School of English ‘What you need to know’

What this meeting will cover:

• Who’s who: School of English staff edition

• Your academic life at Sheffield

• Academic support

• How to get involved

• Think Create

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School Reception and Support Staff

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Michelle Wegrzynska Office Manager Kirsty Fisher Student Liaison Officer Becky D’Silva Student Liaison Assistant

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Support for Dual Honours

• Staff to support dual honours

• Office on the ground floor of Jessop West

• General information – not academic

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Ida Kemp Interdisciplinary

Programs Manager (i.kemp@sheffield.ac.uk)

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How is my degree structured?

120 credits per year - 360 credits in total

Year 1: A launch pad into higher-level study • time management, independent learning, essay writing • flexibility in choices • doesn’t count to final degree (but you have to pass)

Year 2: Building subject-specific skills and knowledge • more on techniques of analysis and different types of material • choices more focused on degree subject • counts for one third

Year 3: Advanced understanding and greater independence

• more sophisticated approaches, more difficult material • again, more focus on degree subject • counts for two thirds.

How will I be taught?

• Lectures

• Seminars/Workshops

• Tutor’s office hours

• Personal meetings

• MOLE

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Individual Tutorials

(My Online Learning Environment)

Lectures

• To introduce content/concepts

• To help you with context

• To introduce alternatives

• To demonstrate a way of arguing

• To provide all the information you need on a given topic

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• To ask questions

• To check understanding

• To try out ideas and get feedback

• To practise making arguments

• To practise developing analyses

• To always have the right answer

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Seminars/Workshops

• To ask more specific questions

• To discuss feedback

• To review progress

• To set goals

• To plan for the future

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Tutorials

Getting the most out of your modules

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Attend all the sessions

Think about the purpose of each lecture

Make notes and review them later

Follow up on recommended reading

Be persistent – learning takes time

Prepare

Lecture

Make an effort to speak up … and to listen

Don’t be afraid of mistakes

Ask for help if you don’t understand

General

Seminars/Workshops

MOLE

• Resources

• Assessment

• Interaction beyond the classroom

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Training sessions:

Wed 23rd &

Thurs 24th Sept

in Hicks G25

You have been assigned a time-slot in your introductory packet

Jamie Lepiorz

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• Essays

• Exams

• Projects/posters

• Presentations

• Performance

• Online assessments

• Marked on the School marking scale

Assessment: a wide range!

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Assessment Officers

Not as scary as they sound

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Who are the level-one assessment officers?

Literature

Dr. Rachel Stenner (rachel.stenner@sheffield.ac.uk)

English Language and Linguistics and English Language & Literature

Dr. Gareth Walker (g.walker@sheffield.ac.uk)

Theatre

Dr. William McDonnell (w.g.mcdonnell@sheffield.ac.uk)

What do assessment officers do?

• Ensure the assessment process is rigorous, fair and transparent

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Ensuring assessment across

different modules is comparable

Ensuring good marking and

feedback practice is implemented

Liaising with external examiners who check

our processes and marking are fair

Arranging extensions and other forms of

concession.

Why might you need an extension?

• https://www.shef.ac.uk/english/current/late

• You should also let your personal tutor know of the circumstances affecting your work

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Bereavement Illness Medical

treatment

Personal trauma

Extenuating Circumstances

• If there are extenuating circumstances that affect your work, talk to your tutor!

• http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ssid/forms/circs

• Be prepared to provide evidence in support of your application

Plagiarism

• Turnitin anti-plagiarism software is used on assessed work.

• You must complete the School of English plagiarism quiz on MOLE.

• If in doubt, ask your personal tutor, seminar tutor or a member of the assessment team.

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Online assessment guide

https://www.shef.ac.uk/english/current/assessment

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Your Personal Tutor :

• A member of academic staff in your department

• (Personal Tutors for Dual Honours students are from your Home Department but the second department may also designate one).

• The first point of contact for any problem or issue which cannot be resolved by administrative staff or your course tutors

• difficulties with your studies

• personal difficulties that you are worried about or are impacting on your studies

• there to share good news!

• Can direct you towards the wide range of specialised help, such as careers advice, or student counselling, provided by the University and the Union of Students.

Support: Personal Tutors

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Your responsibilities

• Attend all meetings with your Personal Tutor and prepare for them by completing the induction task.

• The School will make arrangements for you to meet your Personal Tutor this week, and at least once during every following semester.

• Inform your personal tutor promptly of any difficulties you are experiencing that affect your studies.

• Don’t wait for your scheduled meeting but do contact your Personal Tutor as they will want to help you identify ways to help resolve the problem

NB: In all but exceptional circumstances any information you give to your Personal Tutor will be treated as confidential, if requested. All personal information held by departments will be handled in accordance with the University's Data Protection Policy and Procedures.

• Your personal tutor, meeting time, and location are available:

• In your Intro Week packet that you received in the Subject Area meetings (or possibly today)

• At the School’s induction website: http://www.shef.ac.uk/english/induction

• At the School of English Reception on Level 1

• All meetings will take place on Thursday and Friday EXCEPT:

• Rachel van Duyvenbode : 1-2pm Wednesday 23 September , Jessop West Seminar Room 01

Your Personal Tutor

University of Sheffield Library Services for English

Supporting your learning and helping you succeed : http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/library/services/new

How do I get subject specific help?

