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EFFECTIVE LEARNING
SERVICE
YOUR ASSIGNMENT
RESULTS – AND HOW TO
IMPROVE THEM
University of Bradford, School of Management
Your Assignment Results
YOUR ASSIGNMENT RESULTS – AND HOW TO
IMPROVE THEM
Many students, particularly international students, are often disappointed
with the marks they receive for written assignments, particularly in the
first semester. But in Britain the majority of students will achieve marks
between 55-65 for their assignments, and a mark between 65-69 is
considered as a good achievement for early assignments.
This may contrast with typical pass marks in other countries, where 60-65
is regarded as a baseline, and 70 regarded as an acceptable lowest point.
In Britain a mark of 70 or over would be reserved for students
whose work is significantly above average.
This booklet will help you to understand why you received the grade you
did and to help you achieve higher marks in the future. It contains advice
from tutors at the School of Management, plus ideas for analysing
questions, developing an argument in an essay and for becoming more
creative with ideas.
The booklet is the first step, but you might also like to:
•
•
Discuss this issue with your personal tutor:
seek advice from
your personal tutor on ways of improving your grades.
Talk to the Effective Learning Officer
for the School about ways
of developing effective learning strategies that are right for you.
There are learning strategies that take into account your personality
and skills, and the Effective Learning Officer, using a short
questionnaire, can help you identify these. The Effective Learning
Office is in room 0.10 Airedale Building and you can arrange a
confidential appointment by contacting Colin Neville, the Effective
Learning Officer by Email on C.Neville@bradford.ac.uk.
Attend Effective Learning Service Workshops:
these are
offered weekly and focus on aspects of study relevant to all
students, particularly writing for assignments. Details of workshops
are sent out by Email to all students at the start of each week with
reminders sent on workshop days. Workshops generally last for
40-50 minutes.
•
Effective Learning Service
1
University of Bradford, School of Management
Your Assignment Results
IN GENERAL TERMS:
marks are awarded according to the
following broad criteria
HIGHEST MARKS
The
highest marks
(e.g.
70+) are awarded for work
which includes all of the
features of ‘good marks’,
and in addition:
GOOD MARKS
Good marks
(e.g. top C-
B range) are awarded for
work which:
ü
Shows
understanding
of underlying issues
ü
Meets
the set
criteria
ü
Answers
the set
question
ü
D
evelops
an
argument or point
of view
ü
Draws
conclusions
ü
Shows
the
relationship
between different
issues or concepts
within the subject
area
ü
Reveals
some
thought and
reflection
ü
Organises
information into a
structure
ü
Gives
evidence and
examples to support
arguments and
main points
LOW MARKS
Low marks
are awarded
for work that is likely to
be characterised in one
or more of the following
ways:
%
Demonstrates
good
understanding of how and
why the topic relates to
broader issues or
practices.
L
Has weak structure
(the ideas are hard to
follow)
L
Shows little evidence
of research, thought or
reflection
%
Gets
‘below the
surface’ of the subject to
unravel issues, concerns
and connections within an
assignment topic
L
Is mostly descriptive,
with little analysis or
argument
%
Presents
evidence of
reading beyond the set
texts
L
Considers only one
point of view
%
Takes
a fresh or
creative approach to the
subject; often interprets
available information in an
original or objectively
challenging way
L
The assignment may
be badly written, with
spelling mistakes, poor
grammar and confusing
sentence construction
L
No evidence of
%
Writes
in a clear,
reasoned and coherent
way. The ideas and
arguments presented are
logical and easy to follow.
reading on the subject
and little evidence of
independent thinking
L
Gives few examples to
illustrate ideas
(
Source: adapted from Cottrell, S. (2003)
The Study Skills Handbook.
Basingstoke:
Palgrave, p. 181)
You can also draw an analogy between your results and a journey (see
next page).
Effective Learning Service
2
University of Bradford, School of Management
Your Assignment Results
YOUR ASSIGNMENT RESULTS
It is possible to make the analogy between your assignment results and a
journey, in this case a journey of learning.
1
st
class
(70+)
‘A’ grade
work
EXPLORER
Features of the work
submitted:
Work of
distinguished
quality
that is based on
very extensive reading
and demonstrates an
authoritative grasp of
concepts, methodology
and content. Clear
evidence of originality of
thought and ability to
synthesise complex
material and to think
analytically and/or
critically.
The work will also be
presented to a high
standard, including being
correctly referenced, free
of spelling mistakes and
grammatical errors.
The
explorer
has pursued the
subject in a very thorough and
perhaps even a
creative way.
The explorer will be brave
enough to venture into
academic ‘territory’ others
have not. For example, the
explorer may have
demonstrated a willingness
and ability to be creative with,
or challenge, established ideas
or practices in a thorough,
analytical and objective way.
2.1 class
(60-69)
‘B’ grade
work
TRAVELLER
Features of the work
submitted:
Competent work which
demonstrates a sound
level of understanding of
concepts, methodology
and content.
Toward the top end of
this range there is likely
to be clear evidence of
critical judgement in
selecting, ordering and
analysing content.
The
traveller
has a plan,
purpose and a goal, and has
done some careful preparation
for the assignment ‘journey’.
The traveller, with more effort
and confidence, could easily
become an ‘explorer’.
Effective Learning Service
3
University of Bradford, School of Management
Your Assignment Results
2.2 class
(50-59)
‘C’ grade
work
TOURIST
Features of the work
submitted:
Work derived from a
reasonable to good
basis of reading and
which demonstrates in
an adequate way a
grasp of relevant
materials and key
concepts, as well as
the ability to structure
arguments. There are
no serious omissions or
irrelevancies.
Examples presented
however, will tend to
come from lecture
notes or set text
books, rather than
from independent
reading.
The
tourist
likes to play safe
and not take any risks.
Although the tourist has
prepared for the assignment,
the tourist quite likes to be told
what to do, rather than
discover things for him or
herself. In assignments, the
tourist will report back
accurately what he/she has
read, but will not get too far, or
at all, ‘below the surface’ of a
subject, by, for example,
making wider or deeper
connections between subjects,
or challenging ideas or
practices.
3 class
(40-49)
‘D’ grade
HITCHHIKER
Features of the work
submitted:
Limited understanding
of key concepts and
limitations in the
selection of relevant
material. The work
submitted may be
flawed by some
significant omissions or
irrelevant material.
No examples may be
offered to illustrate
ideas.
The
hitchhiker
may
occasionally be on the journey,
but often is not. In a particular
assignment, for example, the
hitchhiker may have wandered
off the track or point, or not
really understood where he/she
was going, or the ‘destination’
(e.g. main point of view was
unclear).
Effective Learning Service
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