Understanding and forming an accurate opinion of a journal article is a crucial skill for research; the CDT’s flagship journal club course aims to equip students with the skills necessary to carry out a critical review of literature relevant to their field. Students will work together through group work and discussion to develop skills for critical thinking and reviewing, and understand the motivation for paper writing whilst developing academic presentation skills. CDT MRes students, each week in rotation, will present a paper chosen by an academic member of staff who will then chair the session. The format will be a 10 minute presentation by the lead presenter describing the aims and motivation for the work the methodology and the results. After group-based discussion of these sections, this will be followed by two further 5 minute presentations by two members of the group which will describe in detail the contributions and limitations of the paper. This will be followed by discussion on these sections and on the impact of the paper. The academic chairperson will choose the paper in advance and will be there to help guide the discussion. Written reviews will be due in approximately half-way through the course and at the end of the student rotation. Students will be assessed in three categories: Presentation Skills: Each student will present three times during the rotation, once as lead presented and once each presenting the contributions and limitations of the paper. Students will be assessed on each presentation. Students will be assessed on their general presentation skills, strength of conclusions and ability to handle questions. Class Contribution (throughout the year): Students will be expected to contribute to the class throughout the year by raising questions, contributing to the discussion and voicing opinions. Attendance will form a component of class contribution. Individual Paper Review (twice during the rotation): Students will be asked to submit a written review of one of the papers from the first and second half of the paper rotation. The review should summarise the paper and reflect upon contemporary literature. In the case of older papers, it is expected that some discussion of their subsequent impact should be present.