Congratulations--you've drafted your paper! What's next? This workshop overviews a technique of revising higher-order concerns, then looking at the finer details of your piece. You'll also learn more about common errors that can trip up even strong writers. 

This 50-minute session reviews the top 5 things most useful to know about academic writing. The rest of the session is dedicated to answering your burning questions (no matter how basic or complex) about academic writing and writing in the disciplines. You’ll take away some answers, including where to find more help when you need it!

Effective argumentation is a core requirement of many writing assignments across the disciplines. Yet students are often unsure how to write a clear and compelling academic argument. It isn’t the same as arguing with your partner or your parents! In this 50-minute session, learn the particular rules governing academic argument as well as tips for developing and defending a solid argument in your written assignments.

"Too wordy. Redundant. Be concise." If you've ever received these kinds of comments on your papers--or if you just want to take your style to the next level--this workshop is for you! Learn techniques you can use right away to help you pare your prose and write with greater clarity, succinctness, and power. 

Focusing on the period immediately before and during exams, this workshop will touch on preparation and then discuss time management during exams, as well as common types of questions:  multiple choice, problem solving, essay and short answer.

Do you want to learn how to succeed in your courses, but only have 50 minutes to spend in a workshop? Covering the basics of effective time management, note-taking in lectures, reading, and studying, this is the workshop for you!  

Are you juggling work, school and other responsibilities? Attend this workshop to build skills that will help you live by your priorities; it will be a good investment of your precious time.

Do you feel that you are not getting enough benefit from the time you invest in your readings?  This workshop will cover how to effectively learn from various types of readings (textbook, journal article, online source), with a variety of academic purposes in mind (test prep, paper writing, discussion).

Do you want to optimize the effectiveness of the time you devote to studying?  Come learn which study strategies are most strongly supported by research, and how to maximize your focus while studying. 

Do you drift off while reading and find that you don’t retain much? Or do you get distracted easily in lectures? You are spending valuable time on these activities so make the most of it by adopting strategies described in this workshop. 

Do you have midterms coming up, or finals for intersession courses?  Or did you get your midterms back and want to improve on your results?  This workshop will teach you which study strategies are shown by research to be the most effective, as well as how to manage your time when writing exams and deal with common types of questions:  multiple choice, problem solving, essay and short answer.

Academic English Grammar and Writing for Multilingual Learners is a co-curricular course offered by the Student Learning Commons (SLC) and has been carefully designed to help you succeed as a multilingual learner of English. 

The course combines grammar for academic purposes, critical thinking, and academic writing for university. The syllabus focuses on developing an appropriate academic voice to help you express yourself correctly and appropriately in academic writing as a member of the SFU academic community.  The course is not formally graded, but students will complete several reading, writing, and grammar tasks, all of which will be graded and used to provide personalized feedback.

 Open to undergraduate students only.

The required workbook is Grammar for Academic Purposes by Steve Marshall. Students have the option of purchasing the online version ($23.95) or the book ($36.00 at the bookstore).

Let's Talk! is a weekly workshop that gives students for whom English is an additional language an opportunity outside of class to improve their English conversation skills, learn strategies for academic success, and have fun meeting people.

Participants will develop their conversation and listening skills through a variety of topics, such as stereotypes, slang and idioms, social media, Canadian and global culture, presentation skills, pronunciation, and story-telling.