Helping students develop appropriate literacies for effective learning

At first sight some might think helping students to develop appropriate literacies for higher education study is a strange thing to attempt: surely students arriving to study in higher education, having ‘matriculated’, that is demonstrated having been admitted to university, will be literate? Of course we can assume a level of literacy of undergraduates and postgraduates, due to the rigours of the university application process. Many would argue that they are not as literate as in previous years (and others would dispute this), but that is not the focus of this chapter. Here instead I want to discuss the specific capabilities that many believe are necessary ‘literacies’ for effective tertiary study in the 21st century. These include academic literacy, information literacy, assessment literacy, digital literacy, social and interpersonal literacy.