study skills

March Into Success: Workshops to Enhance Your Academic Journey!

Whether you’re looking to improve your research skills, boost your study strategies, or gain essential academic writing tools, the Library and Student Learning Centre are offering a range of free workshops this March to help you succeed. Below is a sneak peek into the fantastic workshops available to all AC students throughout the month. Make sure to mark your calendar and take full advantage of these opportunities by signing up for a session.

March 2025 Workshop Schedule: Empower Your Learning

1. On Campus: Cite Right! APA Bootcamp

  • When: March 6, 9:00 AM (Room C263)
  • Where: Library Learning Lab
  • Why Attend: Whether you’re new to APA citation style or need a refresher, this workshop will provide the tools to make citing sources a breeze. Get hands-on experience with citation formatting and learn tips and tricks to avoid common errors.

2. On Campus: Searching with Page 1+: Mastering Library Searches

  • When: March 6, 2:00 PM (Room C263)
  • Where: Library Learning Lab
  • Why Attend: Dive into the powerful features of the Algonquin College Library’s search tools. Learn how to navigate Page 1+ effectively to find the resources you need for research. This workshop is essential for mastering advanced search strategies and maximizing your research efficiency.

3. Online: Jumpstart Your Paper: Strategies for Effective Research

  • When: March 7, 10:00 AM
  • Where: Online (via Zoom)
  • Why Attend: Starting a research paper can be overwhelming, but with the right strategies, you can set yourself up for success. Learn how to plan your research, organize your ideas, and streamline your writing process.

4. Online: AI at AC: A Beginner’s Guide to Generative AI

  • When: March 11, 2:00 PM
  • Where: Online (via Zoom)
  • Why Attend: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing how we learn, work, and create. This workshop will introduce you to the basics of generative AI, exploring how it can assist with research and writing.

5. Online: Building a Strong Foundation: Tips for Conducting Literature Reviews

  • When: March 12, 12:00 PM
  • Where: Online (via Zoom)
  • Why Attend: The literature review is a cornerstone of academic writing. Learn how to search for, evaluate, and organize sources to build a solid foundation for your research project.

6. Study Skills: Getting Started & Avoiding Procrastination

  • When: March 13, 3:00 PM
  • Where: Online (via Zoom)
  • Why Attend: Procrastination can be a major obstacle to academic success. This workshop will provide strategies to help you stay on track and start your projects with confidence. Get advice on goal setting, time management, and staying motivated.

7. Study Skills: Pay Attention to This! – Finding Your Focus

  • When: March 14, 11:00 AM
  • Where: Online (via Zoom)
  • Why Attend: Struggling to concentrate? This session will help you build the skills to improve your focus, manage distractions, and increase productivity.

8. Study Skills: Note Taking Strategies – Make it Stick

  • When: March 14, 1:00 PM
  • Where: Online (via Zoom)
  • Why Attend: Effective note-taking is key to retaining information. Learn techniques that will make your notes more organized, impactful, and easier to review later.

9. Online: Finding Peer-Reviewed Articles: The Key to Research Success

  • When: March 17, 2:00 PM
  • Where: Online (via Zoom)
  • Why Attend: Peer-reviewed articles are critical in academic research. This workshop will teach you how to locate and evaluate peer-reviewed journal articles to elevate the quality of your work.

10. Study Skills: Time Management – Rock the Clock

  • When: March 18, 1:00 PM
  • Where: Online (via Zoom)
  • Why Attend: Time management is an essential skill for academic and personal success. This session will help you create effective schedules, prioritize tasks, and avoid burnout.

11. Online: Paraphrase Like a Pro: Essential Skills for Academic Writing

  • When: March 19, 1:00 PM
  • Where: Online (via Zoom)
  • Why Attend: Paraphrasing is crucial in academic writing to avoid plagiarism and demonstrate your understanding. Learn how to paraphrase correctly and incorporate ideas from other sources into your own writing seamlessly.

