With the first week of school finally ending, students can now look forward to attending various workshops that will help them improve their academic endeavours. Listed below are the various academic workshops that BU offers. While these workshops aim to help students if more assistance is required feel free to reach out to the workshops coordinators and helpers to seek further help.
Writing Skills Workshops
Writing skills workshops aim to help students improve their essay writing, their grammatical knowledge and their citation skills. These Workshops are open to all BU students and no Pre-registration is necessary.
The following schedules and descriptions detailing both the writing skills workshops and the math skills workshops come from the BU website.
Essay Basics
Monday September 9, 1:40-2:30
Tuesday September 10, 12:40-1:30
Wednesday September 18, 9:30-10:20
Thursday September 26, 10:10-11:00
Monday October 7, 10:40-11:30
Tuesday October 22, 12:40-1:30
After this workshop, students should be able to identify the basic parts of the essay (introduction, body, conclusion) and describe how they function. Along with the basic structure this workshop will cover the following: purpose of the essay, selecting and narrowing a topic, levels of English and use of scholarly language, formulating a thesis statement (brief introduction), evidence and how is it used, and how to access additional resources both on campus and online.
Grammar Basics
Wednesday October 2, 12:40-1:30
Thursday October 10, 9:00-9:50
Wednesday October 23, 1:40-2:30
Tuesday October 29, 12:40-1:30
After this workshop, students should be aware of the most common grammar errors that students make and have some strategies for how to address these errors. The areas covered will include, but are not limited to comma splice errors, pronouns and agreement, active vs passive voice, proper use of apostrophe, and accessing grammar resources.
Citation Basics (APA, MLA, and Chicago)
Monday September 23, 1:40-2:30
Tuesday October 1, 1:40-2:30
Wednesday October 9, 10:40-11:30
Thursday October 24, 11:40-12:30
Following this workshop, students should demonstrate a basic knowledge of the three most common citation styles used at BU: APA, MLA, and Chicago. Students will see examples of all three styles including in-text citations and Reference, Works Cited, and Bibliography pages. The instructor will highlight online resources and discuss the link between proper citations and academic honesty. We will discuss the strengths and limitations of citation generators, such as EasyBib, RefWorks, and others.
Thesis Statement Basics
Thursday September 19, 10:10-11:00
Wednesday September 25, 11:40-12:30
Monday September 30, 9:30-10:20
Tuesday October 8, 11:40-12:30
This workshop will cover basic aspects of thesis construction, placement, and development. Students will be encouraged to evaluate sample thesis statements to determine their potential effectiveness
Math Skills Workshops
During the first five weeks of each term we offer a series of math Skills workshops targeted to basic mathematical concepts whose knowledge is useful in many first-year courses. Organized on a walk-in basis, these workshops are repeated twice a week to accommodate various schedules. Students who are unable to attend a scheduled workshop are encouraged to make an individual appointment to review the information presented in the workshop.
Walk-in Math Assistance
Walk-in math assistance is available during the fall and winter term (up to the last day of classes) through Math Peer Tutors hired by the Math Department, during times posted on the above link, or on the bulletin board outside the Academic Skills Centre. Students may make use of walk-in assistance in addition to scheduled appointments. Walk-ins should be used for quick questions or clarification. It is advisable that students seeking assistance bring class notes and material with them.
Math Peer Tutor Walk-In Schedule – Fall 2019 – TBA
Individual and Group Appointments
Students are welcome to make appointments for individual or small group assistance with the Math Skills Specialist. Appointments are half hour in length, and students are restricted to no more than two (2) appointments per week and no more than one (1) appointment on any given day. Exceptions to these rules may be accommodated if possible, depending on availability of spaces. It is suggested that students come to the appointments with their class notes and materials, and any special instructions provided by professors
1. Logarithms and their applications in Chemistry
Thursday, September 5 1:40-3:30pm Room 4-34 BB Friday, September 6 1:40-3:30pm Room 4-34 BB
2. Fractions. Rational Expressions. Rational Equations
Tuesday, September 3 12:40-1:30 pm Room 1-53 BB
3. Mean, Median, Mode and Standard Deviation
Tuesday, September 10 12:40-1:30 pm Room 1-53 BB
4. Logarithms. Logarithmic Expressions. Logarithmic Equations
Tuesday, September 17 12:40-1:30 pm Room 1-53 BB
5. Calculus I
Tuesday, September 24 12:40-1:30 pm Room 1-53 BB
As students can see BU offers a lot of workshops during a lot of different times and days. Help is always there if you need it so feel free to drop by and ask for it.