The first step in any successful college writing venture is reading the assignment. While this sounds simple, it can be tough. This will help you unravel your assignment and begin to craft an effective response. Much of this advice involves translating typical assignment terms and practices into meaningful clues to the type of writing your instructor expects.
Many assignments follow a basic format. Assignments often begin with an overview of the topic, include a central verb or verbs that describe the task, and offer some additional suggestions, questions, or prompts to get you started.
Ask yourself a few basic questions as you read and jot down the answers on the assignment sheet:
Why did your instructor ask you to do this particular task?
Who is your audience?
What kind of evidence do you need to support your ideas?
What kind of writing style is acceptable?
What are the absolute rules of the paper?
Try to look at the question from the point of view of the instructor. Recognize that your instructor has a reason for giving you this assignment and for giving it to you at a particular point in the semester. In every assignment, the instructor has a challenge for you. This challenge could be anything from demonstrating an ability to think clearly to demonstrating an ability to use the library. See the assignment not as a vague suggestion of what to do but as an opportunity to show that you can handle the course material as directed. Paper assignments give you more than a topic to discuss—they ask you to do something with the topic. Keep reminding yourself of that. Be careful to avoid the other extreme as well: do not read more into the assignment than what is there.
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.
The instructor might set the stage with some general discussion of the subject of the assignment, introduce the topic, or remind you of something pertinent that you have discussed in class. For example: “Throughout history, gerbils have played a key role in politics,” or “In the last few weeks of class, we have focused on the evening wear of the housefly …”
Pay attention; the task tells you what to do when you write the paper. Look for the key verb or verbs in the sentence. Words like analyze, summarize, or compare direct you to think about your topic in a certain way. Also pay attention to words such as how, what, when, where, and why; these words guide your attention toward specific information. “Analyze the effect that gerbils had on the Russian Revolution,” or “Suggest an interpretation of housefly undergarments that differs from Darwin’s.”
Here you will find some questions to use as springboards as you begin to think about the topic. Instructors usually include these questions as suggestions rather than requirements. Do not feel compelled to answer every question unless the instructor asks you to do so. Pay attention to the order of the questions. Sometimes they suggest the thinking process your instructor imagines you will need to follow to begin thinking about the topic. “You may wish to consider the differing views held by Communist gerbils vs. Monarchist gerbils,” or “Can there be such a thing as ‘the housefly garment industry’ or is it just a home-based craft?”
These are the instructor’s comments about writing expectations: “Be concise,” “Write effectively,” or “Argue furiously.”
These instructions usually indicate format rules or guidelines, such as this one:“Your paper must be typed in Times New Roman font on gray paper and must not exceed 600 pages. It is due on the anniversary of Mao Tse-tung’s death.” The assignment’s parts may not appear in exactly this order, and each part may be very long or really short. Nonetheless, being aware of this standard pattern can help you understand what your instructor wants you to do.
Of course, your instructor has given you an assignment so that he or she will be able to assess your understanding of the course material and give you an appropriate grade. But there is more to it than that. Your instructor has tried to design a learning experience of some kind. Your instructor wants you to think about something in a particular way for a particular reason. If you read the course description at the beginning of your syllabus, review the assigned readings, and consider the assignment itself, you may begin to see the plan, purpose, or approach to the subject matter that your instructor has created for you. If you still aren’t sure of the assignment’s goals, try asking the instructor.
Given your instructor’s efforts, it helps to answer the question: What is my purpose in completing this assignment? Is it to gather research from a variety of outside sources and present a coherent picture? Is it to take material I have been learning in class and apply it to a new situation? Is it to prove a point one way or another? Key words from the assignment can help you figure this out. Look for key terms in the form of active verbs that tell you what to do.
