People always say, "don't sweat the small stuff." However, in my experience the small stuff makes or breaks a good assignment. Misspellings, poor grammar, disorganized information and off-topic answers make an assignment look carelessly done, whether or not the writer spent a short time or hours preparing and researching if before handing it in. So, let's look at some of this 'small stuff' that can take just minutes to fix.
1. Always reread your assignments
Of course, you are tired when you hand in an assignment. You are also probably very sick of looking at your work. However, you must re-read it before submitting it. Careless mistakes, especially in opening titles and headers, create a bad impression. Your submission, that you have just laboured over, is worth a final re read and edit. Do this and get better grades...automatically.
2. Always paginate
If a marker gets lost when reading your assignment because it isn't paginated, you have a major problem. A lost marker is a cross marker and you don't want a marker who is cross reading your papers and grading them. It takes a few minutes to paginate your assignment; it takes the same amount of time for a marker to get lost when marking your assignment and conclude that your assignment is too disorganized to pass.
It should be easy for anyone to get from the top of page one to the bottom of page three in your assignment. Sometimes, students have the mistaken impression that a lost marker will give up trying to find the point of your assignment and simply assign you a passing grade. This might have happened at some point before university; this won't happen in your MBA/MSc. If a marker can't read or find the cogent points in your assignment, they won't stop looking and pass you just because they like you. If your assignment doesn't come up to scratch, you will simply fail. Don't fail because your assignment lost the tutor.
2. Make it legible.
Gone are the days, if they ever existed, when markers cheerfully give up trying to read your illegible writing and give you a passing grade. Markers must find the relevant points to give you the marks you deserve. So, if you know your handwriting is poor, do something about it. In fact, make every effort to make your handwriting neat and easily legible. If you can't, then always use printing instead of cursive writing for your assignments and exams.
3. Fix your grammar
If you have a problem with this, ask for help. There are excellent manuals and books to assist you to fix grammar problems. Don't suffer in silence! Poor grammar leaves a bad impression in any assignment. Never be too embarrassed to fix your problems!
Good grammar is a building block of excellent writing. When you have good grammar, you can state your points clearly every time. I caution students not to rely on the grammar checkers in word processing software alone. Buy manuals and grammar books. Get other people to read your assignments and look for grammar errors (make sure their grammar is excellent of course).
4. Stick with the question that was asked
If a marker can't understand the points you're making, then they can't give you credit for your work. One of the most common mistakes in both assignments and exams is not answering the question that was assigned. Frequently, students DO know the answer to the actual question but think - for some reason - that an argument that is unique and different will be more interesting than answering the question that was actually asked. Nothing could be further from the truth! Markers can only give credit to answers that really stick with the questions that were asked in the first place.
Sometimes, students don't understand the question. In an effort to find the correct answer, they go off on several tangents hoping one will be the correct answer. It is better to spend your time analyzing the question and finding the correct answer the first time. Look in Blackboard to see what other students are saying about the assignment. Start a thread and ask the module tutor relevant questions to find out what the question actually says. Then you will have more confidence in your answer. Confidence also equals concentration. This concentration means what you write is on target. Thus, you will get better grades when you understand what you are doing from the outset.
5. Organize the material in your answer carefully
When a module tutor provides you with an order to use in your assignment, use it. Don't feel you must be original and hide the points you are trying to make. Markers like assignments that make the main points clearly. Don't hide your main points inside large swatches of unrelated data.
I advise all students to use an outline. In an outline, you can see how your argument develops without actually committing pen to paper. Moreover, you can reorganize your argument by reordering your quotations. This helps you to build a stronger argument step-by-step. While it is true that some arguments unfold easily, it is much easier to revise an outline than to revise a full-length paper.
If the tutor has provided a set of questions, use these questions to predetermine the order inside your paper. After all, why make it harder to write your paper? Additionally, markers will be looking for these points when they assign a grade to your paper. Why make your life harder?
6. Spell check
Use your spell checker. Don't rely just on the one taht comes with your word processing software. Read over your work to make sure you used the correct version of words with several meanings that sound the same but are spelled differently such as there/their/they're. Always, always check your spelling! Never hand in any work that is not spell checked. It takes a few minutes to check your work. It may take a complete rewrite to fix a paper that is filled with spelling errors and detract from the argument you have made. Don't take a chance with any assignment, spell check it every time. Do not fail to have a good English dictionary such as the Oxford Concise. The University of Leicester is an English university and you should therefore use English spelling, not American.
7. References
All students should know that any reference to the words or ideas of another person's writing and ideas must be duly referenced. See:
http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ssds/sd/ld/resources/study/avoiding-plagiarism?searchterm=help%20with%20plagiarism
for the University of Leicester's policies on plagiarism and referencing. When a marker comments on 'referencing', please read U of Leicester's policies on this subject to clarify what you must do. I am also available to assist any student who is confused on this point. I would also strongly suggest that any student who had failed to pass their MSL/MSc thesis or an assignment because of a "referencing problem" should reread the material at the addy (http address) above and contact me.
Additionally, students should go to this addy:
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/research/harvard.html
to find out exactly how Harvard style referencing works. I can assist students with more specific inquiries. Please note that the style must be done precisely as it is illustrated on that page. Your bibliography will still be in alpha-order at the end of your assignment. The word count on your bibliography never counts in the overall accepted size of your paper.
I also suggest that students use the U of Leicester's free bibliography formatting tool, Refworks, available here:
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/research/refworks.html
This tool will be very helpful when you need to format your bibliography for your thesis.
Take care, until next time,
KB
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