Assignment writing, referencing
and how to keep your tutor happy!
Melanie Gill
Student Support & Guidance Tutor
School of Education
Reading to support analysis
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To develop your
understanding of key
themes
To develop your
understanding and
appreciation of contrasting
perspectives
To develop your own
critical thinking
Level Four Learner – ‘Support’
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Knowledge and Understanding –
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Cognitive and intellectual Skills –
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Analysis – using given principles with guidance
Synthesis – collecting ides in predictable format
Evaluation – reliability of data with guidance
Application – using given tools/methods
Transferable Skills –
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Knowledge – facts concepts terminology
Ethical issues - awareness
Group – meets obligations to others
Resources – access range
Self-evaluation – against external criteria
Managing information – simple research tasks with guidance
Communication - effective
Problem-solving – using given tools/methods
Practical Skills –
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Application- defined contexts
Autonomy – limited within defined guidelines as directed
Using references
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To demonstrate knowledge and
understanding
To develop arguments
To critique others’ perspectives
To analyse practice
To avoid plagiarism
Plagiarism awareness
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See the student guidelines on
Studentcentral (my sch: Ed > Info
& Docs)
“All My Own Work?”
Plagiarism and how to avoid it Student Notes
UoB SoE Referencing Guidelines
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You must refer to the referencing
guidelines for all your assignments.
These are updated every year.
Access from Studentcentral. Go to
My Sch: Ed > Info & Docs > Faculty
info
Save to your laptop/pc and worth
printing a copy.
What to reference?
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Anything … but …
Think about academic
rigour!
Refer to reading lists
Avoid wikipedia as a
cited source (ok as a
starting point)
Indirect reference
Gill (2013) presents an interesting
and yet flawed analysis of female
gender stereotyping within
Eastenders.
Or
An interesting and yet flawed analysis
of female gender stereotyping within
Eastenders has been presented (Gill,
2013.)
Direct reference - short
Women in BBC’s Eastenders provide
an interesting range of gender
stereotypes. These include, “Roxy
(as) the temptress, compared to
Whitney’s emerging assertiveness”
(Gill, 2013, p35.)
Direct reference - long
Women in BBC’s Eastenders provide a range of
gender stereotypes. Gill (2013) presents an
interesting and yet flawed analysis, comparing
several of the classic mother / whore variations:
Roxy, of course, presents the classic temptress,
compared to Whitney’s emerging assertiveness.
The dilemma for Whitney is to what extent she
can put her own needs ahead of others. A
common theme here is the abuse of women by
men, who in turn fight for their own identity and
the heart of a ‘good man’.
(Gill, 2011, p35)
References (not bibliography)
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Just include those references you’ve
included in your text
List all references in alphabetical
order according to authors’ names
Don’t separate out books, journals,
web sites etc
Gill, M. (2013) Soaps as modern fairy tales
Brighton: Bracken Publishing
Electronic sources
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Within the text, give the author
(preferably) and date (where
possible)
If no author, use the website’s
‘host’ name
If no date of publication state (no
date.)
Don’t give the whole URL in the
main text
Referencing electronic sources
Author or Editor or Corporate Author.
(year), Title (edition) [online], Place of
publication: Publisher. Available: <URL>
[Access Date].
Eg:
Herring, J. (1996) Teaching Information
Skills in Schools [online], London: Library
Association Publishing.
Available:<URL:http://imdept.qmuc.ac.uk/i
mres/books/JHbook1_a.htm> [Access date
20th November 2012]
Assignment presentation
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One and a half or double line
spaced, 10-12 point text; no wacky
fonts!
Page number throughout and word
count at the end (excluding list of
references and any appendices)
Your name and module code as
header or footer
Critical Reflection on Writing
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Flow
 Word-sentence-paragraph-section-whole text
Check connectives
 However/nevertheless – nuances of meaning
Re-read criteria
 Can you identify where you meet particular
criteria in your text?
Proof-reading
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Sentences
 Length
 Variety of construction
 Verbs (please vary - they do nice things for meaning)
 Subject-verb agreement (is/are)
 Appropriate use of pronouns
 Expectations of use or non-use of subjective phrases (I feel/I
think/I believe)
 Accuracy of expression rather than literary eloquence
Punctuation
 The comma – a case of neglect
 The apostrophe – a victim of abuse
Words
 Mixing up homonyms (their/there)
 Non-Standard forms of English (“It could of…”/ It could have…)
 Their iz no excuzes for submiting werk with incorect
speling...
 Spell-checkers
 University support
Referencing – see handbook/studentcentral
Why Proof-read?
Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at
Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't
mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a
wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng
is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at
the rghit pclae. The rset can be a
toatl mses and you can sitll raed it
wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae
the huamn mnid deos not raed
ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod
as a wlohe.
The importance of punctuation
Punctuate this sentence correctly:
A woman without her
man is nothing
An example
A
woman: without her, man
is nothing.
A
woman, without her man,
is nothing.
Beware of comma splicing.
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He has lost interest in education, I feel
frustrated by this.
I ask him if he wants to give up smoking,
his reply was no.
Assignment Planner (2000 words)
Intro - 200 words
Set the scene
Explain your
intentions
Theme 1 – 500 words
Ideas/points (relate
to assessment
criteria)
References
(theory/policy)
Theme 2 – 500 words
Ideas/points (relate
to assessment
criteria)
References
(theory/policy)
Theme 3 – 500 words
Ideas/points (relate
to assessment
criteria)
References
(theory/policy)
Conclusion – 300
words
Sum up, show your
learning
Draw conclusions,
make
recommendations
Grading criteria 60-69%
A good response to the task: all learning outcomes have
been met fully and many have been achieved at a
good or very good standard.
The work demonstrates all or most of the following
characteristics in relation to those expected at the
given level of study:
 A standard and comprehensive approach to the devising
and/or execution of the work
 Very good understanding and exploration, some insight
and/or thorough research
 No significant inaccuracies or misunderstandings
 Some high quality analysis, synthesis, evaluation, critical
appraisal and/or performance
 The specifications for the assessment task, including word
limit, have been adhered to. The work is well organised
and the standard of presentation* is good.
Grading criteria 40-49%
An adequate, but weak, response to the task: all learning
outcomes have been met but at least some barely
exceed the threshold standard to pass the module.
The work may display some strengths (such as those
indicated in the characteristics of higher grades) but the
grade is brought down by some weak features, such as:
Very
basic and/or poorly thought out approach to the
devising and/or execution of the work
Adequate but limited understanding and/or exploration of
major ideas with very little insight and/or minimal research
Some minor inaccuracies and/or misunderstandings
The work is too descriptive, insufficiently analytical and/or
poorly performed in relation to the expectations for the
given level of study
Some minor aberrations from the specifications for the
assessment task
Poor standard of presentation*
What next?
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What do you need to do to ensure
you are meeting the standards for
writing at level 4?
Check the grading criteria, level
descriptors and referencing
guidelines.
Check the support available in the
Studentcentral SSGT folder, access
study support sessions, don’t leave
writing until the last minute!