Key Terms: Finding Those Active Verbs
Here are some common key words and definitions to help you think about assignment terms:
Information words
ask you to demonstrate what you know about the subject, such as who, what, when, where, how, and why.
define—give the subject’s meaning (according to someone or something). Sometimes you have to give more than one view on the subject’s meaning
describe—provide details about the subject by answering questions words (such as who, what, when, where, how, and why); you might also give details related to the five senses (what you see, hear, feel, taste, and smell)
explain—give reasons why or examples of how something happened
illustrate—give descriptive examples of the subject and show how each is connected with the subject
summarize—briefly list the important ideas you learned about the subject
trace—outline how something has changed or developed from an earlier time to its current form
research—gather material from outside sources about the subject, often with the implication or requirement that you will analyze what you have found
Relation words
ask you to demonstrate how things are connected.
compare—show how two or more things are similar (and, sometimes, different)
contrast—show how two or more things are dissimilar
apply—use details that you’ve been given to demonstrate how an idea, theory, or concept works in a particular situation
cause—show how one event or series of events made something else happen
relate—show or describe the connections between things
Interpretation words
ask you to defend ideas of your own about the subject. Do not see these words as requesting opinion alone (unless the assignment specifically says so), but as requiring opinion that is supported by concrete evidence. Remember examples, principles, definitions, or concepts from class or research and use them in your interpretation.
assess—summarize your opinion of the subject and measure it against something
prove, justify—give reasons or examples to demonstrate how or why something is the truth
evaluate, respond—state your opinion of the subject as good, bad, or some combination of the two, with examples and reasons
support—give reasons or evidence for something you believe (be sure to state clearly what it is that you believe)
synthesize —put two or more things together that have not been put together in class or in your readings before; do not just summarize one and then the other and say that they are similar or different—you must provide a reason for putting them together that runs all the way through the paper
analyze—determine how individual parts create or relate to the whole, figure out how something works, what it might mean, or why it is important
argue—take a side and defend it with evidence against the other side
More Clues to Your Purpose
As you read the assignment, think about what the teacher does in class.
What kinds of textbooks did your instructor choose for the course—ones that provide background information, explain theories or perspectives, or argue a point of view?
In lecture, does your instructor ask your opinion, try to prove her point of view, or use keywords that show up again in the assignment?
What kinds of assignments are typical in this discipline? Social science classes often expect more research. Humanities classes thrive on interpretation and analysis.
How do the assignments, readings, and lectures work together in the course? Instructors spend time designing courses, sometimes even arguing with their peers about the most effective course materials. Figuring out the overall design to the course will help you understand what each assignment is meant to achieve.
Now, what about your reader? Most undergraduates think of their audience as the instructor. True, your instructor is a good person to keep in mind as you write. But for the purposes of a good paper, think of your audience as someone like your roommate: smart enough to understand a clear, logical argument, but not someone who already knows exactly what is going on in your particular paper. Remember, even if the instructor knows everything there is to know about your paper topic, he or she still has to read your paper and assess your understanding. In other words, teach the material to your reader.
Aiming a paper at your audience happens in two ways: you make decisions about the tone and the level of information you want to convey.
Tone means the “voice” of your paper. Should you be chatty, formal, or objective? Usually you will find some happy medium—you do not want to alienate your reader by sounding condescending or superior, but you do not want to, um, like, totally wig on the man, you know? Eschew ostentatious erudition: some students think the way to sound academic is to use big words. Be careful—you can sound ridiculous, especially if you use the wrong big words.
The level of information you use depends on who you think your audience is. If you imagine your audience as your instructor and she already knows everything you have to say, you may find yourself leaving out key information that can cause your argument to be unconvincing and illogical. But you do not have to explain every single word or issue.
The Grim Truth
With a few exceptions (including some lab and ethnography reports), you are probably being asked to make an argument. You must convince your audience. It is easy to forget this aim when you are researching and writing; as you become involved in your subject matter, you may become enmeshed in the details and focus on learning or simply telling the information you have found. You need to do more than just repeat what you have read. Your writing should have a point, and you should be able to say it in a sentence. Sometimes instructors call this sentence a “thesis” or a “claim.”
So, if your instructor tells you to write about some aspect of oral hygiene, you do not want to just list: “First, you brush your teeth with a soft brush and some peanut butter. Then, you floss with unwaxed, bologna-flavored string. Finally, gargle with vinegar.” Instead, you could say, “From an aesthetic perspective, moldy teeth can be quite charming. However, their joys are short-lived.”
