GENERAL POINTS FOR WRITING AN ASSIGNMENT.
COVER PAGE
Make sure the Cover page is clear and neat. Avoid putting unnecessary information
such as Gender, Marital status, age etc on the cover page.
Cover page outline should include only the necessary details. Just include the
following details below and a simple page border.
The University name on top with a logo if necessary.
The Department name e.g. Department of ICT.
Full Names:
Student Identification Number (SIN):
Program:
Course:
Course Code:
Lecturer’s Name:
Assignment Question:
It must be emphasised that student's assignment must have a general structure or layout;
ensuring that they have proper;
Introduction
Main body
Conclusion (summary by way of emphasis).
Students must be aware that marking of assignment is NOT just by impression but by strictly
observing the following;
That the student’s assignment are of quality in terms of;
Literacy, Communication and academic writing skills.
Clearly presented the discussion.
Relevance of answers to the question.
Logically presented their findings.
Appropriate and properly organised content.
Depth of the answers (exhausting arguments in each paragraph by providing relevant
examples).
Properly used their vocabulary, sentence and paragraph construction, punctuation
marks, tense agreement, spellings, etc.
STEPS FOR COMPLETING AN ASSIGNMENT.
1. First, carefully read the assignment. Make sure you understand what your instructor is
looking for in terms of content, formatting and structure. It’s also vital that you know
when the assignment is due and start working on it well before the due date. If you
have any questions about the assignment, ask your instructor as soon as possible so he
or she has sufficient time to give you an answer.
2. Conduct any necessary research to find information to include in your assignment.
Make sure you keep notes from your research, including the publication information
for each source.
3. Make some notes and create a draft outline of the information you need to include in
the assignment. This step also helps you organize the information so it flows clearly
and coherently.
4. Once your draft outline is complete, begin writing your text. Start with the
introduction, which lays out your topic and explains what you’re writing about. And
then go to the main body/ discussion.
5. Once your introduction and the body of the document are complete, write your
conclusion, which sums up everything you’ve written about so far. Remember that the
conclusion should not introduce any new information or ideas that were not discussed
in the body of the text.
6. If your instructor requires a list of references, create a list at the end of the document
and make sure you have in-text citations to each source. Make sure to follow your
instructor’s preferred style guide for the citations and references.
7. Before you turn the assignment in, make sure you edit and proofread the text to ensure
that there are no lingering errors in the text and that the text makes sense. It might
help to have someone else look over the document to point out text that isn’t clear.
REFERENCES
Why reference?
When you reference you use the standardized style to acknowledge the source of information
used in your assignment.
It is important (morally & legally) to acknowledge someone else’s ideas or words you
have used.
Academic writing encourages paraphrasing information you have researched and
read.
Paraphrasing means re-wording something you have read in to your own words.
If you use someone else’s words or work and fail to acknowledge them – you may be
accused of plagiarism and infringing copyright.
Referencing correctly enables the marker or reader of your assignment to locate the
source of the information.
They can verify the information or read further on the topic.
Referencing also allows for you to retrace your steps and locate information you have
used for assignments and discover further views or ideas discussed by the author.
By referencing clearly and correctly, it demonstrates you have undertaken research on
the assignment topic and located relevant information.
There are two main parts to referencing:
1. The first indicating within your assignment the sources of the information you have
used to write your assignment. This demonstrates support for your ideas, arguments
and views. Sometimes this is referred to as: citing in text, in text citations or text
citations.
2. The second part to referencing is the construction of a reference list. The reference
list shows the complete details of everything you cited and appears in an alphabetical
list on a separate page, at the end of your assignment.
Note that everything you have cited in text appears in your reference list and likewise...
everything that appears in your reference list will have been cited in text! Check that this
is the case prior to handing in your assignment.
