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Top Tips on essay writing and researching for your University degree

Aged 16+ with University or college in your sights? Will your chosen course feature essay writing and researching? If so, then this is the resource you've been waiting for!

We want to arm you with as much useful knowledge as possible before you embark on your Uni or College course. In this recording of our online workshop, you’ll hear from LOOK Mentors who have – and are – studying research and essay-based degrees. They share practical tech advice to help you prepare for reading, research and writing, and there’s a Q&A discussing accessibility support you can get to help you complete your course successfully.

Watch the workshop

Meet the mentors

Khadija

Khadija wears rose pink headscarf with sunglasses on her head. She also wears a pink cardigan and white top and is smiling at the camera.

Studying Politics and International Relations (BHoNS), Khadija has cone rod dystrophy and is severely sight impaired. She can’t read any print, and uses a screen reader. Khadija told us: ‘My subject was mainly reading based, with some tables and graphs. I used my own MacBook with VoiceOver, with my iPhone to access my readings and to write assignments.’ 

TOP ADVICE: Get Organised! Your time is your own, so manage it well. Get your core subject readings in accessible formats as early as possible and create a timetable to complete assignments for yourself. No one will care about your education as much as you do, so you need to be proactive.

Ibz

Grainy screenshot of mentor Ibz, wearing a white round-necked zip-up top. Some time and date text in white appears at the bottom of the image.

Ibz is in his final year of a Psychology degree. He has rod cone dystrophy, bilateral retina dystrophy and keratinous. He uses screen reading technology to access reading, lecture notes and essays.

TOP ADVICE – connect with your academic staff team, get to know yourself, your needs and the tools that enable your access so you can be clear in explaining and advocating for yourself with others.

Eve

Photo of Eve (standing on left) at a LOOK event. Eve wears a black leather jacket and blue wide-legged trousers. Her colleague sits to her right. There is a yellow LOOK pull-up banner behind them.

Eve is in her second year of a Sociology degree. She has low vision and some hearing loss due to Schmid-Fraccaro. Eve’s access tools include an iPad with magnification and Zoom tools for reading. She usies tech to adapt print size.

TOP ADVICE: enjoy who you are, be proud and vocal about yourself and don’t apologise for having additional needs. Be open with your peers and teaching staff.

Jack

Photo shows Jack wearing a smart suit with a lovely cricket ground behind him. A bright blue sky is overhead and stadium seating is in the background.

Jack completed a PGCE following his Sociology degree. He has Nystagmus & Ocularcutanious Albinism. Jack used magnification, Zoom tools and electronic texts for course reading.

TOP ADVICE: be smart with your reading, liaise with teaching staff about the Core texts and concentrate on using time to read the necessary texts as reading is far more time consuming for learners with VI needs.

Meet your host

Elin Williams

Elin sits at a desk with a silver lap top in front of her. She wears a beautiful sating green shirt and black trousers. She's smiling at the camera.

Elin Williams is LOOK’s Volunteer Development Coordinator, and an alumnus of the Change100 internship – a programme of paid summer work placements, professional development and mentoring for disabled university students and recent graduates.
‘Through Change 100 I undertook a paid summer placement at the Royal College of Radiologists within their Conference and Programmes team, supporting the organisation of their annual national conference. This was my first paid role that really took me out of my comfort zone, involving relocating and working in an area I’d never considered before. It was an invaluable learning experience and I credit the Change 100 internship with directly leading to the volunteering and employment opportunities I’ve had since then.’

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