Study skills

Writing TMAs

M150 will test your English writing skills. Even seasoned students may benefit from reading this part, particularly those with an exclusively maths and computing background.

Here are two reasons why students often lose marks, or waste time, when answering TMA questions. This applies to any TMA, on any course.

Failing to read the question (RTQ). Sometimes referred to as RT*Q.
Supplying too much, or too little, information for the marks allocated.

Students new to the OU often have problems with writing in an academic style. Before I send you to a couple of websites, which will help with specifics, here are a few points to keep in mind.

Edit, edit edit. Be prepared to write several drafts. Remove all the extraneous stuff. Avoid repetiton (e.g. "Edit, edit, edit").
If the question says, "Answer in no more than 200 words ...", and you are using MS Word, make use of the word count tool (on the main menubar, Tools/Word Count). It is a good discipline to keep under the limit and marks are lost by exceeding it.
Use a spell checker. It won't pick up everything, but it will reduce the number of errors. Make sure it's set to English (U.K) and not English (U.S).
If possible, ask someone to read through your work (partner, family member, friend or someone who owes you a large debt). Ask them to be honest.
Give yourself plenty of time. Don't write the first draft the night before the TMA is due. Some of you will (that's fact, not opinion), but don't say that you weren't warned.
Be aware of the difference between fact and opinion. Use references and quotations. See this example.

John McSweeney

OU Courses

Study Skills

September 4, 2010, 4:13 pm

Study skills

Writing TMAs

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