A free, confidential service to help you improve your writing skills

WordPress User [kaw] Help & advice, Learning

Improve your academic writing this year with RLF Fellow Samantha Wynne-Rhydderch. To make an appointment please email for a booking link: samantha.wynne-rhydderch@rlfeducation.org.uk

Students at Aberystwyth University at any level of study (from 1st year to postgraduate) – and staff – are welcome to book a session.

The Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellows are professional, published authors whose role is to help you strengthen your writing. In one-to-one sessions, Samantha can help you with:

  • Structuring your argument
  • Writing clearer and more compelling prose
  • Rewriting and editing
  • Planning and time management
  • Tackling the word count
  • Critical thinking
  • Paraphrasing

Samantha works Wednesdays and Thursdays during term time. Sessions last 50 minutes and take place in the Hugh Owen Library on Wednesdays and the Llandinam Building on Thursdays.

Samantha Wynne-Rhydderch

Please note that RLF Writing Fellows do not undertake proofreading, or EAP or TEFL tuition.

Note: Samantha’s sessions are in English. To speak with a Welsh medium academic writing skills tutor who offers 1:1 academic support to students, please contact Dr Tamsin Davies, ted@aber.ac.uk

Am I allowed to use AI? (And other small, existential questions)

WordPress User [sif4] Uncategorised

Am I allowed to use AI?
Is it cheating?
Will my lecturer know?
Am I accidentally helping to boil the oceans or fund a tech billionaire’s next rocket?

These are just some of the many, many questions around AI, and If you’ve asked yourself any of them recently, you’re not alone. AI has moved very quickly from “What even is this?” to “It’s everywhere and I’m not sure how I feel about it.” It can get pretty confusing.

That’s exactly why we’ve created our new AI Literacy course.

Rather than telling you what to do, the course focuses on helping you decide what’s right for you. Because using AI isn’t just a technical question, it’s an ethical one too.

As you move through the course, you’ll explore questions like:

  • What actually is AI?
  • Am I still doing my own thinking?
  • Can I trust this output?
  • What am I sharing, and where is it going?

We look at AI as a study partner, not a shortcut. It might be a tool that can help you plan, explain, or get unstuck, but it’s not there to replace your learning. Along the way, we connect AI to things that you will be developing at university, and which we hope will serve you well in the future: critical thinking, information literacy, and ethical awareness.

You’ll also explore what’s really happening when you use these tools, including data privacy, referencing pitfalls, accessibility, environmental impact, and how well (or badly) they handle the Welsh language.

Importantly, the course also makes space for a perfectly valid position: What if I don’t want to use AI at all?

We hope that the course will give you the confidence to make an informed choice, and not just follow the crowd.

AI isn’t going away. It’s already built into the tools you use every day, from search and email to library resources and learning platforms. This course isn’t about chasing the latest trend. It’s about helping you navigate a world where AI is already part of the landscape, and offering practical ways to think clearly, act responsibly, and stay in control.

The course is available to all students and staff via Blackboard Organisations and there is also a link here.

What to Expect On A Library Tour

WordPress User [sif4] Information Skills, Learning, Research

For many students, library tours are a useful way to get their bearings during Welcome Week. We also know that starting university, visiting a new building, and meeting new people can feel a little overwhelming when you’re not sure what to expect.

To help with that, we’ve created a new online guide: What to Expect on Your Library Tour.

The guide takes you through the library tour experience before you arrive, including where to go, who you’ll meet, what the tour covers, and what to do if you’re running late. There are also photos of key locations, accessibility information, and details of the support available if you need it.

The guide isn’t intended to replace the tour itself. Instead, it’s there to help you know what to expect, feel more prepared, and decide whether there is anything you might want to ask about in advance.

Whether you are looking forward to exploring the library, prefer to plan ahead, or simply like to know what to expect before trying something new, we hope you’ll find it useful.

A link to the new guide is here

Updates from the Physical Sciences Library

WordPress User [aiv] Uncategorised

Tucked away on the fourth floor, behind the imposing red façade of the Physical Sciences Building, is the not-so-secret second library at Aberystwyth University. While it’s mainly visited by Maths, Physics and Computer Science students working nearby as a convenient (and scenic) study spot, hopefully some of the changes you’ll see here might inspire a visit to this charming library.

Recently efforts have been made by Subject Librarians Anita Saycell and Sarah Gwenlan to enhance the library with new displays and collections.

Physical Sciences Library

While the Library houses Maths, Physics and Computer Science collections and research materials, please don’t let that convince you that you shouldn’t settle in there with a good fiction book. The new fiction collection located in the Physical Sciences Library is on the right when entering the room, and contains books ranging from Frank Herbert’s Dune to Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary.

 

Fiction collection in Physical Sciences library

Next to this is another new display – one that represents the (frankly sprawling) periodicals collection of Library Services. These periodicals are already available online through Primo and on the shelves of the Physical Sciences Library, and on levels E and F of the Hugh Owen Library. This display is simply showing them off alongside their covers and an easy-to-use QR code for easy access.

Periodicals collection in the Physical Sciences Library

The Library is a great little spot both for working and just as a place to be, thanks to the work of its Subject Librarians! We hope you can come give it a visit, and maybe pick up a book along the way.
If you’re planning a visit, here’s the accessibility information for the library, and a short video showing the route from the Physical Sciences Building entrance and a view of the room itself.

Your Subject Librarians are:

Anita Saycell aiv@aber.ac.uk    Book time with Anita Saycell [aiv] (Staff) 

Sarah Gwenlan ssg@aber.ac.uk   Book time with Sarah Gwenlan [ssg] (Staff)

Find subject resource information on our LibGuides: https://libguides.aber.ac.uk/en

 

Physical Sciences Library