Convincing the reader of your argument is the goal of academic writing. It doesn’t have to say “argument” anywhere in the assignment for you to need one. Look at the assignment and think about what kind of argument you could make about it instead of just seeing it as a checklist of information you have to present.
There are many kinds of evidence, and what type of evidence will work for your assignment can depend on several factors–the discipline, the parameters of the assignment, and your instructor’s preference. Should you use statistics? Historical examples? Do you need to conduct your own experiment? Can you rely on personal experience? See our handout on evidence for suggestions on how to use evidence appropriately.
Make sure you are clear about this part of the assignment, because your use of evidence will be crucial in writing a successful paper. You are not just learning how to argue; you are learning how to argue with specific types of materials and ideas. Ask your instructor what counts as acceptable evidence. You can also ask a reference librarian for help. No matter what kind of evidence you use, be sure to cite it correctly.
You cannot always tell from the assignment just what sort of writing style your instructor expects. The instructor may be really laid back in class but still expect you to sound formal in writing. Or the instructor may be fairly formal in class and ask you to write a reflection paper where you need to use “I” and speak from your own experience.
Try to avoid false associations of a particular field with a style (“art historians like wacky creativity,” or “political scientists are boring and just give facts”) and look instead to the types of readings you have been given in class. No one expects you to write like Plato—just use the readings as a guide for what is standard or preferable to your instructor. When in doubt, ask your instructor about the level of formality she or he expects.
No matter what field you are writing for or what facts you are including, if you do not write so that your reader can understand your main idea, you have wasted your time. So make clarity your main goal.
The technical information you are given in an assignment always seems like the easy part. This section can actually give you lots of little hints about approaching the task. Find out if elements such as page length and citation format. Some professors do not have strong preferences as long as you are consistent and fully answer the assignment. Some professors are very specific and will deduct big points for deviations.
Usually, the page length tells you something important: The instructor thinks the size of the paper is appropriate to the assignment’s parameters. In plain English, your instructor is telling you how many pages it should take for you to answer the question as fully as you are expected to. So if an assignment is two pages long, you cannot pad your paper with examples or reword your main idea several times. Hit your one point early, defend it with the clearest example, and finish quickly. If an assignment is ten pages long, you can be more complex in your main points and examples—and if you can only produce five pages for that assignment, you need to see someone for help—as soon as possible.
Your instructors are not fooled when you:
use huge fonts, wide margins, or extra spacing to pad the page length—these tricks are immediately obvious to the eye. Most instructors use the same word processor you do. They know what’s possible. Such tactics are especially damning when the instructor has a stack of 60 papers to grade and yours is the only one that low-flying airplane pilots could read.
use a paper from another class that covered “sort of similar” material. Again, the instructor has a particular task for you to fulfill in the assignment that usually relates to course material and lectures. Your other paper may not cover this material, and turning in the same paper for more than once course may constitute an Honor Code Violation. Ask the instructor—it can’t hurt.
get all wacky and “creative” before you answer the question. Showing that you are able to think beyond the boundaries of a simple assignment can be good, but you must do what the assignment calls for first. Again, check with your instructor. A humorous tone can be refreshing for someone grading a stack of papers, but it will not get you a good grade if you have not fulfilled the task.
Critical reading of assignments leads to skills in other types of reading and writing. If you get good at figuring out what the real goals of assignments are, you are going to be better at understanding the goals of all of your classes and fields of study.
3-5 sources of various types (book, article, website, etc)
Sources focused around a narrowed issue or question of inquiry related to your essay's argument
Adherence to the MLA format for all citations.
Thoughtful and complete annotations of 50-100 words.
Correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
Constraints: The annotated bibliography is a fairly rigid genre. Your citations must adhere to format. The annotations for each source should follow an academic style. This means that you must construct, with elevated and sophisticated language, correct grammatical sentences that effectively summarize what each source has to say. Additionally, you should explain how each source is relevant to the issue that you have selected and what it adds to your knowledge about your issue.
