Module Information

• To develop students' understanding and appreciation of Geography as a contemporary academic discipline and its historical evolution.
• To nurture students' understanding of and engagement with theoretical and methodological issues in Geography
• To develop students' skills of critical analysis and academic writing
• To support students' preparation for the Dissertation or Joint Honours/Major Project
• To provide support for, and coherence between, the core modules in Geography
• To develop students' study skills
• To develop students' personal transferable skills.

This module combines pastoral and personal development responsibilities of the personal tutor with the development of core study skills that are central to success in Higher Education.
The ten sessions (which include personal tutor meetings) will address the following themes:
• Summarising and synthesizing academic literature;
• Forming and supporting arguments;
• Key debates and approaches to human and/or physical geography;
• Revision techniques;
• Forming research questions;
• Ethics and fieldwork in safety;
• Presentation techniques.

Other issues relating to pastoral development – such as signposting university and local services, the expectations and challenges of university life, time and resource management, reviewing academic performance, and employability and career aspirations - can be discussed in designated personal tutor slots.

The Level 2 tutorial module is obligatory for 2nd year students following Single, Major, and Joint Honours degree schemes in Geography. It may be taken by other students only by special arrangement with the Module Co-ordinator. It provides a basis for close and regular supervisory contact with students throughout the year. It has four specific objectives. First, as a source of close, working contact, it will address the general academic and pastoral problems confronted by students during the year. Personal tutor meetings are embedded within this module. Second, the module will focus on the theory and practice of geography and contemporary debates within Physical and/or Human Geography. Third, it develops research skills through focussing on identifying gaps, forming research questions, and designing research strategies. Fourth, it will address a defined syllabus of study skills enabling students to cope more effectively with the demands of academic study, develop transferable skills, and enable them to exploit more fully the possibilities offered by our programme.

The study skills covered by the Level 2 Tutorial Module will deal with the following:
Project work/Dissertations [inc. design/problem formulation: data sources/techniques: compiling bibliographies: techniques of report writing]
Oral Presentations
Career guidance/self-assessment
Styles of geographical thought: spatial/integrative/ecological/systemic/evaluative

The module is assessed through three assignments: an essay (1,500 words, 30%); a literature review (1,500 words, 30%); and a dissertation/joint honours proposal (40%).