A Supervisor for university students that won't just agree
Clearspace's Supervisor asks whether your work answers the question you were set and whether you could defend it. It never predicts a grade: it has not read your work, only what you tell it about it.
“I'll re-read my notes the night before.”
Re-reading and highlighting are two of the techniques students rely on most, and two of the lowest-rated in the largest review of the research (Dunlosky and colleagues, 2013). Practice testing and spreading study over time were rated highest.
So the Supervisor's usual question is what you have tested yourself on, and when you will do it again.
When this wouldn't hold
The review rated techniques across many studies and kinds of material. It does not say re-reading is useless, only that it does less per hour than testing yourself. A first pass at unfamiliar material is reading by definition, and some assessments reward recognition more than recall.
“I've written 2,000 words on the topic.”
Words on the topic are not an answer to the question. The Supervisor starts from what the question actually asks, as opposed to the question you would prefer to answer, and whether your argument holds together or jumps.
It also asks whether you could explain the point without your notes, and what a marker would say first.
When this wouldn't hold
It only knows what you tell it. It can't see your marking criteria, your module handbook or your tutor's expectations, and those have the final word. Some assignments really do want a survey of the topic.
Who answers
- Supervisor: Whether the work answers the question, and whether you actually understand it.