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The Assignments index page of your Canvas subject site contains an assignment description template. Use this template to ensure your assignment descriptions are comprehensive and supportive, and so assignments are consistent across subjects and courses.
We recommend you use the template by:
- Duplicating the Canvas assignment that contains the template. Don’t forget to move the assignments into groups with appropriate weighting. Or
- Copying and pasting the assignment description into your existing assignments and adjusting the content.
Customise the content of each description to fit your assignments. Keep the original unaltered and unpublished so it rolls over each session.
Please note that for centrally-scheduled exams you should use the Online Exam Instructions templates.
Template contents
Here’s a summary of the template contents. Navigate to the Assignments index page in your subject to check the detail in the template.
Overview
This section of the template gives space for a brief description of the assignment purpose, learning outcomes, assessment type, weighting and length.
Use the Canvas ‘Assign to’ function to add assignment due dates (and availability windows, where relevant). Do not include due dates in the assignment description as they need to be updated separately each session and can be confusing for students with extensions or who are in a different time zone.
Task
What is the student expected to produce, demonstrate, or develop? Use this section of the template and the guiding questions to explain in some detail exactly what students are required to do to complete the assignment.
Requirements
Here you should include information about structure, sequencing, format and referencing. If the assignment has a template for students to use, you could include it here.
Use of AI in this Assessment
This section includes editable dot points that give students specific guidance on the permitted uses of AI in the assignment, and how they should declare their use (with a link to further guidance from UTS Library).
Feedback and support
How can students expect to receive their feedback? Use this section to include information about marking criteria and any relevant exemplars. The section also includes links to support for designing a rubric and recommendations for support services you could refer students to.
Academic Integrity
This section does not need to be edited. It gives a brief definition of academic integrity at UTS and links to student resources on plagiarism, ethical use of GenAI and referencing.
Check out our resource Assignments in Canvas for an orientation to how to access, navigate and create assignments in Canvas.