Exponential Training & Assessment: Student Information
Guide to Completing your Assignment
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Exponential Training & Assessment: Student Information
Contents
Section
Page
A. Learning Outcomes & Assessment Criteria
3
B. Understanding the Question
4
C.
What to Include
5
D. Linking Theory with Practice
7
E.
Plagiarism
8
F.
Writing style & Layout
8
G. Word Counts
9
H. Confidentiality
9
I.
Diagrams and Tables
10
J.
Reflective Statements
10
K. Referencing
L.
10
Bibliographies
13
M. Appendices
14
N. Drafts and Feedback
14
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Exponential Training & Assessment: Student Information
A. Learning Outcomes & Assessment Criteria
Most assignments will include a number of learning outcomes. In order to successfully pass an
assignment, your work will need to have covered every learning outcome.
Below each learning outcome, there will be a series of bullet points, which provide more
information on how you are expected to meet the learning outcome. These are the
assessment criteria and you must cover every one of these in your assignment.
The assessment criteria will usually be expressed as instructions or questions.
Here is an example from Unit 5001:
Part 1: By completing this unit, you should now be able to
assess and plan for personal professional development
(Learning Outcome 1)
•
Explain why it is important for you to continually develop
yourself at work in relation to achieving organisational
objectives.
•
Describe ways available to you for assessing your current skills
and competencies against your defined role requirements and
organisational objectives.
•
What development opportunities are available to you to meet
current and future needs?
•
Construct a personal development plan for yourself which
contains SMART objectives.
•
The sentence which is written first and in bold, is the learning outcome
•
The bullet points are the assessment criteria
By answering all of the assessment criteria (bullet points) you will cover the learning outcome.
By answering all of the learning outcomes in the assignment you will then be able to pass the
assignment.
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Exponential Training & Assessment: Student Information
B. Understanding the Question
It is important to read the assessment criteria carefully as these are your instructions about
what you must write in your assignment.
If there is anything that you do not understand, please ask your assessor or tutor.
Here is an explanation of what is meant by some of the most commonly used words:
Word
Explanation – what you need to do
Account for
Analyse
Explain or give reasons for
Show what something means by breaking it down into parts and writing
about each part in detail
Assess
Consider the value or importance of something, paying attention to
positive, negative and disputable aspects, and listing the judgements of
others as well as yourself
Comment on See ‘Assess’
Compare
Look for similarities and differences between items
Construct
Design, produce or write
Contrast
Explain the differences and similarities between two items
Criticise
Give your opinion about something and back this up by discussing the
evidence and how you came to have this opinion
Define
Explain the precise meaning of a word or phrase
Describe
Give a detailed account of the characteristics of something
Differentiate Show the difference between two things by explaining how they are
different
Discuss
Give the reasons for and against something
Evaluate
Explain how useful or worthwhile something is. Include your personal
opinion, supported by evidence
Examine
Describe in depth and consider the implications
Explain
Tell how things work or how they came to be the way they are. Also
‘describe’ and ‘analyse’
Explore
Thoroughly consider a subject by examining and analysing every aspect of
it
Identify
Select and list
Illustrate
Explain and make clear by the use of examples or diagrams
Interpret
Make a subject clear and explicit by describing your understanding of it
Investigate
Research, study and carefully consider all areas of the subject
Justify
Give valid reasons for decisions or conclusions
Outline
Give the main points or general principles of a subject, leaving out minor
details, and emphasising structure and relationship
Prove
Demonstrate that something is valid or invalid by presenting evidence
Relate
Show how things are connected to each other and to what extent they are
alike or affect each other
Review
Make a survey of, examining the subject critically
State
Give details fully and clearly
Summarise
Give a concise account of the main points or substance of a matter,
leaving out details and examples
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Exponential Training & Assessment: Student Information
C. What to Include
Most assignments will already have been broken down into Learning Outcomes and
Assessment Criteria, providing you with a clear structure for your assignment. If the
assignment has been broken down for you in this way, do write your answer as per the
structure that has been provided for you.
Here is a step by step guide that you can use to help you to include the correct information in
your answers:
1. Read the instructions provided at the beginning of the assignment
2. Look at each assessment criteria and highlight the key words – this will provide you with a
checklist of what should be included
Here is an example from Unit 5001:
Part 1: By completing this unit, you should now be able to
assess and plan for personal professional development
(Learning Outcome 1)
•
Explain why it is important for you to continually develop
yourself at work in relation to achieving organisational
objectives.
