Build your learning confidence
Do you want to increase your learning confidence or improve your writing skills? Wherever you are on your academic journey, we can help. The DCU Writing Centre provides advice and support on all aspects of academic writing, and our Learning Skills Advisors can help you develop the study skills you need to succeed at third level. Our services are available to all DCU students and are free of charge.
The DCU Writing Centre
The Writing Centre offers guidance with academic writing to all undergraduate and postgraduate students through individual appointments, workshops and online resources.
Our mission is to help all students become confident and competent writers at third level and beyond.
The Writing Centre is open.
Please select your preferred location below and follow the instructions:
Glasnevin in person | St Patrick's in person | Online via Zoom
Appointments become available to book 2 weeks in advance.
You can meet with one of our Academic Writing Coaches to receive expert advice at any stage of the writing process: planning an assignment, writing a first draft, or revising and editing a document.
Appointments are free of charge. Our Academic Writing Coaches are studying at PhD level and are trained and supervised by the Learning Skills Advisers.
How a Writing Centre appointment works:
- Appointments are 30 minutes long.
- In-person appointments are held in the O'Reilly and Cregan libraries.
- Online appointments are held via Zoom. You will receive the meeting link in your booking confirmation email.
- Before your appointment, please email your assignment brief or question and any work you've done so far to writingcentre@dcu.ie. If you are not working on an assignment but would like to discuss a particular aspect of academic writing, please let your tutor know by email.
- The Centre is not a proofreading or editing service, but rather works with students to strengthen their abilities as writers, and encourages them to become editors of their own work.
- We advise students to make no more than one appointment per week and a maximum of five per semester. This is to keep the limited number of appointments open to as many students as possible.
- Please note: support with citing and referencing is provided by the DCU Library.
Our workshops, open to all DCU students, can be booked centrally via My Events Hub. Just log in with your DCU credentials below to view all upcoming workshops and to register with one click.
Log in to My Events Hub
During the academic year we provide the following highly demanded sessions:
- Essentials of Academic Writing
- Establishing your Academic Writing Process (Seven Steps to Success!)
- How to Build an Argument
- Writing Critically at University
- Reflective Writing
- Writing Literature Reviews
- Preparing for Essay Exams
- Virtual Writing and Study Room
We offer bespoke interactive courses, guides and video tutorials on all aspects of academic writing.
You can browse the full Writing Toolkit on DEVELOP or select a topic below:
Essentials of Assignment Writing | Academic Language and Phrasing | Assignment types | Critical Thinking and Writing | Citing and referencing
Learning Skills Advisors
The Learning Skills team provides expert advice and support to help you develop your study skills and grow your learning confidence. Areas we can address include:
- Note-taking
- Effective reading strategies
- Time management
- Groupwork and presentations
- Exam preparation
You can book an individual appointment, in person or online, to discuss and explore any issues you might be encountering in your academic studies, or any skills you want to build or refine.
Appointments are booked online. Just select your preferred location:
Glasnevin in person | St Patrick's in person | Online via Zoom
You can also attend one of our many workshops, scheduled throughout the semester. Just log in with your DCU credentials below and filter by Academic Learning and Writing to view all our upcoming workshops and to register with one click.
Log in to My Events Hub
Popular topics include:
- Conquering Procrastination
- Note Taking and Effective Reading
- Presenting with Confidence
- Active Learning Strategies
- Preparing for Interactive Oral Assessments
If workshop times and dates do not suit your schedule, you can access our online resources below.
We offer bespoke Academic Learning and Study resources, available on DEVELOP. Select the topic you need below:
Critical Thinking and Writing | Exam Study Strategies | Groupwork | Notetaking and Effective Reading | Presentations | Writing Toolkit
Virtual Writing and Study Room
Our Virtual Writing and Study Room on Zoom offers a quiet space and focused writing time to work on any assignment you need to make progress on, or to revise for an upcoming exam. We’ll meet virtually and spend some time writing or revising in a quiet space with a community of peers to help us stay focused and motivated.
Sessions are facilitated by Learning Skills Advisors and Writing Centre coaches, who will be on hand to provide expert advice where necessary.
Check out upcoming dates on My Events Hub.
Head Start Programme for Incoming Mature, Online, and Further Education Students
Learning Skills Advisors and the Mature Student Officer work collaboratively to provide an annual Head Start programme for incoming first-year mature students. This week-long online and in-person course is an opportunity for mature students to refresh their academic writing skills, meet other mature students, and get a head start on their university life before classes begin.