When it comes to assignments, I have developed a technique and strategy that helps me through getting the essay complete. Here are a few tips that have helped me to manage how to plan an assignment.
Lecture Slides
Bring up the slides and lecture notes that will aid you towards the understanding of the assignments. Reading through and revisiting the area will refresh your memory, give you new ideas and a perhaps a different perspective towards the topic. I always find that getting all the available resources before even getting started helps a lot.
Talk To Your Tutor
Talking to the course tutor that is responsible for the assignment will help get you information for it. If you don’t ask, you won’t get – simple. Meeting with your lecturer helps for any unanswered questions you may have as well as having an advantage towards the essay.
Books, Journals and Sources
To back up your argument you need sources. Books, journals, articles, essays etc. will be the centre of your assignment to develop several points. I always aim for at least 10 sources in my bibliography, but that’s just what my tutors have advised me for my particular course. In terms of referencing these, I recommend a site called ‘RefMe’. The last thing you want to be worrying about when writing an essay is the faff of all the Harvard style references. This site sorts all the details out for you if you just paste the web address ISBN number of the book or DOI for journals. I don’t know that I’d do without it!
Plan
Plan your assignments. Create bullet points, a mind map, a list – whichever is easier for you. Write down the key points of your topic and any other ideas that come to mind. When you actually write the essay you’ll be prepared with all your ideas already laid down on the table.
Developing A Tone
At the start of university I found that transitioning between college essay style and uni essay style was difficult. It was hard to develop a tone that was up to the standard that lecturers were looking for. Reading through academic literature and other essays helped vocabulary but if you are looking for specific words, Thesaurus.com is helpful. Nothing worse than not being able to think of that word and it plays on your mind all day. Thesaurus actually helps to find a better more suitable word, creating a better academic tone.
