Tips for a successful colloquium

General tips
  • Do not finish your day at dead end. Make sure you know what you will start with the next day, maybe saving something easy like formatting or creating a figure. You can also write a note for yourself for the next day about what to start with.
  • Feedback is very valuable. You will receive feedback from your supervisor, but you can organise more feedback yourself. Perhaps a fellow student who is also working on their colloquium would like to swap essays or listen to a practice presentation.
  • If you need help, reach out to your supervisor, especially if you are stuck on the content. Perhaps you have difficulty finding enough literature because your topic is too narrow or are overwhelmed because your topic is too broad. Your supervisor is there to help.
  • Make a plan before you start. Look at the example time schedule and discuss your plan with your supervisor. Making a plan will help you stay in control and avoid issues that may lead you to intentionally or unintentionally plagiarise.
  • Go deep, rather than broad. A colloquium requires you to dive deep into a topic, rather than explain the context.

 

Tips for writing an academic text
  • See this document with writing tips by our computational chemistry lecturer Agur Sevink.
  • If you need help with structuring your writing or with your English, reach out to the lecturer academic writing, Aimee Boyle, at a.l.boyle@chem.leidenuniv.nl.
  • If you need help with structure, organising and/or writing, ask study advisor Hilde about the LIC Writing Club and writing coaches.
  • Take a look at the Skills e-learning plaform on Brightspace. See the student webpages for tips on writing skills and workshops.
  • Think about your readers and audience. Be specific in your writing, do not be too generalistic. Make sure you understand what you write. If you do not understand yourself, your supervisor and jury will not understand either.

 

Online resources