- Why you chose to study at Reading and what attracted you to your particular programme
- Your previous experience of working with an Academic or Personal Tutor – what worked well, what you liked
- Your module choices
- If you have a disability, specific learning difficulty, or any other commitments that may be relevant to help your tutor best support you (for example, if you are a parent or carer)
- Your interests and free time activities
- Any ideas you have about your professional and personal ambitions after your course
- Whether you have considered continuing to PhD study
- Ideas you have about activities you can get involved in outside the classroom
During the first part of your programme: What to talk about
ASK AND DISCUSS
How are things going: What the experience has been like so far – have you been enjoying learning more about what you love?
How you are adapting to the demands of postgraduate study in your lectures/seminars/practicals, coursework and workload.
What assignments you have and your upcoming deadlines. Discuss any caring or work commitments and try to identify any challenges that may come up.
Discuss best practice in referencing, literature reviews, or academic writing.
Feedback: Share and talk openly about your feedback from lecturers or other students on your course. Discuss whether you have noticed any patterns in feedback from one assignment to the next and what you can take from it. It’s important to think critically in these conversations to get the most support you can.
What is the feedback telling you? What initiatives can you take to improve your work?
Other opportunities: What other opportunities you can access to develop your personal or professional skills further.
Next steps: Create an Action Plan considering any challenges you have identified and what you’ve discussed to focus on after your meeting. You can use our Meeting Template to help.
THINK, ENJOY, PREPARE, DEVELOP
Think about your studies at Reading – how well are you doing, what are you enjoying and what could you enjoy more? Postgraduate study can be very demanding – how are you coping?
If you have one, take a list of your assignment deadlines ready to discuss
Identify any strengths and weaknesses that might affect your academic progress. Think about what you can do to use your strengths to your advantage and how you can tackle your weaknesses
Have a look at Life Tools for more help and support
Look at Careers and find out opportunities and support available to help you with your professional development and career planning
During the second part of your programme: What to talk about
ASK AND DISCUSS
Reflection: Discuss the progress you have made on your Action Plan since your last meeting. Think about how well you have managed to take on feedback and action points so far. Consider which aspects have been more difficult for you.
How are things going: What your experience of your course has been so far compared to your initial expectations. Discuss your experience of Reading in general, too.
What the experience has been like so far – have you been enjoying learning more about what you love?
Review how your study skills are developing and how prepared you are for assignment deadlines or exams.
If you are interested, ask about opportunities and information on publishing academic papers.
Feedback: Share and talk openly about your feedback from lecturers or other students on your course. Discuss whether you have noticed any patterns in feedback from one assignment to the next and what you can take from it. It’s important to think critically in these conversations to get the most support you can.
What is the feedback telling you? What initiatives can you take to improve your work?
Other opportunities: Discuss contacting researchers or industry experts in your field and talk about the best way to approach them.
What you are doing alongside studying to enhance your experience and develop your skills. Think about the option of joining societies or volunteering - depending on your workload and commitments.
Discuss what you’re gaining from the transferable skills you are developing. Talk about how you can prioritise what you enjoy and what will be useful to you in the future.
Looking ahead: Talk about career planning and where you can get advice and support on this. Contact the Careers Service and/or attend a Careers Fair. Think about how you can use your experience to showcase your skills.
You can ask your Academic Tutor to act as a referee for you so talk about your aspirations for future employment or further study. If you’ve started making changes to your CV, discuss how well it conveys your experiences, your skills and your strengths, and how you might fill any gaps. Talk about whether it articulates clearly how your experiences, skills and strengths could transfer into the workplace or further study.
Next steps: Looking at your previous action points and since your Academic Tutor meeting, work on developing your Action Plan in more detail. If you include detail and set yourself objectives, your records of your meetings can help you focus on next steps.
THINK, ENJOY, PREPARE, DEVELOP
How have you found your programme so far? What aspect have you found most intellectually stimulating?
Consider your progress in Term 1 and your initial thoughts of project/dissertation topics even if you aren’t sure yet.
Reflect on how effective your existing study skills are - think critically and feel prepared to discuss any ideas for improvement
Identify any difficulties (academic, social or personal). Your Academic Tutor can help point you in the direction of further support if you need it
Identify assignment(s) to discuss and pick items of feedback to talk about at your meeting. Do you think you are making the most of your feedback?
Have you engaged in any new social opportunities or activities recently?
Look at Careers and find out opportunities and support available to help you with your professional development and career planning. You may also be thinking about PhD study – you can discuss these ideas too
Prepare an updated version of your CV and take it along to the meeting. Think about any skills/experience gaps and how you might fill them.
Final part of your programme: What to talk about
ASK AND DISCUSS
Reflection:
Reflect on your Action Plan from the last meeting and discuss your progress at Reading
Remember, it’s your dissertation/project supervisor who is your primary academic support this term, but you can still catch up and discuss progress with your Academic Tutor.
How are things going: Talk about your progress over the year your achievements and challenges, and how you are developing your personal strengths.
What the experience has been like so far – have you been enjoying learning more about what you love?
What you are doing to manage the workload and how it may be affecting you. Talk openly as it will be more effective.
Feedback: Share and talk openly about your feedback from lecturers or other students on your course. Discuss whether you have noticed any patterns in feedback from one assignment to the next and what you can take from it. It’s important to think critically in these conversations to get the most support you can.
What is the feedback telling you? What initiatives can you take to improve your work?
Looking ahead: Talk about plans for employment or further study, like PhD opportunities, and share your finalised CV and any other relevant information that your Academic Tutor will need to write you a reference.
Consider and discuss the benefits of attending events (live and virtual), conferences, professional/academic communities and networking opportunities.
Next steps: Look back on the progress you have made - consider action points you will use again in the future and look forward to your next step!
THINK, ENJOY, PREPARE, DEVELOP
What have the most interesting, enjoyable and challenging experiences been during your programme at Reading?
Has your programme lived up to your expectations? Have you got the most out of your time here?
Consider your progress and whether you completed your Action Plan steps.
Identify assignment(s) to discuss and pick items of feedback to talk about at your meeting.
Remember to continue to talk openly, honestly and critically about your feedback. This is the best way to take advantage of it and improve.
Prepare a final version of your CV to share with your Academic Tutor and think carefully about your ambitions for your next academic or professional steps.
Initial meeting guide: What to talk about
ASK AND DISCUSS
Introduction to your Academic Tutor: Meet you Academic Tutor and tell them about you. You could talk about...
THINK, ENJOY, PREPARE, DEVELOP
Find out who your Academic Tutor is – have a look on RISIS. You may already know them from another role
Take a look at the Student Charter which shows what we all expect of each other
Look at the Essentials pages on the Academic Tutor System including the Frequently Asked Questions and view the video-clip ‘Our Academic Tutor System’
Have a look at our programme of Life Tools talks.
Think about the opportunities you could get involved in.