•
Describe ways available to you for assessing your current skills
and competencies against your defined role requirements and
organisational objectives.
•
What development opportunities are available to you to meet
current and future needs?
•
Construct a personal development plan for yourself which
contains SMART objectives.
3. Once you have highlighted the key words, you must ensure that your answer makes
reference to each of these words.
4. Ensure that you understand what the question is asking. For example, if it asks what
development opportunities are available to you, do not write about development
opportunities are available to your team. If the question asks you about your
organisation’s disciplinary and grievance procedures, ensure that you cover both sets
of procedures, not just one.
5. Identify which words are the instructions, if there are any.
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Exponential Training & Assessment: Student Information
Here is an example from Unit 5001:
Part 1: By completing this unit, you should now be able to
assess and plan for personal professional development
(Learning Outcome 1)
•
Explain why it is important for you to continually develop
yourself at work in relation to achieving organisational
objectives.
•
Describe ways available to you for assessing your current skills
and competencies against your defined role requirements and
organisational objectives.
•
What development opportunities are available to you to meet
current and future needs?
•
Construct a personal development plan for yourself which
contains SMART objectives.
6. Look at Section B: Understanding the Assessment Criteria to ensure that you understand
what these instructions mean. Assessment criteria without an instruction will be phrased
as questions to be answered, as in the third bullet point in the example above.
7. Check if any additional instructions are given. Most assignments will ask you to “Illustrate
your answers with examples from your own workplace where possible”. If you are unable
to think of any examples from your own workplace, consider if you can think of any
examples from other organisations that you know something about.
8. At this point, you can brainstorm a list of the points that you can include in your answer,
considering both the key words and the instruction words. These should include theories,
models or the work of others which you feel are relevant.
9. You can then assemble these points into a logical order. In many cases, each point could
be the focus of one paragraph.
10. Brainstorm a list of diagrams that you could include.
11. Brainstorm any examples that you could use to illustrate your answer.
12. Identify any quotes which will support your answer.
13. Always keep in mind the suggested word count as this will give you an idea of how much
depth you are expected to go into. If you have too much to include, mark each item with
an ‘M’, ‘S’ or ‘C’ according to whether you MUST include it, SHOULD include it or COULD
include it. This will help you to prioritise which items to include.
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Exponential Training & Assessment: Student Information
D. Linking Theory with Practice
During your qualification programme you will probably have been introduced to theories,
models and concepts. The assignment questions have been written to give you the
opportunity to demonstrate that you are aware of these theories, models and concepts and
can relate them to what happens in your own workplace or another organisation that you are
familiar with.
Here is an example from Unit 5001:
Part 1: By completing this unit, you should now be able to
assess and plan for personal professional development
(Learning Outcome 1)
•
Explain why it is important for you to continually develop
yourself at work in relation to achieving organisational
objectives.
•
Describe ways available to you for assessing your current skills
and competencies against your defined role requirements and
organisational objectives.
•
What development opportunities are available to you to meet
current and future needs?
•
Construct a personal development plan for yourself which
contains SMART objectives.
When answering the second question above, you could make reference to 360 degree
assessment, training needs analysis, appraisals and development reviews. You could refer to
the Conscious/Unconscious Learning Model and provide examples of the stages that you or
someone in your workplace is at with different skills and the implications of this. When
describing the development opportunities available to you, it might be useful to refer to
Honey and Mumford’s Preferred Learning Styles, explain what your preferred learning style is
and how this then has an effect on the type of learning opportunity which is likely to be most
effective for you.
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Exponential Training & Assessment: Student Information
E. Plagiarism
During your qualification programme, you will benefit from reading widely around the subject
area that you have been studying, particularly using Management Direct and learning
resources supplied by your training provider.
As mentioned previously, when answering the questions, you should make reference to what
you have read, to models, theories and concepts that you have learned about and to other
people’s views of these.
It is essential however, that you do not copy words, sentences, paragraphs or more from
documents written by other people. This is called plagiarism and if the person assessing your
assignments can identify the work of other people in your assignment, then your assignment
will not pass, regardless of how well the questions have been answered.
Plagiarism is defined as the unauthorised use or close imitation of the language and thoughts
of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work.
It is possible to quote or cite from a document produced by someone else, using exactly their
own words. Information is provided about this in Section K: Referencing.
