Guides from the people who mark, edit and write this work
No listicles and no motivation. Just the specific, practical things that move a grade, written by our academic writers, editors and subject leads.
- Written by our academics and editors
- Specific advice, not motivation
- Updated when policies change
- Free to read, nothing gated
Latest guides
Recent articles
Newest first. Each one is written by someone who does this work rather than by a content team.
Guide1 min read
Test assignment (again updated)
Test assignment
Writing Guides9 min read
How to structure a university essay that actually argues something
Most essays that lose marks are not badly written. They are well written around a thesis that never gets stated. Here is the structure that fixes it.
Referencing7 min read
Harvard vs APA referencing: what actually differs, and why it matters
Both use author and date, which is why students mix them up and lose easy marks. Here is a practical breakdown of where the two styles genuinely diverge.
Study Skills6 min read
How to read a marking rubric before you start writing
Your rubric tells you exactly how the marks are split. Most students read it after submitting. Reading it first is the cheapest grade improvement available.
Subject Guides8 min read
Answering a law problem question without losing half the marks
IRAC is taught everywhere and applied badly almost everywhere. The application step is where the marks are, and it is the step students compress.
Writing Guides10 min read
Writing a literature review that argues instead of listing
A literature review is not a summary of everything published near your topic. It is an argument that your study needs to exist. Here is how to build one.
Referencing7 min read
Six referencing mistakes that get flagged as academic misconduct
Most integrity cases we hear about are not deliberate. They are paraphrasing and citation habits that look identical to misconduct from the outside.
Study Skills6 min read
Planning a semester around deadlines you can actually meet
Deadline clustering is predictable, which means it is preventable. A ninety minute planning session at the start of term removes most of the crisis.
Subject Guides8 min read
Writing a lab report that scores in the discussion section
Method and results are the easy marks. The discussion is where lab reports separate, and it is the section students write last and fastest.
FAQs
About these guides
Who writes them, how current they are, and what you can do with them.
The same academics, editors and subject leads who work on student assignments here. Every post carries a named author and their role, so you can see whose experience it comes from rather than reading anonymous content.
The principles hold broadly, but referencing styles, rubric wording and academic integrity policies vary by institution and sometimes by department. Where that matters we say so, and we always recommend checking your own handbook before acting on anything.
Roughly twice a month during term time, and we revise older guides when something changes, such as a referencing style updating or an institutional policy shifting. Each post shows its publication date so you can judge how current it is.
Yes, and most of what we publish comes from questions students actually ask us. Send the topic on WhatsApp and if it comes up often enough it goes on the list.
Read them, apply them and cite them if you quote them. What you should not do is copy passages into an assignment, for the same reason you would not copy from any other published source.
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