12. Online: Avoiding Cut and Paste Plagiarism

  • When: March 21, 10:00 AM
  • Where: Online (via Zoom)
  • Why Attend: Avoiding plagiarism is essential for academic integrity. This workshop will walk you through how to avoid common pitfalls and properly attribute sources in your work.

13. Online: Understanding Plagiarism: Protect Your Academic Integrity

  • When: March 24, 2:00 PM
  • Where: Online (via Zoom)
  • Why Attend: Plagiarism can have serious consequences. This workshop will help you understand what constitutes plagiarism and how to safeguard your academic integrity.

14. Study Skills: Stress Management

  • When: March 28, 2:00 PM
  • Where: Online (via Zoom)
  • Why Attend: Managing stress is crucial during busy academic periods. Learn techniques to help you stay calm and focused, even when facing deadlines and exams.

15. Online: Presenting Skills

  • When: March 28, 12:00 PM
  • Where: Online (via Zoom)
  • Why Attend: Public speaking can be daunting, but with the right techniques, you can make a strong impact. This session will cover the essentials of creating engaging presentations and communicating effectively with your audience.

How to Register

To register for any of the workshops listed above, simply visit the Workshops Schedule. Don’t wait—these workshops are the perfect way to boost your academic performance and build essential skills for success.

Take advantage of these free resources and set yourself up for success this semester!

By attending these workshops, you’ll gain the tools, confidence, and strategies needed to excel in your studies at Algonquin College. Best of luck, and we hope to see you there!

Workshops to Help You Succeed!

Have you ever wished someone could show you how to conduct research, correctly craft citations, write an engaging paper, or even make studying less stressful and more effective, you’re in luck!

The Library, Student Learning Centre, and Student Support Services offer a variety of skill-building workshops to help support your success. These sessions are available to all Algonquin College students and are free to attend!

Some featured workshops for April include:

  • Cite Right! APA Bootcamp: This workshop covers how to use the APA citation style for academic purposes. It will familiarize you with how to use in-text citations within the body of the paper and the associated APA rules relating to quotes, paraphrases, and multiple author names. It also covers how to format a Reference List according to APA style rules.
  • Creating Meaningful Connections – Building Healthy Friendships and Relationships: Having close friendships and relationships is seen as one way to improve mental and physical well being but creating and maintaining relationships is tough. Join us for this session to learn about the benefits of creating meaningful connections and start to learn some basics on how to create them and measure for yourself if they are healthy relationships.
  • Searching the Library with Page 1+: Meet Page 1+ – it’s a lot like Google, but instead of searching the web, it searches the library’s online and in-house collection! This workshop will introduce you to Page 1+ and show you how it can be used for your assignments and projects. Learn how to manage your account, save your searches, track your sources, and more.
  • Study Skills: Exam Prep: This workshop will help you to plan out your time in the weeks leading up to exams so that you have enough time to study each subject. It will also introduce the “Stoplight Study Technique” to help you determine what material you need to cover. Other strategies will include study techniques for particular types of exam questions and memory tools that can improve your exam results.

Please click here to view the complete monthly schedule of workshops.

Woman smiles while looking at laptop and writing.

Techniques to Ace Your Tests and Excel at Exams!

A lot of students start stressing about exams early on. It’s totally normal to feel nervous about your performance or to buckle a bit from the pressure of passing your upcoming evaluations. We believe the best way to succeed at studying is to start early, start with what you know the least, and to take care of yourself both mentally and physically.

Deciding What to Study

Before you begin studying, it’s essential that you figure out what you should be studying.

  • Pay attention: Your instructor may give clues or instructions about what material you should focus on.
  • Start with the hard stuff: Start with the concepts you are having the most difficulty grasping, as these will likely take up more of your time. Use the Stoplight Technique to learn how to prioritize your material.
  • Check your learning objectives: Look at the learning objectives for your class and assigned readings to gain an idea of what to focus on.

Knowing How to Study

Save yourself time and effort by understanding how to study successfully and more efficiently.

