LibGuides: Assignment Calculator: Assignment Calculator

Your Calendar

Designs a plan with suggested due dates to help you finish your assignment on time.
Outlines a step-by-step process for researching and writing.
Provides guidance for each step of the process.

Remember: Each project is different, if you need additional help please contact the Writing Center, the Library, or your instructor.

To get started, enter the date that you can begin working on your assignment, as well as the assignment's due date.

Start Date:

End Date:

Read your assignment carefully.
Get clarity from your instructor if you have any questions.
Know your purpose and audience.
Look for key words in the assignment that indicate the type of writing your instructor expects.
Locate other hints.

Scholarly Sources: Written by experts (scholars, professors, researchers) in a given field, scholarly sources are highly specialized and often individual research projects that include methodology and theory and may undergo a peer-review process.
Trade/Professional Publications: Written by professionals in the field or journalists working for the publisher, these publications report on industry trends, new products or techniques, and discipline-specific news.
Popular Magazines: Written by journalists or freelance writers, popular magazines inform readers about issues of common interest to the general public.
Newspapers: Are written for the general public and have different sections (ranging from investigative reporting to editorials). Look carefully at the section and what is being said in the articles to distinguish the types of articles you have found.
Primary Sources: The terms \"primary\" or \"original\" sources are used to describe several different types of sources. In the sciences, original research or primary sources describe an original article. In the humanities, a primary source could be the text of a novel or an artifact such as a diary or map.

When trying to decide if a source is sufficient for your topic, consider the author, type of authority needed, accuracy, and publication date in an initial evaluation.
A critical analysis will help you determine if you have the right information for your context.
Consider the audience or purpose of the source as well as relevance to your specific research project.

Read the Abstract and skim the Introduction (look specifically for the thesis statement) and Conclusion or Discussion section. These sections should tell you what the authors intended to prove, quickly how they went about it and what happened with the particular study.
Read the Methods and Results section. These are likely the most complex parts of the article. But, these sections will detail the author(s) methodology and the results of their research.
Re-read and take notes. As you are reading, try to answer the follow questions about the article:
- How does this research fit into what is previously known? How is this research unique?
- How was the study designed?
- How is this study relevant?
- Who does the author represent and how was the study funded?

The key to a great paper is in the planning. Figure out what you are going to write about before you begin writing.
Once you have planned out your ideas, start drafting or writing. Refer back to your plan, but don't be afraid to change it when needed.
Think of your writing as a means of entering into the scholarly conversation, using what others have said as a backdrop to your views.
The best writing makes clear connections among its different parts. What you say in one sentence both sets up what is to come in the next sentence and logically follows what was said in the previous sentence. The same should be true of your paragraphs.

Set your paper aside for a few hours or a day in order to read it more objectively
Read your paper out loud to ensure what you have written sounds correct.
Ask yourself:
- How well have I made my argument?
- How can I improve it?
- Are sentences too vague and ambiguous?
- Have I tied it all together well?

Characteristics of academic writing often include:
- Formal tone.
- Use of third-person rather than first-person perspective.
- A clear focus on the research problem under investigation, and
- Precise word choice.

Helps you avoid plagiarizing.
Allows the reader to find your research sources. Think of citations as footprints leading the reader through some of the steps you took to reach your conclusions.
Provides evidence for your arguments and adds credibility to your work by demonstrating that you have sought out and considered a variety of viewpoints on a given topic, and
Is standard practice for scholars and students engaged in written academic conversations