tim.worth – Study Skills

Student Perspectives: 5 of the best places to study in Bristol when the libraries are full

Posted on April 12, 2024 by tim.worth

Helen, the author of the blog post

In this blog post Student Advocate Helen March (History) explores study spaces in the city outside of the University.

The university libraries are a great place to study during term time, but they can get super busy. This can make it a real challenge to get your work done, especially during exam time. Here’s a few suggestions of places you can go when the libraries are full up and you’re struggling to find a place to knuckle down.

1. Bristol Central Library Reading Room

A great place to start with is the central library just off college green. Tucked out the way of the University, the library is really quiet during weekdays and has a beautiful reading room.

Sign up for a free library card and you can have access to their wifi and stay there all day. The staff are really lovely and there’s even a coffee shop on the ground floor!

This Photo by Steve Cadman is licensed under CC BY. https://flic.kr/p/5Jgo4F

2. Clifton Library

Did you know there’s a library in Clifton Village? Neither did I until this year! Tucked between cafes and pubs, the library is small, but generally really quiet. Plus, there’s loads of pubs nearby to grab a quick pint at the end of a long study day.

3. The Cloakroom Cafe

This quirky cafe was once an Edwardian public loo! Located just down the hill from the university, it’s a great place to get your reading done away from the bustle of students trying to find their lectures. Top Tip – The hot chocolate here is amazing!

4. The Botanical Gardens

This Photo by Nick is licensed under CC BY. https://flic.kr/p/fho2Z8

If you live in Stoke Bishop, you might want somewhere a bit closer to you! When I lived up there, I often found it hard to find space in the Hiatt Baker study centre. Instead, why not head over to the Botanical Gardens, (Don’t worry I’m not telling you to try and work in a flower bed!).

They’ve got a lovely cafe hidden round the back of the building, where you can get your work done in a peaceful environment!

5. The Arnolfini

The Arnolfini is primarily an art gallery, but it’s also got a cafe which is great for studying in. Located on the docks, it’s a scenic place to watch boats go by whilst you struggle to work out that problem you just can’t get your head round. Plus, you can take a break to look round some of their amazing exhibits!

Do you have any other suggestions for study spaces beyond the University? Let us know in the comments!

Now Recruiting: Bristol Futures Student Advocates 2024/25

Posted on February 23, 2024February 23, 2024 by tim.worth

Be part of a dynamic team promoting and delivering Study Skills support and Bristol Futures in the 2024/25 academic year.

As a Bristol Futures Student Advocate you’ll be an ambassador for Study Skills and the other elements of Bristol Futures, promoting them to members of the University and public alike. You’ll also support fellow students by running Study Skills drop-ins and workshops, staffing pop-up stands, attending events and having input into online learning resources and more. You’ll develop skills in organisation, teaching, support, public speaking and team working, all of which will be valuable for your future career development.

We’re looking for applications from any student at the University of Bristol to join our Advocate team for the 2024/25 academic year, whether you’re undergraduate or postgraduate, home or international, as long as you’ll be a registered student in 2024/25. We’ll train you in all the skills you need and work with you throughout the year to ensure you develop and gain the best experience possible from working with us. We are also seeking students with skills in coding to assist at our weekly Coding Clubs.

Bristol Futures is a university-wide initiative which enhances and enriches education at the University of Bristol, ensuring that students have the skills, knowledge and attributes to succeed in their lives at university and beyond. These skills, knowledge and attributes lie within three themes: Innovation and Enterprise, Global Citizenship and Sustainable Futures. For more information visit https://www.bristol.ac.uk/bristol-futures/

Core duties of the Advocate Role:

Act as an ambassador within your faculty to promote Study Skills and Bristol Futures.
Deliver one-to-one peer support sessions to students for Study Skills. These may take the form of drop-in sessions at the Study Skills Hub in Senate House, or peer support in regular study groups.
Facilitate workshops on Study Skills. Workshops may run face-to-face or online.
Advocates with skills in coding may assist with our weekly Coding Clubs.
Attend and assist in organizing promotional activities (such as pop up stands and lecture ‘shout-outs’).
Assist in utilizing social media to promote Bristol Futures’ activities and events.
Assist in gathering feedback from students and academics in your faculty to help develop and shape Study Skills and Bristol Futures.
Meet regularly with your Study Skills faculty tutor.
Work collaboratively with Bristol Futures staff to help develop Bristol Futures events and resources.
Co-create marketing materials and help publicize Bristol Futures.
Additional activities will be required as the role continues to develop.

