Understanding the Assignment The first step to writing a strong paper

Basics Regardless of the assignment, department, or instructor, adopting these two habits will serve you well: Read the assignment carefully as soon as you receive it. Do not put this task off—reading the assignment at the beginning will save you time, stress, and problems later. An assignment can look pretty straightforward at first, particularly if the instructor has provided lots of information. That does not mean it will not take time and effort to complete; you may even have to learn a new skill to complete the assignment Ask the instructor about anything you do not understand. Do not hesitate to approach your instructor. Instructors would prefer to set you straight before you hand the paper in. That’s also when you will find their feedback most useful

Writing isn’t Just Writing You may have never though or heard about “genres” of writing, but there are many, and they all have specific format and content expectations: Genres: term used to describe categories of written texts that have recognizable patterns, syntax, techniques, and/or conventions. A few examples of genres: Argument essay—take a position and argue for it Narrative—tell a story from your life with vivid details Summary—restate the ideas from another author’s paper Research paper—compile a lot of sources and write about what they say about an issue

Next Step—Break down the assignment You don’t want to put a lot of work into writing a paper and then get a bad grade because you didn’t follow directions. Here are some things to consider: Are there specific concepts to be covered or questions to be answered? Is the paper supposed to be informative (don’t take a position) or persuasive (take a position)? Is the paper based on personal opinion or does it need to be based in evidence? Is there a required number or type of sources to be cited? Does the instructor have to approve your topic? How long is the paper supposed to be? And of course, when is the paper due?

Look over our assignment sheet What do you see?: Are there any specific concepts to be covered or questions to be answered? Is the paper supposed to be informative (don’t take a position) or persuasive (take a position)? Is the paper based on personal opinion or does it need to be based in external evidence (cited sources)? Is there a required number or type of sources to be cited? How long is the paper supposed to be? And of course, when is the paper due?

The language of assignment sheets Assignment uses the following directive wording: When your instructor expects you to do the following: Define, label, list, name, repeat, order, arrange, memorize Memorize, recall, and present information Describe, indicate, restate, explain, review, summarize, classify Interpret information in your own words Apply, illustrate, prepare, solve, use, sketch, operate, practice, calculate Apply knowledge to new situations Analyze, categorize, compare, test, distinguish, examine, contrast Break down knowledge into parts and show relationships among parts Arrange, compose, formulate, organize, plan, assemble, construct Bring together parts of knowledge to form a whole; build relationships for new situations Appraise, evaluate, conclude, judge, predict, compare, score Make judgments based on criteria; support, confirm preferences Use supporting examples, cite passages from the text, paraphrase, summarize Quote or paraphrase to support what you have written Provide corroborating evidence, reference other works, research, cite examples from case studies Use outside research to support your thesis or hypothesis