Coursework help

There is also an enormous difference between coursework carried out for a qualification in Maths and coursework carried out for English.

Basically, though, any coursework that you carry out in any subject will be used to help assess your competence in that subject and will count towards your final mark.

Indeed, in some cases, you may only be required to complete coursework to gain your qualification, if the course is modular, for instance, or simply has no examination. Usually, though, coursework forms a percentage of your final mark.

Whichever of these options applies to the coursework on your particular course, you will need to pay close attention to it, as it can make all the difference to your grade!

If you are being asked a question, you should look for ‘key words’. These are words within questions which direct you as to the type of work you are being asked to carry out so they are very helpful.

There are many key words that you should look out for when starting your coursework, these include:

• Compare – coursework that requires this of you will expect you to show equal knowledge of each topic you are being asked to compare and make a balanced judgement on it.
• Contrast – this is sometimes twinned with ‘compare’ as they complement each other. However, if you are asked to contrast, you need to choose whether to put more stress on differences or similarities in your work.
• Analyse – this word is very frequently employed in assessment, whether it be coursework or examination, as it helps the assessor to see just how well you can apply your skills to taking a text or topic apart. This means examining it critically i.e. supported by evidence from your reading and/or teaching on the subject. You need to show, when asked to analyse, just how well you can recognise key factors, words, phrases etc.