F. Writing Style and Layout
Although you will be assessed on the content of your assignment, the writing style and layout
are important as they will affect how easy it is for your assignment to be assessed and will
contribute to the overall impression.
Here is a list of tips:
1. Your assignment should be submitted electronically, using Microsoft Word
2. If you have been provided with a template in which to write your answer, use this
template
3. If you have not been provided with a template, use a modern, businesslike font such as
Arial, Tahoma or Verdana in font size 11
4. Use paragraphs to structure your assignment
5. Use headings, sub headings and bullet points to make your assignment easier to read
6. Consider the use of additional formatting such as underlining and bold text to provide
emphasis
7. Ensure that you use consistent formatting throughout your assignment – the same font,
font size, line and paragraph spacing for each type of text, for example body text, titles
and headings
8. It is a good idea to start each part of your assignment on a new page
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Exponential Training & Assessment: Student Information
9. Use formal, business like language
10. Use your computer’s spellchecker and grammar checker
11. If you intend to use an abbreviation, you must provide the full wording the first time,
followed by the abbreviation afterwards in brackets. After this you can use the
abbreviation with no further explanation. For example: The Chartered Management
Institute (CMI)
12. Look at your assignment and consider if it appears business like and easy to read. If not,
make some changes using the tips above
13. Finally, read through the whole assignment to ensure that the spellchecker and grammar
checker have not missed anything and that everything makes sense. It is sometimes a
good idea to ask someone else to read what you have written.
G. Word Count
You will be provided with an indicative word count range for the whole assignment and/or for
each part of the assignment. This is a guide to how much depth you are expected to go into.
Your assignment should be within this word count and should definitely not be more than 10
per cent above or below this word count.
Word count can be checked within most word processing software.
H. Confidentiality
When providing examples from your workplace, it is important that you consider
confidentiality, particularly if you are writing about a matter which is sensitive, such as
discipline.
Here are some tips:
1. Do not refer to people by name, or change their names if this is easier for you
2. Individuals can also be referred to by their job titles
3. Do not refer to the organisation by name if you are writing something which the
organisation would not want to be made public. A brief description of the type of company
will suffice instead, to provide the context if appropriate
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I. Diagrams and Tables
Diagrams and tables can be used to relay a large amount of information without using up
your word count, as unless your assignment guidance says to the contrary, they do not
contribute to the word count. They can also improve the look of your assignment.
Here are some tips for using diagrams and tables:
1. Ensure that formatting of diagrams and tables is consistent with the rest of the document
2. If you have copied diagrams or tables from other sources, you must reference them in the
same way as quotes. See Section E: Plagiarism.
3. Do not use poor quality images copied and pasted from other sources. Recreate them
yourself instead.
4. Diagrams and tables must have titles.
5. You must refer to any diagrams or tables that you include in your assignment. It is
important that you explain why you have included them.
J. Reflective Statements
Reflective statements should be used to demonstrate to the person assessing your
assignment:
•
•
what you have learned from completing the Unit
how you will be able to use this new knowledge in the future
Although the content of your reflective statement will not be assessed, completing the
reflective statement is a mandatory part of your assignment and your assignment will not
pass unless you have completed the reflective statement.
K. Referencing
It is important that in your assignment, you demonstrate that you are aware of and
understand models, theories and concepts and that you have read about the subject of your
assignment.
References are used to:
•
•
•
•
Enable the assessor to locate the sources you have used
Help support your arguments and provide your work with credibility
Show the scope and breadth of your research
Acknowledge the source of an argument or idea. Failure to do so could result in a
charge of plagiarism
Whenever you refer to something that has been written by someone else, you must
acknowledge where that idea or in the case of a quote, or citation, where the exact words
have come from.
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There are two stages to this process:
•
•
Stage 1: Providing information in the text, at the foot of the page, or at the end of the
section about who wrote what you are referring to, and in what year
Stage 2: Providing full details of the source of the information at the end of your
assignment in an alphabetical list of references, so that the assessor, if they wanted
to, could go to the source themselves
Stage 1: Providing Author’s Surname and Year Published
Quotes/Citations
1. You must make it absolutely clear where the words have come from, who wrote them and
when they were written. You must make it possible for the person assessing your
assignment to locate the quote in its original location, should they wish to do so.
2. The usual way of doing this is to put inverted commas or speech marks around the text.
Here is an example:
“To be or not to be”
3. Either before or after the quote you must give the surname of the author and the year the
words were published, or a reference number which provides that information at the foot
of the page (footnotes) or the end of a section (endnotes).