Formal Writing Assignments: Writing to Communicate
When writing to communicate, students move from their informal and more discovery-based writing to more formal, demanding and public expectations of particular discourse and rhetorical conventions. Learning the conventions for specific fields of study, developing different methods for analysis and argument, as well as fine tuning the details of grammar, documentation and mechanics are central to the mode of writing as communication.
At their most effective, assignments in writing to communicate can be built directly off the scaffolding that has been provided through writing to learn. The two modes of writing are connected in terms of developing content, but writing to communicate will call for more coherent development and structure.
Students can be asked to review everything they have written informally through writing to learn in order to determine a focus or direction for their more formal assignments in public communication. They may find an initial thesis for a specific topic emerging through their ideas for using writing to communicate in the classroom.
1. ESSAY ASSIGNMENTS
Consider the PURPOSE or the primary focus that will be emphasized by a specific assignment. Do you want students to develop analytical, informational, argumentative, reflective, or expressive skills, or a combination of several skills? The essay instructions should make clear to students what set of skills will be most valued when completing the assignment.
Analytical: What is valued is the students' ability to examine closely the connection between the parts and the whole of a particular subject and their ability to investigate and articulate the way ideas connect to or contrast with one another.
Informational: What is valued is the students' ability to summarize and synthesize information about a particular subject.
Argumentative: What is valued is the students' ability to articulate a claim about a particular subject with appropriate evidence to support such a claim.
Reflective: What is valued is the students' ability to look at experiences retrospectively and articulate what has been learned from them.
Expressive: What is valued is the students' ability to consider the relevance of personal experience.
Analysis is the skill underpinning all others. To write well from an informational, argumentative, or expressive perspective, in other words, students need to use their analytical ability to focus their writing.
A sense of purpose will connect to developing a central idea or thesis. Knowing what kind of writing is expected of them (informational? argumentative? expressive?) and reviewing the ideas present in their writing to learn assignments will help students accomplish the difficult task of determining a central idea. After reading, class discussion, and writing to learn, students will be more able to decide what they want to say and thus have a starting point.
A set of essay instructions can ask students to follow through on these kinds of review and explorations to arrive at a working central idea. Students can be encouraged to begin with a working central idea in order to develop a preliminary draft. Ideas might be roughly sketched out to begin with using the following seed sentences as frames:
I am analyzing/arguing about_______________ in order to understand/examine_______________________.
Most people believe that _____________________, but my investigation has shown that __________________.
We know this _____________ about ____________; we also need to know this __________________ about ____________________________.
Seed sentences can help students get started writing and can then be further refined later in the process of writing. Working with seed sentences might also be a productive approach to writing to learn.
Effective assignments should also ask students to consider AUDIENCE.
Are they to be thinking of the teacher exclusively when completing the assignment?
Should they be thinking of a general educated audience, or an audience only of their peers?
Should they be thinking of the audience as completely or partially informed about the subject?
Will the audience hold values similar to or different from the writer?
How much will the audience identify with the subject and topic under study?
Such considerations will help determine the form and style choices that can be made and are central to the writing task.
Once the purpose, central idea, and audience have been established as part of the assignment, consider providing students additional advice on the STRUCTURE of their writing. They might bear in mind these structural possibilities:
Thesis/Support: the most common deductive structure whereby students establish a central idea or thesis after introducing the subject in the introduction and then provide a series of supporting ideas with examples, facts, anecdotes, testimony, statistics, quotations, and other details.
Problem/Solution: an effective two-part structure whereby students first examine the nature of a specific problem and then describe an effective solution that carries with it their central claim about the subject. The writing situation considers a problem to which the student is proposing a solution. Students can be asked to consider the costs and benefits of the solution proposed.
Question/Answer: another two-part structure that is formed around an analysis of a central question or set of questions that are pertinent to a subject and then moves into a claim/analysis of possible answers.
Narrative/Analysis: a structure building on story techniques whereby the student details what is happening/has happened and uses these events to develop an analysis/argument about the subject.
Finally, an assignment can also be accompanied by a MODEL that illustrates the expectation for writing. Successful assignments can be saved and copied for such purposes in future classes.
