Interested in events like On Track? Skills at Library put on various workshops and events throughout the year to showcase the range of support and development opportunities available to students across the University. Events take place across all three campuses, in-person as well as online, so there’s something for everyone!
Writing your Master's dissertation? Want to know how to find literature or data, manage your references, structure and write your dissertation effectively, and more? Join us for a programme of free workshops that will help boost your skills!
On Track Southend offers PGT students support in researching and writing a Master's dissertation and prepare for your career beyond University. This year On Track will be running at Southend for 3 days in May. Workshops are delivered by staff from a range of areas, including the Library, Skills for Success, IT Services, and Careers.
Sessions On Track Southend 2023 will be held online and in-person between Wednesday 17 May, and Friday 19th May. You will need access to Zoom to attend online sessions. Explore the programme using the guide below. You can sign up to as many workshops as you like!
Workshops will be delivered by staff from a range of areas, including the Library, Skills for Success, IT Services and Careers.
See below for details about the programme.
Visit our Workshops at Library calendar to view the complete 2023 On Track programme or book a session. You can also see a list of upcoming sessions below.
Harvard Referencing Made Easy- 1:00pm-2:00pm, TF.0.35 and Online
How to reference properly is something that causes students a lot of stress – but it doesn’t need to be difficult. This session will introduce you to Harvard referencing and why it is important when writing your assignments. You will also learn what to reference, how to construct your references, and where to go for help and support.
How to use artificial intelligence tools positively and ethically - 2:00pm - 3:00pm, Online
With the rise of a new generation of powerful AI tools, it can be difficult to know what these tools can and cannot be used for. This session highlights and demonstrates a range of AI-powered tools and ways you can make the most of them in your academic work without committing an academic offense.
Job Interviews Explained - 12:00pm - 1:00pm, TF.0.35
Preparing for an interview? Join us to explore different interview formats and typical questions, in this interactive workshop.
Together, we’ll explore the different methods that employers use to select candidates, and examine some of the typical questions that you may face, and how best to answer them.
You can also use this session to prepare for any situation where you need to talk about yourself, such as post grad study interviews, networking conversations or video CVs.
Endnote - For Referencing- 1:00pm - 2:00pm, IT Lab 1 (GB.3.53)
EndNote will save you valuable time by removing the manual labour associated with creating and formatting references. You can now access the fully-featured desktop software and manage your EndNote library from multiple computers including your personal device.
This training is delivered on a Windows device using the latest version of the desktop software.
Getting EndNote: Staff and Students of the University of Essex have free access to the software. Visit the Software Hub (login with your Essex credentials) and search for EndNote then follow the instructions (Mac users will be re-directed to a downloads page). If it’s your first time using the Software Hub, visit our web page for instructions on how to use
Word: to help build your thesis - 2pm-4pm, IT Lab 1 (GB.3.53)
This course will explain how the automatic functions in Word can take the manual labour out of building your thesis, reducing errors and saving precious time when deadlines are approaching.
Structuring your dissertation - 11:00am-12:00pm, Online
In this interactive workshop we will explore and discuss different potential structures for your dissertation and consider the factors which need to be taken into account when planning a dissertation.
Literature searching - 1:00pm- 2:00pm, IT Lab 1 (GB.3.53) and Online
This session will focus on potential resources for a comprehensive literature review across the range of sources, and how to structure searches to achieve best results:
Writing introductions and conclusions for your dissertation - 2:00pm- 3:00pm, Online
In this interactive workshop we will discuss what to include – and not include – in introductions and conclusions, and how to write them logically and effectively.
