Supporting students to achieve their potential
Welcome to the Academic Writing Centre at IT Sligo.
The centre offers free advice and support on all aspects of academic writing to all students of IT Sligo, whether you are studying online or on campus. The centre also offers advice and support to staff who are writing for publication, writing reports or writing dissertations.
The centre is located in room A2054, in the quiet zone on the top floor of the Yeats Library. In this dedicated space students can avail of 1:1 appointments with experienced writing tutors in a friendly and informal atmosphere.
1:1 appointments can also be held live online in the tutor’s online meeting room. This interactive space allows for live discussion between the tutor and student, while document and screen sharing features enable resources to be shared and written feedback to be provided.
How we can help
We are not an editing or proof-reading service but we can support you in acquiring the skills to complete your assignments:
- Getting started with an assignment: planning, outline & structure
- The writing process: generating ideas, drafting, revising & editing
- Critical reading and effective note-taking
- Developing an argument: critical reading, thinking and writing
- Reflective writing, report writing & writing for a literature review
- Writing for a dissertation
- Successful writing in exams
- Avoiding plagiarism
- Grammar, punctuation and spelling
Booking an appointment
In order to accommodate our on-campus online, part-time and international students, we offer a range of 40 minutes appointment times from Monday-Friday.
1:1 or small group appointments can be booked online through our Moodle page. Click here to book an appointment with a tutor
1:1 appointments are extremely popular and book up quickly: get in touch early in the semester if you think you could benefit from writing support
Online Supports
If you have questions around academic writing, make our Moodle page your first port of call; Login to Moodle and find the Academic Writing Centre Page under your My Courses tab.
Services & Resources on Moodle:
- Access a range of online writing guides, recorded tutorials and resources covering key aspects of academic writing
- Upload a writing query along with any supporting draft work
- Book face to face or online appointments with a tutor
- Attend your online appointment in the tutor’s online meeting room
Online academic writing programme: improve your writing skills in your own time:
This free, self directed and interactive programme is designed to develop the academic writing skills of all students at IT Sligo. Whether you are new or returning to writing at 3rd level or want to improve your writing skills, this programme will be relevant for you. Each unit in the programme addresses a key topic in academic writing using a range of examples, activities, quizzes and downloadable resources to support the content:
- Unit 1: Introduction to Academic Writing
- Unit 2: Effective reading and note taking
- Unit 3: Avoiding plagiarism, citation, referencing and paraphrasing
- Unit 4: Writing an assignment: a step by step approach
- Unit 5: Critical analysis and critical writing
- Unit 6: Report Writing
- Unit 7: Grammar, punctuation and spelling
The programme can be accessed through the Academic Writing Badge page on Moodle
Staff Support
Staff who are engaged in academic writing are welcome to avail of all the services above. Whether you are writing for publication, writing a report or writing a dissertation, the centre can advise and support you at an appropriate level. If you would like to discuss techniques for meeting journal expectations, developing your writing style or any other academic writing issue, please contact John O’Callaghan; ocallaghan.john@nullitsligo.ie
Contact us
Email the centre directly with any general queries or if you want to find out more about how the centre can help you: writing@nullitsligo.ie
Tutor Contact:
Aoife Murray
Academic Writing Tutor
Email: murray.aoife@nullitsligo.ie
Phone: 071 9305358
Dr John O’Callaghan
Academic Writing Tutor
Email: ocallaghan.john@nullitsligo.ie
Phone: 071 9305358