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Marking and assessment judgements, introduction.

Making sound assessment judgements is essential for reliable student assessment, and is the main mechanism whereby value (a mark) is attached to student work. However, that it is an unreliable process is well documented across the sector. In line with the principles embodied in our Education for Social Justice Framework (ESJF), all staff responsible for making assessment judgements should take action to maintain fairness and transparency in the decisions being made.   

A ssessment judgements should allow everyone involved in the process to have confidence that the marks awarded are a fair reflection of the quality of learning demonstrated in the work submitted. This will  includ e students, the university, markers, moderators, and external examiners. It is therefore extremely important that assessment judgements are conducted in a way that has been carefully considered and constructed so that the process can be explained to all concerned and is acknowledged to be fair.  

This section will consider the activities involved in making assessment decisions in 3 sections:   

• Preparation for marking,   
• Marking  
• Moderation of marks or external examining.   

Much of the work needed to ensure that assessment decisions are accurate, fair, and consistent will have taken place beforehand, in the design of assessment criteria and grade descriptors. Ensuring that the assessment decisions are useful to students also requires a careful feedback strategy   

Useful additional resources are available from Advance HE .   

• The design of assessment criteria and grade descriptors will be part of the process undertaken before assessment decisions are made.
• An assessment rubric (assessment criteria plus grading scheme) will have been prepared and shared with students and staff as part of the assessment process which shows evaluative criteria, quality definitions for those criteria at particular levels and a scoring strategy.  
• Reliability of assessment decisions is influenced by the nature of the subject and the markers’ own interpretation of criteria (Bloxham and Boyd 2007).  
• Prior to making assessment decisions, the markers should meet at a calibration event. This should occur before the assessment is launched to students.  
• A calibration event enables the markers and support staff to discuss the expectations of the assessment and the assessment and grading criteria.   
• Academic and other staff involved in supporting preparation for assessment should be involved in calibration processes. This should be an important part of inducting new staff responsible for teaching and assessing on a module.
• Students need to have the chance to discuss the expectations of the assessment as part of the assessment and feedback cycle (see, for example, Hounsell et al 2008).  
• Staff responsible for making assessment decisions are internal examiners and recruited by the Subject Standards Boards.  
• the quality of the introductory paragraph;  
• the readability of the text, surface features;  
• the accurate use of writing conventions;  
• the timing of the marking;  
• knowledge of the candidate;  
• the quality of preceding 5 papers, if poor, tends to result in higher grades for the subsequent paper;  
• the values and beliefs of the assessors;  
• experience in marking similar work;  
• being asked to explain a grade tends to result in grades gathering around the median.  

(Orrell 2008)

Assessment judgements may be undertaken for summative and/or formative purposes.  

Marking undertaken for grading or summative purposes is one of the means by which assessment is judged to be valid, reliable and fair. It is a complex process and reliability is influenced by the nature of the subject in that more discursive topics rely more on subjective judgements and the markers’ own interpretation of criteria. For this reason, the shared application of standards relies on negotiation and discussion of criteria interpretation in the local context.   

So whilst it is not possible to assure reliability across the sector or even across courses there are several aspects of good practice that can help to promote confidence in the reliability of marking within a specific module (Price 2005). (see P reparation for M arking).  

Subject Standards Boards have responsibility for ensuring that students’ work is marked by sufficiently experienced and professional staff, formally approved at the departmental level as internal examiners. Markers should be members of the university staff who are familiar with the teaching associated with the assignments being assessed, and the standard that is required of students. The status of the markers is an important factor to be considered in the choice of double marking procedure. Where staff are new to marking or from outside of the university, time should be provided to induct them into the standards for the course, perhaps through more extensive moderation or marking workshops.  

Each assessment task should be accompanied by a set of assessment criteria. These criteria will have been developed by the course team and discussed as part of preparation for marking.    

Discussion between markers ensure that assessment criteria provide a framework that helps to ensure that assessors are in broad agreement (i.e. increase inter-tutor reliability) about the basis of assessment decisions and to pinpoint areas of disagreement between markers (again, inter-tutor reliability). They are also important in supporting the internal consistency of the individual marker.

Use of Rubrics (assessment criteria & markscheme)  

A rubric is an extension of the assessment criteria to provide a mark scheme, a  scoring guide that provides students, markers, moderators and external examiners with evaluative criteria, quality definitions for those criteria at particular levels and a scoring strategy (Popham 1997; Dawson 2017). Guidance from Oxford Brookes University (OCSLD 2020) provides helpful, practical advice on their use.   

• Develop a rubric for each type of assessment task a student is asked to complete.   
• Within a programme, use the same rubric for a given type of assessment task across modules within a level of study.   
• Set out clearly each of the criteria that will be assessed for a given type of assessment task.   
• Show the weighting of each criterion in determining the grade awarded for the work.   
• Use criteria that describe features of the assessment task itself (for example, abstract, literature review and methods for a research project and voice and slide design for a screencast) and/or that describe knowledge and its application within the context of the assessment task, for example, critical understanding, analysis and synthesis, evaluation.  
• Describe the features and qualities of the work (performance standards) for each criterion separately in clear and simple English.   
• Describe the performance standards for each degree class and for work that fails to meet the pass mark expressed on a scale shown in percentages.   
• Share rubrics with students at the beginning of each module, in module handbooks, and on the VLE   
• Use assessment rubrics during in-class activities with students to encourage self and peer assessment and to develop students’ understanding of the performance standards and criteria in use for their work.   
• When offering feedback to students on their performance, provide comments that reflect the statements in the assessment rubric so students can make links between their performance and the criteria that were used to assess it.

Anonymous marking involves marking work without reference to the individual to derive a grade, and thereafter matching the work to the individual. University policy is that students’ work should, where possible,  be anonymized for marking, so that markers do not know the identity of the student who submitted the work. This is because there is good reason to suppose that non-anonymous marking raises a serious risk of introducing subliminal marking biases - an important consideration in addressing awarding gaps and fair practice and an essential element of the ESJF empha sis on Inclusive Assessment .  Recent research into racial inequalities in assessment in HE highlighted that black students wanted anonymous marking where possible, “because they felt this provided more chance of being judged fairly and without bias” (Campbell et al, 2021, p. 36).  

For guidance on setting up online assessments including making provision for anonymous submission and marking, see the WebLearn guide to assessment tools.  

The process could still provide for personalised feedback comments where the assessment has a formative purpose, but that step would be decoupled from the grading process. A recent study of anonymous marking revealed that “[f]eedback on non-anonymously marked work was perceived by students to have greater potential for learning than feedback on anonymously marked work” (Pitt and Winstone (2018) cited in Pitt and Quinlan (2022) p.53).  

E xceptions to a nonymous marking include research degrees and forms of assessment approved by standards boards as impractical.   

Research projects  

Research projects may provide challenges for anonymous marking as  they are  often marked with the students identity revealed to the markers. Approaches to help solve resulting  bias in marking include :   

• E xclude staff from marking projects they have supervised, so that projects can be marked anonymously. In a trial of this procedure (reported by Newstead, 2002) marks went down by 5% on average, but students were much more satisfied with the process.  
• H ave every student project marked anonymously by a second marker as well as the supervisor. This is probably the minimum requirement for marking what is usually a substantial piece of work that contributes more than any other item of assessment to the overall grade awarded for a course.  
• I ntroducing a larger number of markers into the process may reduce the chance of, or impact of, unconscious bias.         

Oral presentations   

Oral presentations cannot be anonymised even for the second marker, and this is a compelling reason for oral presentations to be double marked particularly if they contribute to an overall degree classification. If the presentations are video-taped, or audio-taped, they can also be reviewed by a third marker, and  although they cannot avoid being aware of the gender and appearance of the students, will at least be unaware of the students’ personal histories in the department and will have no personal relationship with the students that could bias their appraisal of their performance.

  In addition to formal methods for controlling the quality of marking, such as moderation, there are a number of activities and processes that can help to achieve and maintain consistency of marking across markers.   

These are all different aspects of one underlying principle – that of involving all staff who take part in the assessment of student as active members of a community of shared practice and understanding.  

Shared staff involvement in all aspects of student assessment (communities of practice)  

Tightly knit communities of practice among academics involved in student assessment were at one time much easier to maintain in higher education. This has become much more difficult with the increasing trend towards fragmentation of the academic communities in higher education, which is part of the rationale for greater transparency of the process through increased documentation. Activities that help to promote such communities of practice are:  

• Common involvement in and ownership of the formal assessment criteria through calibration activities forming part of preparation for assessment (see above)  
• Attendance at moderation meetings and discussions of student performance.  
• Pre-meetings of markers in advance of the main marking task, to discuss what is required of students and what markers should be looking for in their work, and to marker’s applications of the assessment criteria. This can usefully be done with a small sample of work marked independently and with judgements shared before completing the remaining marking. This process is a second calibration exercise.  
• Team preparation of course/programme (re)validation documents.  
• Team development of programme handbooks and module booklets.  
• Marking workshops - a useful way of inducting new or less experienced tutors and part-time lecturers. This might include a similar process to pre-meetings of markers, more extensive collective marking or marking of work from a previous cohort – the principle is to share interpretations of the assessment criteria.  
• Discussion of, and common approaches (within subjects) to, ways of dealing with language proficiency, referencing and plagiarism.  – This recognizes that learning how to write and communicate appropriately in different subject contexts is a developmental learning process which continues throughout the course of study.  

When pairs of markers meet to compare examination marks and resolve any differences through  discussion, a record of the basis for the marks awarded based on the assessment criteria can save time and make the agreement process fairer.   

Rather than having to read the answer again and try to remember why they awarded the mark they did, markers of discursive papers who have used a form like this EXTRA can quickly locate the reasons for their different marks and focus on those to agree a mark more quickly and more fairly. Such a form may also be useful in interpreting detailed mark schemes for feedback to students.  

  The purpose of moderation and external examining relates to the assurance of  academic standards.   

Calibration before the launch of an assessment activity (see above) and moderation of marked work afterwards are designed to  safeguard against errors and biases in marking and help to create an assessment community amongst academic staff .   

Moderation is an expensive and time-consuming process but will improve reliability, particularly when used in conjunction with calibration activities, so that awareness of assessment criteria and/or marking schemes act along with discussion of marking decisions.    

The method chosen for moderation after the assessment task has been completed should suit the module, task and level of the assessment.    

Seven methods of moderation have been identified  

• universal unseen double marking (where two markers mark all the assignments, with the second marker not having sight of the marks awarded by the first marker),  
• universal seen double marking (where a second marker sees all the assignments and has access to marks awarded by the first marker),  
• universal second marking as a check or audit (where the second marker sees all the assignments to review the work of the first marker),  
• second marking as sampling (where the second marker sees only a sample of the students’ work),  
• partial second marking (where second marking is applied only to certain categories of assignment, such as fails, firsts and borderlines),  
• marking teams (where groups of markers work together), and  
• second marking for clerical aspects of the first marking (such as transcription or addition of marks).  

What system to select for a given module or assignment? The minimum standards required by the University assessment policy are for second marking for a 20% sample of the assignments, with no requirement for the second marker to work blind to the marks awarded by the first.   

Course/Subject leaders and Subject Standards Boards should consider whether the minimum standard is always sufficient, however, given the principles of fairness to students, fitness for purpose, and the requirement for mechanisms to avoid and detect biases and errors. There are several factors to bear in mind:  

• Where students do not routinely receive feedback on their work, there is a greater likelihood of lapses in attention on the part of markers. This means that there is a much stronger need for universal double or second marking for examination scripts than for coursework.  
• There is potentially a trade off between the expertise and experience of the marker and the level of quality control required. This means that there is a much stronger need for universal double or second marking where less experienced markers or staff from outside the university are involved in student assessment.  
• The importance of the assignment, and the significance of the decisions being taken by markers, should influence the choice of the moderation model. This means that there is a much stronger case for universal double unseen marking for assignments that contribute significantly to students’ degree classification.  

Moderation is an expensive process which can delay the return of feedback to students therefore it is useful to spend some time in deciding on the method of double or second marking. Key factors include:  

• the form and function of the assessment  
• the contributory weight of the assessment  
• the level of study  
• the norms of the discipline  
• the number of students  
• the number of markers and their level of experience and responsibility  
• the necessity of making adjustments to marks across the whole cohort, not just the sample of work moderated.  

Whatever model is adopted, the decision should be formalised through a Subject Standards Board and the rationale for the choice should be made clear.

If work has been universally double marked (seen or unseen) the two markers will agree or negotiate the mark for each individual piece of work. Where moderation is based on a sample and there is general agreement, the first marker’s marks stand for the cohort. If there is substantial variation in marks then further discussion and exploration is needed to determine the extent of the differences. Whatever adjustment is made must be applied fairly to all relevant candidates and not just to those sampled by the second marker. If the two markers cannot agree a third internal marker is used (Bloxham and Boyd 2007). There should be a record of the moderation process available for quality audits and reviews. All involved in marking should take responsibility for their work by signing off the mark sheets at the end of the process.  

External examining (see Chapter 5 of the Quality Manual 21-22 )    

External examiners are recruited by the university to provide oversight of academic standards on a module or course.     

• Staff making assessment decisions should be fully familiar with the academic regulations.
• The process used for arriving at assessment decisions should be fair and transparent,  considered and constructed to that it can be effectively communicated to markers, moderators, students, and external examiners,   
• Assessment decisions should be guided by assessment criteria specifically designed for the assessment task, and suitable grade descriptors. (See section 5:  Assessment criteria).
• Staff teams engaged in making assessment decisions should meet before the assessment is launched to agree the criteria and benchmarks that will apply, to ensure consistency and fairness.   
• A calibration event involving all those involved in making assessment decisions should take place before marking commences.  
• Wherever possible, student work should be marked anonymously.  
• A suitable second or double marking process that complies with academic regulations must be carried out; there may be a need for further moderation or parity exercises where there is a large cohort and/ or a large marking team, or where the work is complex or carrying a high credit load.  
• That a moderation process has been carried out should be visible on the work assessed normally through the addition of comments by, or the name of, a moderator.  
• Staff should always be mindful to assess only the work presented for assessment and avoid introducing knowledge of the student and their circumstances.  
• Students should have the opportunity to participate in or observe the process of making assessment decisions eg through reviewing and grading prior submissions or providing a video guidance on how the marker on the module reviews/grades the work etc. This is particularly important where self- or peer- assessment takes place  
• Students should not be engaged in summative assessment of their own or others’ work.  
• Marks and feedback should be issued in accordance with academic regulations and University policy.  
• Close the assessment loop by sharing external examiner feedback with students and the actions taken to improve the assessment (if necessary) as a result of this.

