How To Write A 1000 Word Essay Introduction Assignment essays are developed from set questions that give students a period of time to research a topic and produce their answer with references to their sources of information . While there are some disadvantages with using assignment essays as an assessment tool , there are sound educational purposes underpinning this practice . This essay examines the reasons why assignment essays are beneficial for student learning and considers some of the problems with this method of assessment . Body paragraph Assignment essay tasks are set to assist students to develop mastery of their study subject . Firstly , assignment tasks enhance understandings about subject matter . Yang and Baker ( 2005 ) reason that " to master your learning materials and extend your understandings , you need to write about the meanings you gain from your research " . Secondly , research ( Jinx , 2004 ; Zapper , 2006 ) clearly demonstrates that students learn the writing conventions of a subject area while they are researching , reading and writing in their discipline . This activity helps them to " crack the code " of the discipline ( Bloggs , 2003 , p . 44 ) . Thus , students are learning subject matter and how to write in that disciplinary area by researching and writing assignment essays . Conclusion To conclude , it seems that assignment essays continue to have a prominent role in tertiary education as an assessment tool . This is mainly because they are very effective in developing knowledge and writing skills for subject areas . Also , assignment essays can be less stressful than examinations as they allow students to show their understanding of content in less pressured circumstances . On the other hand , the time consuming nature of writing and marking essays points to some disadvantages that also need to be considered . The weight of evidence , however , supports the writing of assignment essays for student assessment because this approach has such positive and proven effects for improved student learning .