Benefits of the role:

This is a paid role (see wage details below).
You will be provided with comprehensive training that will equip you with the knowledge and skills to carry out this role. Ongoing training will be provided throughout the duration of your contract as the role develops.
Work experience to enhance your CV i.e. marketing, group-work delivery, time management, leading and influencing.
An opportunity to shape the development of an ambitious, innovative university-wide project.
The source of a reference for future employment / LinkedIn recommendations.
This role can provide evidence that will contribute to the Bristol PLUS Award / Bristol PLUS Outstanding Award. (All team members are encouraged to participate in this award).

Wage:

Advocates are paid a wage of £10.90 per hour. This role attracts a holiday increment of 12.07% per hour (so total paid per hour is £12.21). Workshop delivery (expected to start in the autumn after training) is paid at £17.76ph, (£19.90ph with holiday pay). Wages are paid monthly in arrears via the Temporary Staffing Service (TSS).

Hours / Contract:

Working hours will be discussed at interview, but will range from 0 – 6 hours per week (you will not be expected to work during University holidays or assessment periods)
Training will begin in September 2024 and continue throughout the year. Contracts will begin in September 2024.
Please note that to be eligible for this role you must be a registered student at the University of Bristol in the 2024/25 academic year.

How to apply:

Please apply with a CV and covering letter outlining your suitability for the role. You can find our advice on writing a cover letter here.

Submit your application to Dr Tim Worth (Study Skills Coordinator) at tim.worth@bristol.ac.uk by 11.59pm on Friday 22 March 2024.

Further information:

If you require clarification of the above information or have further questions about the role, please contact study-skills@bristol.ac.uk

Closing date: 11:59pm Friday 22 March 2024

Provisional interview dates: Monday 15 – Friday 26 April 2024.

Using AI at University: a new online resource from the Study Skills team

Posted on October 25, 2023October 25, 2023 by tim.worth

How do you feel about the huge developments in Artificial Intelligence we’ve seen over the past year? Depending on your point of view you may feel excited, overwhelmed, anxious, or all 3 of these things (and perhaps many more) all at once.

Many of us in the study skills team felt precisely these things. We’re particularly aware of the opportunities and challenges that generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Google Bard and Claude present to students. When used appropriately they have the potential to massively enhance your learning and take your skills in any number of areas to the next level.

But these AI tools can also be used unethically: to write essays or generate code for assessments which students should be creating themselves. We also know that lots of students want to use these tools but don’t know how, or are worried they may inadvertently break the University’s rules. That’s why we’ve put together a guide to help you.

The online resource

Our online resource Using AI at University explores how generative AI works, so you can understand what it’s capable of and what it can’t do. We also set out some of the university rules about using AI for assessments, and explain why these rules will vary from unit to unit. The key principle behind these rules is to consider your own learning – are you using AI in a manner which develops and enhances your skills? Or are you using it in a way which is actually stopping you from gaining some really important skills for your subject?

Besides understanding the rules about AI we want to help you start putting these tools to practical use as study aids. Our guide contains a catalogue of some of the most popular AI tools, and pages on writing effective prompts and turning these AI programs into your own virtual tutor. AI tools are far from perfect though, so it’s important you approach them critically and cautiously as we outline on our page about AI errors, hallucinations and fact-checking.

AI playgrounds

We hope that the online resource will help you to understand generative AI and how to use it within the university guidelines. However, we also believe that the best way to develop your AI skills is through practice. That’s why we’re running AI playgrounds in November. These are practical sessions where you can experiment with tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Google Bard and more.

In the playgrounds we’ll show you how to how to access these tools and discuss some strategies for using them effectively before giving you some space to play around with them. Our Study Skills tutors and student advocates will be close at hand to assist.

You can view times and dates of our upcoming AI playgrounds and book into them here.

Student perspective: overcoming anxieties about giving presentations

Posted on April 20, 2023October 16, 2023 by tim.worth

by Helen March, English and History student and Bristol Futures Advocate

Helen, the author of the blog post Deadline season is looming and along with it comes a myriad of assessments, exams and sometimes even presentations. Delivering presentations at university can often be pretty overwhelming. Most degree programmes will ask you to give at least one during your time at university, and this might be the first time you’ve ever had to speak in public before. This can be quite scary, especially when you are presenting to a large audience or panel. Personally, I found the prospect of communicating my academic ideas incredibly daunting, as it was something I’d never done before.

But it doesn’t have to be daunting! Presentations are a great way to express a level of creativity in an assessment and can often result in really good marks. Below are some helpful tips about public speaking which can help tackle those nerves for your next presentation assessment.

Make a Script or Prompt Cards

It can often help to have some prompts to read from when giving a presentation; nobody is expecting you to remember everything word for word! Whether it’s some flash cards or a word document with your entire script, having something in front of you with the relevant information on will make sure you know what you need to say next. It can prevent you from having a mind blank if you’re worried you’ll panic when you get up in front of everyone.

Eye contact

Having said that, don’t stare at your script too much! It’s important to engage your audience. Although everyone is always encouraged to look people in the eyes when giving presentations this can often be quite difficult to do. It’s also pretty intimidating! Instead, try looking just above people’s heads. It will look like you’re speaking directly at them, but avoid the awkwardness of staring at anyone too much.

Project!

Make sure you are speaking at a good volume. It’s okay to be a bit too loud but make sure you’re not too quiet. As long as everyone can hear you then you should be okay. If you have the opportunity to, it can often help to visit the room you will be presenting in first so you know the size of it, check whether there is a microphone, and can test out how loudly you need to speak.

Practice!

Whether it’s in front of a flat mate, family member or just recording yourself on your phone, practising your presentation before you actually give it can really help. Not only will it make sure you’re familiar with your entire script, but it will improve the communication of your argument and allow you to work out how to pace yourself more easily. It can also help to pick up on anything which you might have missed from your presentation or script when you were putting it together. Practising your script will hopefully mean you’re less reliant on it when it comes to the actual presentation, and your argument will flow more easily.

If you’re still struggling, you can also attend one of our presentation skills workshops, which will give you the opportunity to discuss these skills and try out your public speaking skills.

Have you got any tips for public speaking? Share them below!

Cover letters written by ChatGPT and other Artificial Intelligence programmes: the results, dangers, and what to do if you’ve submitted one

Posted on March 9, 2023February 23, 2024 by tim.worth

Please note: this article was been updated in February 2024 to include details for our latest round of advocate recruitment for the 2024/25 academic year.

We’re recruiting! See this blog post for information about becoming a Bristol Futures Student Advocate for 2024/25. Then read on to find out what we’re looking for in a cover letter, a key part of your job application.

We know job applications and cover letters can be difficult to write. Sometimes the pressure and stress leads people to look for shortcuts. In recent months we’ve seen an increase in people using Artificial Intelligence programmes such as ChatGPT to help them write their University assignments. Some may also be tempted to use these programmes to write their applications and cover letters for jobs like the Bristol Futures Advocate roles.

Let’s take a look at some of the potential weaknesses of cover letters written by AI, and think about what you can do to write a successful application yourself instead.

Cover letters written by AI programs can often be:

Generic: they use similar phrases and sentences, which we then see repeated across multiple cover letters. This results in cover letters which are…
Impersonal: they do not tell us much about you as a candidate and as a person. Why do you really want to apply for this role? What is it about the job that interests you?
Unevidenced: they make claims for possessing skills, abilities and experience but don’t give us real examples or show how you gained them.
Plagiarised: in some instances AI programs copy sentences word for word from the job advert. This leaves an impression of an uncreative and potentially dishonest candidate.

What we look for in successful cover letters:

Good cover letters are personal. They introduce us to you as a candidate and as a person, telling us about what attracted you to this job, and how it aligns with your skills, interests and experience.
They are also evidenced, giving us specific examples of where you have gained experience, and actual evidence for the skills that you possess.
Finally, they are informed: they engage with the themes and elements of Study Skills and Bristol Futures beyond just the summaries given in the job advert. This shows us that you have researched the role: you’ve looked into what we do as a service and what the role entails. Your decision to apply then demonstrates your confidence that you are well suited for the Advocate position.

You can find more guidance on writing good cover letters on this page from the University Careers Service.

What to do if you have submitted an application written by an AI

If you have used an AI program such as ChatGPT to write your cover letter for the Bristol Futures Student Advocate position we strongly urge you to reconsider and potentially resubmit your application. Even if you haven’t used ChatGPT you may find the following steps useful:

First of all review your cover letter and CV and think about the points we’ve listed above. Are you demonstrating to us who you are as a unique individual candidate? Have you provided specific evidence for your skills and experience?
You may then want to revise or rewrite your cover letter to make improvements.
Finally, you are welcome to resubmit your application to us. Please be assured that we will not take this as an admission or indication that you have used AI to write your original application. You will be considered as a candidate on the merit of your latest application alone. We will be accepting applications until 11.59pm on Friday 22 March 2024.

If you have any questions about the Student Advocate role or the application process you can contact us at study-skills@bristol.ac.uk. If you want to further improve your job application skills remember too that the University Careers Service will be very happy to meet with you and provide support.