Bloxham, S. and Boyd, P. (2007). Developing Effective Assessment in Higher Education . Maidenhead: McGraw Hill.   

Campbell, P. et al (2021) Available at: Tackling Racial Inequalities in Assessment in Higher Education. A Multi-Disciplinary Case Study. University of Leicester . 

Dawson, P. (2017). Assessment rubrics: towards clearer and more replicable design, research and practice. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education , 42(3), 347-360.  

Ecclestone, K. (2001). “I know a 2.1 when I see it”: understanding degree standards in programmes franchised to colleges. Journal of Further and Higher Education , 25, 301-313.  

Edd, P. and Quinlan, K.(2022) Available at:  Impacts of Higher Education Assessment and Feedback Policy and Practice on Students: A Review of the Literature 2016-2021 .

Newstead, S.E. & Dennis, I. (1990). Blind marking and sex bias in student assessment . Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education , 15, 132-139.  

Newstead, S.E.(. (2002). Examining the examiners; why are we so bad at assessing students?.  Psychology Learning and Teaching , 2, 70-75  

Orrell, J. (2008) ‘Assessment beyond belief: the cognitive process of grading,’ in Havnes, A. and McDowell,L. (eds) Balancing dilemmas in assessment and learning in contemporary education. London, Routledge, pp.251-263.  

OCSLD (2020). The Design and Use of Assessment Rubrics . Oxford Brookes University  

Popham, W. J. (1997). What's wrong and what's right-with rubrics. Educational Leadership , 55, 72-75.  

Price, M. (2005) Assessment standards: the role of communities of practice and the scholarship of assessment, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher education , 30, 3, 213-230  

How to use the rubric

• Read through the assignment rubric alongside the assignment task instructions.
• Make a note of anything that is not clear and ask your lecturers or tutors for clarification.
• While you are doing your assignment, keep referring to the rubric to make sure you are on track.
• Before you hand in your assignment, have another look at the rubric to make a judgement of your work and make changes if needed.

How to learn from feedback

When you get your assignment back, it is very tempting to just look at the mark or grade and ignore any  written feedback .

Look at the marks on the rubric to understand the feedback given for your assignment. It can sometimes feel challenging to read comments that are critical of your work, especially when you believe that you have put a lot of effort into the assignment. Feedback can be very useful to you as it:

• Enables you to build on what you have done correctly.
• Helps you to identify where you went wrong.
• Identifies where you need to make improvements so that you can do better next time.

If you need to clarify any feedback you have been given, be proactive and contact your lecturer. Most lecturers have office hours where you can see them to discuss any course-related issues. Discuss the feedback with them so that you understand what you might need to improve for your next assignment.

Can I get feedback before I submit my assignment?

Some courses provide an opportunity for peer review or lecturer feedback prior to submission of the assignment. This is a way of getting early feedback so that you can improve the assignment before you hand it in. In most cases you will be guided in this process by your lecturer through your Canvas course page.

Related topics

• Analysing questions
• Key study skills

See all available workshops .

Have any questions? 

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5 tips on writing better university assignments

Lecturer in Student Learning and Communication Development, University of Sydney

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Alexandra Garcia does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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University life comes with its share of challenges. One of these is writing longer assignments that require higher information, communication and critical thinking skills than what you might have been used to in high school. Here are five tips to help you get ahead.

1. Use all available sources of information

Beyond instructions and deadlines, lecturers make available an increasing number of resources. But students often overlook these.

For example, to understand how your assignment will be graded, you can examine the rubric . This is a chart indicating what you need to do to obtain a high distinction, a credit or a pass, as well as the course objectives – also known as “learning outcomes”.

Other resources include lecture recordings, reading lists, sample assignments and discussion boards. All this information is usually put together in an online platform called a learning management system (LMS). Examples include Blackboard , Moodle , Canvas and iLearn . Research shows students who use their LMS more frequently tend to obtain higher final grades.

If after scrolling through your LMS you still have questions about your assignment, you can check your lecturer’s consultation hours.

2. Take referencing seriously

Plagiarism – using somebody else’s words or ideas without attribution – is a serious offence at university. It is a form of cheating.

In many cases, though, students are unaware they have cheated. They are simply not familiar with referencing styles – such as APA , Harvard , Vancouver , Chicago , etc – or lack the skills to put the information from their sources into their own words.

To avoid making this mistake, you may approach your university’s library, which is likely to offer face-to-face workshops or online resources on referencing. Academic support units may also help with paraphrasing.

You can also use referencing management software, such as EndNote or Mendeley . You can then store your sources, retrieve citations and create reference lists with only a few clicks. For undergraduate students, Zotero has been recommended as it seems to be more user-friendly.

Using this kind of software will certainly save you time searching for and formatting references. However, you still need to become familiar with the citation style in your discipline and revise the formatting accordingly.

3. Plan before you write

If you were to build a house, you wouldn’t start by laying bricks at random. You’d start with a blueprint. Likewise, writing an academic paper requires careful planning: you need to decide the number of sections, their organisation, and the information and sources you will include in each.

Research shows students who prepare detailed outlines produce higher-quality texts. Planning will not only help you get better grades, but will also reduce the time you spend staring blankly at the screen thinking about what to write next.

During the planning stage, using programs like OneNote from Microsoft Office or Outline for Mac can make the task easier as they allow you to organise information in tabs. These bits of information can be easily rearranged for later drafting. Navigating through the tabs is also easier than scrolling through a long Word file.

4. Choose the right words

Which of these sentences is more appropriate for an assignment?

a. “This paper talks about why the planet is getting hotter”, or b. “This paper examines the causes of climate change”.

The written language used at university is more formal and technical than the language you normally use in social media or while chatting with your friends. Academic words tend to be longer and their meaning is also more precise. “Climate change” implies more than just the planet “getting hotter”.

To find the right words, you can use SkELL , which shows you the words that appear more frequently, with your search entry categorised grammatically. For example, if you enter “paper”, it will tell you it is often the subject of verbs such as “present”, “describe”, “examine” and “discuss”.

Another option is the Writefull app, which does a similar job without having to use an online browser.

5. Edit and proofread

If you’re typing the last paragraph of the assignment ten minutes before the deadline, you will be missing a very important step in the writing process: editing and proofreading your text. A 2018 study found a group of university students did significantly better in a test after incorporating the process of planning, drafting and editing in their writing.

You probably already know to check the spelling of a word if it appears underlined in red. You may even use a grammar checker such as Grammarly . However, no software to date can detect every error and it is not uncommon to be given inaccurate suggestions.

So, in addition to your choice of proofreader, you need to improve and expand your grammar knowledge. Check with the academic support services at your university if they offer any relevant courses.

Written communication is a skill that requires effort and dedication. That’s why universities are investing in support services – face-to-face workshops, individual consultations, and online courses – to help students in this process. You can also take advantage of a wide range of web-based resources such as spell checkers, vocabulary tools and referencing software – many of them free.

Improving your written communication will help you succeed at university and beyond.

• College assignments
• University study
• Writing tips
• Essay writing
• Student assessment

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Writing Assignments

Kate Derrington; Cristy Bartlett; and Sarah Irvine

Introduction

Assignments are a common method of assessment at university and require careful planning and good quality research. Developing critical thinking and writing skills are also necessary to demonstrate your ability to understand and apply information about your topic.  It is not uncommon to be unsure about the processes of writing assignments at university.

• You may be returning to study after a break
• You may have come from an exam based assessment system and never written an assignment before
• Maybe you have written assignments but would like to improve your processes and strategies

This chapter has a collection of resources that will provide you with the skills and strategies to understand assignment requirements and effectively plan, research, write and edit your assignments.  It begins with an explanation of how to analyse an assignment task and start putting your ideas together.  It continues by breaking down the components of academic writing and exploring the elements you will need to master in your written assignments. This is followed by a discussion of paraphrasing and synthesis, and how you can use these strategies to create a strong, written argument. The chapter concludes with useful checklists for editing and proofreading to help you get the best possible mark for your work.

Task Analysis and Deconstructing an Assignment

It is important that before you begin researching and writing your assignments you spend sufficient time understanding all the requirements. This will help make your research process more efficient and effective. Check your subject information such as task sheets, criteria sheets and any additional information that may be in your subject portal online. Seek clarification from your lecturer or tutor if you are still unsure about how to begin your assignments.

The task sheet typically provides key information about an assessment including the assignment question. It can be helpful to scan this document for topic, task and limiting words to ensure that you fully understand the concepts you are required to research, how to approach the assignment, and the scope of the task you have been set. These words can typically be found in your assignment question and are outlined in more detail in the two tables below (see Table 19.1 and Table 19.2 ).

Table 19.1 Parts of an Assignment Question

Make sure you have a clear understanding of what the task word requires you to address.

Table 19.2 Task words

The criteria sheet , also known as the marking sheet or rubric, is another important document to look at before you begin your assignment. The criteria sheet outlines how your assignment will be marked and should be used as a checklist to make sure you have included all the information required.

The task or criteria sheet will also include the:

• Word limit (or word count)
• Referencing style and research expectations
• Formatting requirements

Task analysis and criteria sheets are also discussed in the chapter Managing Assessments for a more detailed discussion on task analysis, criteria sheets, and marking rubrics.

Preparing your ideas

Brainstorm or concept map:  List possible ideas to address each part of the assignment task based on what you already know about the topic from lectures and weekly readings.

Finding appropriate information: Learn how to find scholarly information for your assignments which is

See the chapter Working With Information for a more detailed explanation .

What is academic writing?

Academic writing tone and style.

Many of the assessment pieces you prepare will require an academic writing style.  This is sometimes called ‘academic tone’ or ‘academic voice’.  This section will help you to identify what is required when you are writing academically (see Table 19.3 ). The best way to understand what academic writing looks like, is to read broadly in your discipline area.  Look at how your course readings, or scholarly sources, are written. This will help you identify the language of your discipline field, as well as how other writers structure their work.

Table 19.3 Comparison of academic and non-academic writing

Thesis statements.

Essays are a common form of assessment that you will likely encounter during your university studies. You should apply an academic tone and style when writing an essay, just as you would in in your other assessment pieces. One of the most important steps in writing an essay is constructing your thesis statement.  A thesis statement tells the reader the purpose, argument or direction you will take to answer your assignment question. A thesis statement may not be relevant for some questions, if you are unsure check with your lecturer. The thesis statement:

• Directly  relates to the task .  Your thesis statement may even contain some of the key words or synonyms from the task description.
• Does more than restate the question.
• Is specific and uses precise language.
• Let’s your reader know your position or the main argument that you will support with evidence throughout your assignment.
• The subject is the key content area you will be covering.
• The contention is the position you are taking in relation to the chosen content.

Your thesis statement helps you to structure your essay.  It plays a part in each key section: introduction, body and conclusion.

Planning your assignment structure

When planning and drafting assignments, it is important to consider the structure of your writing. Academic writing should have clear and logical structure and incorporate academic research to support your ideas.  It can be hard to get started and at first you may feel nervous about the size of the task, this is normal. If you break your assignment into smaller pieces, it will seem more manageable as you can approach the task in sections. Refer to your brainstorm or plan. These ideas should guide your research and will also inform what you write in your draft. It is sometimes easier to draft your assignment using the 2-3-1 approach, that is, write the body paragraphs first followed by the conclusion and finally the introduction.

Writing introductions and conclusions

Clear and purposeful introductions and conclusions in assignments are fundamental to effective academic writing. Your introduction should tell the reader what is going to be covered and how you intend to approach this. Your conclusion should summarise your argument or discussion and signal to the reader that you have come to a conclusion with a final statement.  These tips below are based on the requirements usually needed for an essay assignment, however, they can be applied to other assignment types.

Writing introductions

Most writing at university will require a strong and logically structured introduction. An effective introduction should provide some background or context for your assignment, clearly state your thesis and include the key points you will cover in the body of the essay in order to prove your thesis.

Usually, your introduction is approximately 10% of your total assignment word count. It is much easier to write your introduction once you have drafted your body paragraphs and conclusion, as you know what your assignment is going to be about. An effective introduction needs to inform your reader by establishing what the paper is about and provide four basic things:

• A brief background or overview of your assignment topic
• A thesis statement (see section above)
• An outline of your essay structure
• An indication of any parameters or scope that will/ will not be covered, e.g. From an Australian perspective.

The below example demonstrates the four different elements of an introductory paragraph.

1) Information technology is having significant effects on the communication of individuals and organisations in different professions. 2) This essay will discuss the impact of information technology on the communication of health professionals.   3)  First, the provision of information technology for the educational needs of nurses will be discussed.  4)  This will be followed by an explanation of the significant effects that information technology can have on the role of general practitioner in the area of public health.  5)  Considerations will then be made regarding the lack of knowledge about the potential of computers among hospital administrators and nursing executives.  6)   The final section will explore how information technology assists health professionals in the delivery of services in rural areas .  7)  It will be argued that information technology has significant potential to improve health care and medical education, but health professionals are reluctant to use it.

1 Brief background/ overview | 2 Indicates the scope of what will be covered |   3-6 Outline of the main ideas (structure) | 7 The thesis statement

Note : The examples in this document are taken from the University of Canberra and used under a CC-BY-SA-3.0 licence.

Writing conclusions

You should aim to end your assignments with a strong conclusion. Your conclusion should restate your thesis and summarise the key points you have used to prove this thesis. Finish with a key point as a final impactful statement.  Similar to your introduction, your conclusion should be approximately 10% of the total assignment word length. If your assessment task asks you to make recommendations, you may need to allocate more words to the conclusion or add a separate recommendations section before the conclusion. Use the checklist below to check your conclusion is doing the right job.

Conclusion checklist 

• Have you referred to the assignment question and restated your argument (or thesis statement), as outlined in the introduction?
• Have you pulled together all the threads of your essay into a logical ending and given it a sense of unity?
• Have you presented implications or recommendations in your conclusion? (if required by your task).
• Have you added to the overall quality and impact of your essay? This is your final statement about this topic; thus, a key take-away point can make a great impact on the reader.
• Remember, do not add any new material or direct quotes in your conclusion.

