Our ILM Leadership and Management Assessor, Tiffany Curtis, shares her six top tips to ensure great assignment results…
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Start promptly
It is always best to start drafting each assignment shortly after attending the related course as the content will still be fresh in your mind. You will then be able to complete each assignment before attending your next course and starting work on your next assignment.
Download your learner timeline from our ILM services page to help you stay on track with your studies and assignment writing.
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Pay attention to the verb
In our experience, one of the main reasons why ILM candidates do not pass a question is because they have not fully understood what the question is asking them to do.
For example, a question asking you to ‘describe’ is very different to one that is asking you to ‘explain’. Explaining requires more detail than describing, including the ‘how’ and ‘why’.
When writing assignments, ILM candidates should always refer to the verb guide which can be found in the Impellus Business Centre. This provides a full explanation of the different verbs used in questions and the type and level of information required in your answer.
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Reference your source material
References must be formatted clearly and correctly. If you use direct or indirect quotes in your assignment that are taken from an Impellus workbook, other publication or website, you must:
- Acknowledge the source of your quote within the text.
- Include the source in your bibliography (list of sources used) at the end of your assignment.
You will find a full guide to referencing your sources in the Impellus Business Centre.
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Avoid plagiarism
You must avoid using other people’s work or quoting AI-generated text as if it is your own.
AI can be used as a research tool along with other sources, but your assignments must be your own work, mainly written in your own words and including your own original ideas and critical thinking.
Short quotes from other authors must be clearly referenced and included in your bibliography.
Be aware that Impellus uses a software tool to detect plagiarism and AI content in assignments. Plagiarism and use of AI can result in being disbarred from the qualification without refund.
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Get feedback before you submit
Make the most of our invaluable in-house expertise by asking for feedback on your assignments before submitting for marking. Our ILM-accredited assessors will help ensure your assignments are of a high enough standard to pass by highlighting areas that may lose you marks, such as too little detail, not answering the question or not providing enough examples.
You can have one round of feedback for each assignment at Level 3 and two rounds for each assignment at Level 5.
And don’t forget to use our ‘how to pass’ notes which can be found in the Impellus Business Centre.
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Submit for marking in good time
We recommend that you submit your work for marking well ahead of your registration expiry date. If your answers are referred (do not reach the standard of a pass) you will then have time to make amendments and send them to the Impellus Assessment Team for feedback before you submit for the second and final time.
Don’t forget: we’re here to help. If you’re not sure how to get started or are stuck on something, please let us know. We’ll get you back on track.
