Assignment briefs - Oxford Brookes University Skip to main content Menu Search Search Search the Brookes website Search Search Search Search Close Students Staff Alumni Study Study Courses Contact and meet us Why Oxford Brookes? Schools and Colleges outreach hub Parents and Carers Fees and finance Brexit information Outreach hub Student life Student life Oxford: an ideal student city Accommodation Our campuses Brookes Union Sports Support and wellbeing Student stories International International International courses Study Abroad and Exchanges Why international students choose Oxford Brookes Meet our students Apply for a course Your country Applying to arriving Fees and funding Student support Contact the international team Research Research REF 2021 Research news Research Impact Showcase Our research networks Our research centres Our research staff Research in the Faculties Research degrees Job vacancies Public and Community engagement Research repository (RADAR) Research integrity and responsible metrics Research ethics at Oxford Brookes Support (staff only) Research ethics (staff and students only) Policies and codes of practice (staff and students only) Knowledge exchange (staff and students only) Converis (CRIS) (staff only) Research impact (staff and students only) Library services for researchers Contact the Research team Business and employers Business and employers About Collaboration with business Services to business Continuing professional development Access to talent Enterprise support Case studies Apprenticeships Oxford Brookes Venues News Staff support Contact the Business and Employers team About About Brookes at a glance Faculties and departments Professional services Structure and governance Strategy News Events Our history Our community Safety and welfare Social responsibility Sustainability Corporate identity Support Brookes Job vacancies Maps and campuses Contact us Home Students Centre for Academic Development Online resources Assignment briefs In this section Book a tutorial Online resources Workshops Academic English Academic English Undergraduate Academic English Postgraduate Academic English Academic language consultations Mathematics and statistics Mathematics and statistics Mathematics resources Statistics resources The Writing Hub The Writing Hub Writing retreats and communities The repository 1:1 Writing support Meet the team Assignment briefs An assignment brief explains the task you are being asked to do for your assessment and how your lecturers would like you to do it. It could be as short as a single essay question, or it could be more detailed, such as a project brief with a number of sections or stages. Scroll down for our recommended strategies and resources. Get informed As well as your assignment brief, you may have other documents with useful information for your assignment. Check on Moodle for things like the deadline, format, marking criteria, and any additional guidance that may be in lecture slides. If you have looked, but cannot find something, do ask your lecturer. Understand Take time to understand everything in the question and exactly what you are being asked to do. If you do not understand a word, look it up. Language learner dictionaries can be useful as they offer longer and clearer definitions of words. Keywords and overview Break the question down and look at keywords but also consider the overall purpose and main issues raised by the question as a whole. Analysing questions using keywords (UNSW, Australia) More complex or implied questions (UNSW, Australia) Answer the question It may sound obvious, but make sure you are answering the question you have been set, not the question you would prefer to answer. If the brief has a number of tasks or parts, answer all of them. Parts that involve evaluation or analysis are usually longer and worth more marks than parts that ask for description or explanation. Keep the brief in front of you and check it regularly. Marking criteria Unless you have been told otherwise, your marking criteria is not usually a guide to the structure of your assignment. Each section of the criteria is not a separate paragraph in your assignment, but qualities that you need to demonstrate throughout. Treat the marking criteria as a checklist at the end not as a plan at the beginning. Also the criteria often tells you what to demonstrate (e.g. critical analysis) but not necessarily how to do it. For the how to do it, look back at the skills and activities you have covered in the rest of the module. Oxford Brookes University Headington Campus Oxford OX3 0BP UK Campus addresses » Location Map Social media Facebook Twitter Linkedin Youtube Flickr Instagram Weibo Footer Navigation © 2022 Oxford Brookes University - Policies Accessibility Privacy Cookies Modern slavery statement Student Protection Plan
