Why should you plan your assignments? A well-planned assignment is going to be better organised than an assignment that is not planned at all - at least some planning is always a good idea and can only add to the quality of your final submission. While it is important not to overdo it, the longer you spend planning and thinking about your written assignment, the better your final draft will be. The writing element is just one part of academic writing, planning should be a crucial part of your overall approach to doing an assignment. It is one of the most important parts of assignment writing which is ultimately led by your reading of relevant academic sources and an assignment will often look for you to present your point of view on a topic through the analysis and discussion of these sources. Creating a good plan also makes the process of assignment writing easier - it can be difficult and confusing if you are trying to structure and write your assignment at the same time. By planning your assignments thoroughly, you ensure that your work has a consistent, balanced structure and your arguments follow a logical flow with respect to the assignment question – this can help you develop your argument even before you begin writing up the assignment. |
|
There may be a temptation to skip the planning stage, especially when deadlines are approaching and you are keen to get on with researching but planning has multiple benefits.
Planning Helps You To: | |
Answer the question with clarity, this includes:
|
|
|
Save time on unnecessary work, this includes:
|
|
Organise and structure your assignment and research, this includes:
|
|
Avoid being overwhelmed, this includes:
|
Before you start planning for your assignment, think and take note of the following:
|
Once you have a clear idea of what is required for your assignment, you can start planning your research and gathering evidence. Before you start reading or writing, try to come up with an outline or plan based on your existing knowledge of the topic and understanding of the question. Your aim is to develop an argument through your assignment; this means planning in some detail how the assignment will flow from one idea to the next. For your initial plan and outline, use material and slides posted by your lecturer on your Moodle page and match that with any brainstorming you have already done on the topic. While you might be able to make a rough plan at the beginning, this will change as you do more reading and research. During the writing process, you may realise some ideas need to be further developed, or others removed so be prepared to update and change your plan as you write. But once you have an initial plan, it is much easier to adapt it and see where new things fit if your thinking does change. This is a back and forth process – the research will inform your plan, and your plan will inform your research. |
|
|
|
In planning your writing, it is helpful for you to think where you are heading before you set out, so that everything you write can have that end-point in mind, the main message that your assignment is working towards. What is the main point you want to argue or put across in this assignment? | You need to work out what to include, and what can be left out. It is impossible to cover everything in an assignment, and your lecturers will be looking for evidence of your ability to choose material and put it in a logical order. It is better to discuss fewer things in more depth than try and cover too many things in brief. | Always keep in mind the original assignment task. Keep referring back to it and check that your arguments/examples are relevant to it. |
|
Before you start searching the library for resources or information, you need to have some idea of what you are looking for - note down all the questions you can think of that might relate to your assignment title and criteria and list some keywords around the topic you need to research. By taking time to properly understand the assignment title or question and brainstorming for initial ideas, it can help you make informed decisions about what you need to read for a particular assignment. In this way, you can decide what information you need and then start gathering it. If left unplanned, the reading stage can swallow up huge amounts of time. Making intelligent decisions, based on your initial planning, about which sources to target, can help you to avoid spending time reading less relevant, inappropriate, or even completely irrelevant material. You will be much more efficient in your reading and your research if you have some idea of where your argument is headed. You can then search for evidence for the points in your tentative plan while you are reading and researching |
||
|
Download a copy here or click on the image above. |
Assignment Planning - Guidelines This template is designed to assist you with the collection and organisation of information into your notes and to plan the structure of your work before you start writing your first draft. The Assignment Planning - Guidelines has four stages:
|
Keep up to date on any library news and resources by following @NCILibrary on
Communications from the Library: Please note all communications from the library, concerning renewal of books, overdue books and reservations will be sent to your NCI student email account.