Student experience: Top tips for planning your next assignment

Kent Law School student Ayesha Shergill, who runs her own legal blog on Instagram @mylawstudentlife, called upon fellow final-year students to share their top tips for planning assignments.

Her friends, all of whom are studying law at Kent, each provided one key piece of advice. Ayesha said: ‘The advice is amazing and relevant to everyone – not just first year students! I myself have taken some great tips from here and will be using them for my assignments from now!’

  • Eilisha: ‘Start your assignments early and plan!! Writing up even a vague plan of what you intend to write is going to give your essay a much clearer structure and make it easier to read.’
  • Shannon: ‘Set yourself deadlines to reach a certain word count, such as “must write 700 words today” or “must have the plan and 500 words done by next Monday”. This is really good for ensuring you have enough time and aren’t overwhelmed!’
  • Nikita: ‘Proofread and reference as you go along! Referencing is so much harder if you leave it to the last minute. Always make sure yourself or someone else proofreads your work – you’ll be surprised at how many little mistakes you can make along the way!’
  • Emily: ‘Make use of office hours and talk with your seminar leaders. Whether you’re stuck, unsure, or just need some reassurance, they are always interested to hear your ideas and offer guidance!’
  • Frankie:‘Colour-coordinating your points/arguments helps make sure you’re being concise and critical, and not overloading with too much information. Choosing your question early also helps. Use the Skills Hub or any services available at your uni for support.’
  • Olivia: ‘Print out your essays and mark them in a red pen like a teacher. It makes you see your work from a different perspective and often enables you to find any obvious mistakes you may miss on a screen.’
  • Mariam: ‘Choose what you want to focus your essay on as soon as you can, if you get a choice of questions, to allow you maximum time to focus on that specific topic before the deadline. It will really help you when planning ahead.’
  • Hena: ‘Always make sure you plan and make contact with your seminar leader to ensure you’re getting as much guidance as you can. Writing an assignment is a process so it’s better to face any issues early on. It can really make a difference to your mark.’

See Ayesha’s original post on Instagram.

Find out more about studying Law at Kent: explore the choice of undergraduate law degree programmes on offer and discover more student experience stories on our blog.