When you're writing at university, it's vital to understand exactly what you've been asked to do, that way you ensure that you meet the criteria and don't go off down a rabbit hole!

Check the Generic Assessment Criteria (linked below) and your module handbook (accessed via your canvas module page) so you know what you've been asked to do before planning your assignment. The short video below will help you understand the writing process, including planning, drafting, revising and editing your work. 

• Generic Assessment Criteria

  Generic assessment criteria all levels

The Alex Essay Writing Tool can help you work logically through the writing process, from brainstorming and considering the different parts of your essay to reading around the topic and ensuring that your work is balanced.

Give it a whirl!

University assignments need planning – simple as!

Here’s a couple of reasons why:

• Most students have plenty thoughts and ideas but until you put them into some sort of order, they won’t make any sense.

• Planning can help you identify weak areas or any aspects which need to be researched in more depth.

• Your marker will use your work to evaluate your learning - a confused piece of work won’t showcase your understanding.

Planning is a central part of academic writing. Developing the skill will save time, make researching easier and help you get the marks you want.

More help with assignment planning here

Still not convinced?

Planning your assignment by dividing it into manageable parts makes a huge difference. Thinking about it like a project and focusing on one task at a time changes the writing process completely.

Once the ‘technical’ issues are taken care of and you know what point you’re going to make, you can take a break and think about the different approaches to that argument – this will help you to write a more insightful response to the assignment brief.

Your plan is also a great backup! If anything goes wrong, your plan is there as a reminder.

You can use your plan for future assignments. Preparing your plan and recording as many ideas and thoughts as possible often means that a lot of those notes remain unused but it doesn’t mean that the work was pointless - the topics covered are often interrelated so your plans can be good resources for future assignments.

1 Minute Lessons (2022) The writing process: tips for effective writing skills. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhNg6Fc4Btg (Accessed: 11 March 2024).