Process of Writing Assignments

Hi Guys!

The process of writing an assignment for university is a long process so making sure you start early is extremely important. Going through the process in small bursts helps it to feel manageable and also means you're well focused on what you are doing. Today I thought I would share with you the process that I use.


Step 1 - Pick a Question

Even before I read the texts I think about what question I want to answer. You may have 2 or 3 potential questions that you want to do and this is fine in the early stages. Picking your question before reading the text helps to focus your active reading (close reading as you go along).


Step 2 - Reading

As you have already picked a question it will be easier to gather evidence for your question while you read, rather than you having to flick through later when you are doing your plan. Also lectures and seminars will help to get inspiration from others.

Step 3 - Look for Evidence

I use the library system to look for anything that remotely relates to the question I have picked. At this stage I don't look at the actual sources in detail I just quickly get them together. I try to get as many sources as possible so I know that I have a wide range to choose from. I tend to use most of them and only occasionally don't use one as it doesn't really relate to the question. I normally put them on google drive or in an email to myself so I don't lose them.

Step 4 - Highlighting Sources

With this step I look at my sources in more detail. I look at each article or book individually, highlighting or making notes of anything relevant to the question I have chosen. I also make a note of anything that is said in more than one article, especially if they disagree as this will help with cross referencing. Also if I have a lot of sources then I write a small paragraph giving the main point that the article is making and what different elements are relevant to my question. This helps to make it easier to find evidence when making the plan.

Step 5 - Writing a Plan

Everybody writes plan different, but I personally like to write quite an extensive plan so it is easier when writing the essay. I use a lot of colour to draw attention to certain things. For example I write all of my quotes from secondary research in green so that I can quickly look through to see if I have enough and which areas are lacking in research. I also make sure I know exactly what each paragraph is so I do not go off topic too much. I generally write too many points so that I have plenty to put into my essay. This will help to make sure that I reach the word count and also will make sure that I don't ramble. Sometimes when writing my essay I do take away points if I find that they don't fit or flow right.

Step 6 - Writing the Assignment

As crazy as it sounds to me this is the easiest step. You have all the information that you need and your plan next to you on the desk all you have to do is write it! It normally find that by the time I get to this step I am feeling confident and am ready to start writing. I usually write my essay in one sitting as I like to just get it over and done with and I find that it generally flows better. It usually takes around 2 hours to write an essay, but I can sometimes do it in less. I purely just write the essay and try not to pay attention too much to the word count as you can easily cut this down when editing.

Step 7 - Editing

I usually go about 100 words over the word count, but this can easily cut down by playing around with sentences. I usually print it off and mark it like a teacher would. This helps me to understand exactly which changes I have made and which I still have to do when I'm editing it on word. I usually first focus on changing some phrases so it take up less of the word count. You would not believe how much my word count decreases when I cut all of the times I write 'In order to' from my essay. I then go through and ready my essay to make sure it makes sense and doesn't stray from the question. Finally before submitting it I do one final check to make sure there are no typos or spelling mistakes.

I hope this has helped some of you if you have assignments coming up.

Thanks for stopping by! :)