Orientation Week courses help new students gain friends, study skills

New students need never face writer's block, daunting assignments or difficult research problems alone, thanks to a series of free workshops introduced at UQ.

Offered during Orientation Week (February 7-10) for the first time this year, the workshops will help students make new contacts and adjust to university life, learn writing strategies, gain internet research skills and prepare for assessment.

Coordinator Eril McNamara said the workshops were developed following research which showed that access to orientation and transition activities played a vital role in student satisfaction and adjustment to university life.

The research, for the DETYA-funded Transition from Secondary to Tertiary: A Performance Study, also showed that good ?social transition' (making friends and contacts) was important to new students' success.

"New students need to have friends - it's the most important thing. If you don't have friends you won't be happy, and if you're not happy you're not going to want to hang around university," Ms McNamara said. "Through these courses we want to provide a way for students to link up with other people and deal with the fears and expectations of being at university. Other students are not sure what's expected of them for learning at university, so we're offering workshops on how to research and write to achieve the calibre of academic writing required at UQ."

Ms McNamara said second-year students would talk about "real life situations" in all sessions, and each would be followed by a guided tour of the University. "I hope the students who participate will have made at least one successful contact each and will have a couple of new skills under their belts to help them in their transition to university," she said.

The Write Stuff teaches students how to deal with writer's block and how to put ideas into a clear and logical structure, and covers writing strategies for various disciplines.

Quantum Leap helps new students link up with other students and make a smooth transition into university life. Participants will talk about adjusting to their new environment, discuss their expectations and tour the campus.

You Can (usually) Get What You Want will help students find solutions to research problems. It will offer strategies on narrowing down topics, collecting information and integrating research into writing.

Tried And True gives tips on studying science at UQ. Participants will learn how to construct and use concept maps, understand set readings, summarise lectures, identify key concepts, make use of study groups, and how to prepare for assessment.

For more information contact Jan King (telephone 3365 1120 or email j.king@mailbox.uq.edu.au).