This below example demonstrates the different elements of a concluding paragraph.

1) It is evident, therefore, that not only do employees need to be trained for working in the Australian multicultural workplace, but managers also need to be trained.  2)  Managers must ensure that effective in-house training programs are provided for migrant workers, so that they become more familiar with the English language, Australian communication norms and the Australian work culture.  3)  In addition, Australian native English speakers need to be made aware of the differing cultural values of their workmates; particularly the different forms of non-verbal communication used by other cultures.  4)  Furthermore, all employees must be provided with clear and detailed guidelines about company expectations.  5)  Above all, in order to minimise communication problems and to maintain an atmosphere of tolerance, understanding and cooperation in the multicultural workplace, managers need to have an effective knowledge about their employees. This will help employers understand how their employee’s social conditioning affects their beliefs about work. It will develop their communication skills to develop confidence and self-esteem among diverse work groups. 6) The culturally diverse Australian workplace may never be completely free of communication problems, however,   further studies to identify potential problems and solutions, as well as better training in cross cultural communication for managers and employees,   should result in a much more understanding and cooperative environment. 

1  Reference to thesis statement – In this essay the writer has taken the position that training is required for both employees and employers . | 2-5 Structure overview – Here the writer pulls together the main ideas in the essay. | 6  Final summary statement that is based on the evidence.

Note: The examples in this document are taken from the University of Canberra and used under a CC-BY-SA-3.0 licence.

Writing paragraphs

Paragraph writing is a key skill that enables you to incorporate your academic research into your written work.  Each paragraph should have its own clearly identified topic sentence or main idea which relates to the argument or point (thesis) you are developing.  This idea should then be explained by additional sentences which you have paraphrased from good quality sources and referenced according to the recommended guidelines of your subject (see the chapter Working with Information ). Paragraphs are characterised by increasing specificity; that is, they move from the general to the specific, increasingly refining the reader’s understanding. A common structure for paragraphs in academic writing is as follows.

Topic Sentence 

This is the main idea of the paragraph and should relate to the overall issue or purpose of your assignment is addressing. Often it will be expressed as an assertion or claim which supports the overall argument or purpose of your writing.

Explanation/ Elaboration

The main idea must have its meaning explained and elaborated upon. Think critically, do not just describe the idea.

These explanations must include evidence to support your main idea. This information should be paraphrased and referenced according to the appropriate referencing style of your course.

Concluding sentence (critical thinking)

This should explain why the topic of the paragraph is relevant to the assignment question and link to the following paragraph.

Use the checklist below to check your paragraphs are clear and well formed.

Paragraph checklist

• Does your paragraph have a clear main idea?
• Is everything in the paragraph related to this main idea?
• Is the main idea adequately developed and explained?
• Do your sentences run together smoothly?
• Have you included evidence to support your ideas?
• Have you concluded the paragraph by connecting it to your overall topic?

Writing sentences

Make sure all the sentences in your paragraphs make sense. Each sentence must contain a verb to be a complete sentence. Avoid sentence fragments . These are incomplete sentences or ideas that are unfinished and create confusion for your reader. Avoid also run on sentences . This happens when you join two ideas or clauses without using the appropriate punctuation. This also confuses your meaning (See the chapter English Language Foundations for examples and further explanation).

Use transitions (linking words and phrases) to connect your ideas between paragraphs and make your writing flow. The order that you structure the ideas in your assignment should reflect the structure you have outlined in your introduction. Refer to transition words table in the chapter English Language Foundations.

Paraphrasing and Synthesising

Paraphrasing and synthesising are powerful tools that you can use to support the main idea of a paragraph. It is likely that you will regularly use these skills at university to incorporate evidence into explanatory sentences and strengthen your essay. It is important to paraphrase and synthesise because:

• Paraphrasing is regarded more highly at university than direct quoting.
• Paraphrasing can also help you better understand the material.
• Paraphrasing and synthesising demonstrate you have understood what you have read through your ability to summarise and combine arguments from the literature using your own words.

What is paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing is changing the writing of another author into your words while retaining the original meaning. You must acknowledge the original author as the source of the information in your citation. Follow the steps in this table to help you build your skills in paraphrasing (see Table 19.4 ).

Table 19.4 Paraphrasing techniques

Example of paraphrasing.

Please note that these examples and in text citations are for instructional purposes only.

Original text

Health care professionals   assist people often when they are at their most  vulnerable . To provide the best care and understand their needs, workers must demonstrate good communication skills .  They must develop patient trust and provide empathy   to effectively work with patients who are experiencing a variety of situations including those who may be suffering from trauma or violence, physical or mental illness or substance abuse (French & Saunders, 2018).

Poor quality paraphrase example

This is a poor example of paraphrasing. Some synonyms have been used and the order of a few words changed within the sentences however the colours of the sentences indicate that the paragraph follows the same structure as the original text.

Health care sector workers are often responsible for vulnerable  patients.   To understand patients and deliver good service , they need to be excellent communicators .  They must establish patient rapport and show empathy if they are to successfully care for patients from a variety of backgrounds  and with different medical, psychological and social needs (French & Saunders, 2018).

A good quality paraphrase example

This example demonstrates a better quality paraphrase. The author has demonstrated more understanding of the overall concept in the text by using the keywords as the basis to reconstruct the paragraph. Note how the blocks of colour have been broken up to see how much the structure has changed from the original text.

Empathetic   communication is a vital skill for health care workers.   Professionals in these fields   are often responsible for patients with complex medical, psychological and social needs. Empathetic   communication assists in building rapport and gaining the necessary trust   to assist these vulnerable patients  by providing appropriate supportive care (French & Saunders, 2018).

The good quality paraphrase example demonstrates understanding of the overall concept in the text by using key words as the basis to reconstruct the paragraph.  Note how the blocks of colour have been broken up, which indicates how much the structure has changed from the original text.

What is synthesising?

Synthesising means to bring together more than one source of information to strengthen your argument. Once you have learnt how to paraphrase the ideas of one source at a time, you can consider adding additional sources to support your argument. Synthesis demonstrates your understanding and ability to show connections between multiple pieces of evidence to support your ideas and is a more advanced academic thinking and writing skill.

Follow the steps in this table to improve your synthesis techniques (see Table 19.5 ).

Table 19.5 Synthesising techniques

Example of synthesis

There is a relationship between academic procrastination and mental health outcomes.  Procrastination has been found to have a negative effect on students’ well-being (Balkis, & Duru, 2016). Yerdelen, McCaffrey, and Klassens’ (2016) research results suggested that there was a positive association between procrastination and anxiety. This was corroborated by Custer’s (2018) findings which indicated that students with higher levels of procrastination also reported greater levels of the anxiety. Therefore, it could be argued that procrastination is an ineffective learning strategy that leads to increased levels of distress.

Topic sentence | Statements using paraphrased evidence | Critical thinking (student voice) | Concluding statement – linking to topic sentence

This example demonstrates a simple synthesis. The author has developed a paragraph with one central theme and included explanatory sentences complete with in-text citations from multiple sources. Note how the blocks of colour have been used to illustrate the paragraph structure and synthesis (i.e., statements using paraphrased evidence from several sources). A more complex synthesis may include more than one citation per sentence.

Creating an argument

What does this mean.

Throughout your university studies, you may be asked to ‘argue’ a particular point or position in your writing. You may already be familiar with the idea of an argument, which in general terms means to have a disagreement with someone. Similarly, in academic writing, if you are asked to create an argument, this means you are asked to have a position on a particular topic, and then justify your position using evidence.

What skills do you need to create an argument?

In order to create a good and effective argument, you need to be able to:

• Read critically to find evidence
• Plan your argument
• Think and write critically throughout your paper to enhance your argument

For tips on how to read and write critically, refer to the chapter Thinking for more information. A formula for developing a strong argument is presented below.

A formula for a good argument

What does an argument look like?

As can be seen from the figure above, including evidence is a key element of a good argument. While this may seem like a straightforward task, it can be difficult to think of wording to express your argument. The table below provides examples of how you can illustrate your argument in academic writing (see Table 19.6 ).

Table 19.6 Argument

Editing and proofreading (reviewing).

Once you have finished writing your first draft it is recommended that you spend time revising your work.  Proofreading and editing are two different stages of the revision process.

• Editing considers the overall focus or bigger picture of the assignment
• Proofreading considers the finer details

As can be seen in the figure above there are four main areas that you should review during the editing phase of the revision process. The main things to consider when editing include content, structure, style, and sources. It is important to check that all the content relates to the assignment task, the structure is appropriate for the purposes of the assignment, the writing is academic in style, and that sources have been adequately acknowledged. Use the checklist below when editing your work.

Editing checklist

• Have I answered the question accurately?
• Do I have enough credible, scholarly supporting evidence?
• Is my writing tone objective and formal enough or have I used emotive and informal language?
• Have I written in the third person not the first person?
• Do I have appropriate in-text citations for all my information?
• Have I included the full details for all my in-text citations in my reference list?

There are also several key things to look out for during the proofreading phase of the revision process. In this stage it is important to check your work for word choice, grammar and spelling, punctuation and referencing errors. It can be easy to mis-type words like ‘from’ and ‘form’ or mix up words like ‘trail’ and ‘trial’ when writing about research, apply American rather than Australian spelling, include unnecessary commas or incorrectly format your references list. The checklist below is a useful guide that you can use when proofreading your work.

Proofreading checklist

• Is my spelling and grammar accurate?
•  Are they complete?
• Do they all make sense?
• Do they only contain only one idea?
• Do the different elements (subject, verb, nouns, pronouns) within my sentences agree?
• Are my sentences too long and complicated?
• Do they contain only one idea per sentence?
• Is my writing concise? Take out words that do not add meaning to your sentences.
• Have I used appropriate discipline specific language but avoided words I don’t know or understand that could possibly be out of context?
• Have I avoided discriminatory language and colloquial expressions (slang)?
• Is my referencing formatted correctly according to my assignment guidelines? (for more information on referencing refer to the Managing Assessment feedback section).

This chapter has examined the experience of writing assignments.  It began by focusing on how to read and break down an assignment question, then highlighted the key components of essays. Next, it examined some techniques for paraphrasing and summarising, and how to build an argument. It concluded with a discussion on planning and structuring your assignment and giving it that essential polish with editing and proof-reading. Combining these skills and practising them, can greatly improve your success with this very common form of assessment.

• Academic writing requires clear and logical structure, critical thinking and the use of credible scholarly sources.
• A thesis statement is important as it tells the reader the position or argument you have adopted in your assignment. Not all assignments will require a thesis statement.
• Spending time analysing your task and planning your structure before you start to write your assignment is time well spent.
• Information you use in your assignment should come from credible scholarly sources such as textbooks and peer reviewed journals. This information needs to be paraphrased and referenced appropriately.
• Paraphrasing means putting something into your own words and synthesising means to bring together several ideas from sources.
• Creating an argument is a four step process and can be applied to all types of academic writing.
• Editing and proofreading are two separate processes.

Academic Skills Centre. (2013). Writing an introduction and conclusion . University of Canberra, accessed 13 August, 2013, http://www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/writing/conclusions

Balkis, M., & Duru, E. (2016). Procrastination, self-regulation failure, academic life satisfaction, and affective well-being: underregulation or misregulation form. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 31 (3), 439-459.

Custer, N. (2018). Test anxiety and academic procrastination among prelicensure nursing students. Nursing education perspectives, 39 (3), 162-163.

Yerdelen, S., McCaffrey, A., & Klassen, R. M. (2016). Longitudinal examination of procrastination and anxiety, and their relation to self-efficacy for self-regulated learning: Latent growth curve modeling. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 16 (1).

Writing Assignments Copyright © 2021 by Kate Derrington; Cristy Bartlett; and Sarah Irvine is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Marking guides describe in detail what is required for an assignment. They are often attached to the assignment question.

The kinds of marking guides used at university can vary according to discipline, department, and course co-ordinator. Further, the individual preferences of the marker will have a significant bearing on your grade. Generally, however, the marking criterion for assignments at university is likely to be divided into two broad areas: content and form .

Content is about the quality of the discussion you raise. This includes the depth and coverage of your explanations and descriptions, the type of evidence you use to support your points, and how well you are able to evaluate the issues you have been assigned.

In contrast, form relates to technical aspects of writing, such as whether you have followed grammatical rules and correct spelling, and how clearly you have documented your evidence in the body of the assignment and in the reference list at the back of your assignment. Form also extends to the physical presentation of the assignment, which involves conforming to the instructions given for formatting and layout .

The following criteria commonly appear in marking guides (adapted from Holmes, 1995).

• Coverage: Have you carried out all the requirements of the assignment thoroughly?
• Relevance: Is what you have written relevant to the requirements of the assignment?
• Overall structure: Is the overall structure of your assignment clear?
• Understanding: Do you show understanding of the content of the topic selected and relevant concepts for evaluating it?
• Use of terms: Do you use technical terms accurately and appropriately?
• Clarity of explanation: Are your explanations clear, logical, and understandable?
• Reading: Do you show evidence of having read widely in the relevant area?
• Critical viewpoint: Can you see flaws in the theories/frameworks used in the topic being discussed?
• Written expression: Grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
• Documentation: What references have you used to support your ideas? Are they correctly listed at the end and correctly cited in the text of your assignment?
• Word limits: Did you keep to the word limit?
• Presentation: Is your assignment clearly presented and readable?

Another style of marking guide assigns a ‘weight’ to each criterion.

• Scope of assignment: 50%
• Evidence of reading: 10%
• Structure and organisation: 30%
• Presentation: 10%
• Total: 100%

References and further reading

Holmes, J. (1995). Ling 312: Sociolinguistics assignment marking guide. Victoria University.

Page authorised by Director - Centre for Learner Success Last updated on 25 October, 2012

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How does the UK university grading system work?

Whether you’re already studying or are about to, it is important to understand how the UK university grading system works.

When it comes to studying an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in the UK, grading systems vary. Whether you’re about to start your degree, or you are close to the third year of your course, it’s important to understand how your final grade will be calculated. Luckily, it’s easy to understand.