So the previous example could be referenced in any of the following ways:
In 1600, Shakespeare wrote the words “To be or not to be”
“To be or not to be” (Shakespeare, 1600)
“To be or not to be” 1
1
Shakespeare, 1600
4. When using an up to date version of Microsoft Word, it is possible to insert footnotes or
endnotes automatically, by looking in the ‘Referencing’ tab. This facility can also be used
to automatically compile your Reference List (referred to in Microsoft Word as the
bibliography), thus saving you a lot of work.
5. Remember that in the reference list at the end of your assignment, you will then need to
provide full details of the source of the quote.
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Using your Own Words
1. If you use your own words to explain someone else’s idea, model, or theory, you must still
make it clear in the text, whose idea, model or theory you are describing and when they
published it.
2. You must also ensure that you use words which are sufficiently different from the
published words. This does not mean just changing the order of them or leaving a few
out.
3. The author’s details can be given in exactly the same way as with quotes, but as the
words will be your own, there is no need to use quotation or speech marks.
Here are some examples:
Kolb (1984) suggests that people learn as a result of the experiences that they have.
People learn as a result of what they experience. (Kolb, 1984)
Stage 2: Reference List
The reference list should appear at the end of your assignment, before the appendices. It
should be alphabetical by author surname.
Here is a guide on what to include in your reference list for books, articles and websites:
1. Books
You will need to include:
•
•
•
•
•
Author's surname (family name) and initials
Year of publication
Title
Edition (if not the first)/Place of publication
Publisher
Here is an example:
Walcoff.P, 1999, The Fast Forward MBA in Business Planning for Growth,
Canada, John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
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Exponential Training & Assessment: Student Information
2. Journal articles
You will need to include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Author (surname (family name), initials)
Year of publication
Title of article (in single quotation marks)
Title of magazine (italics or underlined)
Volume number (if applicable)
Issue number (if applicable)
Page number/s (if applicable)
Here is an example:
Choi, C 2003, 'Cleaner living' Scientific American, vol. 289, no. 5, p. 32.
3. Websites
You will need to include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Author/editor (if identified) (surname (family name), initials)
Last update (if identified)
Title of article (italics or underlined)
Name of sponsor
Date it was viewed by you
URL (within < >)
Here is an example:
Coghlan, A 2003, 'GM crops can be worse for environment'
ScientificAmerican.com, viewed 9 January 2004
<http://www.newscientist.com/hottopics/gm/gm.jsp?id=ns99994283>
L. Bibliographies
A bibliography is a listing all the materials that have been consulted while writing your
assignment that you have not included in your reference list. Although you may have
consulted a range of books, articles and websites whilst preparing to write your assignment,
the content of these might not have been included in the actual text.
The bibliography should be compiled in the same way as the reference list and should appear
after the reference list.
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M. Appendices
Appendices should be used when you want to include a document or part of a document to
support your answer.
Here is a step by step guide to using appendices:
1. Appendices should always be numbered in the order that they are referred to in your
assignment.
2. Appendices must always be referred to in the body of the assignment.
3. Examples of how to refer to an appendix include:
•
•
•
•
Appendix 1 shows that
Appendix 1 is a copy of
A copy of XYZ document can be found in Appendix 1
XYZ document (see Appendix 1)
4. Wherever possible, appendices should appear at the end of the main assignment
document, rather than being sent to the assessor as separate documents.
5. Appendices should appear in the correct order
6. The word ‘Appendix’ followed by the relevant appendix number should actually appear on
each appendix.
7. Care should be taken not to include appendices which are overly long.
8. Care should be taken not to include too many appendices. Ask yourself how relevant each
appendix actually is and what it adds to your answer, before including it.
N. Drafts and Feedback
You will usually have the opportunity to submit a draft for your assignment to your assessor
for feedback and will be given a date by which this must be submitted.
Here are some tips for how to get the most out of submitting a draft assignment:
1. Do not waste the opportunity of submitting an draft assignment and receiving feedback
from your assessor. Receiving and acting on feedback from your assessor is the best
possible way to ensure that your assignment passes.
2. Plan for the draft deadline date, rather than the final assignment deadline.
3. Even if you do not manage to answer all of the questions, still submit a draft of what you
have managed to complete.
4. You can also ask your assessor for clarification on any aspect of your assignment prior to
the draft deadline.
5. Act on all of the feedback that your assessor provides.
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