Key Steps To Conquering Your Writing Assignment

What is the number one assignment that students hate? Yep, writing assignments. It seems like nobody enjoys writing anymore. Even though we despise writing assignments, they are extremely popular in the college curriculum. These assignments have lasting impacts and can help you later in your career. Check out these tips to completing that writing assignment on time.

• Pay attention to requirements – Without knowing the exact requirements of a writing assignment you cannot produce a quality piece of work. Read the requirements into detail to know exactly what is expected of the assignment.

• Check your rubric – Professors will often give you a grading rubric along with the assignment. Analyze the rubric to know exactly how you will be graded. If content holds the most weight, focus on your research and make sure to have quality sources. If formatting is a large part of the grade then try to fully understand MLA or APA to make sure you structure the paper and all citations correctly.

• Choose a topic, pick a side – Choosing a topic can be one of the more difficult parts of writing a paper. It is always easier to write about something that you already know about or something that you have interest in. Although, this part might be easier if you are assigned a topic to write about. In this case choose a side of the topic that you like and believe in.

• Setting the groundwork – I find the easiest way to begin a paper is to just start researching everything you can about it. Once you have read a lot about the topic and understand it, create an outline of the subject. I like to create a big outline and then just fill in the outline with all of the information. This helps keep your paper organized and on point. Once you have filled in the outline, delete the outline portion and restructure your paper to its final form.

• Plan ahead – Do not waste time. Procrastination can be seen most often in writing assignments. It seems like everyone would rather wait to the last minute to begin writing their paper. Break it into steps. On the first day do a bunch of research and figure out what you want to write about. On the second day begin your research on the topic you have chosen. On the third and fourth day create your outline and begin filling it in with the appropriate information. On the fifth day finish all of your writing and structure the assignment into its final form.

• Proofreading – Proofreading is so important and often goes unused. It is difficult for a person to find mistakes in grammar and structure in their own writing. Try to have at least three other people read your paper before you turn it in. The professor makes a great proofreader. After all, they know what is expected and they will be grading it.

• Don’t cheat! – This should be obvious to everyone. Plagiarism is illegal and can cost you big time. Most colleges scan papers that have been turned in and use a computer program to search the internet and find where information was copied. If you are caught the penalty could be an “F” for the class, and there is the possibility that you could face legal trouble.