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How to write a great assignment series: STEP 1 – CLARIFY & PLAN THE TASK (5%)

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  • How to write a great assignment series: STEP 1 – CLARIFY & PLAN THE TASK (5%)

  • Tom

  • May 12, 2025

When preparing any assignment, the first stage is always to ensure you know exactly what you are being asked to do and how your work will be assessed. Many students skip this important stage and find that they haven’t fully met the requirements as fully as they could have.

There are usually three sources markers use to assess your work and it’s well worth consulting each of these to enable you to fully appreciate what you are required to do:

  • The assessment brief
  • The module learning outcomes covered by the assessment you are doing
  • The generic university wide marking criteria for your level.

These can usually all be found in your module guide or handbook. If not, then ask your module leader for them.

The assessment brief

  1. Examine the assessment brief carefully to determine exactly what is required. If you don’t meet all of the criteria mentioned in the brief you will likely fail.
  2. Work out what you need to read or find out through looking at the module guide, lectures slides / your notes from lectures and any seminar notes you have made.
  3. Ensure you ask the module leader for clarity on anything you are unsure about.
  4. Write down what you know already about what the assessment is asking you to do and then create a list of tasks and an initial schedule for completing the assessment before it is due to be submitted.

The module learning outcomes covered by the assessment you are doing

  1. When it comes to the learning outcomes, make sure you know what they are asking you to demonstrate in each assignment.
  2. You need to meet all the required learning outcomes in order to pass the assessment.
  3. Many students fail to pass their assignments simply by not knowing what the learning outcomes mean and how to address them.
  4. Stella Cottrell provides definitions for many of the most common verbs used within learning outcomes, such as analyze, assess, compare, critically evaluate, etc.
  5. Again, if in doubt ask your module leader.
  6. After level 4 the learning outcomes usually require more analytical skills on your part and simply describing things will not get you very high marks.

The generic university wide marking criteria for your level.

  1. Finally, whereas the assessment brief and learning outcomes are what markers use to determine whether you can pass the assignment, the generic university marking criteria for your level are what markers use to determine your actual mark for the assignment.
  2. I always encourage my students to aim for the top box (usually 90-100%) on the generic university marking criteria for the level they are at (3-7).
  3. Go through the words, phrases and statements in these criteria and think carefully about how to achieve them in your assignment. For instance, what does ‘exceptional work’ mean in the context of your assignment or how can you achieve ‘deep/critical engagement with the material and concepts involved’?
  4. Again, ask your module leader to help you clarify how these generic criteria apply to your specific assignment.

Check out my next blog to see step 2 of how to write a great assignment: how to conduct the research required for your assignment.

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