Writing your assignment
Writing your assignments successfully requires:
- Understanding the writing task your lecturer has set
- breaking it down into stages and planning thoroughly
- using critical and/or reflective thinking
- using a communication style appropriate for the task, and
- responding to feedback
Take charge of your own writing development. As you progress through your studies, you should:
- develop your writing skills
- apply your lecturers feedback from previous work, and
- grow your communication skills
As a University student, you are expected to develop appropriate academic and professional communication skills, including in written assignments.
You will need to:
- plan and draft your writing
- write critically and/or reflectively
- write clearly
- choose and use an appropriate written tone (such as an academic or a professional tone)
- structure your writing so that your ideas are communicated effectively, and
- edit and proofread your writing to improve it and remove errors
Written communication skills are fundamental for success on your degree course and are vital for your employability.
Video: Mastering Academic Register
We have 2 types of support available:
- Writing self-development resources, and
- 1 to 1 or small group support
Skills Guides self-development resources page
Our Skills Guides resources are designed to support your development in a self-guided way. This means you can access support resources wherever you are, whenever you need. We have resources to support you with:
- Assignment building
- Getting started with writing
- Improving grammar, academic language, and structure
- Improving your written tone (such as academic register, or active and passive voice)
- Summarising, paraphrasing, and quoting the ideas of others
- Critical thinking and writing
- Reflective writing, and
- Editing and proofreading
Access Study Success Skills Guides
We also have assistive technology-focused guides that can support you with using technology to help your writing, spelling and grammar, and your planning:
Technology, writing, spelling and grammar
Technology, planning and organisation
1 to 1 or small group support
Need 1 to 1 or small group support to develop your assignment planning and time management skills?
Focus and Forward
Visit our weekly Focus and Forward Planning Hub on the York campus or online for access to a focused space to plan your writing goals:
York and London campus students
A range of tutors at York St John University can help you:
- grow your confidence in writing
- develop new and existing writing skills, and
- set you on a path to success with your writing
If you are a York Campus student, you can book an in-person tutorial on the York campus or an online tutorial:
Book a 1 to 1 learning tutorial with a Study Development Tutor
If you are a London campus student, you can book a tutorial with a tutor from London Learning and Wellness team:
Book a small group learning tutorial with London Learning and Wellness tutor