Matt’s Guide to Assignment Writing
Hi all
Thanks for all the tips and tricks you dropped on my blog… I was really touched by the way you all engaged with what I was attempting to do. I am now going to try and condense them with some of my own ideas into a guide to essay based assignment writing, look out for your ideas and I hope you like it:
Stage 1 – Preparation
Just like my good friend Ben I am a big believer in preparation to be prepared you need to really understand what the question is asking is you (as noted by Lorrain), let’s look at an example from an old assignment I set:
Q: Briefly explain the main advantages and disadvantages of European Monetary Union (EMU) examine the view that UK entry to EMU is inevitable in the long run.
What is this question asking you to do?
Q: Briefly explain the main advantages and disadvantages of European Monetary Union (EMU) examine the view that UK entry to EMU is inevitable in the long run.
I call this breaking down the key elements of the question, working out what the marker is really asking you to do so you can target your research on what really matters. In this case that’s a brief explanation of the advantages and disadvantages of EMU leading to an examination of the view that it is inevitable that the UK will enter the EMU in the long run.
Some questions will have preamble which adds context or in the sneaky cases tries to distract you from the key elements so this element of preparation is crucial to make sure you gather the right data.
Stage 2 – Research
At this point gathering content is key (Ben and Saz) read widely around and make lots of notes; lots of students avoid doing this, but making notes is crucial (I love some of the ideas here) they help you reinforce your reading and bed ideas into your head.
In terms of not taking remember some easy tips and they will be even more useful, whenever you something and make notes write down the reference then, not later, if you use software like Refworks record it. This simple action will make writing a bibliography so much easier, and in that vein; page reference all your notes and quotes, also this helps with speed and organisation.
At this stage try to get as many notes as you can, target texts on your reading list, major text books, journals etc. Remember to try and use good quality sources as these will give you the best basis for your assignment (Stage 5) and as Saz noted at this stage don’t be afraid to get your own ideas out of your head and onto paper in note form as this can help when you come to writing the assignment.
Stage 3 – Setting the Scene
Zack made some great points here about setting the scene for your work including his use of hot chocolate and relaxation to increase endorphin levels prior to starting work, for me this section is pretty simple and is based on the creativity rules I give my students, especially the first two elements:
Isolate → Incubate → Evaluate
Isolate yourself away from distractions, give yourself plenty of time and space to think about your ideas in a location with a ready supply of materials and edible and always check them against the question.
For me I always find somewhere quiet with my laptop, I put on some mid tempo music, something I know really well that doesn’t distract me and lock myself out of all distractions like Facebook and TV, I make sure I have a ready supply of healthy snacks and plenty of water (as this actually wakes you up and makes you feel less hungry) I avoid coffee and sugar like the plague; although this perks you up in the short term it doesn’t last.
Then I set myself benchmarks, things I need to do like write so many words etc. And a list of treats I can have for reaching them, anything from a movie to a few hours playing games or walking and in this way I self motivate using targets to push myself.
Stage 4 – Writing
As mentioned by Ben, Saz and John write, use the rewards to motivate yourself but the key thing here is just getting ideas onto paper making sure you are actually answering the key elements of the question (Alison and Lorrain).
Alison’s advice here was fantastic:
The key starting point is to always to define your terms, set out your stall and make your case. You are answering the question set, using the knowledge you have, which has informed your answer!
Remember your lecturer is your “customer” and they will have seen potentially hundreds of scripts on the same topic; so make sure you show your knowledge off in interesting ways with good well written arguments.
Structure your answers from an authorative voice, it is your answer to the question; so defend and explain it but conclude and answer it!
To add to this I would simply say that structure is key, think of an essay as a series of arguments supported by well researched data, concentrate on what David Rae (my professor) call’s logic flow; the cogent structuring of points into an argument that flows together, if you are lacking logic flow the whole essay will seem broken and disorganised.
Oh and remember, answer the question, don’t just present a stream of data and quotes with no analysis, you won’t get very far.
Stage 5 – Review
Once you finish your essay (at whatever stage) take a good long break before going back to, do something physical, distract yourself but walk away from it, then after a break come back to it and ask two key questions:
1.Does it answer the question?
2.Does it flow together logically?
If you answer no to question one the chances are you need to do some major work to it, if you answer yes
to question 1 but no to question 2, chances are it’s a case a moving stuff around a bit and tidying up, if you answer yes to both – hand it in! Well…
…If in doubt at any time, again John gave some great advice here: print off what you’ve done and take it to your tutor as they’ll be a lot more inclined to assist if they can see you’ve taken steps to start, this is the reason you always need to start… don’t be afraid to ask for help, that what a tutor is there for.
Oh and of course proofing, bibliographies etc. Make sure you check all this stuff thoroughly, especially if like me you know you have a particular weakness in one of those areas.
Thanks to everyone who dropped in and shared ideas, you really made this post!
Hope you find this useful
Thanks
Matt
