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Assignments

Editing and checking Preparing assignments

Always follow the layout and formatting instructions provided in your module materials. These are designed to help you meet the learning outcomes and assessment criteria. If you're unsure, check your module guide or ask your tutor.

Using Microsoft Word’s Editor

All Open University (OU) students have free access to Microsoft365, which includes Microsoft Word’s built-in Editor tool. This feature can help you:

  • check spelling and grammar
  • improve clarity and conciseness
  • identify potential issues with formality or tone.

While Word’s Editor can be helpful, it's not a substitute for understanding academic writing conventions. Always use it alongside your module guidance.

More information is available at Accessing your Microsoft365 account.

Use UK English spelling

You should use UK English spelling in your assignments, for example

  • organise not organize
  • colour not color
  • centre not center.

If you’re using Word, you can set the proofing language to UK English by going to Review > Language > Set Proofing Language > English (United Kingdom).

Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for proofreading

It may be tempting to use AI tools to help with proofreading or improving your writing. However, this must be done within the rules of the OU’s policy.

The latest guidance says:

  • You can use AI tools to support accessibility for example text-to-speech and captioning or to help with planning and clarity.
  • You must declare and document any use of AI in your assignments.
  • Submitting AI-generated content as your own without acknowledgement is considered plagiarism and may result in penalties

More detail can be found at Generative AI for students.

Proofreading your assignment

It's important to proofread your assignment before sending it in to be marked. Use these checklists to help you.

General checks

  • Your name and PI (personal identifier) is on every page.
  • The title is given in full on the first page.
  • The pages are numbered.
  • Line spacing is set to 1.5 or 2.
  • Margins are wide enough for a tutor's comments.
  • The word count is given.
  • You've included all the references and set them out in the correct way, check your module guidelines.
  • You've answered all parts of the question.
  • Check you've not repeated any errors or omissions previously pointed out by your tutor.

Spelling, grammar and punctuation checks

Use the spelling and grammar checker on your computer, but also read the script as these checks won't pick up everything, such as the spelling of names and specialised terminology. Also check:

  • The right usage of words such as to, too and two.
  • Correct use of apostrophes, commas, full stops, colons and inverted commas.
  • Correct use of subjects (nouns and pronouns) and verbs.
  • Correct use of tense for your verbs.
  • Do verbs agree with their subject, for example 'the people were ...' not 'the people was ...' because if the subject is singular, the verb must also be singular.
  • Check the length of sentences. Are they too long? Can a longer sentence be split into two shorter ones to make it clearer.
  • Use a question mark for questions and not for statements.
  • Be sure you know the meaning of words you've used and avoid jargon.
  • You've copied any quotations accurately and correctly referenced them.
  • Use of UK English.

Style and layout

Look in your assignment guidelines or ask your tutor for information on the use of:

  • headings
  • bullet points and lists
  • I and my, for example 'In my essay I am going to describe ...', instead of 'This essay will describe ...'
  • contractions and abbreviations, for example can't instead of cannot, e.g instead of 'for example'
  • spoken English and colloquialisms or slang, for example 'There are lots of reasons ...' , instead of 'There are a number of reasons ...'
  • rhetorical questions for example 'What are the main causes of criminal behaviour?' instead of 'A number of theories have been put forward to explain criminal behaviour'.

Uses vary depending on the module. If in doubt, it's best to be more formal rather than less formal.

Assignments that use calculations

Have you:

  • shown your workings
  • clearly labelled diagrams and charts
  • included the unit of measurement for your answers
  • clearly shown which section of the question your answer applies to.

Expressing yourself clearly

  • Is there an introduction which relates to the question?
  • Do all the paragraphs have one main idea, introduced in the first (topic) sentence.
  • Is there a clear conclusion?
  • Are any of my sentences too long, with too many clauses? It’s better to have a number of short, clear sentences than long, rambling and ambiguous sentences.
  • Does my writing flow smoothly from one section/paragraph to the next?

Proofreading and editing rules

There's a distinct difference between proofreading and editing. Proofreading is the process of checking for errors and editing is the process of correcting those errors.

It can help to ask a friend to check your assignment before you send it in. You can ask them if the essay was easy to understand. Were there any unclear or ambiguous parts? Could they guess the question by reading the answer without looking at the title?

If you're asking them to proofread your work at the same time, there are some rules to be followed. The use of editing and essay checking websites is not allowed.

Proofreaders can identify, but not correct:

  • spelling
  • typographical errors
  • poor grammar
  • sentence structure
  • formatting issues
  • errors in labelling of diagrams, charts and figures.

Proofreaders can't

  • rewrite or rearrange sentences or passages
  • change words or figures
  • check, rewrite or label calculations, formulae, equations or codes in any way
  • add any content.

You can't ask another student on the module to check your assignment and, unless it has been specifically agreed, it's not appropriate to send your tutor a draft of your assignment for checking.

If you have concerns you want your tutor to comment on, you can download and fill in the feedback form (RTF, 456 KB) to send in with your assignment. This asks your tutor to provide comments that focus on your concerns.

Proofreading activity

See how many errors you can find in the following activity. There's also a Word version (docx, 41KB) of this activity.

Last updated 1 week ago