Understand your assignment

Nothing is worse than writing a great paper, but one that has not

answered the assignment

The first step is to understand your assignment

Know exactlywhat you are writing

Know exactlywhy you are writing

Know exactlywho you are writing it for

Carefully reading your assignment will help you to know what is being asked of you.

Carefully reading your assignment will help you to know what is being asked of you.

Look for topic guidelines having to do with length, style or intended audience.

Also pay attention to the type of information sources allowed or preferred.

For example, some assignments will require you to use academic, peer-reviewed articles only.

These details are meant to guide you and help you focus on the most important parts of an assignment.

TIPS & TRICKS: TASK ANALYSIS

TASK ANALYSIS

Use key verbs in assignment to clarify tasks

COMPARE: emphasize similarities

CONTRAST: emphasize differences

DEFINE: give clear, concise meanings of concepts

DISCUSS: consider different possibilities

LIST: state points clearly and in concise form

EVALUATE: Judge advantages and disadvantages

EXPLAIN: clarify by stating cause and effects or reasons

PROVE: establish truth through factual evidence and logic

SUMMARIZE: restate another’s point in your own words

TRACE: describe historical sequence or development

My assignment does NOT have any of those key verbs

Ask yourself (and the assignment) these questions

What questions and claims are explicit in the assignment?

What questions and claims are implicit in the assignment?

Which words in the directions command my attention? Why?

What DO I understand about the assignment?

What questions do I still have? Where can I go for answers?

Lets analyze an example assignment that has no action verbs to guide you.

EXAMPLE ASSIGNMENTWithout key verbs

In her speech “What Does a Woman Need to Know?” Adrienne Rich uses the word “power” in several different senses. What are the different types of power Rich describes? Do you find these different definitions of “power” useful? Why or why not? In what ways do her examples of power resemble or differ from your own experiences?

What are the different types of power Rich

describes?

In the first question, we see the instructor is interested in Rich’s definitions of power. She has not asked for your own opinions yet, so it appears that the task that matches most closely is “summarize”—restate the author’s ideas.

Do you find these different definitions of “power” useful? Why or

why not?

The next two questions are related; you are asked to say why you do or don’t find Rich’s definitions useful— in other words, to “evaluate” her definitions.

In what ways do her examples of power

resemble or differ from your own experiences?

In the final question, you are asked how Rich’s examples resemble or differ from your experience—in other words, to “compare” the similarities and “contrast” the differences.

question

How can you tie the parts—summary, evaluation, comparison—together in a unified piece?

MORE TIPS & TRICKS

MORE TIPS and TRICKS

Ask for a written copy of the assignment

Ask for model papers

Clarify the expectations and limits of the assignment

Relate the assignment to real world audience beyond your instructor

Understand your assignment