Thursday, 24 October 2013

How To Tackle Assignment Deadlines

Tomorrow, I have my first deadline for my first PGCE assignment. It is one that I just want to submit and get it out of my mind because it has been so built up and such a long time with such little guidance that I want it gone. The deadline is tomorrow at 9AM, and they have already told us that it can not be a second later or you get a 0. So, everyone is submitting their assignment today in order to avoid the risk of hitting bad traffic or late public transport and being late to uni because they will accept NO excuse... It makes it easier to just give it in the day before so that you know you are well in the deadline and not going to get zero. That is what I'm doing :)

Here are some handy tips that I use when I'm just about to submit my assignments:

1. Make sure you recheck your work.
The worst thing that can happen is that you submit your assignment and then afterwards find a silly mistake that you could have rectified if you had only re-read over it that one last time. Don't just leave your assignment for a night and then read over it because the chances are you know off by heart what you want it to say and not what it actually says. It's best to be able to leave it for about a week without looking at it so your brain has a chance to forget it and then rereading it with a fresh pair of eyes to spot the mistakes. And better yet, get someone else to read it as well to make sure it makes complete sense and they can pick up all those mistakes you've missed.

2. Check the presentation requirements.
Most of my assignments require the margins to be at least 3 cm, the font to be a size 12 in Times New Roman and to be double lined spaced. It also needs to have your name, student number, the module code and page numbers on it. You don't want to get marked down for not having abided by the presentation requirements because they take two seconds to complete. Your presentation skills are all part of your assignment because they show your ability to follow instructions etc. 

3. Make sure you reference.
When you get to university, you are introduced to the bane of your life that is referencing. It means that you have to put down your sources in the exact way that is specified by the referencing style you are doing. For both my universities, I have had to use the Harvard style. Make sure that before you submit your assignment you check over that you have the commas, full stops and the brackets in the right place otherwise it won't be correct. They will look at the general style of your references and it could affect your mark if you haven't got it right! It comes under the presentation part of your marking and it shows how capable you are.

4. Don't look back.
If you've decided that your assignment is done and you've already done the 3 other points before this, don't rethink or doubt yourself. Don't reread and think that it's rubbish because chances are it's not and you're just worrying yourself for no reason. As long as you can say you've done all you can with it, just submit it. If you've put in your all, there's no point worrying about it and rereading until you're ready to pull your hair out. Submit it and then let out a huge breath of relief. It's done and don't you dare look back or wonder if it's good enough. You've done all you can!

5. Celebrate after.
When you get any assignment in, it's an achievement. Simply because most of the time afterwards, you're completely knackered from having spent so much brain power trying to make it perfect. It means that once you've submitted it and know that you have been well within the deadline, you should go and do something to celebrate. Tonight, I am going to the pub with my friends for dinner and I am definitely going to have a cheeky alcoholic beverage because I can!

DONE! Assignment handed in, now just for the pub! Bring it on.

See you all soon Hollie, Alice and Rach!
And I'll see the rest of you tomorrow. Ta'raaaa
xxx

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