Don't miss this full-day academic success workshop for NEW undergraduate students. Whether you are coming from high school, transferring from college, or returning after some years away, you will get a head start on succeeding academically at university!

Come and learn how to effectively get ready to:

This 50 minute workshop offers you a chance to get a head start on what's expected for successful academic writing. Learn about resources to plan your assignment, create sound arguments, organize your ideas, edit your own writing more effectively--and find more help when you need it.

This 50 minute workshop offers a quick overview of strategies and skills for successful writing, with returning/ transfer/ mature students in mind.

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!

Have you been asked to write a critical analysis but aren't sure how to approach it? Each discipline has its own requirements, but some common strategies can help. This workshop begins with suggestions for effective reading and summarizing, then covers a range of analytical questions and general techniques to help you transition from summary to critical analysis.

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. 

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. 

Don't miss this full-day academic success workshop for NEW undergraduate students. Whether you are coming from high school, transferring from college, or returning after some years away, you will get a head start on succeeding academically at university!

Come and learn how to effectively get ready to:

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. 

Lectures are a relatively low effort way of keeping up with classes. Yet many students question their usefulness and even stop attending. Attend this workshop to learn how to maximize the effectiveness of your lecture attendance.

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 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!  

Would you like to use your time better? Effective time management is not about being the "perfect student" but is based on self-awareness of your priorities and habits. Attend this workshop to begin the process of self-awareness and move towards realistic scheduling.

Do you drift off while reading and don’t retain much? Or do you get distracted easily in lectures? You are spending valuable time on these activities so you might as well increase your effectiveness by adopting strategies described in this workshop. 

Is this your first term taking a university-level Quantitative class?  Or have you found out from previous experience that they are harder than you thought?  Either way, attend this workshop, developed by a college math instructor, to learn how to gain the deep understanding needed to solve even the trickiest exam problem.

Do you put off doing schoolwork because it stresses you out, only to find that putting it off has made it even more stressful? Or do you just have trouble tearing yourself away from activities you enjoy more than schoolwork? Either way, come learn some strategies to help you get down to work.

Professors and TAs often talk about the need to think critically, but few actually explain what critical thinking is or how to do it. We will go through what critical thinking is, and what questions to ask to promote critical thinking, right from the first time you read a piece.  Through activities and resources, you will gain insights that will help you build this crucial skill.

Do you know that public speaking is many people's number one fear? If you, too, feel anxiety having to do presentations, this workshop is for you. In this workshop, participants will experience practical exercises to promote relaxation and confidence in presentations. Participants will also be provided with some directed feedback on a mini-presentation (text provided). Finally, we will consider how we can "use" the nervous energy that can attend public speaking.

Whether your midterms are still coming up, or if you want to recover from disappointing midterm 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.

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.

Panicky about deadlines and upcoming exams? Or are you in avoidance mode now and the stress will hit you later? Either way, come learn how to deal with exams ... and with your own worst "crunch time" habits!

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.

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).