Top tips and hints to good assignment writing

It is the time when assignments are due and a lot of students fail assignments simply because they don't plan ahead.

1) Answer the question
This is where a lot of International students tend to go wrong and lose points easily- they don't answer the question/brief.

Image courtesy of blog.internationalstudent.com.

2)Plan ahead
Work out what you will write and when. A diary is always handy. The well planned assignments get much better marks than those that are late.
Also plan your time. There are some free study planners and timetables at the Study and Learning centre on campus. Each semester this service runs some sessions on how to manage your time wisely so I suggest going along to these. After all you did pay for these with your SSAF fees.

2) Write a few drafts
Doing a few drafts is really important, especially in design where you need to play with a few ideas. Its easy to make mistakes on the first go, but you learn along the way. You can show your tutor and your peers (friends) your work.

3) Have a study group- but don't do everything together
You could even do it online thanks to Google Docs where you can share stuff. People can also write comments on it. This is one way to get some feedback and pointers on things you may have missed.

Researching the assignment is important

4) DO YOUR RESEARCH- but have a clear plan as to what you want to research before you get into it. Work out which libraries you want to go to first and how much time.

5)Get feedback from your tutor as you go.
Don't be afraid to ask them if you need help. They are there to guide you after all.

Good luck in passing those assesments. But remember if you don't pass the first time, that's ok. You just need to learn from your mistakes.

Current students, do you have any other tips for new international students? Do feel free to share below.