Pre-enrolment checklist

Before you enrol for your course, consider some of the skills you will need for effective study. The following checklist is designed to help you identify the skills you need, as well as advise you on how you can develop or brush up on any of them.

Once you have enrolled with Birkbeck, you can sign up to one of our study skills days.

English language skills

• Are you worried about your speaking, reading or writing skills in English?
• Enrol on one of our academic English courses
• Enrol on the free Open University course: am I ready to study in English?

Reading effectively

• Can you skim read for an overall view of the text and scan for specifics?
• Check our reading and note-taking learning support
• Do you have ways of taking useful notes?
• Check our reading and note-taking learning support
• Can you critically evaluate reading?
• Check our reading and note-taking learning support
• Do you have ways of dealing with new vocabulary?
• Check our online resources for advice on vocabulary

Thinking about things critically

• Can you distinguish between fact and opinion?
• Check our online resources on critical thinking
• Can you draw conclusions based on evidence?
• Check our online resources on critical thinking
• Can you account for different points of view and detect bias?
• Check our online resources on critical thinking

Writing for maximum impact

• Can you use correct grammar?
• Enrol on one of our academic English courses
• Do you know how to make an outline of what you are going to write?
• Worried about writing an essay? Check out our online resources
• Can you write in clear sentences and paragraphs?
• Check our online resources on writing skills
• Do you know how to put your ideas in logical order?
• Check our online resources on writing skills
• Online resources on essay writing

Finding information

• Do you know how to use a library?
• Learn how to use a library
• Can you use a search engine effectively?
• Learn how to search the internet effectively

Using computers

• Can you use email?
• Once you have enrolled on a course, we can help you develop the computing and IT skills you need to produce work of academic standard
• Can you use Microsoft Word?
• Once you have enrolled on a course, we can help you develop the computing and IT skills you need to produce work of academic standard
• Can you type a few lines of text, understand paragraphs?
• Something you can't do? Contact our study skills support team for advice and guidance.
• Do you know how to use styles and good paragraph formatting?
• Once you have enrolled on a course, we can help you develop the computing and IT skills you need to produce work of academic standard
• Can you insert graphics into a document?
• Once you have enrolled on a course, we can help you develop the computing and IT skills you need to produce work of academic standard
• Do you know how to use headers, footers, endnotes and footnotes?
• Once you have enrolled on a course, we can help you develop the computing and IT skills you need to produce work of academic standard
• Do you know how to create tables?
• Once you have enrolled on a course, we can help you develop the computing and IT skills you need to produce work of academic standard

Expressing yourself effectively in public

• Can you use strategies to engage and influence your audience?
• Visit our website to get help with presentations
• Can you express agreement and disagreement while considering other points of view?
• Once you have enrolled on a course, we can help you with your presentation skills: get help with presentations
• Do you know how to summarise a discussion?
• Check our online resources for help
• Do you understand how to structure an argument properly for presentations?
• You can find help and advice on our web site
• Do you know how to use PowerPoint to tell your story effectively?
• Once you have enrolled on a course, we can help you develop the computing and IT skills you need to produce work of academic standard