Are access courses the right method?

nohaynada

for writing assignments? Do they teach how to write, assess, evaluate, analysis etc the same way you do at uni?

Reply 1

lillith

I bloody well hope so, otherwise I will have to re-learn everything I have spent the last 10 months learning!

Reply 2

cambio wechsel

They exist for the express purpose of preparing people for the academic demands of university, so...

Reply 3

jammy4041

On my history course, there were numerous mature students who used access courses to get on to the degree programme who reached the same conclusion; writing for a degree is different to the ways in which they have used on their access course. This is in more terms of writing style though, because the skills that they have learned while on the access course (the analysis, evaluation) generally transfer over quite well.

I'd also point out that the method of referencing could be completely different to what you have done, but the first year of your degree is to get everybody to the same standard, however they progressed to university

There's no real 'right' or 'wrong' method to get into university. Most would have done A-Levels within the past couple of years, but on any degree course there will be people from all walks of life, mature students or otherwise.

Reply 4

rocket0612

Original post by nohaynada

for writing assignments? Do they teach how to write, assess, evaluate, analysis etc the same way you do at uni?

Neither an access course or a degree teach you to assess or evaluate, they give u the info only and the rest is up to you.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 5

nohaynada

Original post by rocket0612

Neither an access course or a degree teach you to assess or evaluate, they give u the info only and the rest is up to you.

Posted from TSR Mobile

What I meant was, I've been getting really good feedback from my tutors telling me that I write really well and that I think independently, analyse, evaluate, assess etc really well too. But I'm worried that my quality of work won't transfer over to University level because they expect a different kind of essay writing, it doesn't help that I have anxiety.

Reply 6

Schadenfreude65

Original post by rocket0612

Neither an access course or a degree teach you to assess or evaluate, they give u the info only and the rest is up to you.

Posted from TSR Mobile

This isn't my experience of Access. In Study Skills we spent quite a bit of time on developing these skills.

Nohaynada, try not to fret about it: trust your tutors. I'm sure they're right.

Reply 7

UniofReading

Official Rep

Original post by nohaynada

for writing assignments? Do they teach how to write, assess, evaluate, analysis etc the same way you do at uni?

**Phil, the University of Reading representative, is out of the office this week so our student ambassadors Anja and Amy are using this account to reply to threads**

Hi!
My name is Amy and I'm a second year speech and language therapy student. I'm also a mature student (29) and came to Uni via an access course having left education after my GCSEs 12 years previously.
The course I did was Health and social care. It was really good preparation for university. We covered a wide range of subjects and were assessed in a variety of ways similar to uni such as presentations, coursework, essays and written exams. We were taught how to construct essays, revision skills and how to cite sources used in assignments.
However, when you come to uni there is still loads of study support that is open to anyone - such as study skills that include maths help for example and essay writing skills. Also, each department has their own librarian who can point you in the right direction when accessing the right course material.
Overall personally, I found that the access course prepared me well for my degree and I didn't feel out of my depth when I started my degree.
Feel free to ask me anything else about my experiences!
Amy :u: