Essence of Professional Advice: Reflective Questions for Assignment Preparation

What does the task require you to produce or create?

Below are some questions that are intended to prompt your preparation and planning for your assignment submission.Please note, this is not a definitive list. You need to ensure that you are clear about what the task requires you to do, and then apply the relevant aspects of your learning, reading and experience to complete it.   

You will also find guidance in weekly webinars, the recording of the assignment 2 briefing (available from mid-June) and the Assignment 2 discussion forum in Week 19 of the module.   

1. What does the task require you to produce or create? Consider how best to include all the elements required, ensure you read the Additional Guidance. If you make any assumptions clearly identify these.   

2. Is the nature of your written communication appropriate for the purpose and the intended audience? Remember, it is your evidence-based judgement not your opinion which is essential in any professional report or academic writing. Avoid the use of think that the best option is...’ It is better to say ‘The evidence suggests that the best option is...’ or ‘It is recommended that the following option is chosen, because...’   

1.you have gathered appropriate quality evidence;  

2. you have weighed-it up, i.e. you have evaluated it.   

All of this needs to be designed to provide an evidence-based, analytical and reliable set of judgments/recommendations in the specific context you are  
presented with. This is the essence of professional advice.  

One of the issues which impacted on the quality of the judgments and on the grades and marks achieved in the first assignment, was a lack of suitable quality evidence. Sometimes there was a total lack of reference to any source a clear.

sign of failure – or a reliance on unsuitable, commercially biased or unsuitable/irrelevant but easy-to- access website-based material.   

The quality of your recommendations or conclusions can only reflect the quality of the evidence used - and the quality of your evaluation and consideration of it.

3.Consider very carefully the meaning of words in the assignment brief. What are the general requirements for the enclosure (walls and roofs) of framed  
structures? How does the choice of a steel portal frame impact on requirements & choices? What impact does the site context have on the nature of the requirements? What are the Committee’s requirements generally and how does this impact on choices? What regulatory requirements are there and how have these impacted? 

Is the nature of your written communication appropriate for the purpose and the intended audience?

4. You are required to provide a recommendation for the external walls and the roof for the new centre. This also requires that you demonstrate you have  
explicitly considered the options and that you explicitly justify your recommendation.   

-What have you learned from the process for an option appraisal that was part of assignment 1?  

-How you can use that to better inform your recommendations for this assignment?  

-What criteria are going to be used in making a judgment?   

-Which aspects have greater weighting than others?   

-What evidence is needed to demonstrate that you have developed an appropriate and justified proposal?   

-How will you best provide suitable communication of this?   

5. What do you think might be involved in a sustainability strategy? What is a ‘strategy’? What issues or aspects may be involved in developing such a thing?  

What examples of environmental or sustainability assessments and their criteria might be relevant to this context? 

6. How well do your recommended options for the external walls, roof and windows meet the sustainability strategy? How are you clearly demonstrating this to the Committee?   

7. What are the realistic options for the space heating and lighting/day lighting for the centre? What criteria and weighting have you developed in order to develop your recommendation? How will your proposals for the space heating and lighting/day lighting integrate-with, and, have the required positive impact on the sustainability strategy?  

8. Have you used the available resources to help with, and correct scale for, your cross section external wall/roof/window/ground floor drawing? 

9. Where would the use of other drawings, diagrams or images be useful within your report   

10. Have you thoroughly understood how to effectively use the Harvard referencing conventions? You also need to understand the reason why effective referencing is necessary – see earlier point in Qu.2.The use of the Harvard method is a requirement, not using them effectively is a unnecessary and very easy way to miss out on gaining marks.  

10. Do you understand the difference between a reference list and a bibliography?

11. Have you read and understood the marking criteria which are included in the brief and will be used to judge your performance?

Please refer to the Turnitin FAQs regarding images to ensure you have no submission issues.   

Please also ensure that you have read, understood and reflected upon your feedback from assignment 1, it will help you with this assignment. Week 8 of the module contains a link to resources to help you with this under ‘Assignment  
feedback’.   

Information is available in the Study skills area of the VLE to help develop your academic skills. Section 8: Assessment support contains some resources that you  may find useful if you have not studied for a while or are new to this level of academic study.   

You may also find it helpful to refer to the ‘Assessment handbook’ which is available in the ‘My assessment’ area of the Student Hub. This focuses on all  
aspects of assessment and includes information such as the different expectations at  all levels of study, key assessment terms and how they apply and how to use your feedback to help you progress.