University grading: degree classifications explained

Universities in the UK follow a standard grading system for degree classifications based on the overall percentage achieved. The four university grade boundaries are:

• First-Class Honours (1st) (70% and above): Exceptional academic performance
• Upper Second-Class Honours (2:1) (60-70%): Strong performance, most common degree class
• Lower Second-Class Honours (2:2) (50-60%): Satisfactory performance, widely accepted by employers
• Third-Class Honours (3rd) (40-50%): Minimum passing grade for an honours degree

What is the postgraduate grading system in the UK?

The British postgraduate grading system differs quite a bit from the undergraduate one. Depending on whether you are undergoing an Integrated Masters Degree or a Standalone Masters Degree the grading system will differ. Like undergraduate, Masters Degrees are graded by creating a weighted average, combining all your module results from the year(s).

An integrated masters is one which follows directly from an undergraduate course. Common in Science degrees, where you apply for a four year course. In your second year you will be able to choose to either complete a Bsc (Bachelor of Science) or follow the path to achieve an MChem (Masters in Chemistry) etc. Integrated Masters degrees are graded the same as undergraduate degrees.

Standalone Masters include Masters Degrees by Research and Taught Masters Degrees. Masters degrees by research commonly referred to as MRes or MPhil are focused more on individual research skills with less taught modules. These degrees are usually graded as a pass or a fail.

Taught Masters degrees require a total of 180 credits. These credits are split between assignments, assessments and a dissertation or final project. Each module will have a certain amount of credits attached. For example, you may have single modules weighted at 15 credits, double modules (that span over two semesters) at 30 credits and a dissertation weighted at 60 credits. As taught, Masters Degrees are typically only a year long, every module counts to your final grade.

Instead of a First, Upper Second, Lower Second and Third, there are only three grade classifications for a Masters Degree. These are Distinction, Merit and Pass. The boundaries for these may vary depending on your university, however the common boundaries are shown below.

• Distinction: much like a First at undergraduate level, a Distinction is awarded when you achieve a percentage grade of 70% and above.
• Merit: you’ll be awarded a Merit if you achieve a grade average between 60-69%.
• Pass: a pass is awarded when you receive a grade average between 50-59%.
• Fail: If you do not receive at the minimum an average of 50%, the Masters qualification is not awarded. If you do think you are heading towards failing, try not to stress. You can speak with your module leaders about retaking any assignments or examinations to bump up your grade.

What can I do if I think I am going to fail my degree?

If you feel as if you are heading towards failing your undergraduate or postgraduate degree try not to panic. Easier said than done but you do have plenty of options.

As an undergraduate, you have three or four years to make up the credits you need to pass your course. Therefore, you are able to retake any modules you have failed in other years. For example, if you fail a Film module in first year, you can retake this module in your second year. If you fail numerous modules you are able to retake the entire year.

Another option is to retake any failed assignments or examinations throughout the year. This is easily done through referral or deferral assessments. Referral assessments are like resits, whilst deferrals allow students to postpone any assessments or extend any coursework deadlines. To qualify for a deferral you will need to prove that your performance has been affected by a personal circumstance (e.g. medical condition). To be granted a deferral you will need to fill out an application. Referrals and deferrals can be implemented at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Finally, if you feel as if your grade is an unfair reflection on your work you can submit an appeal. If you do this, your mark will be re-marked or looked back over by an examination board or your lecturers. Simply speak with your lecturers if this is something you would like to do.

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Assessments and grades

Types of assessments, feedback and grades

Over the duration of your studies, you will be assessed in many different ways that will be relevant to your subject area. Your course has been designed to give you a variety of assessment experiences. This will mean that the assessment tasks for individual modules will be different to each other.

You will come across two main types of assessment activities:

• Formative:  You receive feedback and a mark that does not contribute to the overall module grade. 
• Summative:  The mark you receive will contribute towards the completion of your modules and overall grade.

The  academic calendar  contains University-wide assessment weeks, which take place at the end of our semesters; however, you may be required to submit work at any time during your studies.

Assessments, marking and grades

Assessment briefs.

Assessment briefs are summaries of each assessment activity that you will be asked to complete for your modules. Assessment briefs provide important information such as submission date, the size of the assessment (e.g. word limits), the weighting of activity (if there is more than one assessment point for your module), and additional information that you will need to complete the assessment activity successfully.

All assessment briefs have to be approved by University reviewers to ensure that they are appropriate, inclusive and provide all students with the opportunity to demonstrate that they have met the relevant learning outcomes of the module.

All approved assessment briefs are sent to academic staff from a different University (known as External Examiners), who provide an independent opinion of the proposed assessment. At this stage, the External Examiners have to approve the assignment brief before receiving it at the start of your modules.

Assessment unpacking

In the first few weeks of a module, you will be given an opportunity to discuss the details of the assessment brief to ensure that you understand the tasks that have been set. You will share your understanding of the assessment brief with the tutor, who will be able to address any queries and provide clarification.

Anonymous submission

Where possible, your work will be submitted anonymously. The nature of some assignments means that anonymous submission is not possible (e.g. presentations, practical examinations, oral examinations). When academic staff mark your work, you will only be identified by your student number and not by your name.  This is done to avoid any unintentional bias when your work is marked.

Marking your work

Each piece of submitted assessment will receive a percentage mark. Your marks will relate to performance descriptors that outline the generic characteristics of a piece of work at your level of study.  

To ensure consistency of marking across a module, every assessment activity is moderated by an independent member of staff (i.e. a member of staff who is not part of the module teaching team).  The role of the moderator is to ensure that the marks are at the appropriate level and that the feedback provided to you is appropriate, supportive and will allow you to develop and enhance your future work.

Feedback to students

You will be provided with your percentage mark and some feedback comments. The feedback will explain why your work has been given a particular mark.  It will also explain how you could improve this mark in future assessment tasks.

External grade approval

The external examiner will look at a sample of work from each module. At this stage, the role of the external examiner is to ensure consistency of marking within the module and that the level of the work is equivalent to that at other universities in the country.

Assessment boards

Your percentage mark remains unconfirmed until an assessment board has considered it. The role of the assessment board is to receive and confirm the marks for your work whilst applying our academic regulations to ensure our assessment processes have been consistent and fair. Assessment boards are chaired by a senior independent member of staff and take into account comments that have been made by the external examiner.

Academic appeals

The University academic appeals procedure is in place to enable students to appeal against the decisions of an assessment board , for example, where a grade has been recorded incorrectly, or there has been or an error in the application of the University regulations in a decision regarding progression, completion or classification.  Visit the  Academic Appeals  webpages for further details.

Academic integrity

We are committed to supporting the development of your academic integrity. This means that any work that you write or create has been produced in an honest, fair, and transparent way. Academic integrity is important for recognising and acknowledging the work of other people that you have used in the preparation of your assignments. We know, however, that there are occasions where academic integrity is not maintained (for example, through plagiarism, collusion and cheating), and that this may be unintentional or deliberate. These instances are known as academic misconduct. All examples of academic misconduct will be investigated and penalties may be applied if proven.

As a student, you will have access to a wide range of support services and resources designed to help you to develop your academic skills and to ensure the academic integrity of your work. In addition to the support available through your course, you can also access the Learning for Skills services provided by the libraries, both in-person and online.

Read the  academic integrity  policy for details.

Find out more

• Schools & departments

Section C: marking of assessment

Regulations 31 - 37: Moderation, anonymous marking and common marking schemes.

Regulation 31 Moderation and standard-setting

The marking of all components of assessment must be subject to moderation in a way that is appropriate to the discipline, the nature of the assessment, and the credit weighting of the component of assessment. Boards of Examiners can apply standard-setting processes to the marks of assessments, provided that the choice of standard-setting methodology is defensible.

Application of the regulation

31.1 Moderation occurs before External Examiners review the operation of the marking and internal moderation process. Forms of moderation include sampled second marking, double-marking, and checking the operation of computer-based assessment. Any single item of assessment which is equivalent to 40 credits or more must be double marked.

31.2 Moderation may result in recommended mark or grade adjustments (including scaling of marks) and associated changes to feedback for a specific component of assessment. The purpose of any mark or grade adjustments is to ensure final marks for all students more accurately reflect performance against the learning outcomes on the relevant Common Marking Scheme. No changes can be made to marking without the original marker’s knowledge. Where possible, any changes should take place in discussion with the original marker. Mark or grade adjustments may be made before or after the release of provisional marks to students. Where there are concerns about the appropriateness of marks for a whole cohort, any method of adjusting or scaling marks should be applied fairly to all students in the cohort. It is unlikely to be appropriate to adjust the mark for an individual student in isolation. Marks or grades may be adjusted by simple addition or subtraction, multiplication by a factor, or the use of another method of scaling deemed appropriate by the Board of Examiners. Boards of Examiners must keep clear records and publish explanatory information to students about any scaling that has been applied on a cohort basis.

31.3 Records of the operation of the occurrence and the outcome of the moderation processes must be kept. Records must show the rationale for decisions taken, including any decision that marks or grades should not be altered.

31.4 Boards of Examiners are responsible for determining the form of moderation for each component of assessment, and for ensuring the appropriate operation of moderation processes. Course Organisers are responsible for the organisation and supervising of the marking and moderation processes for their courses’ assessments.

31.5 Boards of Examiners are responsible for reviewing marking and moderation arrangements, and the outcomes of students’ assessments, across related courses (for example, Honours level courses in a subject area) in order to ensure that assessment criteria have been applied consistently.

31.6 Standard-setting is the process whereby decisions are made about boundaries or ‘cut-points’ between the marks or grades of candidates. It is separate from any process of retrospectively scaling or adjusting marks, following moderation. Any standard-setting process must aim to ensure that students’ results reflect the learning outcomes they have achieved and that the assessment is fair. Standards can be relative or norm-referenced (taking account the performance of candidates), absolute (defining minimum levels of competence) or a compromise between these two approaches.

31.7 Schools need to state what practice each course uses for internal moderation, and (where relevant) the methods of standard-setting, in the Statement of Assessment (see Regulation 14).

31.8 Resources and publications are available from the Institute for Academic Development:

Institute for Academic Development

Regulation 32 Anonymous marking

Assessed work must be marked anonymously when possible.  Marks and grades must also be anonymised during processing.

32.1 Marking work anonymously is an important aspect of fair marking.

32.2 There will be occasions when it is not possible to mark a piece of work anonymously, e.g. a performed piece, an oral presentation, a dissertation or other piece of work where the specialised nature of the topic identifies the student. However, students’ identities should be concealed when marks are presented at the Board of Examiners’ meeting.

32.3 Use of examination numbers in assessment can help maintain anonymity.

Regulation 33 Security of marks

Assessed work, marks and grades must be handled, transported, recorded and stored securely.

33.1 The Convener of the Board of Examiners has responsibility for the security of arrangements.  In practice, the operation of this may be delegated to the Teaching Organisation or equivalent.

33.2 Security arrangements must also include sending assessed work and marks and grades to examiners, including External Examiners; marking arrangements for online assessment; and correspondence about marks, which may be by email.

33.3 Marks or grade information about more than 50 individuals is classified as medium risk information under the University’s policy on taking sensitive information and personal data outside the secure computing environment. Under this policy, if exam scripts, marks or grade information leave University premises or University computing systems then additional security measures, such as encryption or locked  cabinets, must be used.

Regulation 34 Legibility and accessibility of assessed work

It is a student’s responsibility to ensure that their submitted assessed work is legible and accessible.

34.1 If markers consider a significant proportion of a student’s assessed work to be so illegible that they cannot reach a robust mark they must consult the Convener of the Board of Examiners.

(a) Where the Convener suspects that disability has impaired the student’s ability to write legibly, the Convener, in consultation with the Disability and Learning Support Service (DLSS), can decide whether the work should be marked normally or whether the disability justifies transcription. If transcription is not justified and the work is completely illegible, a zero will be awarded. If it is partially legible then the legible part will be marked.

 (b) Where there are no issues of disability, the Convener should ensure that the legible part of the work is marked normally.  If the work is completely illegible, a zero will be awarded.

All such cases need to be drawn to the attention of the relevant Dean and the External Examiner and feedback needs to be given to the student.

34.2 Schools are responsible for informing students of the format in which assessed work must be submitted, e.g. they may require work to be submitted electronically.

Regulation 35 Common Marking Schemes

The final mark, grade, result and award and classification decision must be expressed using the relevant Common Marking Scheme:

Common Marking Scheme

35.1 The University operates the following Common Marking Schemes:

• CMS1 Undergraduate degree assessment (except BVM&S and MBChB)
• CMS2 Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery (BVM&S)
• CMS3 Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB)
• CMS4 Postgraduate Assessment

35.2 In each Common Marking Scheme, Colleges and Schools may amplify, but not alter, the overall description of grades.

35.3 Where the relevant Board of Studies has approved the operation of assessment for a course on a Pass/Fail basis, Boards of Examiners may award credit for the course without awarding a mark or grade under the Common Marking Scheme. Courses whose assessment operates on a Pass/Fail basis are permitted during the pre-Honours stage of undergraduate Honours programmes, or on non-Honours undergraduate programmes and postgraduate taught programmes. Courses with Pass/Fail assessment may not be offered during the Honours years of a programme unless Academic Policy and Regulations Committee has approved an exemption.

35.4 Boards of Examiners make a statement on how marks are held, and to how many decimal places, during the internal processing of the component marks for a course. Practice within a Board of Examiners needs to be consistent.

Regulation 36 Provisional marks

Students need to be made aware that marks for assessed coursework are provisional and may be modified when considered at the Board of Examiners meeting.

36.1 Course handbooks and other sources of advice for students are used to inform students that marks are provisional until agreed by a Board of Examiners.

Regulation 37 Final marks

Boards of Examiners confirm marks as final in the minutes of the Board of Examiners meeting. A Board of Examiners must not revise marks agreed as final by a previous Board of Examiners (except in line with Taught Assessment Regulation 64). 

37.1 For undergraduates and postgraduate students, the Board of Examiners agrees marks as final in the year in which they are obtained.

37.2 The Board of Examiners is required to apply any penalty determined by the College Academic Misconduct Officer (CAMO). The Board cannot adjust the penalty or apply any additional penalty for the offence. Following the application of the penalty, if the student has valid Special Circumstances relating to the affected assessment the Board will follow Regulation 43 of the Taught Assessment Regulations.

