The Learning Commons
Understanding AssignmentsThe first thing you'll need to do when starting a paper is make sure that you know what the professor is asking for in the assignment. At Guilford, paper assignments vary as much as the professors themselves: some are detailed and break the paper down into steps you can follow, some are only a sentence long and allow you a great deal of freedom, some aren't even papers. Regardless of the kind of assignment you get, be sure to look closely at the language the professor is using: what exactly is s/he asking you to do. The following is a list of direction words often used in assignments and their most common meanings (although some professors mean something else by them). These different verbs in the prompt should trigger different approaches in the way you structure your paper.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it will give you a general idea. Here are a few more tips to understanding assignments: Underline key words or phrases in the assignment. Break the assignment into steps or parts if possible. If the professor discusses the assignment in class, take notes on the syllabus or assignment sheet and ask questions if you're unclear on some point. Take lots of notes if the assignment is given orally, rather than in written form. If you're still not sure of what the assignment is asking or how to complete it, talk about it. You're professor is probably the best resource in this case, but you can also come to the ASC and talk to a tutor. Once you've gotten a second draft of the paper done, make sure you've done everything asked of you. Often you'll have more than one direction word in the assignment, like "discuss and evaluate" or "summarize and analyze," so make sure you can point to places in your paper where you've done these things and revise as necessary. |
The Writing ZoneWorking Through the Paper: Diary of James Cook, First Voyage |