The following handouts provide examples of essay assignments that stress various purposes, sense of audience, and structural ideas:
sample assignment emphasizing critical analysis (PDF)
sample assignment emphasizing analysis and information (PDF)
sample assignment emphasizing analysis and argument (PDF)
sample assignment emphasizing analysis and reflection (PDF)
2. WRITING ABOUT READING
Many academic assignments ask students to write very specifically about what they've read. The following links provide helpful structures for such assignments:
writing a summary of what you read (PDF)
writing a synthesis of what you read (PDF)
writing a critique of what you read (PDF)
3. ESSAY EXAMS
Unlike essay assignments or research projects, an essay exam has a limited purpose and audience: the teacher wants the student to demonstrate understanding of specific course material and to do so in an articulate manner.
These general study habit hints might be useful as students work with material that will be covered by essay exams:
take careful notes during relevant class discussion.
read assigned chapters critically; that is, respond in a writer's notebook with summary and response, plus annotate the text.
review notes regularly before the essay exam.
prepare notes or outlines ahead of time that reorganize the material around key topics or issues.
During the exam period itself
read the exam question all the way through at least twice in order to stick to the question being asked and to answer it fully.
examine the key words in the question and make sure to consider the difference in implication between words like "summarize" or "define."
make a brief outline of the main ideas to be covered.
write a thesis sentence that responds directly to the question being asked, using some of the the question's words.
write the essay, trying to write clearly and concisely the first time since there won't be much time to rewrite. Make sure to use plenty of specific references to the material in question.
Try to correct as many errors in spelling and mechanics as you can find before you hand in your exam. Be as legible as possible but don?t recopy.
Exam Questions
Exam questions should be written so that students understand clearly what is expected of them. Is the goal of the exam question:
to show that students have acquired a specific body of knowledge?
to show that students can create an informed opinion based on this body of knowledge?
to show that students can create a convincing argument based on this body of knowledge?
to show that students can critically evaluate and acknowledge the ideas they have been reading about and working with?
Common "Key" Words for Essay Exams and Ideas for Organizing Around Them
Comparison - Contrast : "compare and contrast" Analyzes similarities and differences
Two ways to organize:
Pattern I Pattern II
First topic Advantages
advantages First topic
disadvantages Second topic
Second topic Disadvantages
advantages First topic
disadvantages Second topic
Definition : "define" Specifies distinctive characteristics.
How to organize: begin with the term to be defined and discuss the group to which it belongs, then show how the term is different from other members of the group.
Make sure to include its important features. Use details, comparisons, and examples.
Analysis : "analyze" or "discuss" or "explain" Breaks topic into its elements. Explains and compares main points of view on the topic.
How to organize: analysis involves a careful breaking of something into its various parts. Using transitional words like "first, second, third?" or "next," "another," "in addition" will add coherence to your analysis.
Cause and Effect : "cause" "why" "effects"
How to organize: like analysis questions, cause and effect questions ask you to trace something?s features, in this case, specific effects of a particular cause or vice versa. Using transitional words will help you organize coherently, especially ?because,? ?therefore,? and ?consequently.?
Writing the Essay Exam
Starting the essay: You don't need an embellished, exciting opening for a timed essay. Instead, you can state your thesis right away and give a brief overview of what the rest of the essay will do. This will immediately show your command over the subject. Don't just restate the question without answering it. Always include your answer to the question in the intro.
Developing the essay: The body of your essay should be developed with the same attention to logical organization, coherence, and adequate development that you provide in any academic paper. Support your thesis with solid generalizations and specific, relevant details. Don't fill out the essay by repeating yourself. Don't use subjective feelings instead of real analysis.
Concluding the essay: Here you can briefly restate the thesis in new words, perhaps pointing to wider implications in a way that follows logically from what you've written rather than in a way that demands more explanation.
Before submitting the essay: Reread and correct any illegible sections. Make sure your handwriting can be read. Check for spelling, grammatical mistakes, and accidental omissions. If you find any material that seems irrelevant, cross it out and add other information on another page, keying the addition to the page where it belongs.