Assignment Paper

FURTHER ASSIGNMENT ADVICE
Here are some common questions about the assignment.
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Question 1:
One of the elements of the assignment is to write a reflection piece based on guest speakers and other resources that will help me to identify the skills that I need to build or improve on. Can you clarify what you are looking for?
Answer 1: If you are referring to an external guest speaker then I would expect you to tell me the date and who you heard or spoken to, that mentioned a skill that you thought you could improve on.
E.g. On 29 January 2018, Mr X from PWC informed me that he looks for graduates with strong communication skills.
If you have work experience, you can also refer to your current job and speak to your employer for advice.
You can also ask friends and family for advice but I would expect you to reference it similar to the above example.

Question 2:
One of the requirements of the assignment is to create an action orientated personal development plan. What are you looking for?
A2: To score high marks, I would expect to see 3 – 4 skills that you want to improve on. I want those skills to be related to the research you’ve done, discussions you’ve had or what you’ve heard from guest speakers. Ultimately, what can you do to improve yourself to ensure you get the best placement/internship and graduate job? You need to be specific of the actions you will undertake to ensure you will improve those skills. You will score high marks if you are able to identify what services are available to you whilst you’re at UWE and you provide evidence that you will utilise these services.
Your plan should be short term so things you can realistically achieve before you graduate.

Question 3:
Can you check my draft for my coursework and if possible identify areas that could be improved.
A3: Sorry I can’t give feedback on individual drafts as it’s not fair to the other 145 students. You’ll have to do the best you can based on the information you’ve got and the work done in class. Professionals have to do their best and back themselves.

Question 4:
I don’t intend on becoming any type of CIMA/ICAEW accountant and it seems like a large part of assignment is to reflect on talks given by CIMA/ACCA/ICAEW etc.
A4: It doesn’t matter if you have no intentions of being an accountant. The reason that the Institutes come in to talk to you is because in the past we’ve had lot of students getting to the end not knowing they exist or how they might play a part in a career. Just concentrate on the actions you will plan to take to develop yourself to realise your own particular dream. This assignment is entirely meant for your benefit.
Question 5:
I am a confused how I should present my work. Is there any advice that you could possibly give to me?
A5: There is no recommended standard format; I actually want you to be as creative as possible. Employers are not looking for “standard” people, they want uniqueness and flair. Make yourself stand out from the rest of your peers.

Question 6:
Could you give a list of textbooks that are useful for studying for the exam in April/May?
A6: There are lots of textbooks on organisational studies that will explain the theory and none are a lot better than the others (library section 658 or 658.001 Level 4), which is why I have not recommended specifics (I quite like L J Mullins or Gareth Jones but a lot of people find those quite difficult to digest. Knights and Willmot is another that I think is ok) but best to use a few and dip in and out depending on what you don’t understand until you find one you get on with. Google might also be your friend, but be careful of rubbish sources. Not everything on the internet is true. Use your critique skills from the Academic development module.

Question 7:
On the assignments, it says “Research into your preferred career using job adverts”. I don’t know where to start as I don’t know what I want to do after I graduate.
A7: The whole idea is to get you thinking about what YOU want to do in future and what actions you might take to help you get there whilst you are at UWE. In essence, it’s to help you, so there is no right or wrong and you can take it in any direction you want. You are meant to research things for yourself, going further than the materials that have been given on blackboard. If you really don’t have any idea then research a few areas to get a feel for what they are like (eg financial accountant/management accountant in business; or working for the big 4 in audit……….but I’d rather it was something you think you might actually pursue in future and don’t just do what I’ve suggested). I’m not expecting anything brilliant or particularly certain from anybody –
I’d be surprised if many people do really have any seriously concrete ideas that they won’t need to develop. I am only expecting some good evidence from your writing that you have started thinking about your potential futures and have some sort of plan to develop those thoughts, and yourself, further over your time at UWE to help you toward that potential future. It will also give a basis for future discussion and update with personal tutors. Check out InfoHub and the UWE ’employability’ website might have some ideas.
If you find something that appeals then it’s time to think about what is required in the role and how you might go about building those skills and abilities. As I say there is no right or wrong answer and I’ll be marking it on the evidence of how convincing the investigation is and the depth of thought given to the objectives and how they might support your progress. This is an individual personal exercise and should be uniquely about you.

Question 8:
I was just wondering whether referencing counts as part of the word-count?
A8: Not if it’s a list at the end, but I’m not expecting academic type referencing. That can wait until the academic module next term. You could just use an indication of your sources in the text, like the examples I’ve put in the assignment brief.
Question 9:
I copied and pasted a picture into my assignment. “Microsoft Word” calculates how many words I write. The problem is that it doesn’t count the words in the image making it look like my word count is less that it should be.
A9: Put the correct number of words on the cover and explain (just a sentence or two) why it differs from the ‘word’ calculation (the explanation won’t count against the word count).
Question 10:
How to use the job adverts and linking it in with guest speakers?
A10: The idea of the job advert is with the job you have in mind, what are the skills required as specified by that employer and does it tie in with what you’ve heard from our guest speakers? Are there anything that the job advert mentions that hasn’t been mentioned by the external speakers or vice versa.
Don’t forget Kate from Employability is one of our guest speaker as well so anything she’s talked about, feel free to reference her.
Question 11:
What’s the relevance of the up to date CV and covering letter/email?
The CV and covering letter are not marked, but I will see if whether your CV does link into your personal development plan. Your CV is an appendix in your portfolio submission so just add it onto the bottom of your Word document.
The covering letter/email needs to match the job advert you found in part 1 of your written submission.
Also my intention is for you to have all your documents ready when you want to apply for any summer internship or placement.