a questionnaire - How to design a questionnaire
- Using a site map - How to use a sitemap to help you find information
- Using abbreviations - A list of standard abbreviations
- Using an appropriate writing style - Explanation of the different styles of voice in academic writing
- Using email - Tips on when and how to use your OU student email account
- Using linking words - An explanation of the use of "linking words"
- Using quotations - How to use quotations correctly
- Using statistics - Definitions of the different types of statistics and how to present them
- Using the keyboard - Tips on using the keyboard instead of the mouse to explore web pages
- Using your computer - Developing your computing skills
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- Visual techniques - Different visual techniques that can aid retention
- Visualisation techniques - Two visualisation techniques to help reduce stress
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- Web browser basics - A guide to finding your way in and around a website, using the navigation buttons, tabs and scroll bars
- What is a PDF? - How to access and download a PDF document from the web
- What is academic English? - Explanation of the requirements of academic English
- What is an RTF file? - Description of an RTF file and how to download and create an RTF
- Where to go for support - Suggestions as to where a student can get help with academic English
- Working with a computer - Using the word processor on your computer
- Writing for university - General introduction to different academic writing styles
- Writing in your own words - Overview to using supporting evidence in written work
- Writing maths - Advice on how to write maths
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- Your exam paper - Advice on how to read an exam paper and plan your time effectively
- Your learning plan
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