Further information can be found in the Academic Misconduct Procedure: 

37.3 The Board of Examiners for final year students is responsible for determining the award of degree. The Board of Examiners, in determining final classifications and awards, may exercise discretion by taking into account special circumstances.  See taught assessment regulation 43.

37.4 The Board of Examiners approves a single mark for each component of assessment for which final marks are to be released; marks for components of assessment are not rounded. The final component marks are used by the Board of Examiners when determining the overall result for the course. Rounding is only applied to final course marks (see regulation 63).

37.5 Students are informed of the status of the marks released and are reminded that the Board of Examiners, in determining the final marks or award, may have exercised discretion by taking into account additional relevant information.

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Learning and Teaching

5. Marking and Production of Feedback

York St John University has agreed Generic Assessment Descriptors (DOC, 23.3kB)  for undergraduate assessments. Marking criteria should be mapped against these. 

York St John University is committed to fair and transparent marking.

Adjustments for disability or Exceptional Circumstances should have been made before assignment submission, so all submissions should be marked in the same way.

If you suspect plagiarism during the marking process, then you may like to look at our resources which help with detection, and explain what to do if you identify it: Academic Integrity .

Marking and Moderation Schedule

Before the submission date for assignments (and ideally at the beginning of the year, to help with planning), module leaders should produce a marking and moderation schedule. The University procedures for verification, marking and moderation of assessments explain what may be required, and what the expectations are for selecting samples for internal and external moderation and recording marking and moderation decisions. The YSJU policy document on  provides more detailed information about the approved process.

Moderation is an essential process of monitoring that assessment and marking have taken place in a way that ensures consistency across the module and between modules of the same level, matches learning outcomes, maintains standards and is fair to students.

In practice, moderation entails the review and potential adjustment of a set of marks for a particular module, normally through sampling the assessment.

At YSJU, all dissertations are double marked. The extent of double marking of other assignments is to be decided by the Faculty but aligned with the minimum (which is explained in the University procedures).

Double marking often leads to debates and arguments about the correct mark. This assumes that a correct mark can be arrived at and there is much evidence to suggest that this is not the case. As such moderation should focus on establishing that the mark awarded is in the correct band.  Moderators should also be asked to make a judgement on the feedback: is it sufficient and/or useful?

Calibration

Calibration is considered to be good practice and so applying it to all situations would be advisable. A calibration exercise must take place where a marker is newly appointed to the institution, or where a team of markers is involved in first marking. The process of calibration is as follows: the module director selects at least two pieces of work at random from the module assignments submitted. These two scripts are independently marked by all tutors involved in the marking of the assignment. All the markers meet to calibrate the marking and agree marks for each marked script, referencing to the marking criteria and/or scheme as necessary. A brief rationale for the final agreed mark is clearly identified on the feedback sheets or equivalent. Calibrating feedback would also be good practice at this stage. A calibration exercise may be undertaken for other modules at the discretion of the module director and Chair of the SAP.

External Examiners

The External Examiner also provides a further element of quality assurance by providing feedback on the integrity of the marking process and commenting upon the usefulness of the feedback provided. Remember though that the standards that are being applied to the student's work belong to YSJU. External Examiners should comment upon marking but are not in a position to demand that marks be changed.

Assuming that the assignment has been set up effectively during the ' Setting ' phase, then marking and feedback decisions should be straightforwardly based on the original plan. York St John University's policy is that marking should be completed within 15 working days. This is to facilitate the timely return of marks and feedback to students.

Feedback is information about the merits and areas for development of a piece of work. In the case of summative assessment, feedback is also related to the criteria and standards for assessment. Feedback can be provided by staff and/or peers throughout a module in order to support learning, to facilitate improvement and to help to develop the evaluative skills of students; this is formative (as opposed to summative) feedback.

Timing is important: students benefit from feedback on their work at a time when they are able to use it to best effect and in a way that does not increase the burden of assessment for staff or students.

York St John University does not insist upon a uniform feedback form being adopted, but feedback should be fit for purpose. It is possible to give too much feedback. To this end, feedback must be useful to students in respect of their future development. As such a range of feedback forms are currently used across the university, but in each case markers should focus upon assisting students to learn from assessment rather than just being informed of where they have performed weakly.

At York St John University we have developed, through a collaborative process, our own University Feedback Principles , which emphasise: a programme-level approach to feedback; student self-evaluation; dialogue between students, tutors and peers; and the importance of formative feedback and 'feed forward' (constructive guidance on how students can improve their next assignment). Please click on the link to read the Principles in full.

The aim of the Feedback Principles in Practice website and blog is to share ideas about how we put them into practice to enhance student learning.

Production of Feedback

Using microsoft word comments, track changes & quick parts.

You can insert a comment inside balloons that appear in the document margins. This means that clear feedback can be given at the point that an issue arises. It is helpful because it does not require that students make a link between a comment on a cover sheet and the location of issues within their work. You can also hide comments from view - Insert or Delete a Comment .

Track Changes

You can customise the status bar to add an indicator that tells you when change tracking is on or off. With this facility you can add or delete text to an assignment and the student can clearly see what you have done. It also provides an opportunity for the student to view the document based upon your changes easily. When the Track Changes feature is on, you can view all of the changes that you make in a document. When you turn off the Track Changes feature, you can make changes to a document without marking what has changed - Turn Track Changes On or Off .

Quick Parts

The Quick Part Gallery is a gallery where you can create, store, and find reusable pieces of content, including AutoText, document properties such as title and author, and fields - Quick Parts . So, if there are comments that you find yourself repeating on numerous assignments it can save you a lot of time as you only have to insert the comment rather than rewriting it.

For more information on using Microsoft Word for marking & production of feedback please contact Digital Training .

Using Grademark

With Turnitin's GradeMark tool a tutor is able to edit and grade student work online.

Tutors can use GradeMark to grade student's written work (i.e. essays, thesis, powerpoint files), non-written work (including images, videos, music files) or work not submitted to a Turnitin assignment (i.e. speeches, presentations, performances, or works of art).

For student written work tutors can add comments within the body of the paper, point out grammar and punctuation mistakes, evaluate the paper against qualitative or quantitative rubrics, assess the student’s performance within the class and enter a grade for the paper that is automatically saved into GradeBook (optional).

Tutors may use the grading template for assignments that do not require a submission (i.e. speeches, presentations, performances, or works of art). The grading template maintains all of the functionality of GradeMark except for the ability to view the file within the Document Viewer.

Using the TurnItIn iPad App

Turnitin for iPad allows instructors to grade student papers with all the favorite Turnitin features, on your iPad with the added benefit of grading offline. Turnitin for iPad includes automated originality feedback and allows you to leave the following types of feedback on student papers:

• QuickMark Comments with Personalised Comments
• Highlights with Comments
• Bubble Comments
• Inline Comments
• Strikethrough Text
• Voice Comments
• General Comments
• Rubric Grading

Turnitin for iPad is available as a free download in the App Store . Once downloaded to your iPad, click on the Turnitin icon to open the app.

Audio & Video Feedback

Audio and/or video feedback can be presented and delivered in a variety of ways, including:

• Audio Only - A digital audio file such as an MP3 or WAV file using an MP3 recorder, Audacity, iAnnotate or similar.
• Synchronous Audio-Video - Moving image and audio together, such as video footage or screencasts using Jing or Camtasia.

Choosing one of these types of feedback will generally depend on two things, the level of time and technical involvement you wish to embark in, and the suitability for the type of assessment and the needs of the student.

• Media-enhanced submission and feedback
• Using Audio Feedback for Assessment

For more help, information or advice about using audio and/or video feedback please contact [email protected] .

Rob Creasy (May 2015)

Module Leader

• Produce a marking and moderation schedule for their module
• Ensure that marking and feedback are completed within the three week deadline, and ensure that internal moderation is also completed in this period
• Review the marking and feedback process after moderation and report back to programme committee as part of the Programme Monitoring & Review process

Head of Programme

• Collate marking and moderation schedules for each level and review for consistency
• Review assessment at each level annually

Assessment Lifecycle by Academic Development Directorate is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License . Based on work at Manchester Metropolitan University Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, some of which was developed as part of the JISC-supported TRAFFIC project.

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How to write the best college assignments.

By Lois Weldon

When it comes to writing assignments, it is difficult to find a conceptualized guide with clear and simple tips that are easy to follow. That’s exactly what this guide will provide: few simple tips on how to write great assignments, right when you need them. Some of these points will probably be familiar to you, but there is no harm in being reminded of the most important things before you start writing the assignments, which are usually determining on your credits.

The most important aspects: Outline and Introduction

Preparation is the key to success, especially when it comes to academic assignments. It is recommended to always write an outline before you start writing the actual assignment. The outline should include the main points of discussion, which will keep you focused throughout the work and will make your key points clearly defined. Outlining the assignment will save you a lot of time because it will organize your thoughts and make your literature searches much easier. The outline will also help you to create different sections and divide up the word count between them, which will make the assignment more organized.

The introduction is the next important part you should focus on. This is the part that defines the quality of your assignment in the eyes of the reader. The introduction must include a brief background on the main points of discussion, the purpose of developing such work and clear indications on how the assignment is being organized. Keep this part brief, within one or two paragraphs.

This is an example of including the above mentioned points into the introduction of an assignment that elaborates the topic of obesity reaching proportions:

Background : The twenty first century is characterized by many public health challenges, among which obesity takes a major part. The increasing prevalence of obesity is creating an alarming situation in both developed and developing regions of the world.

Structure and aim : This assignment will elaborate and discuss the specific pattern of obesity epidemic development, as well as its epidemiology. Debt, trade and globalization will also be analyzed as factors that led to escalation of the problem. Moreover, the assignment will discuss the governmental interventions that make efforts to address this issue.

Practical tips on assignment writing

Here are some practical tips that will keep your work focused and effective:

–         Critical thinking – Academic writing has to be characterized by critical thinking, not only to provide the work with the needed level, but also because it takes part in the final mark.

–         Continuity of ideas – When you get to the middle of assignment, things can get confusing. You have to make sure that the ideas are flowing continuously within and between paragraphs, so the reader will be enabled to follow the argument easily. Dividing the work in different paragraphs is very important for this purpose.

–         Usage of ‘you’ and ‘I’ – According to the academic writing standards, the assignments should be written in an impersonal language, which means that the usage of ‘you’ and ‘I’ should be avoided. The only acceptable way of building your arguments is by using opinions and evidence from authoritative sources.

–         Referencing – this part of the assignment is extremely important and it takes a big part in the final mark. Make sure to use either Vancouver or Harvard referencing systems, and use the same system in the bibliography and while citing work of other sources within the text.  

–         Usage of examples – A clear understanding on your assignment’s topic should be provided by comparing different sources and identifying their strengths and weaknesses in an objective manner. This is the part where you should show how the knowledge can be applied into practice.

–         Numbering and bullets – Instead of using numbering and bullets, the academic writing style prefers the usage of paragraphs.

–         Including figures and tables – The figures and tables are an effective way of conveying information to the reader in a clear manner, without disturbing the word count. Each figure and table should have clear headings and you should make sure to mention their sources in the bibliography.

–         Word count – the word count of your assignment mustn’t be far above or far below the required word count. The outline will provide you with help in this aspect, so make sure to plan the work in order to keep it within the boundaries.

The importance of an effective conclusion

The conclusion of your assignment is your ultimate chance to provide powerful arguments that will impress the reader. The conclusion in academic writing is usually expressed through three main parts:

–         Stating the context and aim of the assignment

–         Summarizing the main points briefly

–         Providing final comments with consideration of the future (discussing clear examples of things that can be done in order to improve the situation concerning your topic of discussion).

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Lois Weldon is writer at  Uk.bestdissertation.com . Lives happily at London with her husband and lovely daughter. Adores writing tips for students. Passionate about Star Wars and yoga.

7 comments on “How To Write The Best College Assignments”

Extremely useful tip for students wanting to score well on their assignments. I concur with the writer that writing an outline before ACTUALLY starting to write assignments is extremely important. I have observed students who start off quite well but they tend to lose focus in between which causes them to lose marks. So an outline helps them to maintain the theme focused.

Hello Great information…. write assignments

Well elabrated

Thanks for the information. This site has amazing articles. Looking forward to continuing on this site.

This article is certainly going to help student . Well written.

Really good, thanks

Practical tips on assignment writing, the’re fantastic. Thank you!

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Getting to Grips with Assessment

ALT Getting to Grips with Assessment Page 2/7/2018 v1.0

We wrote this guide because we were concerned that students were not always aware of some aspects of the assessment process at Anglia Ruskin.  Because of this, they sometimes made mistakes which would have been avoided easily.  In some cases, marks were lost, and often the experience was distressing.  We want all of our students to realise their full potential, and this includes ensuring that nothing goes wrong with the assessment process.

Jump to Core Questions

This document is designed to provide a quick reference to the main issues that can affect assignment submission, marking and feedback.  It has been written to provide generic advice on the main issues and courses may have alternative or additional provision in some areas.  The   Academic Regulations   (current version August 2018) are the definitive statement of all academic matters including submission, so any statement here is offered in good faith but is not authoritative.  Because this guide is a quick reference, it does not cover all eventualities, and specifically excludes appeals against decisions.  Please consult a Student Adviser, the Students’ Union Advice Service, your Course Leader or Director of Studies for more detailed advice.

A note on terms

We use the term 'assignment' here to describe a single task that you submit for evaluation or marking, and on which you will receive feedback.  You will meet the term 'assessment task' in University Regulation being used to denote the same thing.  We use the term 'assessment' to mean the process of assessing or being assessed,   not   for an assessed item.

Core questions

In our experience, most of the issues that students experience with assessment and feedback are covered by four basic questions.  If you have an issue, click on the question that seems closest to your situation and you will jump to the relevant section.  If you just want to be better informed, browse the complete text - at least all of the information that you need is in one location here rather than being spread across different sites.

1. Where can I find information about my assignment?

2. what is academic integrity.

3. What can I do if something goes wrong?

4. How is my work marked, how do I receive feedback - and what am I supposed to do with it?

In addition, you can follow More resources and links to find further links to study skills, Turnitin submission and expert advice.

In this section, you will find general information about how and where your assignment is described, and how to submit assignments using Turnitin and other methods.

1.1 Assignment description

• Key information, including the submission deadline, is supplied in the 'Assessment Information' section of any module site and can also be found in e-Vision.
• A more detailed description of the assessed task, including how it relates to learning outcomes,
• A marking scheme (unless not applicable in a few types of assignment),
• Links to any further resources you need to complete the assignment, and
• Other guidance, such as ‘frequent mistakes’ lists or examples of similar work.

1.2 Online submission using Turnitin

• Turnitin-Grademark is an online tool that is used for online submission of assignments, and marking and feedback (see also section on ‘Academic integrity’). You need to make sure that you have a Turnitin account and that you can access ‘classes’ for each of your current online submissions.
• Submissions should be made to the correct class set up for the assignment, should consist of one file only, and must be made before the published submission deadline (see also Section 3 ).
• You can upload multiple versions of your work up until the deadline, for example to replace an early draft with a final version.
• Your submission should be anonymous. The submission title field in Turnitin should contain your Student ID number but not your name.
• Submission must be completed by 1400 UK local time on the published submission date. You should ensure that you have sufficient time to complete the assignment task, and are strongly advised not to leave submission until close to the deadline, as this may risk missing the deadline.
• If there is a general failure of Turnitin close to the submission deadline, the Academic Registry will postpone the deadline for all submissions due on that day and you will be informed of this.

1.3 Other forms of submission

• Some assignments cannot be submitted through Turnitin. The assignment descriptions in the 'Assessment Information' section of this site will indicate how submission will take place.  These submissions will be subject to deadlines just as those through Turnitin, and you should ensure that you are fully prepared for whatever form of submission is needed.
• Some forms of assessment do not involve a submission, such as in-class tests, computer based assessments, posters etc. and so are not covered in this document.

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[ SU advice leaflet on assessment offences   and   LibGuide on Good Academic Practice   available]

• You should ensure that you follow published guidance relating to the use of third-party materials in your assignments. This guidance refers specifically to good practice in   quoting and referencing published material .
• There is an opportunity to check your work prior to submission using the Turnitin ‘Check Originality Report (COR)’ class (User guide   here ) – this will highlight any parts of your work that match sources held on the Turnitin database, and enables you to avoid issues around academic integrity. Look at the originality report carefully to see where matches occur, and do not simply try to get in under a notional baseline value.  Any work submitted through the ‘Check Originality Report’ class will not be added to the Turnitin database, so you will not plagiarise yourself in a later submission.
• The percentage match of your submission against published material is also calculated by Turnitin for your online assignment submission. Your markers will be aware of this value, but will not use it as grounds for identifying poor academic practice.  There is no threshold value, and markers are aware that some assignments will necessarily have relatively high similarity, whereas poor academic practice may occur with a low similarity.
• Any suspected academic offence will be considered by one of the Faculty’s Directors of Studies. If there is evidence of an assessment offence, the Director of Studies will write to the student, and the student is invited to respond. If the student denies there is evidence of an assessment offence, a formal hearing is arranged. If the offence is accepted or upheld, a penalty is applied.  The penalty relates to the level of study, previous offences, and outcomes of the hearing.  The penalties can be found in our Academic Regulations [2018 – section 10F].

3. What can I do if I do not submit on time, or if something goes wrong?

This section covers the scary moments if you have been unable to submit an assignment or if you find that you will be unable to do so by the deadline.  More importantly, it tells you about the processes that Anglia Ruskin offers to help you under these circumstances, covering   extensions   (delayed submission ahead of the deadline) and   mitigation   (what happens if circumstances prevent you from doing your best or from submitting altogether).

3.1 What if I do not submit on time?

• If your current personal circumstances prevent you from submitting your assignment in time for the deadline, you can request an extension before the submission deadline (see below). This allows you to submit later without incurring a penalty.
• The University has clear rules for circumstances that justify an extension, and these are typically related to unavoidable health- or practical- issues that prevent you from completing your assignment. You may be asked to provide evidence for the circumstances affecting your submission.
• You are permitted to submit your work late (without an extension) up to five working days after the submission deadline, but the mark for the assignment will be capped at 40% [Academic Regulations, 2018 – 6.53]. You should liaise with the module leader if you are contemplating late submission, and should be aware that it may not be possible to submit some assignments late.
• Late submission of work normally handed in to the i-Centre (or another location such as the School office) will be made to the same location, and will be recorded as a late submission.
• Late submission online will be handled through a page on the Academic Registry website ( anglia.ac.uk/latework ), and your submission will then be routed through Turnitin. You cannot submit late work direct to Turnitin.
• If you have already submitted an assignment through Turnitin ahead of the submission deadline, you cannot then use the late submission process to submit an updated version.
• Failure to submit after five working days beyond the first submission deadline without justifiable circumstances will incur a resit and result in the mark for the module as a whole being capped at 40%.
• If anything else goes wrong with your submission that is not listed here, please see your Student Advisor as soon as possible. Remember that we are more likely to be able to resolve your problems if we hear about them promptly.

3.2 Extensions

[Academic Regulations, 2018 – Section 6J;   SU advice leaflet on extensions   available]

• An extension allows you to submit an assignment later then the published deadline. You can only apply for an extension before the submission deadline.
• Your module leader, module tutor, course leader or personal tutor are not authorised to agree to an extension.
• Extension requests are normally made through an online form (accessed from:   http://web.anglia.ac.uk/anet/student_services/student_advisers/managing-assignment-deadlines.phtml   ). You may be asked to supply documentary evidence to support your claim.
• If you are unable to use the online request form, you can still contact a Student Adviser either in person, by ‘phone ( 01245 68 6700 ) or by e-mail ( [email protected]) . If e-mailing, please use your student e-mail account and include your SID, the course name, module code (such as MOD003580) and assignment number (such as 011) in the e-mail subject field.  A Student Adviser can also provide advice on extensions.
• An extension is for ten working days after the original submission date.
• Longer-term extensions may also be granted under exceptional circumstances [Academic Regulations, 2018 – section 6K].
• There is no mark penalty if an extension is awarded.
• An extension applies only to the assignment(s) for which it was allocated – if you have problems with other, later assignments, you will need to make separate applications and you should never assume that your circumstances will be ‘on file’.
• Extensions are normally a short-term solution to a short-term problem. If you think that a problem is likely to affect you for a longer period, you should discuss this with your personal tutor or another member of academic staff.  There are other options to help you to cope.
• You should be aware that shifting the submission date through an extension may increase your subsequent workload if later submission deadlines clash.

3.3 Mitigation

[Academic Regulations, 2018 – section 6Q;   SU advice leaflet on mitigation and appeals   available]

• Mitigation applies when your personal circumstances have prevented you performing to your full potential in an assignment, or from submitting an assignment. Such circumstances are short-term, unforeseen and outside your control.
• Mitigation and an extension are not the same thing. If accepted, mitigation cancels any mark awarded for an assignment.  You will then re-take the assignment during the resit period as if it was your first attempt.
• You should normally claim mitigation no later than five working days after the submission deadline. If you make a claim after that time, you need to demonstrate the reason for your being unable to claim on time, in addition to the evidence for mitigation itself.
• You need to apply for mitigation through a Student Adviser – your module leader, module tutor, course leader or personal tutor are not authorised to grant mitigation.
• If applying by e-mail ( [email protected] ), please (a) use your student e-mail account, (b) include your SID, the course name, module code (such as MOD003580) and assignment number (such as 011) in the e-mail subject field and (c) attach the completed mitigation form (available at   http://web.anglia.ac.uk/anet/academic/assess/mitigation.phtml ) and any documentary evidence that supports your mitigation request.
• As with extensions, the University has clear rules for the types of circumstances for which mitigation can be requested.
• A claim for mitigation for each assignment needs to be supported by evidence, and is assessed by a panel.
• A successful claim for mitigation cancels any mark awarded to an assignment, or cancels a non-submission, and allows you to resit the assignment without any penalty. The mark for your subsequent attempt will be recorded as if it were the first attempt (unless you are claiming mitigation for a reassessment).
• If the claim for mitigation is not upheld, the mark for a submitted assignment is maintained, whilst a failure to submit is treated as a non-submission.
• Once mitigation has been requested, it cannot be reversed, even if your original submission attracts a satisfactory mark.
• If your claim for mitigation is rejected, you can appeal against the decision. The appeal is made through the Student Adviser, and is considered by a panel, who will judge your appeal on grounds of administrative failure.  You cannot base an appeal on your judgement of the fairness of the original decision.
• Feedback on your work will be made available within 20 working days of the submission date (30 days for the dissertation). You should ensure that you are familiar with the way(s) in which your feedback is supplied to you, and any arrangements for reviewing this (for instance in your personal tutorial).
• Feedback on your assignment will include generic comments on your work that are designed to help you to improve the quality of forthcoming assignments, and will reference the marking scheme. Feedback will be consistent with the mark awarded, but should not be treated simply as a justification for the mark.
• It is your responsibility to access and make effective use of your feedback. If you are uncertain how to do this, please contact the Module Leader or your Personal Tutor.
• If you feel that the mark awarded is incorrect, you can challenge it on procedural grounds, for instance if the marking scheme has not been followed. You cannot challenge on grounds of fairness or academic judgement, or your own perception of the quality of the work.
• All assignments are marked initially by the module tutor, and these marks are then internally moderated by a second tutor. They will then be moderated by the External Examiner as part of the University process for quality assurance.  The External Examiner has the power to refer work for re-marking, or may impose adjustments in marking.  The marking process is described in a flowchart available from the 'Introduction to Assessment' page.

Further reading, sources of information and points of contact

• The definitive source of information is the University Academic Regulations and the Assessment Regulations (the part of the main regulations dealing specifically with assessment), both of which can be found online at: http://web.anglia.ac.uk/anet/academic/academic_regulations.phtml
• Anglia Ruskin Students’ Union Advice Service is independent of the University. They provide free, confidential, impartial advice and representation. They are able to advise on a range of academic issues, and publish a series of information leaflets that cover most of the topics mentioned here. These are available in print form from the SU, or online at: http://www.angliastudent.com/advice/ , which also lists the full range of services provided. The Students’ Union Advice Service in Cambridge can be contacted on 01223 460008 or e-mail   [email protected] , and in Chelmsford on 01245 258178 or e-mail   [email protected] .
• Student Advisers are part of the University's Student Services.  As well as providing advice on a range of topics, Student Advisers deal with issues such as extensions, mitigation and intermission which academic staff cannot authorise.  You can take queries to any of the Student Advisers, and the general contact details for student advisers are at: http://web.anglia.ac.uk/anet/student_services/student_advisers/contact.phtml
• Study Skills Plus, also part of Student Services, offers support in a range of workshops, tutorials and online resources that will support your assignment preparation, including good academic practice: http://web.anglia.ac.uk/anet/studyskillsplus/index.phtml Study Skills Plus sessions can be booked online.
• The Anglia Ruskin ‘Academic Honesty Policy’ is located at   https://library.aru.ac.uk/academic/files/Academic%20Honesty%20Policy.pdf .
• You can log into Turnitin at:   turnitinUK.com/en_gb/login , using your full Anglia e-mail as your username and your Turnitin password.
• The ARU Turnitin support site provides information on submitting your work and receiving feedback: https://www.anglia.ac.uk/turnitin
• If you encounter any specific problems with submitting to Turnitin, please contact the FSE team at   [email protected]
• Your Directors of Studies are Cliona O'Dunlaing (Chelmsford) and Jim Sullivan (Cambridge).

|   Try another question?   |   Back to the beginning   |   Last updated 6 November 2018   |

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Classics & Archaeology

Featured story.

How is Coursework Marked and Returned?

Marking criteria.

• CLAS Marking Criteria General Assessment .PDF download
• CLAS Marking Criteria Languages .PDF download

When Will I Get My Marks?

Staff members have three weeks in which to mark assignments AND complete due moderation, so you should not expect to receive feedback on your assignments until this process is complete.

Your assignments are returned on Moodle, where you submitted them, with the mark and feedback on performance supplied. You are responsible for reaching and absorbing the feedback on your assessments. You should make an appointment with your lecturer or seminar leader if you have any questions about the comments they have given you.

How is My Work Marked?

All assessed work is marked according to Kent’s Marking Scale and the CLAS Marking Criteria (below).

Your lecturers and seminar leaders put in a lot of time and effort to comment on your work in an effort to help you improve your writing and reasoning.

It is important that you read this feedback and use it to improve your next writing assignment using the CLAS Cover Sheet.

If you do not include a complete CLAS coversheet, your marks will be withheld on moodle and KentVision until you submit it.

The Provisional Status of Marked Work

When your work is returned, the mark is still provisional because all second and third year marks are “moderated” by internal and external examiners. Marks are not fully finalized until the Board of Examiners meets in June.

What is “Moderation”?

According to the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), moderation allows us to ensure that the assessment criteria have been applied appropriately, reflecting the shared understanding of the markers, and an approach which enables comparability across academic subjects (in particular recognising that students may be studying more than one subject). Moderation focuses on the marks awarded to the full set of assessed work for a task, module or programme, in the context of the academic standards for the award. It is therefore separate from the question of how differences in marks between two or more markers are resolved, and is not about making changes to an individual student’s marks.

Appeals Against the Recommendations of Boards of Examiners

Appeals from students will be considered in the following circumstances:

(i) where there is reasonable ground supported by objective evidence to believe that there has been administrative, procedural or clerical error of such a nature as to have affected the recommendation of the Board of Examiners; or

(ii) where there is evidence of illness or other misfortune such as to cause exceptional interference with academic performance and which the student was, for good reason, unable to submit by the published deadline; or

(iii) where evidence relating to illness or other misfortune submitted under extenuating circumstances procedures within the prescribed time limit was not properly considered by the Board of Examiners.

(iv) Appeals that are based on mitigating circumstances which, without good reason, were not brought to the attention of the Board of Examiners through extenuating circumstances procedures at the appropriate time will not be considered.

In all cases, appeals must be submitted to the appropriate Division Support Office and will be considered only where:

• submitted by means of the Appeal Form (contact the taught programmes coordinator: ([email protected])
• accompanied by a letter explaining in full the grounds for the appeal and the remedial action sought from the Board of Examiners;
• providing all necessary documentary evidence substantiating the grounds of the appeal;
• submitted within the applicable deadline.

External Examiners

For information about the External Examiner(s) responsible for the CLAS programmes, see: https://www.kent.ac.uk/teaching/qa/extexaminers/local/ee-info-students.html

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This article about how the UK university grading system was updated by the Great British Mag content team on 5 September, 2019

The UK grading system is not terribly different to the grading systems in China , India, USA or the EU. The top grades go to the people who excel and get very high percentages and the pass grades are given to anyone who manages to achieve the minimum grade percentage required. But that is where the similarities end.

Whereas other systems use the alphabet to demonstrate the achievements of the student, the UK system uses a class grade order. This system dates all the way back to the invention of the university itself and reflects the archetype of the British class system .

The UK grading system:

First (1 st ): The best grade you can get. The student has got higher than 70% on their course or assignment. An almost perfect piece of work. You should be very happy with it. The markers definitely were…

2:1 (upper second class): Student achieved between 60%-69%. The work was at a very good level, but there was still room for improvement. Kick back, smile and relax. You’ve done a good job! You will need to get a 2:1 or higher if you’re planning on staying on for a masters or post-graduate degree.

2:2 (lower second class): If you got 50%-59% on a course or assignment, then you have this grade. Even though it is not a perfect score it is still very good. You should still be happy about getting this mark.

Third: If you get between 45%-49%, you need to start thinking about where you went wrong. It’s not the worst mark, but perhaps some tutoring might help next time.

Ordinary degree: The absolute minimum you need to pass the course. Getting between 40%-44% is not where you want to be. You should definitely seek out some extra help if you want to do more than scrape by. Or maybe cut down on the time spent in the pub…

Fail: Anything below 40% constitutes failure. Sorry, but you will need to take the course again to pass.

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FASS Centre for Scholarship and Innovation

Faculty of arts & social sciences at the open university.

Reducing student anxiety whilst waiting for their marked assignments

Image by Fizkes on Shutterstock

Submitting an assignment is usually accompanied by a sense of relief but then there is the wait for the mark and the feedback which can cause anxiety amongst students.  This is particularly the case for the first assignment on a new module and happened with DD212  Understanding Criminology  in its first year of presentation.  

At the Open University (OU) part of our teaching is through written assessment feedback: explaining how well students have met the learning outcomes and met the assignment requirements.   So aside from the mark, there are the inserted comments in the text plus detailed general advice on strengths and weaknesses at the end.  

Most OU tutors work part-time and many teach on several modules.  Each tutor has 10 working days after the cut-off date to complete all the marking of a particular module assignment, called tutor marked assignments or TMAs.  The assignments are returned via an electronic assignment portal – the eTMA system   

Whilst some tutors mark all assignments early on and might return after three or four working days; others mark towards the end of the period.  Some tutors mark a few and return as they go along.  Unlike the end of module results, where the results are all released electronically at the same time, the electronic TMA system does not ‘hold’ marked TMAs and release them all at the same time.   This means that there is no standard point at which students receive their TMAs.  A tutor can mark and then return all TMAs at the same time but the eTMA system does not do this returning in an automated way.  

As many students are now on social media – for example some students set up their own module Facebook group – they are readily commenting on getting their assignments back.  This can then cause concern and raise anxiety amongst those who haven’t yet had their assignment returned.  This quote from the module Facebook group is typical of the comments made by students:  

It’s just frustrating when there’s a considerable amount of people with their results back and I’m still over here waiting  

Sometimes this results in telephone enquiries from anxious students to the Student Support Team (SST) and occasionally complaints.     

In autumn 2018, the Module Team of the new level 2 Criminology module (DD212  Understanding Criminology ) were alerted by the Student Support Team that some students were ringing in about not receiving their marked TMA01. The module Chair was a member of the DD212 Facebook group and was alerted to student grumbles about waiting for their mark and feedback. The Module Team decided to ask tutors to return TMAs at the same time, that is on the 10 th  working day after submission date.  This was particularly important for TMA02 as that was due in 17 th  December but the University closed on 20 th  December for two weeks over Christmas and New Year.  Tutors thus had until 8 th  January to return the TMAs.   Mindful of a potentially wide variance between tutors marking and returning before the Christmas break and those marking after the break – and potentially not returning the TMAs until 8 th  January – this seemed particularly important.   The module team decided to implement this new module policy as an experiment for the whole of the module, that is, to cover TMAs 2- 5.  

It mostly worked – a couple of tutors forgot to follow this new policy and had to be reminded.  For one tutor who was going away three days after TMA03 cut-off date, and planning to go abroad after marking promptly with no  ability to return the whole group whilst away, it was agreed he go ahead but alert his students to this exception.  

The evaluation of this experiment looked at student complaints, student comments on the student Facebook group and tutor feedback.  There was anecdotal evidence from the Student Support Team of a reduction in student phone calls about TMA turnaround but no mechanism for recording these on the OU management information system.  

However, there was evidence of reduced student anxiety about when they would get their TMA marks back on the student Facebook group and these postings stopped from TMA03 onwards after the module TMA turnaround policy had bedded down.     

In addition, the feedback from the tutors, whilst mostly positive about the idea of the policy, did point out that it relied on tutors remembering the correct return date and for tutors working on multiple modules in particular, this was felt to be onerous, as these two comments illustrate:-  

I  much  prefer this way of returning marks and feedback. I do hope this continues. It saves students worrying (or getting annoyed about) why some students have received their marks and others haven’t.  

On one hand I think this is a good idea. Everybody gets theirs back at the same time. On the other the stress of having to remember to send them back on a particular day and not on the day you marked the last one is difficult.  

This evaluation took the views of the students and tutors into account and found there is evidence of the practical benefits to students of returning all marked assignments at the same time and broad support from tutors to the idea of this policy.  

The evaluation of this module policy experiment recommended the following:-  

• That the Student Support Team creates a category for formally recording informal complaints from students about TMA turnaround time   
• That the FASS Teaching and Students Committee considers the required policy and technical changes need to implement a uniform 10 working-day TMA turnaround policy (excepting extensions), with a view to providing a recommendation for implementation of the new electronic TMA marking system, UNIWISE.  

Alison Penn – Senior Lecturer in Social Policy and Criminology

Dr Alison Penn | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (open.ac.uk)

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News | Monday, 20th November 2023

How to nail your uni assignments, tips on how to start your essays and reports.

It’s that time of year when you will receive your first assignments. And if you are someone who finds it challenging to know where to begin, it can feel like quite a stressful time. 

To help you nail your assignments, we have put together some useful advice on how to get started and where to find support if you need it. 

Make a plan or study schedule 

Starting your assignment is always the hardest part. But if you break down your assignment into more manageable chunks it will feel like a much less daunting task.   This starts with planning your time. Aim to complete one section at a time and give yourself mini-deadlines to achieve this. Obviously, this also requires you to stick to your plan! By doing this, you will be keeping the momentum going and reduce the chances of you feeling overwhelmed by the work  

Be realistic about when you are most productive. Planning to start writing your article at 9pm on Saturday night when you would rather be relaxing or out having fun won’t help you get things done. 

Struggling to be productive? Read our 10 tips for working more productively . 

Do your reading! 

Your lecturers will have put together a reading list for each unit, so make sure you use it. They are there to help you improve your knowledge of the subject. Doing the reading will make it easier to write your assignment.  

You should also try to find texts outside of your reading lists. Not only will this expand your understanding of the subject, but it will also help you back up any arguments you are making in your assignment.  

Not sure where to start? Check out The Library’s guide on searching for books, journals and articles . 

Referencing  

Referencing is a key part of assignments and it’s important to make sure that you get it right so that you can increase the chances of you getting a better mark.  

Most courses at Manchester Met use the Cite Them Right Harvard referencing style . This is our new institutional style. If you are unsure about what referencing style to use, you can check out our guide .   

The Library also has some useful tips and advice on where to find sources of information , how to evaluate information and putting together a literature review . 

Take a break 

It’s important to look after yourself to avoid burning out. Taking regular breaks from writing can reduce stress, improve your focus, and help inspire you with new ideas. Put down the books and switch off for a little bit. Get out in the fresh air, do some exercise or plan something fun with friends, you might find that you're twice as productive for taking a break!

Don’t leave it until the night before!  

Setting time aside to write your assignment can be difficult. It’s easy to procrastinate and leave everything to the last minute, but we can guarantee that you’ll regret it! Leaving your assignment to the night before will only cause you more stress and panic. Try and start your assignment early so that you can take your time and allow yourself chance to proof your work.  

Where to find extra support if you need it 

Get support from your peers  Why not take the opportunity to ask questions and get advice from people who have been in your shoes – your fellow students. Make the most of the timetabled Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) sessions, which are run by students from the same course, but in a higher year group. 

You’ll get the chance to work on group activities that are relevant to your current work and course content. It’s a great way to get support with your assignments in a friendly and social setting. 

  Writing Feedback and Studiosity                                                                                                Sometimes it’s useful to get a fresh set of eyes to look over your work. This is where the Writing Feedback service can help. Our academic and study skills tutors can review a sample of your work before you submit it. This includes checking through your grammar and academic writing style to help make sure you are on the right track. 

For foundation, first year and level 7 apprentice students, Studiosity is also available 24/7 to give you feedback on your academic writing. Visit our Writing Feedback webpage for more information. 

Study Skills Support   If you need further support, take part in one of our  academic and study skills workshops  and courses. Options include critical thinking, academic writing, creating presentations and revision strategies – all of which will help you study smarter and not harder.

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Beetles, tech, following mom's footsteps: University of Delaware grads mark 2024 commencement

Delaware's largest university marked its 174th commencement Saturday.

The University of Delaware's class of 2024 filled Delaware Stadium with friends and families from across the country and farther making their way to Newark to celebrate. Joe Flacco, NFL quarterback and Super Bowl MVP, UD President Dennis Assanis and more joined in to bid graduates their send-off.

It capped a week of ceremonies across colleges and disciplines for UD. But, while more than 6,000 students coated the field to face the stage, the real stories came from looking back.

Following mom's footsteps in medical science, reaching for aerospace technology, discovering wildlife ecology — meet a handful of UD graduates, remembering their experiences as they turn the tassel.

In your footsteps

First, she'd watch her work.

Before 8 years old, Oluebube Akujieze and her family still lived in Nigeria. After school, she'd wander into her mom's hospital lab, finding comfort in watching her finish work before the pair would head home. Such a routine would only change in 2012, when the family moved to the United States.

Then, she'd watch her head back to school.

Akujieze's mother, Uche Agbasi, decided to pursue a medical laboratory science degree from UD to keep working in her new Delaware home. She was raising a family; she got pregnant again; she kept studying.

"Watching her, I remember some nights she might be cooking dinner and maybe had a paper to write or an assignment to do," Akujieze said, recalling how she would help type things as a youngster. By 2019, she celebrated her mother's earned bachelor's degree, kicking off work at a community hospital.

Then, she was done watching.

Akujieze crossed the stage Saturday in Newark to receive the same medical laboratory science degree as her mom. Agbasi inspired her daughter's chosen field — but she almost made it look too easy.

"I don't think I was prepared enough for how difficult it was going to be, actually, until I was truly in the major," Akujieze said with a laugh. "And I was like, 'Wow, how did you do this with developing kids and a husband?' It is not easy. And I'm here, a single person, but I'm struggling every day really."

But the graduate with medical school in her sights made it happen. She made it through COVID-19 shutdown and a virtual first year, while her mother survived frontline pandemic work. And both UD alumni can't wait to celebrate all of it.

"I'm really very happy and thrilled that she made it," her mom said. "I'm not scared about what she will do in the workforce, just happy that she's graduating. She's going to make it anywhere she goes."

Next year at UD: University of Delaware approves 4% tuition hike, braces for 'per-student tax' bill

It's not rocket science

At first, he stuck with what was comfortable.

Kenny Madden stayed near the Philadelphia home he grew up in, starting school at Drexel University in nutrition and sports exercise. He saw the same people, in the same city. He loved the subjects for himself, though the idea of tailoring to a patient seemed tedious. Something just wasn't right.

"So then, I talked to a bunch of career counselors," said the senior, taking the call between coursework. They pressed him for what he liked, what he was good at. It took him awhile to piece it together — math, design, problem-solving.

He transferred to UD. Suddenly Madden was setting out to study mechanical engineering, with a concentration in aerospace.

And he hasn't looked back. His college career has seen work within a NASA program, tasked alongside fellow seniors by the NASA Glenn Research Center and Delaware Space Grant Consortium to test a possible moon rover . And outside class, he kicked off the university's first chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

"What's going to be going through my mind on graduation is just how proud I am of myself for everything that I've done," said the Pennsylvania native. "But more importantly, how proud I am for the people that I've become close with, all of my friends here."

He's also hooked. This fall, Madden will head to Purdue University for his master's in aeronautical and astronautical engineering, eyeing possible research focusing on astrodynamics. That's basically plotting spacecraft courses, by understanding how outside forces will impact it.

The discovery and puzzle of it all fuels him, but really, he has simply found a subject that's fun.

"I just enjoyed doing the math," he said with a laugh, thinking as far back as advanced calculus in high school. "And knowing that it could have such a big impact for the future of humanity? That really excites me."

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Beetles, bugs, wildlife conservation

It was probably the 47 states' worth of National Parks that did it.

Peyton Easton grew up in Dover, but her family was constantly satisfying her need to explore. She was appreciating nature before she ever had to worry about school. Then, the curiosity would meet agriculture classes in high school.

Caesar Rodney High gave her the first taste of animal science, then UD sealed the deal.

"I remember doing a project on wildlife biology as a career path, and I was like, 'Oh, that's interesting,'" she said. "Then when I was looking into colleges, I saw UD offered basically that exact major."

Her honors degree in wildlife ecology and conservation, alongside insect ecology, would allow her to study policy, research, GIS mapping and more. She worked as an "Ag Ambassador" on campus; she studied abroad in Costa Rica; she stayed involved in orchestra with her alto saxophone in hand; joined The Crew Programming Board; kept up with the Entomology Club; went birding with fellow students — the list goes on.

"That kind of allows you to realize where your specific interests lie and where you want to go," she said with a smile. The Delaware native doesn't know where she's headed next, but it's graduate school and future research in her sights.

Easton has been studying the emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle known for wreaking havoc on certain ash tree species. However, looking ahead, she's interested in both critters and people.

She may delve into disease ecology next, "which incorporates people, wildlife, insects and health," she said. "And I think seeing how people and wildlife interact in this really complex system is really interesting — because a lot of people separate those two things."

A legend in Heidi Sarver: After nearly 30 years (and thousands of students), UD's first female band director leaves

Tracing the 'Trail to Desegregation'

One 76-year-old University of Delaware student had an idea.

Karen Ingram had been cultivating interest in a particular chapter of Delaware history long before she enrolled. Now, earning her first master's degree this spring, almost all of her academic writings have surrounded this history. Her own experience led her to it. And last weekend, she got to share that passion on "The Trail to Desegregation."

Ingram, empowered by community partners for a final capstone project, marked the 70th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision with a bus tour.

ICYMI: How one Wilmington bus tour honored 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education

Her tour traced Delaware's own roots in this landmark desegregation ruling, as the sold-out Saturday tour made stops at Redding House Museum and Community Center, Howard High School, Claymont Community Center and Hockessin Colored School #107C.

"I wanted to tell the whole story," Ingram said, knowing people rarely get to put all these pieces together. "That is what got us here. I wanted to tell the whole story, on a half-day ride on a bus."

Master's soon in hand, she's already looking ahead to her doctorate.

Got a story? Kelly Powers covers race, culture and equity for Delaware Online/The News Journal and USA TODAY Network Northeast, with a focus on education. Contact her at [email protected] or (231) 622-2191, and follow her on X @kpowers01 .

Watch CBS News

Adjunct professor fired by DePaul after optional assignment about Gaza

By Sabrina Franza , Samah Assad , Mikayla Price

Updated on: May 24, 2024 / 9:10 PM CDT / CBS Chicago

CHICAGO (CBS) -- An adjunct professor was fired from her role at DePaul University, after offering an optional assignment to her students in which she asked them to explore the biological and health impacts Israel's war in Gaza has on Palestinians. 

Dr. Anne D'Aquino taught Health 194, Human Pathogens and Defense, across from the now torn-down pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the quad.

"Students were distracted," D'Aquino said. "A lot of them were volunteering at the encampment. A lot of them had friends that were at the encampment." It was a topic that was overall unavoidable, she said. 

Biochemist and professor Dr. D'Aquino was hired on April 1 to teach Health 194. She said she felt this course, in particular, would allow her to discuss the intersections of humanities and biology. 

According to the syllabus, the course in part explores microbiology research and its relevance to everyday life, current events, as well as microbiology knowledge to "big picture impacts on individuals and communities."

"Taking real-world examples and applying our biology to it, and then communicating that to the general public—since many of the students will be doing that in their profession," D'Aquino said.

D'Aquino said she was terminated for asking students to do just that—offering an optional alternative to the previously-assigned topic of avian flu, and instead focusing on the effects of the war in Gaza.

"The day that I added the optional assignment, there was a large attack on Rafah, and I didn't want that to be left unacknowledged," she said. The optional assignment asked for scientific analysis and critical thinking to understand "the impacts of genocide on human biology."

Optional Assignment by Alex Ortiz on Scribd

On May 7, one day after presenting the optional assignment, she said she received a phone call from the Chair of Health Sciences, who claimed that DePaul had received student complaints about feeling unsafe in the class and said that it was outside of the "realm of microbiology."  

D'Aquino said that the Chair noted that "for what it's worth," she had "really good content" on D2L or the online portal where students can access their class content.   

D'Aquino also said her department questioned her word choice—specifically the reference to "genocide" and "ethnic cleansing." CBS 2 asked her why she chose the words she did.

"Because those are the accurate terms," she said, "A lot of rights groups—including the  UN rights group —have demonstrated that there is reasonable evidence to accurately describe this as a genocide."

D'Aquino was referring to a report from the UN Human Rights Council in March, which found "reasonable grounds" that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza. More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

"We've heard time and time again from scientists that what's happening in Gaza, and Palestine more broadly, is a public health issue," D'Aquino said. "There isn't clean water. The infrastructure for sewage and sanitation is torn down—it's destroyed. Hospitals are destroyed. Infection is running rampant."

D'Aquino has filed an appeal and believes that the termination violated her academic freedom. In the appeal, she cites eight sources to back up her claim that the assignment was related to her course, including data from the World Health Organization and a publication in the Journal of Medicine, Surgery and Public Health.

Collapsed medical and sanitation infrastructure, severe overcrowding in shelters or encampments, and malnutrition in Gaza are the "perfect storm" for infectious disease outbreaks, according to a study published in PLOS Global Public Health journal, which D'Aquino sourced in her appeal.

"There are long-term consequences of conflict due to the disruption of routine vaccination programs as well as disease surveillance and response systems. Historically, this has manifested as a resurgence in preventable outbreaks," the study said, which also looked to war in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

In these conditions, there is "no way to mask or separate themselves from each other," D'Aquino said. 

According to the Lancet, another peer-reviewed journal cited in the appeal, the war in Gaza has led to a severe health crisis, especially for children younger than 5. The United Nations has reported more than 179,000 acute respiratory infections and a "25-fold" increase in diarrhea. 

Genocide affects not only infections and epidemiology, but also genetics, which was another part of her course, she said. 

D'Aquino highlighted the 1994 genocide in Rawada. A "first of its kind" study from the University of South Florida found that the Rwandan genocide chemically modified the DNA of victims and victim's children. The program found that the victims had gene modifications that, "genes previously implicated in risk for mental disorders such as PTSD and depression."

On May 8, two days after the optional assignment, D'Aquino received her termination letter, which cited the faculty handbook that states, " faculty are obligated to avoid significant intrusion of material unrelated to the course."

D'Aquino questioned the university's decision to terminate her within days. She also rejected the accusation that the assignment was an effort to incorporate politics. 

"I was really trying to make sure my classroom—I was, incorporating the diversity, equity and inclusion that I prioritize in all of my teaching; making sure that students are heard and seen. However, it's important to note that biologists, scientists, and anybody in any field—we don't exist in bubbles."

D'Aquino said only one student expressed concerns directly to her—a conversation they had openly with the rest of the class.

"I did have an outpouring of support from students who appreciated the assignment," D'Aquino said.  

She said she is disappointed and confused and said that it is still unclear to her what she did wrong.

"This is a reprimand towards me that's also sending a message to other faculty that to not speak up about this; that Palestine is not a topic of conversation in the classroom - and that you will be removed," she said. "I also think it's a message to students, too, that if your faculty; your staff can't speak about it, then you can't either."

A spokesperson for DePaul did not answer specific questions from CBS 2 about the investigation, including how many students complained, the scope of the university's investigation and the timeline of the termination. The university provided the following statement: 

"DePaul University is committed to academic freedom and free speech. We are also unwavering in our commitment to ensure that no acts of hatred, discrimination, harassment, Islamophobia, or antisemitism are tolerated in our community.  " On May 8, we received multiple complaints from students regarding an assignment in Health 194, Human Pathogens and Defense . The course introduces students to the diverse microorganisms that cause significant disease within the human population. The students expressed significant concern about the introduction of political matters into the class. We investigated the matter, spoke with the faculty member, and found it had negatively affected the learning environment. The class now has a new instructor, and the faculty member has been released from their appointment as a part-time faculty member at DePaul University.   "DePaul's Faculty Handbook, consistent with the American Association of University Professors' 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure, states that faculty are obligated to avoid significant intrusion of material unrelated to the course, to avoid any coercion of the judgment or conscience of students, to uphold the scholarly standards of one's academic discipline, and to respect the rights of other persons to hold and express different intellectual positions. "Additionally, all faculty – including adjunct faculty – have rights under our Faculty Handbook, including the right to appeal a decision on the grounds that it violated the faculty member's academic freedom. Such appeals are heard by an Appeals Board comprised of three tenured faculty members. For adjunct faculty, the process is expedited."

D'Aquino hopes to get back to teaching the same students she left mid-quarter. The university spokesperson told CBS 2 a new instructor has filled the role. 

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Three Dodgers takeaways one-third of the way through the season

CINCINNATI — When the skies opened up Sunday afternoon at Great American Ball Park, it didn’t cleanse the rotten series for the Los Angeles Dodgers . It merely prolonged a 4-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds that capped off the three-game sweep.

It marked the Dodgers’ fifth straight loss, their longest losing streak since 2019. Things have not gone well of late.

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“When you’re not hitting, it certainly seems lifeless,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I know it’s not from care and preparation. But the bottom line is, it’s about results. And we’re not getting them right now.”

The Dodgers entered Sunday having completed the first third of their season. They have played at a 99-win pace despite treading water for the past two weeks. That is what premium talent will buy you, even if it doesn’t provide the most encouraging day-to-day product when looking ahead to October.

A top-heavy and inconsistent lineup

The most challenging gauntlet in baseball may very well be the first three hitters Reds lefty Brent Suter encountered as the opener on Sunday. Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani have combined to be the best top two in the sport by a mile. Freddie Freeman has not yet matched the highs of his first two seasons with the Dodgers but has produced at close to career rates by OPS+ (138).

The reward for getting through that trio, along with Will Smith , Max Muncy (currently on the injured list) and Teoscar Hernández , who have been solid in the middle? Facing the second-worst bottom third in baseball. As Eric Stephen of True Blue LA recently noted , Dodger hitters outside those top six have combined to hit just .194/.263/.297. That combined .560 OPS would be the fifth-lowest mark for a qualified hitter, performing slightly worse than Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Jared Triolo (.568).

That represents a problem that has plagued the Dodgers through their spurts of inconsistency. The Dodgers entered Sunday at third in baseball with 4.98 runs per game, but haven’t leveled out that production. They’ve averaged fewer than four runs per game during this two-week stretch by squandering scoring opportunities.

Freeman’s one-out double in the ninth inning snapped a stretch of 22 consecutive scoreless at-bats with RISP.

“You never know which at-bat’s gonna break it open and hopefully that was one,” Freeman said.

Ohtani declined to speak to reporters Sunday through a club public relations official.

There’s at least one symptom that stands out.

“I think it’s a lack of consistency of approach,” Roberts said. “We’re trying to cover too many parts of the zone, in my opinion, and we’re missing the fastball. I think that’s the crux.”

The fastball numbers track, as the Dodgers aren’t crushing hittable fastballs the way they have in years past.

“I don’t think we’re hitting the fastball very well right now,” Gavin Lux said of a figure repeated in hitter’s meetings this week. “You look at all the advanced stats, it’s no secret.”

That, Roberts said, is more on execution than game plans: “The execution part of it is harder. But having a plan and being consistent, that’s easy. It is. It really is.”

Rotation emerges as a strength

Yoshinobu Yamamoto completed his day’s work before severe storms arrived in the sixth inning Sunday, causing a delay of just over an hour. Before that deluge, Yamamoto allowed four runs in the third inning as the Reds staged a persistent rally that included a walk and four singles. A pair of those hits came with two strikes and two outs.

“I really have to get through that inning holding them to zero,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda.

That inning clouded what would have been another solid, if unspectacular start for the 25-year-old right-hander, who has a 3.51 ERA through his first 11 starts in Major League Baseball .

His progression has, in many ways, mirrored that of the rotation. Strong, if not elite just yet. Yamamoto is among the primary reasons the Dodgers have adopted a quasi six-man rotation, giving starters extra rest as often as possible. When James Paxton starts on Wednesday against the New York Mets , it will make just the third start through the Dodgers’ first 58 games that will have been made on “regular” rest.

And the group has performed. Tyler Glasnow has come off a pair of subpar outings but has yet to miss a start and has had stretches where he’s looked like a bonafide ace. Yamamoto has steadied himself after an uneasy start, as has Walker Buehler in his return from a second Tommy John surgery. Paxton has outperformed his underlying numbers long enough for the Dodgers to extract the value out of him they were hoping for this time of year. Gavin Stone has emerged in his role.

The Dodgers rotation entered Sunday with a 3.47 ERA that ranked eighth in baseball. Help is on the way in due time. Buehler is already back. Clayton Kershaw and Dustin May have started throwing bullpens. And on Sunday, Bobby Miller started a rehabilitation assignment with Low-A Rancho Cucamonga.

The bullpen is a revolving door

No team in baseball has used more pitchers than the Dodgers. That, of course, is never ideal.

Now look at the projected bullpen from spring training, and you’ll see why. Brusdar Graterol (shoulder) hasn’t pitched this year. Blake Treinen (ribs) missed the first month. Kyle Hurt made a few glittering appearances before hitting the shelf with a shoulder issue. Ryan Brasier popped his calf in warmups. Evan Phillips strained his hamstring playing catch. The Dodgers have 11 pitchers on the injured list, which has turned the final spots on the 40-man and active rosters into a carousel.

Nabil Crismatt and Dinelson Lamet have come up and been designated for assignment twice (Crismatt has since signed with the Texas Rangers ). They gave Eduardo Salazar a whirl before he was designated for assignment. Elieser Hernández now occupies a spot in the Dodgers bullpen after not pitching in the big leagues a year ago. So does Yohan Ramírez , who has been designated for assignment three times by clubs in the first two months.

The upheaval has thrust a pair of veterans who have barely pitched the last two years (Treinen and Daniel Hudson ) into the most valuable spots in the bullpen.

Yet the Dodgers owned the third-best bullpen ERA (3.30) in baseball entering Sunday. That is a remarkable feat, even if some of the underlying numbers aren’t as encouraging. The signs of that potential regression were quite clear on Friday.

Ramírez, in particular, had a difficult weekend, plunking four of the first eight batters he faced this series before Roberts hurried to the mound in the eighth inning.

Roberts didn’t want to burn a reliever for the final out of a miserable weekend. So, he put his arms around Ramírez as he spoke in his ear for a prolonged period. Then he left Ramírez out there to wrap up the inning on the next pitch.

“I wanted to kind of cut it off before it really spun out,” Roberts said. “And I just tried to reassure him and give him some confidence, love on him a little bit, and try to take a little bit of pressure off. … You got to try to do everything you can to show him you care and give him some confidence.”

(Top photo of Dave Roberts and reliever Yohan Ramírez: Dylan Buell / Getty Images)

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Fabian Ardaya is a staff writer covering the Los Angeles Dodgers for The Athletic. He previously spent three seasons covering the crosstown Los Angeles Angels for The Athletic. He graduated from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in May 2017 after growing up in a Phoenix-area suburb. Follow Fabian on Twitter @ FabianArdaya