Self-assessment and peer assessment is where you assess your own work and that of other students. It is done to help you take greater responsibility for your learning and to develop your ability to reflect objectively on your own performance and that of your peers. The goal of peer and self-assessment is to identify your mistakes, strengths and weaknesses and use these to plan the next learning steps. To do this successfully you need to really understand the assessment criteria and be able to apply these to your own work and that of your peers.

As students you will not have experience in marking and for some peer-assessment is a real challenge, potentially full of tensions and anxieties, so it's important to be sensitive when assessing your peers. The best feedback is objective, constructive and specific. Consider the kind of feedback that would help you develop as a learner and use this as a model. Your module leader should explain the marking criteria, why you're using peer-assessment and the process. In summary:

• take time to understand the assessment criteria.
• ensure you are clear about your role in the overall process.
• make your feedback and evaluations specific, objective and constructive.