1. No category

Supporting the Development of
Assignment Presentation Skills
Melanie Bradley
Melanie Bradley (The University of
Warwick)
Aims
• To identify aspects of writing that count as presentation
skills
• To gain common agreement on what presentation
elements tutors need to focus on when marking
assignments
• To consider how we should respond to presentational
errors/areas for development:
(i) on the assignment script
(ii) in comment boxes alongside the script
(iii) on the assignmentMelanie
feedback
sheet
Bradley (The University
of
Warwick)
• To consider marking manageability for tutors
• To identify what additional resources are available
within the University to support students in their
independent efforts to develop their presentation skills
• To decide when it is reasonable to advise students to
seek additional support
• To consider the need for:
(i) students to set realistic targets based on tutor feedback
(ii) Tutors to monitor how these targets are addressed in
future assignments
Melanie Bradley (The University of
Warwick)
Task
Think about your experience of marking a typical
assignment.
Make a list of the sort of presentational features that you
would normally highlight/comment on/correct.
Consider possible reasons why you might focus on these
features.
Melanie Bradley (The University of
Warwick)
Word level elements
• Vocabulary choice:
* Is a word used inappropriately?
* Could a better variety of words be used to enrich
expression, e.g.
‘Tickell (2011) argues/contends/asserts/suggests…’
• Spelling
Melanie Bradley (The University of
Warwick)
• Punctuation – incorrect use of
* upper/lower case letters, e.g. the allen report; the
qualifications and curriculum authority; children with
send/eal
* Apostrophe
* Colon
* Semi-colon
* Full stop
* Contractions
Melanie Bradley (The University of
Warwick)
Sentence level elements
•
Is the sentence coherent?
• Are there any syntax errors? E.g.
‘Looking at international approaches to learning and
pedagogy it seems that all have to find their own point of
repose between the training and skills of staff requirements
of children’s individual needs and the needs of the group,
for the respect for the family and attention to cognitive
development, feelings and personality.’
‘I observed child was very interested in water play.’
Melanie Bradley (The University of
Warwick)
• Demarcation of sentence boundaries – most common
problem is the comma splice, i.e. where a full stop or
semi-colon is need to signal a new clause but the writer
does not recognise this so uses a comma instead. E.g.
‘Speaking and listening skills are essential for all aspects of
children’s development, practitioners need to plan for these
in all aspects of provision, it should be common practice.’
Melanie Bradley (The University of
Warwick)
Length of sentences
In this assignment it has been demonstrated that the
Reggio Emilia approach reflects socio-cultural influences
because its nurseries are a microcosm of Reggio society
whilst its philosophy is also influenced by numerous
Constructivist theorists, which means that children are
permitted to enjoy a creative, meaningful pre-school
education, which can only further their holistic
development and which also promotes social cohesion
within the wider community.
Melanie Bradley (The University of
Warwick)
• Referencing – both within the assignment and in the
final reference list:
* Embedding quotations, e.g.
Anning (2010) believes practitioners must be clear about
their role in play ‘the holy grail of early years education is
to construct a pedagogy of play’ (p 30).
* Failing to indent/block longer quotations
* Incorrectly using the Harvard conventions for direct/
indirect quotations, citations and reference lists OR not
sourcing material
Melanie Bradley (The University of
Warwick)
It is essential that students learn to use, over time, the
Harvard referencing conventions accurately. A direct link
to the Study Skills section of the CLL intranet Student
Learning Space is:
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/study/cll/currentstudents/st
udent/study/
Melanie Bradley (The University of
Warwick)
Text level elements
• Coherence - i.e. the maintenance of meaning through
structural and grammatical strategies
* Does meaning flow clearly between sentences?
* Does meaning flow clearly across paragraphs?
* Is there a logical ordering of ideas and arguments across
the whole text?
* Is there a discernible introduction and conclusion to the
assignment?
Melanie Bradley (The University of
Warwick)
Register
* Are the tone and style of the text suitably formal and
impersonal for academic writing?
* Is objectivity maintained?
* Does the student try to address or instruct the reader?
* Does the student use personal pronouns (‘I’; ‘we’) other
than when referring to personal, professional experience as
part of the assignment brief?
Melanie Bradley (The University of
Warwick)
Tense
The Reggio Emilia philosophy owes much to the sociocultural history of northern Italy. A sustained period of
fascist oppression in the 1940s helped shape an educational
approach that espoused freedom of expression. Current
Reggio practice has therefore logically evolved to reflect
Bruner’s theory of Representation. Bruner (1986) argues
that cognition is expressed – and develops – in three main
ways…
Melanie Bradley (The University of
Warwick)
What presentational features are prioritised by the
University’s marking criteria?
• Structure
• Sourcing
• Spelling
• Grammar
Melanie Bradley (The University of
Warwick)
How do we manageably address these elements when
marking assignments?
Detailed highlighting/correcting of errors should only be
made on the first four pages of any assignment. After that,
the student should be guided on the feedback sheet to
identify and correct repetitions of errors. (Tutor comments
on content should continue to be made, as normal,
throughout the assignment.)
Task
What presentation features would you correct or identify
as requiring development
in the given text extract?
Melanie Bradley (The University of
Warwick)
• Student target setting
• When should we consider referring students for
additional support?
Melanie Bradley (The University of
Warwick)