Formative assessment is designed to help you improve but does not count towards your final grade. The lessons intended for you to learn may contribute towards achieving a higher assignment grade through continuous study and reflection. 

Formative assessment can inform you where your weak points are and what areas to focus on in order to improve. 

Summative assessment counts towards your final grade and informs you of a mark and further contextual formal feedback, whether that is written on a page or recorded and uploaded to canvas so that you can listen to it. 

In addition to informing you of a final grade it should inform your next steps and identify areas for growth and development. 

Below is a short video, highlighting some of the differences between formative and summative assessment. 

Use the marking criteria to see which areas of your assignment the feedback relates to. You can decide if the feedback relates to your academic language, critical thinking, understanding of the topic or something similar. 

Feedback may be specific to your assignment or a comment may relate to multiple assignments 

Lessons that can be learned as a result of feedback include:

• Leaving more time to complete tasks
• Asking the tutor more questions if unsure about the task set
• Making an appointment with a Study Skills Adviser to talk through specific elements of your work such as critical thinking or academic writing
• Acknowledging the good feedback so that you can keep up and build on those skills!
• Could your planning process be improved or developed?
• Would attendance at a Study Skills Masterclass be useful to build upon your skills?

You could revisit the feedback action plan and understanding your feedback guide, linked below, at the end of each semester. This may help you to track your grades and comments, highlighting areas to improve and focus on for the upcoming semester. 

Explore the Generic Assessment Criteria below to gain further understanding of how assignments are marked.

When looking at the Generic Assessment criteria and considering feedback you have received it may be useful to look at the document below which breaks down undergraduate assessment criteria and includes checklists, hints and tips to support you to improve future assignments. 

Check out the video below on understanding your assessment criteria created by one of the Study Skills Interns to support you with planning and using the criteria when planning your assignment. 

It may be useful to consider how your assignment is marked when reflecting on your feedback.

Remember your work is marked by an academic tutor then a moderator and finally an external examiner.  

The Marking Process document below may support you to understand the assignment marking process

Feedback is important in order to grow and improve on your course. 

Be prepared for some criticism and try not to take it personally as it will comment on your work not you personally. 

Remember feedback is not solely about negative aspects but praising you for positive contributions. Consider what you can change and apply in the future. 

It is important to think about what your feedback says, what it might mean and what you can do to actively improve in the future. It may be beneficial to keep a feedback journal of formal and informal feedback that you receive in your classes. It may be useful to spend some time looking at the feedback and identifying any common themes that could be used to develop particular skills. They could provide a focus when writing assignments. 

The poster below may support you to check if you have understood your feedback and used it in future assignments. 

Look at the Library Guide on reflection, linked below, for more information about the reflective process. 

CRIEDO-UAB (2023) Formative vs. summative assessment. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZYWRsMkzQk (Accessed: 26 February 2024).