by The Open University
Available in 34 free installments
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Just as we have advised earlier, we are not going to introduce any new ideas in this concluding section. We are using it to reinforce what we think our main points are.
Writing essays or reports can be time-consuming; individual assignments tend to focus in depth on specific topics rather than fostering a wider sense of the whole course. However, three or four or more assignments will bring benefits as linkages start to become apparent and the total programme of written work helps you to develop your knowledge and skills across a range of areas. If you allow yourself to be open to making mistakes, to learn from feedback and to view assignment writing as a continuing, developmental process, then the same knowledge and skills should help you beyond any single assignment or any one course.
We hope we have demonstrated that there are many aspects in the process of writing an assignment and it is not just a matter of starting with x and finishing with y; you will sometimes need to take one step back in order to take one forward: moving on a stage but continually checking back over previous stages, amending as appropriate. There is a limit to what you can ? and are expected ? to do. Perfection is not everything. If you have to send off an assignment that is not as good as you would have liked, look for the positives. Why is it not as good? What might you have done differently? Can you transfer the answers to these questions to the next assignment? Most of all, however, think what you learned from doing it, both from the experience of writing it and from its content.
