Written Essay Guidance
This guidance is for learners studying towards Level 3, 4 and 5 qualifications with ATC Training.
Please provide one document for each assignment and separate your answers using each of the questions as a heading. We recommend you use the templates provided in your course materials.
- In the header (or in the title of the document) indicate your full name and course title.
- In the footer of the document, please include page numbers where possible.
Assignment templates are available for most qualifications, download from the ‘Materials’ tab within the course page.
You can also submit your own version following these guidelines:
- Size: A4
- Language: English
- Format: Word or PDF are preferred although similar formats are accepted.
- Font: Simple fonts such as Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman and font size 11 or 12 are preferred.
- Handwritten assignments are accepted for courses delivered in the classroom.
You must ensure that assignments are your own work. We recommend checking your document for plagiarism before submitting it using Grammarly, this is a useful free tool as it will also check your grammar and spelling.
You can also refer to the course guide for examples of referencing external sources and read our Malpractice Policy for further information.
Students must submit work for assessments which is their own. This means both ensuring that the final product is in their own words and isn’t copied or paraphrased from another source such as an AI tool, and that the content reflects their own independent work.
Examples of AI misuse include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Copying or paraphrasing sections of AI-generated content so that the work submitted for assessment is no longer the student’s own
- Copying or paraphrasing whole responses of AI-generated content
- Using AI to complete parts of the assessment so that the work does not reflect the student’s own work, analysis, evaluation or calculations
- Failing to acknowledge use of AI tools when they have been used as a source of information
- Incomplete or poor acknowledgement of AI tools
- Submitting work with intentionally incomplete or misleading references or bibliographies.
Source: AI Use in Assessments: Protecting the Integrity of Qualifications (JCQ Feb 2024)
Here are some useful tips to check your documents for spelling and grammar errors:
- Proofread your assignment before uploading it to be marked.
- You can use the free Grammarly Grammar and Spelling checker to check your text for grammar and spelling errors.
- If you are using Microsoft Word, check your spell checker language is set to English (United Kingdom). This is indicated and can be changed from the toolbar at the bottom left.
Referencing is not mandatory for Level 3 qualifications, it is however encouraged for good practice.
For Level 4 and 5 qualifications, referencing is required. You should also include a bibliography. Harvard style is preferred, although other formats are accepted. See videos below for further guidance if required.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The numbers at the end of a question or task on an assignment relate to the learning outcomes and/or assessment criteria.
This does not link to a page number or section in the learning materials. You do not need to take any action regarding these numbers. They demonstrate how we have mapped the question or task to the qualification specification and is intended for internal use by ATC Training and the Awarding Organisation.
Word counts are provided as a guide for most questions. They are not strictly enforced but do provide a useful indication of the expected amount of text required to answer the question.
You will not be penalised for going over or under, however if you are significantly under the word count, it is unlikely that you will have met the criteria for a pass.
It is good practice to remain within 10% +/- of the wordcount.
Written assignments are marked as either a PASS or REFER.
If you do not pass first time, your tutor will provide feedback to help you add or amend as necessary to meet the pass criteria. You can then resubmit the assignment.
There is no limit on resubmissions, in most cases, a second submission will result in a pass if the feedback provided by your tutor has been acted upon.
You can request a call with your tutor if feedback is unclear or you wish to discuss further.
You may also find the videos below useful:
Simple Harvard Referencing Tutorial
Video credit: Dr Hayley Stainton, https://www.youtube.com/@TourismTeacher
Academic Verbs - Essay Terms
Video credit: Dr Hayley Stainton, https://www.youtube.com/@TourismTeacher
Useful Links - Level 4 and 5 Education and Training qualifications
We have compiled useful links for your research:
- Feedback: Medals and Missions – Geoff Petty
- Pedagogical Principles – Curriculum Framework
- Scaffolding in Education: The Complete Guide
- Pedagogy in plain terms | IOE – Faculty of Education and Society – UCL – University College London
- The Language of Behaviour – William Glasser Institute UK
- Theories and models of curriculum development – Start Teaching