  • Avoid distractions: Put away your phone or turn it off. Remove distractions and find an environment that works with you and not against your concentration.
  • Have a plan for yourself: Plan study time that works around your schedule to avoid cramming. Take this quiz to identify your learning styles and determine if you are a visual, auditory or kinesthetic learner.
  • Be realistic: Procrastinating is not the answer; setting unrealistic expectations and leaving things to the last minute can leave you in a tough spot when you are stuck with the reality of what you need to do versus how much time it will take to do it effectively.
  • Remember your goals: Set studying goals; decide what you want to cover day by day and try to relate your subjects of study to real-world situations.

Memorizing and Understanding Concepts

You will cover a lot of material over the course of a semester and it can be hard to remember everything during a test or exam. Follow these strategies for memorizing and understanding concepts:

  • Understand the concepts: Make sure you fully understand the concepts before attempting to memorize them.
  • Create color-coded flashcards: Visuals can help with memorization; making flashcards in different colors lets you break down subjects and themes.
  • Use mnemonic devices: Using memory devices such as visualization, acronyms, acrostics and rhymes.
  • Reciting and repetition: Reading information out loud and repeating material over and over again can help you to remember it.

Manage Your Stress

The Stress Management module covers topics such as:

  • Coping with Stress through the use of breathing techniques which will help you to persevere in those moments of anxiety and worry.
  • Changing your Perception of Stress by practicing Mindfulness (the act of living in the present) you can learn to focus on the here and now.
  • Problem Solving to Manage Stress Don’t get overwhelmed by a problem, find the best way to tackle it with practical strategies that can be applied to real world scenarios.

Use these bonus tips to help stay calm and composed when feeling stressed:

  • Breathe.
     Calming breaths from the belly can help calm the feeling of anxiety.
  • Think about the present moment.
     Avoid getting too caught up in thinking of the past or the future.
  • Think of solutions.
     Dealing with practical problems, such as assignment overload, can help with emotional problems such as anxiety.
  • Ask for help.
     Asking for help when you need it is important and useful when trying to solve problems.

LinkedIn Learning Playlist

This Study Skills playlist includes online courses and videos that can help you improve your study skills, including time management, stress management, effective studying, presentations, and more.

Essential Study Skills Guide

The Essentials Study Skills Guide offers a variety of supportive modules that cover topics to help you ace your assessments:

  • Time Management: Learn to manage your time more effectively.
  • Studying & Test-Taking: Learn how to study more effectively, and to be more successful when you take tests or exams.
  • Reading & Note-taking: Explains strategies for taking notes in class and for reading your textbook.
  • Stress Management: This unit can help you learn to cope with stress, be more mindful, and problem solve to manage your stress.
  • Sleep: Whether you’re hoping to get more sleep or better sleep, this module will help you to finally get some rest!
  • Resilience: This module will teach you strategies to improve your resilience, or ability to recover after setbacks.

Say Yes to Less Stress

School. Work. Social life. Juggling all of our responsibilities and commitments can sometimes be overwhelming. That’s why we we want to help you get through the rest of the semester in the healthiest and most positive way possible! Keep reading to discover AC services, strategies, tips, and techniques to support your mental health and wellbeing.

Managing Stress

Sign up for an upcoming Stress Management Workshop. These sessions are led by an Algonquin College counsellor and will help you learn more about practical strategies to help with stress management so that you can better focus on your learning!

*This is an online event. Event URL will be sent via registration email.

  • Thursday, March 16, 2023 / 11:00am – 12:00pm
  • Wednesday, March 29, 2023 / 3:00pm – 4:00pm

For more self-guided stress management strategies, we recommend exploring the Essential Study Skills Guide. Here you will find modules covering:

  • How to cope with stress
  • Changing your perception of stress
  • Problem solving to manage stress

The Learning Portal

The Well-being hub was designed to help develop strategies to improve your overall state of happiness and health. Complete the Well-being Assessment to determine the areas of wellness where you are thriving and the ones that may need greater attention or explore these eight modules to find tips and techniques for improving wellness in different areas of your life:

Finding Support

You don’t have to do it alone! If you find yourself struggling or feeling overwhelmed by stress, we encourage you to reach out and connect with the services and resources available to help.