It is no secret that those who score better in assignments tend to have an overall higher score in the final term results. Writing impeccable assignments has the same value as your semester examinations and the number of all-nighters you pull.
So, the next time you encounter a difficult assignment, do not back down from the challenge. Begin right from day one, and you will finally be able to turn in an assignment that gets you the best grades possible.
Since writing assignments have always been a tough nut to crack for most students, we have brought a way out of the fix. Read this post to know all about the techniques that you can adapt to ensure you fetch just the scores you want.
Top tips to help you write an impressive assignment.
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Stage 1: Plan your assignment
Planning helps you stay focused and shows the best ways to get the job done within the time that you have.
- Check how many credits the assignment is worth. Knowing how much percentage of the final marks the assignment contains will help you decide how much time you should devote to it.
- Check with your professor to clearly understand the submission deadline and guidelines.
- Create a mental note of all the things you need to do for your assignment (like research, writing the first draft, checking for references, editing, etc.).
- Give each task in the assignment completion process a deadline, working your way backwards from the submission deadline.
Stage 2: Understand your assignment
Before you can move on to the actual research and writing stage, you need to understand what the assignment requires you to do. Read the assignment specifications carefully. Ask yourself the following questions while you are at it.
- What does the main question deal with? What is the primary topic of the assignment?
- What does the primary question mean?
- What am I required to do in order to answer the question effectively?
When you are analyzing the question, here are some of the things to keep in mind.
- Search for process words or instructional words. For example, “compare and contrast”, “detail”, “discuss”, “elucidate”, “illustrate”, etc.
- Look up the meanings of the words used in the question.
- Search for topic words that show you what you should write about.
- Keep an eye out for restricting words that help you narrow down the topic.
Pro tip: Organize all the resources and course pages in a separate folder to keep everything handy when writing and revising the assignment.
Stage 3: Prepare an outline for your assignment
The wisest way to proceed when writing an assignment is to prepare an outline for your assignment at first. It does not need to contain everything you plan to put in the assignment; neither does it need full sentences. Instead, you can jot down the outline in pointers or a spider diagram form to serve as the base for writing the first draft of your assignment.
For starters, here is a basic idea of how to prepare an essay outline, one of the commonest kinds of assignments.
- Introduction: You do not start a conversation at a party without introducing yourself first, right? The same goes for an essay. Introduce the main topic and briefly explain the purpose of writing the assignment, along with the intended outcomes.
Pro tip: Leave the introduction for the last. That way, you will know exactly what to include.
- Discussion: This forms the central part of your essay that consists of three or more paragraphs. Create a new paragraph for each topic. Back up your claims with suitable examples and data gathered through extensive research. Assign a topic sentence for each paragraph, so that readers know what they can expect.
Pro tip: Include the topic sentences and a few pointers to describe each point when creating the outline.
- Conclusion: Similar to the last exchanges, when you are about to leave the party, the conclusion of an essay simply summarizes the topic. Restate the primary question and sum up your findings concisely for this part.
Pro tip: Do not introduce new information for the conclusion of your essay to keep things simple.
Use headings and leave out gaps in information that you need to fill in when preparing the outline. You can then use your outline to create the first draft.
Stage 4: Research further for your assignment
Conducting a brief background study will only get you as far as preparing the outline. You will need to research further to write the actual assignment based on the outline that you prepare. Here are a few sources of valuable information for your assignments.
- Course materials and recommended readings
- Lecture notes and course handbook
- Subject-specific dictionaries and encyclopedias
- Institution libraries and public libraries
- Online archives like Google Scholar and jSTOR
Pro tip: Once you have gone through the resources you collect, identify the ones most relevant for your assignment, and save them in the resources folder.
Stage 5: Write your assignment
After you have found the relevant information you were looking for, it is time to write your assignment. Here are a few tips for writing the first draft of your assignment from the academic experts at Tophomeworkhelper.
- Use the assignment outline to fill in the gaps you had left. Write the main points for each section of your assignment.
- Write with the flow. You do not have to get all the wording or punctuation right in the first draft.
- Begin writing the conclusion at first. That way, you will know which way you should take the assignment for working backward saves loads of time.
- Do not spend too much time preparing the first draft. Focus on the fine-tuning instead.
Now comes the main bit: polishing the first draft to create your assignment. Here are a few handy tips.
- Go through the first draft carefully. Check to see what changes it requires making sense to the readers.
- Polish the wording of your assignment and make sure that it has a logical flow.
- Save different copies of the draft so that you can select the best one when it is time to turn in your assignment.
- Make sure you include a list of references and bibliography.
Stage 6: Revise your assignment
A short break from your assignment once you finish the assignment helps in having an objective approach during revisions.
When revising your assignment, look for the larger picture at first.
- Have you successfully answered the primary question? Double-check with assignment requirements.
- Is the structure of your assignment correct? Are the title, introduction, conclusion, and list of references there?
- Have you mentioned all the relevant points and arguments?
- Does your assignment have a logical flow of arguments and examples?
- Is the assignment entirely free of plagiarism and cited for external sources?
- Is your assignment formatted properly following the guidelines?
A final look at the details of your assignment, and it will be ready for submission. Here are the details you should keep an eye out for during the final revision.
- Have you used the correct writing convention (British/ American writing form and academic language, for example) as per the guidelines?
- Check minutely for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Nothing gives off a bad impression more than incorrect spellings and grammatical errors.
- Cross-check for references and in-text citations. Do they follow the required referencing style (Harvard, MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.)?
Have you numbered the pages correctly?
Pro tip: Run your assignment through an online plagiarism checker before turning in the assignment.
Summing it up
Bookmark this post for the times when you are short-changed for inspiration. This post will help to keep your eye on the ball (in this case, assignment). Implement the tips for your next assignment, and see which method works best for you.
Stick to it and make it a habit of turning in A-grade assignments every time. Here is wishing you luck with all the upcoming assignments this term! Happy writing!
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