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Provides you with step by step help to start your assessments and develop your research skills during your first year at UniSA and UniSA College.

Understand your assessment task

How to break down your task

Start by reading through all assessment details before starting any researching or writing. This should include:

  • Any assessment templates and examples provided
  • The marking or feedback rubric
What to note down Further guidance

Assessment type (genre) and writing style

For example, are you doing a case study analysis, essay or reflective writing? Use:

Length of assessment, weighting (marks) and due date

Indicates time you may need to complete it and how much research (references) required. Set personal deadlines for each step.

 Instruction words given

Understanding task words (e.g. discuss, define, analyse etc.) allows you to answer the assessment properly.

Key content words in the question or task description

These tell you what the assessment topic is about and gives you starting points for keywords to search on.

Do you need to find supporting references, what types and how many?

Most assessments require academic sources like peer reviewed journal articles, book and book chapters or reports. Understanding what you need will help you decide where to search.

Referencing style needed

Explore Study help: Referencing website

Still unsure?

  • Use a dictionary to clarify exact meanings of words
  • Ask a classmate or explore relevant course forums. Your question may have already been answered
  • Post the question in a relevant course forum. Others may want to know the same thing

If you still are unsure seek clarification from your tutor or course coordinator.

More about assessment types and writing styles

Take a moment to explore the below diagram to learn more about assessment types - select the +.
 

Read the below guide for an overview including examples.

Developing a research question or topic

At some point you may need to develop your own research question or topic as part of a task.

A good research should be:

  1. Clear - state the specific issue or problem you will focus on
  2. Focused - is the scope appropriate and manageable
    • Too broad you will have too much to cover
    • Too narrow you will not have enough to write about
  3. Researchable - will you have enough academic sources to support your ideas
  4. Analytical - can you produce an analysis or argument of the issue or problem, not just an description
  5. Relevant - are you interested in it and is there a wider interest in the topic

Adapted from Developing your research question, Monash University
 

How to focus a topic into a question

Key steps What to consider
Pick a broad topic area Is it of interest and does it meet the task scope? e.g. chocolate and health
Investigate it further What key issues or debates relate to the topic? Do some preliminary searches and read a few academic sources to gain insight.
Decide on a specific issue to focus on

Reflect on what you have read so far; ask who, what, when, why and how questions.

  • What is the problem? Does consumption of chocolate have any benefits?
  • Who does this relate to (population)? adults
  • How can it help? Cacao - key element, specific benefits?
  • Why is this important? Is too much consumption detrimental?
Draft a question

It may take time to get the wording right.

What are the benefits and detriments of chocolate consumption on health in adults?

More help