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Updated 5 October 2023
Beyond the Books is designed so you can write about your personal experiences in Sheffield. If you have specific stories you want to share, this can be easy. However, with such a large scope of potential content you could write about, sometimes it can be difficult to know where to start!
There are lots of suggestions on 'Upcoming posts' of topics you can reflect on, with more specific focuses in the monthly themes or some very generalised ideas to get the creative ball rolling.
Remember, the main focus of this blog is to build community and connections over shared stories. As long as you consider this throughout your contribution, you are free to write about anything you would like!
If you want to write a contribution but have some questions, don't forget that you are welcome to get in touch with us via email at history.blogs@sheffield.ac.uk, or fill in the expression of interest form and we will get back to you with some advice.
There are also plenty of other student life blogs out there that you can read to get a sense of what people write about, and the style of writing used in blogs. It is much more informal than any university essay, so it can help to read lots of different blogs to get into that headspace before you begin planning and writing your own contribution. Here are a few student life blogs to get you started:
University of Nottingham: https://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/studentlife/
University of London: https://www.london.ac.uk/news-and-opinion/student-blog
Loughborough University: https://blog.lboro.ac.uk/students/
University of Glasgow: https://www.gla.ac.uk/study/studentlife/blogs/
The best thing to do if you're stuck getting started, is simply to read lots of other blogs (not to copy their ideas, but to get the general sense of how to write in this style). The main point, though, is to think about what you feel passionate about - whether it's your favourite outdoor green spaces to relax in and get away from looming deadlines, what you love about the society you joined, or why you chose to come to Sheffield in the first place.
Try to think about what comes naturally. Good luck!
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