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DO
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DON’T
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Read the assessment brief at the start of term. Then read it again. Make notes, make sure you know the final goal you are working towards for each module. You need to have a clear idea – is it an essay, is it a group presentation, is it a podcast, or maybe an online exam or multiple-choice quiz? Do you need additional tools, do you have the right software? Is there a mock exam or an opportunity to submit a draft?
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Leave it for after the teaching for this term has finished. Your module convenor will be busy with preparation for assessment and would be dealing with a lot of student queries so they might not have enough time to answer your question in time for the deadline.
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Double check the date and time of your deadline. Sometimes dates and timings are moved for specific reasons – both backward and forward.
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Check only once and put the date in your personal diary, you may miss the deadline (or miss an opportunity for some extra time).
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Allow yourself enough time before the deadline. The deadline is there to indicate the final opportunity for submission. Usually, you can submit 1-2 weeks before the deadline and you can resubmit if you have made any improvements. The resubmission will replace your previous submissions.
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Leave it until the last 5 minutes. If the deadline is 2pm, that means that the moment the clock strikes 2:00:00, the inbox will close, and you won’t be able to submit, or your submission will be marked as late.
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Make sure you are submitting the right paper for the right module especially if you have several deadlines within a short period of time. Go to the module Moodle page, reread the guidance, make sure it is the right module and then submit. If your module has two components (for example, a presentation and reflective report), make sure you don’t mix the papers.
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Submit in haste and use the Timeline on Moodle. If you submit the wrong paper for the wrong module, both module convenor and the Moodle team need to get involved and sometimes need to liaise with Turnitin UK so you may miss an opportunity to be marked.
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Contact your module convenor as early as possible if you need an extension. There is a process involved called ‘Mitigating Circumstances’ to allow extensions for students with learning differences or particular life circumstances. The sooner the module team knows, the better opportunity they have to support you.
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Assume you will be given an opportunity for a late submission. There are strict academic regulations and extensions need to be approved in advance. Otherwise, you are risking missing a submission opportunity.
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Contact your module convenor if there is an issue with your submission. They may refer you to the technical support team if it’s a technical issue or a problem with the assignment content. Make sure you allow enough time before the deadline.
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Contact your technical support team after the deadline, asking for extension. This needs to be approved by the module convenor.
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Read the guidance about Turnitin in advance. The Roehampton eLearning Services website has plenty of up-to-date videos, step-by-step guidance, and troubleshooting. There is additional guidance about other types of assessments too.
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Once again, leave the submission for the last minute. There are plenty of basic issues which can be easily prevented or fixed by using the generic guidance.
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Download the Office 365 in the beginning of the term – this comes free with your enrolment, and you would need most office apps (such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel) to work on your assignments. Always check the requirements if you are using graphic design platforms (such as Canva). Even if you export in the correct format (such as PDF) some or all of the content may be saved as images which might then cause issues with your submission.
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Use Mac programmes such as Pages, Numbers or Keynote to draft and submit your assignments. Turnitin does not accept these filetypes at the moment and would only generate similarity if it can detect a minimum of 20 words.
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Convert your assignments to the required format. For example, Turnitin does not accept Mac’s Pages, Numbers or Keynote generated documents and would not produce a similarity report. Audio files have size limits. Presentations may or may not need voice recordings. Use the correct software.
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Submit your assignments in unaccepted formats. This brings us back to reading the guidance at the start of term, and then rereading a few times during the term and before you start working on your assignment. Just because you did not know there is a size limit or requirements for a particular format, does not mean you would be given extra time for submission.
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Make sure you read the assessment briefs for all modules. Just because you had an essay to write for one module, does not mean you won’t have a group presentation for another.
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Assume all of your assignments would be in a similar format. There are various assessment methods, and they would depend on the module content, academic requirements, level of study, etc.
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Draft your assignments from scratch and in line with all academic regulations paying particular attention to referencing.
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Recycle assessments. Your Project Management Paper from Year 1 will not suffice for your master’s module. Plus, Turnitin keeps all submissions in its database, so your similarity report would indicate the plagiarism (and yes, you can plagiarise yourself!). Do not underestimate the importance of authenticity and own critical thinking.
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If you are resitting, make sure to read the feedback from your first submission, take it into consideration and implement it in your assignment. Your tutor would have given you all the tools to pass the second time round, but you do need to take their notes into consideration.
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Submit the same work for a resit. If you failed the first time, you won’t pass the second time round either. You need to take all of your feedback into consideration, allow for reflection of your errors and your learning curve. Sometimes, the resit would require a formal reflection, or the format would be different – e.g. individual paper rather than a group presentation.
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Get to know the academic regulations. They are usually outlined in the assessment brief, and there are plenty of resources to understand referencing, plagiarism, and other vital components of academic writing at university level. They don’t make the most entertaining reading but if you get them right from the start, you will set a sound foundation for the rest of your studies. Make sure to read the Student Code of Conduct.
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Ignore academic regulations, plagiarise, or use assignment writing services (paid or unpaid). Assessments have integrated tools to check similarity within a global database. Academic misconduct is taken very seriously in Higher Education, and it could be detrimental not only to your module outcomes but to your overall study progression, and it could affect your financing and student visa in certain cases.
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Keep your assignment to yourself. While studying could be a teamwork, working on assignments is individual responsibility. A lot of modules already show exemplars of previous student work.
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Share your drafts or final work with other students. If they use some or all of it, you would both be investigated, your assessment outcomes may be affected, and your academic integrity tarnished.
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Check your Turnitin digital receipt (if submitting via Turnitin) and make sure you have successfully submitted your assignment. Print or save (print to file) the receipt for all your Turnitin submissions.
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Misplace or do not copy the Turnitin Digital Receipt. This is the safest way to document your submission. If there are any technical issues afterwards, the receipt will help us locate your paper.
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Understand the Turnitin similarity report (if submitting via Turnitin) by reading the guidance on the UoR eLearning Services website.
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Panic if your similarity score is too high. If you are writing a literature review, you can expect your similarity score to be within the Yellow (up to 43%) or even Orange (up to 58%) zone. If it displays a very high percentage (red zone), check if you’ve uploaded the correct assignment (if not, you can replace it with another submission) or contact your module convenor for advice.
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Be honest – if you missed a deadline, if you don’t understand the assignment, if you are struggling with the study load, if you don’t understand how the Library works, etc. There is a network of professionals dedicated to your academic success. Plus, if you are struggling, chances are someone else is too. Be the voice!
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Be dishonest – there are various systems which can check logs and activity within the different platforms used by the University. If you tell us there was a system error and we see you had not logged on in time for the assignment deadline, there is not much we can do.
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Be kind – from Registry, Nest, Academic Services, Library team, programme administrators, module convenors, Finance, etc. – we are all trying to help students achieve your academic goals at each level. But we also have to deal with a lot of other requests and support a large number of students. In addition, most academic regulations require several steps of approval or checks.
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Be unkind and/or impatient. Sometimes, there is a system error, sometimes, there is a human error, sometimes things need to be approved or revised by several departments. The latter is especially applicable to partnership students for whom we have an added layer of regulations.
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And finally, take notice of the names and contact details of module convenors and student support services, including Moodle and programme administrators. They are here to help; you just need to reach out in a timely manner. Check your student email account and Moodle forums for communications from academic and support staff.
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Disregard communications in your student email account or forums, displace contact details for support services or get in touch too late.
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