Clare Scott is the Faculty Librarian and Subject Specialist

for English

http://www.shef.ac.uk/library/liaison/arts

Key Subject Guide resources for English:

English Studies/Literature/Language and

Linguistics

Information Skills Resource for tutorials

Faculty of Arts Blog is here

Follow us on Twitter @LibrarianArts

https://twitter.com/LibrarianArts

What do I need my UCard for?

To enter & exit buildings – can’t get in without it

To print & photocopy

To add credit using value loaders or online

To borrow books

£5 charge to replace

Do not lend it to anyone else!

University Website - MUSE

From the My services menu you can:

use email & other Google Apps

access course materials (MOLE)

search Library resources via StarPlus – Library Catalogue

book a laptop or group study room

top up UCard with credit

get online help & support

MUSE= My University of Sheffield Environment Log in with your username & password

Finding and requesting material using StarPlus

StarPlus gives you 24/7 access to library services and resources from your desktop

find print & electronic resources

request books & see what you have on loan

find information on our Library web pages

use our subject guides and information skills tutorials

Information Literacy video

Where can I go to study?

There are 4 library sites, plus The Diamond due to open September 2015

All with:

networked pcs and wi-fi

printers and photocopiers

assistive software PCs

group and silent study spaces

Remember! Many other computer rooms on campus – check availability online

Open 24/7, 365 days a year

Silent & bookable group study spaces

Desktop pcs, wi-fi, laptop loans

Printers, scanners and copiers

Library & IT staff available

Café

Information Commons

Open 24/7, 365 days a year

Key text books in all subject areas

Self-service reservations 24/7

Creative Media space

Silent & bookable group study spaces

More info

The Diamond (Opening Sept 2015)

1,000 study spaces Dynamic on-demand loanable collection Core print reference collection More info

Other Library sites

Arts & Humanities, Science, Social Sciences:

Western Bank Library

Medicine, Dentistry, Health:

Health Sciences Library, Royal Hallamshire Hospital

Health Sciences Library, Northern General Hospital

Opening hours

How do I borrow a book?

Use our self service machines Need your UCard and PIN. Loan normally 1 week; 2 days for heavily

requested books Unlimited renewals unless book requested If the book you want is unavailable, request

it online and we’ll email you when it’s ready to collect. 24/7 self-service collection from the IC

You will receive regular reminder emails about the loans on your account

We don’t charge fines, but please consider others and bring books back promptly if asked, otherwise your account will be frozen and you won’t be able to borrow any more books

If the book you want is on loan USE

THE BLUE REQUEST BUTTON

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• Our Staff-Student Committee is a forum for the discussion of students’ views on courses and other matters.

• Things actually change – that’s why we win awards!

Student Support Representatives – Dr Fabienne Collignon (f.collignon@sheffield.ac.uk) and Dr Gabriel Ozon

(g.ozon@sheffield.ac.uk)

Staff-Student Committee – Get involved!

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Making your voice heard – Becoming a Course Rep

• Anyone can become a course rep!

• We stand for positive change in the department.

• Members of staff will always be on hand to help you out.

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• Student feedback on teaching

• Changes to programmes

• Departmental/school services (e.g. hand-in arrangements, office opening times, study facilities, personal tutoring)

• Communication with students

• Assessment

• The library, IT and learning resources

What do Course Reps report on?

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The English Society • Winner of best student

academic society in 2014-15, the English Society seems to be getting bigger and better every year!

o Socials

o Meet and Greet RIGHT NOW (until 4) in Bloo 88.

o Freshers Social Monday of Week 1, 7pm

o Volunteering

o Charity Events

o Activities

o Theatre

http://www.suengsoc.com/ Or find us on Facebook (suengsoc) or Twitter (@suengsoc)!

Become an ambassador

• Work for the School of English during Open Days

• As well as other events such as school/college visit days

• You get paid

• It’s great experience to put on your CV

• You’ll be emailed a survey in week 1 asking if you’re interested

• Let us know if you would like to help out– the more the merrier!

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* © The University of Sheffield

What is ThinkCreate?

1st - 5th February 2016

All first year Faculty of

Arts & Humanities

students

* © The University of Sheffield

Next steps

MOLE module: IPA 101

Project choice: Mid -October

Emails from ThinkCreate

Queries: Thinkcreate@sheffield.ac.uk

www.sheffield.ac.uk/faculty/arts-and-humanities/achieve-more

Social Media

• Facebook: www.facebook.com/UosSchoolOfEnglish • Twitter: @ShefEnglish • Blog: www.shef.ac.uk/english/blog

Powerpoint tip of the day

• For anyone interested, it actually turns out to be embarrassingly easy to change the color of links.

• On the design tab, select the ‘colors’ dropdown menu.

• Select ‘create new theme colors’

• …change the color assigned to hyperlinks.

• VOILA.

25/09/2015 © The University of Sheffield

25/09/2015 © The University of Sheffield