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Assignment support 

Understand your task

Begin by clarifying the assessment requirements. Read the assignment instructions and marking criteria supplied on your course site. The video below explains more about writing assignments at university.

Video length: 2 min 45 sec.

  • Doing an assignment isn't a linear process.
  • Start by reading the task in detail, so you know what you need to do.
  • The assignment instructions and feedback sheet will explain the structure of your assignment.
  • You can find out more about different assignment types on the Study Help website.
  • You might need to revise your assignment plan as you go - this might happen a few times before you write your final draft!
  • As you read more, your argument should evolve to incorporate new information.
  • Make sure you use reliable resources to support your argument.
  • To interpret your task you will need to identify the content words and phrases - these show what you have to focus on.
  • The instruction words tell you how to approach the content, for example, describing something is different to comparing.
  • Identify the limits of your assignment by looking at keywords, word limits and other instructions.
  • Start the process early to get ahead.

Search strategy

Planning your search will save you time and is the key to getting the most out of your search results. See the Plan your search page of this guide for detailed information.

See the Find information page of this guide for an overview of where to search and how to search in the Library Collection and Google Scholar. The page also contains guidance on finding company and industry information, news media and statistics, as well as a list of business, finance and accounting focused databases.

You can find further introductory information about searching in the Library research skills guide:

Your literature review

A literature review consists of:

  1. Identifying credible sources
  2. Critically reading and evaluating the information
  3. Taking notes of the content, as well as noting your critique of the content
  4. Identifying the main ideas stated by the author(s)
  5. Paraphrasing accurately
  6. Organising your ideas into a structure
  7. Writing a brief (descriptive) summary of each article including a (analytical) critical evaluation 

Your literature review should be guided by your research question. You should also identify gaps in the literature and list the questions raised by the literature.

For help completing a literature review, please see the following links:

This short video (2 min 12 sec) from the Steely Library at Northern Kentucky University provides a quick introduction to literature reviews.

More help?

Top tips
  • Record your search strategy so that you (and others) can replicate the process - this is generally advised to ensure transparency and replicability. Document search tools used, date searches conducted, search terms, any limits (e.g., year, language), and number of hits.
  • Sign up for accounts with key database providers (e.g., Ovid and ProQuest) so that you can save articles, search strategies, alerts, and more for later use.
  • Set up alerts so that you keep up to date with material as it is published on your topic.
  • To conduct a comprehensive search, go beyond the major indexed databases to locate grey literature.
  • Manage and organise your search results using bibliographic management software such as EndNote.

An answerable question

Successfully retrieving relevant information begins with a clearly defined, well-structured question.

Davies, K.S. (2011). 'Formulating the evidence based practice question: a review of the frameworks', Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, vol. 6, no. 2, p. 75.

Video length: 7 min 24 sec

Developing a research question by Academic Skills, University of Melbourne (2018)

A range of standardised frameworks have been developed to assist in developing focused, answerable questions which can be easily broken down into searchable components for more relevant results.

Making your video

Where can I access Powerpoint?

PowerPoint (Office 365) can be found in all general purpose computer pools and computer barns on campus. All pools/barns have sound cards and headphone sockets

You will need headphones with a microphone, or you may record using your mobile phone, or on a laptop. You can also borrow a laptop with an inbuilt microphone from the library. Laptops cannot be booked in advance. You can access PowerPoint at home as part of Office 365. For more information see Office 365 for students

Information and resources

Learn more how to create your video using or self-running PowerPoint presentation.

This Library video (24 min 5 sec) shows you how to make a video using PowerPoint

If you would like to just watch a particular segment, the time stamps are:

  • Introduction 0:00
  • Change slide transitions to make your presentation auto running 0:21
  • Add animations 3:01
  • Record your narration 10:42
  • Add music 18:05
  • Convert your presentation to a video 20:19

If you need a space where you won't be interrupted you may like to book a study room. You can book a study room in the Jeffrey Smart Building.

Note: Study rooms are not sound proof. Please be mindful of quiet and silent spaces in the Library to refrain from disturbing other people.

There is a green screen available in Barbara Hanrahan (BH)2-12. You are not able to book this room but can use the green screen when the room is not in use. 

There are recording facilities in JS6-03. This room is only bookable for law students and law students have priority access however you are welcome to use it if it is not in use.

The video (1 min 45 sec) below has information on how to find images you can use in your video and presentation.

Note: Remember you need to attribute all images you use. 

Writing your group assignment

Here are some resources for general writing skills:

Working in groups

You may be required to work in a small group or team as part of a project. Developing teamwork skills is important for a successful project.

Check out the links below for some tips on working in teams, including how to manage conflict. Note: You must be logged in to access the LinkedIn Learning videos.

Managing files

You may also need to keep track of files created and worked on together as part of a project.

The resources below provide some suggestions on how to manage files as a part of a team:

Executive summaries 

See the videos below for tips on writing project summaries. Note: You must be logged in to access the LinkedIn Learning videos.

Watch this short video (2 min 52 sec) for tips on how to write a report or access the report writing resources below.

See the following link for tips on best practices for oral presentations:

Secondary data and hard data sources

Secondary data tends to be readily available and not collected by the researcher themselves. See the links at the bottom of this box for help with finding statistics and other secondary data sources.

Other sources of secondary information will be available from your course site. There are some databases that you can use to download hard/raw data as per your research question, and analyse those data using statistical packages.

Hard data relating to investments could be:

  • Capital expenditure
  • Research and development
  • Business acquisitions

Usually this information is located in the balance sheet of the particular resource.

Hard data may be found in the following sources:

Note: Refer to documentation on your course site for a list of hard data sources.

More help

Other financial data resources

Australian sources

International sources

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Select appropriate references

While you are finding references, you need to think about whether they are appropriate to use in your assignment. You may be asked to use scholarly or peer-reviewed material to support your arguments. 

You should evaluate all resources before including them in your assignment - even if you found them through the Library Collection or databases.

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