Checking & Submitting

your work

Editing and Proofreading

Editing and Proofreading, are they the same thing?

Although the terms are considered interchangeable and they are similar, they focus on different aspects of your work. They are two important stages in preparing your work for submission. Editing focuses on the subject content and the writing style. Proofreading focuses on minor errors which are unrelated to the topic.

Tips for both processes

Editing

This is the iterative process of checking that you have done everything that is required in the assignment, making sure the writing is well organised including transitions that link the paragraph and confirming that the claims are accurate with evidence that strongly supports the arguments. Making a checklist will help you cover everything. This will include: 


Assignment structure


Paragraph structure


Clarity


Style


Citations and referencing

Develop your own checklist so that you can use it for each assignment

Proofreading

Edit your draft until you are happy with it.  The do some final proofreading. 

Cottrell (2013)

Reference

Cottrell, S. (2013). The Study Skills Handbook (4th ed.). Palgrave, Macmillan

Proofreading - Video Resources

Integrity Training from Turnitin

Obtain Turnitin similarity reports on your work during the writing process

Uses the Office 365 version of Microsoft Word: Please watch the short video and read the installation guide 

which explains how to install and use it here.

https://help.turnitin.com/draft-coach/student/using-draft-coach.htm

What is Turnitin used for?

One purpose of Turnitin is to help academics to identify plagiarism. However, it is also a useful tool for students, to help improve academic writing skills, and to pick up accidental errors before submitting work. 


In the Faculty of Business and Law, it is possible to submit drafts of your work to a submission dropbox and identify any issues prior to final submission. You can then overwrite your draft with your final submission (before the assignment's due date).


What does the report show me?






Does this mean I have plagiarised?

Not necessarily! There are a number of reasons why a match may be found which do not carry the risk of plagiarism (although in each case it is vital that you check you have referenced and cited your work correctly, using the Library guidance).

AST TIPS

The Golden Rule

Most pieces of written work will have a certain degree of similarity, and there is no fixed figure to "aim for".  HOWEVER, you should use your Turnitin report to check each issue carefully.

The following are legitimate similarity issues which may occur in your work:

Similarity issues which indicate a risk of plagiarism:


These issues both indicate the possibility of plagiarism (deliberate or unintentional) in your work, so it is vital that you resolve these, to avoid potentially being accused of plagiarism.


What does it mean, and what can I do about it?


For more information:

If you need help submitting a piece of work or with the technical aspects of using the system, please speak to your course team or BaL-Digital

How to Submit your Assignments

There will be various methods used by your tutor to check your knowledge throughout your studies. Here is information on some of the common assessment tools used and how you can use them to submit and to receive feedback for your hard work.