Skip to Main Content

Assignment Writing: Using Feedback

This guide will help you plan, research and write your written assignments.

Feedback is a tool for improving your skills. Just like a hammer is a tool for building, and a pencil is a tool for writing. Feedback can be used to help you learn what you are doing well and what you need to work on.

Does your assessment count towards your final grade?

The first thing you want to do is find out whether your assignment is a formative task or a summative task. This is important because you'll be given different feedback for each type of assessment. 

Formative assessments

These types of assessments don't count towards your final grade, however they do need to be done. 
  • These are great because they can help you identify gaps in your knowledge or skills, and give you an idea of how well you're doing.
  • Use the feedback you get to develop strategies to improve your knowledge or skills so you can do well on your summative assessments.   

Summative assessments 

These types of assessments do count towards your final grade, so it is important to do your best.
  • These assessment measure your knowledge and skills at the end of a topic or course. They show you how well you've done.
  • Use the feedback given to develop strategies to improve your knowledge or skills, and use this information when completing other summative assessments.  

Check your assignment now. 

  • Does it say formative or summative assessment?
  • Does it tell you what percentage of your grade it is? If it does, it is likely to be a summative assessment. 

If you are unsure, ask your tutor.

How do I find my feedback on Turnitin?

This module will guide you through using Turnitin to help you submit your assignments stress free. Once section of this module shows you have to access and read your feedback. 

 

You will be asked to log in to Whitireia or Weltec Moodle. To access the module:

What does my feedback mean?

So you have received your assignment back from the marker. The first thing you might do is check out your grade. Don't forget to look at the feedback given - This is the most important part. The feedback is where you will learn about how you're doing in the course, what skills you have, and what skills you can improve on. 

 

Image credit: https://d225fqn1pkg6mt.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Start-up-checklist.jpg 

 

Check this out these links to read about some common feedback given by markers and how to respond to it.

Take a moment

Take a look at your assignment feedback. 

Usually you can find your feedback in Turnitin - The same place that you submitted your assignment on the due date.

Read the feedback carefully

  • What does the feedback say you did well?
  • What does the feedback say you can improve on?
  • Now, make a plan for learning the suggested skills and improving future assignments

If you don't understand your feedback, talk with your tutor or a learning advisor. 

Image citation: Possessed Photography. (2019, September 8). Rerouting [Photograph]. Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/0La7MwJhSyo