
Academic Success Workshops
Synchronous Sessions
These live, 75-minute, free sessions provide students with strategies and tools, hands-on activities, and opportunities to ask questions.
In-person delivery
In-person workshops are in classroom EL 1451B (in the Riddell Library and Learning Centre).
If you have a laptop or tablet, please bring it to the workshop. You can also request a free laptop rental from the Library.
Online delivery
Webinars use Google Meet. You will receive an email with the link to the meeting room on the morning of the webinar. You must register before 8 am on the day of the workshop to receive the link.
Please note: online offerings are not recorded.
Registration
Workshops can fill up quickly, so register early to avoid disappointment.
To register for a workshop, follow the same procedure you would use to register for a credit course at MRU:
- Log in to MyMRU and click on the "Register & Pay" tab
- Scroll down to Register, and click on "Registration Landing Page"
- Click on "add/drop/withdraw classes"
- Under "Search by Term," select "Winter 2022 CREDIT," and click "Submit"
- In the "Subject" field, select Student Learning Services, and click "Course Search"
- Click "View sections" to see all workshop sessions offered
- Select the session you want, and click "Register"
For more detailed instructions, see this handout on registering for courses.
Proof of Participation
Do you need to provide proof of participation to an instructor for a particular course? Fill out the Reflection & Participation Form after each workshop you attend. (The link is provided during the workshop.) Once you complete and submit the form, you will receive a copy of your responses via email. You can forward the email to your instructor.
Studying
Determined to stay on track when life gets busy? We'll introduce you to helpful concepts, strategies, and tools to maintain your motivation and improve your time management.
Date | Time | Location |
Monday, January 17 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |
Thursday, January 27 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Online |
Friday, February 4 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Online |
Wednesday, March 2 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Online |
Tuesday, March 8 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |
Maximize your study potential! We’ll discuss how the key strategies of retrieval practice, spaced repetition, and interleaving will help make your learning stick.
Date | Time | Location |
Wednesday, January 19 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Online |
Thursday, February 3 | 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. | Online |
Tuesday, March 1 | 4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. | Online |
Test writing is a skill that can be developed. In this workshop, we’ll discuss effective strategies and tips on what to do before, during, and after your tests.
Date | Time | Location |
Friday, February 11 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Online |
Wednesday, February 16 | 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. | Online |
Tuesday, March 15 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Online |
Math
Identify expectations for courses requiring math, and establish a solid study plan based on effective learning strategies to work towards those expectations. We’ll discuss and practice how to use concept summaries and annotation as math studying tools.
Date | Time | Location |
Thursday, January 20 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |
Wednesday, January 26 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Online |
Reading
Scholarly journal articles are essential sources for many research assignments. Understanding what they are and how they are organized can save you time. We’ll discuss how crucial it is to identify your specific purpose for reading a journal article since that will influence how you read it.
Date | Time | Location |
Friday, January 21 | 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. | Online |
Wednesday, February 2 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Online |
Thursday, February 17 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |
Do you find yourself reading a journal article and skipping over the sections with data and statistics? In this workshop, we will discuss the foundational concept of hypothesis testing and other common statistical vocabulary. We’ll then explore strategies to help you engage with journal articles containing quantitative content and empower you to begin thinking critically about statistical evidence.
Note: “Working With Journal Articles” provides a helpful foundation for this workshop.
Date | Time | Location |
Wednesday, February 9 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Online |
Tuesday, February 15 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Online |
Monday, February 28 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |
Writing
University courses feature a much larger array of writing assignments than high school classes. We’ll discuss how to better understand university writing, covering how to effectively understand the purpose of various assignment types, different kinds of thesis statements, and the major moves in an effective introduction.
Date | Time | Location |
Wednesday, January 19 | 4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. | Online |
Thursday, January 27 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |
Thursday, February 17 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Online |
It’s tempting to rush the planning stage, but making time for a few key steps can improve the quality of your paper. Learn how to get started on your assignment, use brainstorming to direct your research, and leverage outlining to shape your ideas and grow your draft.
Date | Time | Location |
Tuesday, January 18 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |
Wednesday, January 26 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |
Monday, February 7 | 4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. | Online |
Thursday, March 3 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |
Want to ensure your writing is focused and powerful? In this workshop, we’ll consider some “dos and don’ts” of thesis statements, identify the components of strong body paragraphs, and discuss how to effectively integrate information from sources to support your ideas.
Note: We recommend completing the "Planning Research Papers" workshop first.
Date | Time | Location |
Tuesday, February 1 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |
Monday, February 14 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Online |
Thursday, March 10 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Online |
All academic writers strive to create texts that flow smoothly. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to use reverse outlining to improve the logical flow of your ideas, and you’ll discover how different types of connectors contribute to smooth writing.
Date | Time | Location |
Thursday, February 10 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |
Tuesday, March 1 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Online |
Monday, March 7 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |
Paraphrasing is an essential skill for any academic writer. We will discuss when to quote and when to paraphrase, highlight the importance of fairly representing the work of others, differentiate between paraphrasing and patchwriting, and learn how to assess an effective paraphrase.
Date | Time | Location |
Monday, January 17 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Online |
Monday, January 24 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |
Wednesday, February 2 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |
Tuesday, February 8 | 4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. | Online |
Tuesday, February 15 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |
Monday, March 7 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Online |
Thursday, March 17 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |
Learn to spot and fix common grammatical errors (i.e., comma splices, fragments, and run-on sentences), and discover strategies to help you become a more confident editor of your own writing.
Date | Time | Location |
Monday, January 24 | 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. | Online |
Thursday, February 3 | 4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. | Online |
Friday, March 11 | 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. | Online |
Not offered Winter semester.
Book a one-on-one appointment with a Learning Strategist to learn how to avoid wordiness and make your writing clear and direct.
Referencing
APA style for referencing is used by many disciplines as a way to credit others’ work. In this workshop, we’ll help you grasp the basics of the rules outlined in APA’s 7th edition. We will practice citing sources in text and building accurate reference list entries.
Date | Time | Location |
Tuesday, January 18 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Online |
Tuesday, January 25 | 4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. | Online |
Monday, January 31 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |
Wednesday, February 16 | 4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. | Online |
Thursday, March 10 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |
Wednesday, March 16 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Online |
Want to take your APA referencing skills to the next level? Embark on an adventure that will take you to the depths of the sea and the limits of space as you work together in small groups to solve common referencing challenges in APA Style. This webinar is highly collaborative and interactive, and participants will be expected to participate in group work.
Note: Knowledge from “APA: An Introduction” is needed to participate in this webinar.
Date | Time | Location |
Thursday, February 10 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Online |
Wednesday, March 9 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |
Tuesday, March 15 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |
MLA citation style is the most commonly used format in the Humanities (e.g., English) to provide credit for others’ work. This workshop will help with the basics as outlined in MLA’s 9th edition, from the creation of in-text citations to the development of your Works Cited page.
Date | Time | Location |
Tuesday, January 25 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |
Monday, January 31 | 4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. | Online |
Wednesday, February 9 | 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Online |