How do I smash through assessment?

In just a couple of minutes, Griffith student Azaria Bell gives you the essentials on preparing for assignments.

3 Golden Rules of Assessment

Follow these rules to be on track for completing your assessment:

Read all of the information carefully
Start early
Ask if you are not sure

Academic integrity

Griffith sets a high value on academic integrity – that is, acting with honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility in learning. Academic integrity is more than correctly referencing or not cheating – it is an extension of your personal and professional integrity.

Brush up on your knowledge of academic integrity and the use of text-matching technology via the Academic Integrity Tutorial.

Rubrics matter

Marking rubrics describe the expectations of an assessment task.

As a student, look at:

the language used - do all of the terms make sense to you?
each criterion - make sure that you address each of these in your finished work
descriptions of each standard - what would you look for in a work that was ‘excellent’ compared with ‘good’?

Check the rubric regularly to make sure you are on track. It is easy to be diverted after starting a piece of work, and lose focus on how the work will be assessed.

Consider this example rubric document [XLSX 5.4KB].

If you have online exams

Your online studies might include exams, which could be proctored online exams or held at exam centres. Online proctored exams involve a proctor who will supervise your exam in the same way that exams are supervised in exam centres, but giving you flexibility to complete your exam in your own home.

Prepare for exams sooner rather than later. Make sure you complete any revision or practice tests that are provided, learn to use any technology that is needed, and note the conditions of your exam.

How to use feedback

In your studies, you will receive feedback on formal assessments and on informal activities.

Use this feedback. Get every drop of value that you can from it.

Feedback is a chance to see your work from a different perspective. Some feedback will simply be whether your answers were right or wrong, and other feedback will be about whether you met the requirements of the task.

Academic research and writing is a skill that develops with practice over time. Think on the feedback. Do you agree? Why? If a marking rubric was used, what does the feedback tell you about how well you met each criteria? Make notes about what you will do differently in your next assessment.

You can contact teaching staff to ask for more details on feedback that you don’t understand.

What to do when life has other plans

While online study provides a great deal of flexibility, there will still be deadlines for submission of assessment. If you experience personal circumstances that impact on your ability to submit assessment, you need to know the possible impact on your studies, and options available to you. Find out about extensions, deferred assessment, and special consideration on this page.

Not the grade you were expecting?

Sometimes, even after a lot of preparation, work and revision, you don't get the grade you were expecting. Your first unexpected grade can come as a shock and having strategies to deal with this shock, get feedback and find the lessons in the experience and recast your goals is important. After reviewing any feedback provided on your assessment, you should speak with your tutor to get your questions answered. If you are not satisfied with the result of this consultation, you can seek further actions through Griffith policies below.

Assessment policies – work on fact not myth

Griffith publishes policies on assessment and academic integrity to clearly describe requirements and responsibilities regarding assessment.

University policies include a range of provisions: