Take your studies to the next level, by enrolling on one or more of the free courses on the Academic English Programme (AEP). If you are a fee-paying international or EU student at Reading, you can take any of our courses to help you get the most from your degree.
"I already have recommended other students. These courses were probably the most valuable I took in my entire time at UoR."
MSc student, Chemistry, Food & Pharmacy.
Asynchronous courses
AEP's asynchronous online courses are designed for independent learning and contain a mix of short video input and guided independent tasks, which you can work through at your own pace. Teachers will be available to answer your questions via weekly live slots. However, if you cannot attend these live sessions, do not worry - there will also be regularly monitored Discussion Forums where you can ask questions.
Eligibility:
These courses are open to all international/EU University of Reading students studying at campuses in the UK and beyond (e.g. Malaysia and South Africa).
Enrolment:
Follow our self-enrolment instructions for each of the course descriptions. In Autumn term 2022, the Core Academic Writing Skills and Essays: Criticality, Argument, Structure courses will start the week beginning 10th October; the Academic Grammar and Presentation Skills courses will start the week beginning 24th October. We recommend you self-enrol before the start of the course, but it is possible to enrol at any time during the term.
Academic Grammar
Learn and practise a variety of grammatical structures and improve the accuracy, clarity and style of your writing. This five-week course covers crucial aspects of academic grammar including verb tenses, sentence structure and flow, relative clauses, modality, complex noun phrase formation and accurate article and preposition use.
To enrol for the Academic Grammar course starting 24th October, sign into Blackboard then click on this link and follow the self-enrol instructions.
The course was beyond my expectation. It was very well structured and organised … and I think it should be compulsory to every international student in the first year (preferably in the first term)
Law student, Summer 2020
Core Academic Writing Skills
Master the key elements of effective written academic communication. This six-week course develops your skills and language to effectively incorporate sources (by summarising, paraphrasing, and synthesising), write cohesive and coherent texts, respond critically, and employ a range of phraseological patterns and sentence structures.
To enrol for the Core Academic Writing Skills course starting 10th October, sign into Blackboard then click on this link and follow the self-enrol instructions.
I have learnt how to write logically and coherently.
Literature & Languages student, Autumn 2019
Essays: Criticality, Argument and Structure
Better understand what is expected in the most common written assignment genre at university, the essay. This six-week course demonstrates what "having a clear voice" and "being critical" mean within this written genre. You are also provided with vital tools for developing an effective argument and coherent overall structure.
To enrol for the Essays: Criticality, Argument and Structure course starting 10th October, sign into Blackboard then click on this link and follow the self-enrol instructions.
It helped me structure arguments and provide logical and evidence based reasoning.
Economics Student, Summer 2020
I attended the Essay programme about critical thinking and structure and I keep receiving compliments from my lecturers about my clear and well-formatted structure.
Law student, 2018
Dissertation and Thesis Writing
Develop the understanding and skills to write about your research clearly, effectively and appropriately. Each lesson of this six-week course will involve analysis of extracts from successful research writing texts. You will explore the organisational patterns and linguistic features distinct to each section of the text.
This course will run again in Spring 2023.
As the sessions progressed, I was no longer anxious or worried about how to begin my dissertation.
Agriculture, Policy and Development Student, Spring 2020
Presentation Skills
Improve the confidence and quality of your academic presentations (for both online and face-to-face delivery). This course covers all aspects of academic presentation planning and delivery, including key language and pronunciation. This is a six-week course - there are three weeks of input followed by three weeks in which students can deliver short presentations and receive feedback.
To enrol for the Presentation Skills course starting 24th October, sign into Blackboard then click on this link and follow the self-enrol instructions.
This course is very important and helpful for overseas students who have a weakness in how to present their academic work effectively - the course intensively addresses this problem.
Biological Sciences student, Spring 2020