Written assignments help you develop and deepen your understanding of a topic. They give you the opportunity to assess evidence, develop and evaluate arguments and express your views. They can provide a stimulating and engrossing experience. Careful planning and preparation will make the process of writing an assignment less They take research, planning and practise. daunting. Preparation and planning are as important as the writing process itself. General Writing Guidelines Pay attention to the requirements of an assignment. When asked for evidence, do not offer opinion. When asked for your opinion, do not simply present the facts. The assignment brief will cue you as to how to respond. Pay attention to standards and rules. Your tutors will expect you to write carefully and clearly. They will expect your work to be free of errors in grammar and style. They will expect you to follow the rules for citing sources and to turn in work that is indeed your own. If in doubt, ask your tutor; they're here to help! Familiarise yourself with academic language. While you will want to avoid unnecessary use of jargon in your own writing, you will want to make sure that you have a clear understanding of important concepts and terms. Provide evidence to support your argument. Do not confuse evidence, assumption, and opinion. Evidence is something that you can prove. Assumption is something that one can safely infer from the evidence at hand. Opinion is your own particular interpretation of the evidence. Adapted from Dartmouth College [online], 2004
Writing Rules Write in a rhetorical stance Consider fully what you want to say and to whom you are saying it Do not shorten or abbreviate words Do not shorten: ‘don’t’, ‘won’t’, ‘didn’t’ etcetera. Do not abbreviate: ‘etc’, ‘info’, ‘pro’ etcetera.
Avoid writing in the first person Instead of ‘my assignment will contain…’ write, ‘the assignment will contain…’ Follow rules for acronym use (Ask your tutor which method they require) Follow acronym with meaning in brackets, or Follow full meaning with the acronym, in brackets. Provide a glossary of terms.