Complete your First Assignment at University

What should you do when you get an assignment? Well read it, understand it, talk to other students to understand it better, and then plan what you want to do.

Assignment Importance

Why are assignments important?

  • Assignments make up about 30% of your course grade  (30% midterm exam, 40% final exam), sometimes more.
  • It related to knowledge needed in exams
  • It proves your understanding, interest and ability

Assignment First Steps

Reading the assignment

  • Read and analyze the instructions
  • Identify the objectives and goals
  • Understanding the grading and expectations

Planning

  • note what you already know
  • note what you need to know
  • determine what you need to do, by when, and how you plan to do the work
  • you may need to break the assignment down into smaller tasks to make it easier to manage

Research

  • research what you need to know
  • make notes
  • note the sources of information
  • use good / multiple sources of information

Writing

  • tell a story
  • have a structure
  • use examples
  • use tables and diagrams and explain them
  • format properly
  • Creating an outline and organizing ideas
  • Writing a draft and revising it
  • Checking for grammar and spelling errors
  • Citing sources and following citation guidelines

Review

  • Do you want higher marks?
  • How to present your work
    • Check – spelling, grammar
    • Check – deliverables, instructions
  • Check list – tick each item when its done

submit

  • Proofreading and editing the final draft
  • Ensuring that all requirements are met
  • Submitting the assignment on time

example

Here is an example of a university assignment:  example assignment

Course Assignment

Here is the assignment for Pre-Sessional English: Course Assignment

Assignment Details

Assignment #1 – Create an article

PSE’2024 – English for Students at University

Coursework Marks 25%

Students are required to complete the instructions below (also see instructions.doc in Teams) and answer all parts and questions below.

Part 1: Article

Write a summary that describes a subject area from these options.

  1. Your perfect holiday
  2. A holiday in your home country / city
  3. Your favorite ____

Choose only one option

Your article must contain:

  • A title,
  • headings (and sub-headings)
  • an introduction,
  • a conclusion,
  • a reference section

The article must use an academic format and style of writing and should be about 200-250 words although there is no penalty for a different length of the article, it will be marked on quality rather than quantity.

Do not copy & pasted text

You should write interesting facts about a location, either one or several locations. Alternatively, you can write about a location that you are more familiar, such as your home city and/or country. Finally, option three allows you to choose a preferred subject like your favorite food, favorite animal, favorite person, or any favorite thing about you wish to write.

Deadline

  • Coursework set Tuesday 13th May 2024
  • Coursework submission date: Tuesday 7th June 2024

Deliverables:

  • A completed article (Microsoft Word document or equivalent – see part 1)
  • In the appendix include:
    • a mind map,
    • a completed interesting facts worksheet,
    • a completed graphical organizer,
    • a completed provide sources worksheet
    • a completed outline

All coursework should be submitted on the submission date or before, either via Teams or to drseamuslyons@gmail.com. Remember to include the course, your name and your student ID when submitting coursework.

Assignment Vocabulary

There are some common terms used when assignments are set at university. Here is a list and their meanings:

  • Coursework / Assignment – work complete by you that is marked (graded)
  • Submit – hand in coursework
  • Instructions – what you need to do
  • Deliverables – what you need to submit
  • Deadline – time & date you need to submit the work
  • Group Assignment – work in a group e.g. 4 students
  • Plagiarism – copying work resulting in a ‘F’ or zero mark.
  • Project – long assignment, possibly over a 15-week semester
  • Presentation – present your work e.g. using PowerPoint slides

return to the 9 stages of completing an assignment

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