Writing the Best College Assignments

How to Write the Best College Assignments

When it comes to writing assignments, it is difficult to find a conceptualized guide with clear and simple tips that are easy to follow. That’s exactly what this guide will provide: few simple tips on how to write great assignments, right when you need them. Some of these points will probably be familiar to you, but there is no harm in being reminded of the most important things before you start writing the assignments, which are usually determining on your credits.                  

The most important aspects: Outline and Introduction

Preparation is the key to success, especially when it comes to academic assignments. It is recommended to always write an outline before you start writing the actual assignment. The outline should include the main points of discussion, which will keep you focused throughout the work and will make your key points clearly defined. Outlining the assignment will save you a lot of time because it will organize your thoughts and make your literature searches much easier. The outline will also help you to create different sections and divide up the word count between them, which will make the assignment more organized.

The introduction is the next important part you should focus on. This is the part that defines the quality of your assignment in the eyes of the reader. The introduction must include a brief background on the main points of discussion, the purpose of developing such work and clear indications on how the assignment is being organized. Keep this part brief, within one or two paragraphs.

Practical tips on assignment writing

Here are some practical tips that will keep your work focused and effective:

-        Critical thinking – Academic writing has to be characterized by critical thinking, not only to provide the work with the needed level, but also because it takes part in the final mark.

-        Continuity of ideas – When you get to the middle of assignment, things can get confusing. You have to make sure that the ideas are flowing continuously within and between paragraphs, so the reader will be enabled to follow the argument easily. Dividing the work in different paragraphs is very important for this purpose.

-        Usage of ‘you’ and ‘I’ – According to the academic writing standards, the assignments should be written in an impersonal language, which means that the usage of ‘you’ and ‘I’ should be avoided. The only acceptable way of building your arguments is by using opinions and evidence from authoritative sources.

-        Referencing – this part of the assignment is extremely important and it takes a big part in the final mark. Make sure to use either Vancouver or Harvard referencing systems, and use the same system in the bibliography and while citing work of other sources within the text. 

-        Usage of examples – A clear understanding on your assignment’s topic should be provided by comparing different sources and identifying their strengths and weaknesses in an objective manner. This is the part where you should show how the knowledge can be applied into practice.

-        Numbering and bullets – Instead of using numbering and bullets, the academic writing style prefers the usage of paragraphs.

-        Including figures and tables – The figures and tables are an effective way of conveying information to the reader in a clear manner, without disturbing the word count. Each figure and table should have clear headings and you should make sure to mention their sources in the bibliography.

-        Word count – the word count of your assignment mustn't be far above or far below the required word count. The outline will provide you with help in this aspect, so make sure to plan the work in order to keep it within the boundaries.

The importance of an effective conclusion

The conclusion of your assignment is your ultimate chance to provide powerful arguments that will impress the reader. The conclusion in academic writing is usually expressed through three main parts:

-        Stating the context and aim of the assignment

-        Summarizing the main points briefly

-        Providing final comments with consideration of the future (discussing clear examples of things that can be done in order to improve the situation concerning your topic of discussion).

Motivation

Overcoming test anxiety

Overcoming test anxiety

Most students experience some level of anxiety during an exam

However, when anxiety affects exam performance it has become a problem.

General preparation/building confidence:

Review your personal situation and skills
Academic counselors can help you in these areas, or refer to our Guides on the topic:

§ Developing good study habits and strategies

§  Managing time

      (dealing with procrastination, distractions, laziness)

§  Organizing material to be studied and learned

     Take a step by step approach to build a strategy and not get overwhelmed

§  Outside pressures 

     success/failure consequences (grades, graduation), peer pressure, competitiveness, etc. 

§  Reviewing your past performance on tests
to improve and learn from experience

Test preparation to reduce anxiety:

§  Approach the exam with confidence:
Use whatever strategies you can to personalize success: visualization, logic, talking to yourself, practice, team work, journaling, etc.
View the exam as an opportunity to show how much you've studied and to receive a reward for the studying you've done

§  Be prepared!
Learn your material thoroughly and organize what materials you will need for the test. Use a checklist

§  Choose a comfortable location for taking the test
with good lighting and minimal distractions

§  Allow yourself plenty of time,
especially to do things you need to do before the test and still get there a little early

§  Avoid thinking you need to cram just before

§  Strive for a relaxed state of concentration
Avoid speaking with any fellow students who have not prepared, who express negativity, who will distract your preparation

§  A program of exercise
is said to sharpen the mind

§  Get a good night's sleep 
the night before the exam

§  Don't go to the exam with an empty stomach
Fresh fruits and vegetables are often recommended to reduce stress.
Stressful foods can include processed foods, artificial sweeteners, carbonated soft drinks, chocolate, eggs, fried foods, junk foods, pork, red meat, sugar, white flour products, chips and similar snack foods, foods containing preservatives or heavy spices

§  Take a small snack, or some other nourishment
to help take your mind off of your anxiety.
Avoid high sugar content (candy) which may aggravate your condition

During the test:

§  Read the directions carefully

§  Budget your test taking time

§  Change positions to help you relax

§  If you go blank, skip the question and go on

§  If you're taking an essay test

       and you go blank on the whole test, pick a question and start writing. It may trigger the answer  in your mind

§  Don't panic
when students start handing in their papers. There's no reward for finishing first

Use relaxation techniques

If you find yourself tensing and getting anxious during the test:

Relax; you are in control. 
Take slow, deep breaths

Don't think about the fear
Pause: think about the next step and keep on task, step by step

Use positive reinforcement for yourself
Acknowledge that you have done, and are doing, your best

Expect some anxiety
It's a reminder that you want to do your best and can provide energy
Just keep it manageable

Realize that anxiety can be a "habit" 
and that it takes practice to use it as a tool to succeed

Tips to Help Create a Positive Mental Attitude

Here are 8 Tips to Help Create

 a Positive Mental Attitude

1. Remember that you are powerful.

Most of the time we have no idea what we are supposed to be doing, or who we are supposed to be imitating. I say “imitating” because this is what we do: We conform to the external environment.

We play roles and cover up our true selves by identifying with “things” that end up defining who we think we are. I’m a doctor, a salesperson, a secretary, a lawyer; I’m sad, happy, lonely, or miserable. I’m angry, jealous, afraid, and I can’t help it—it’s who I am.

The truth is, though, we are none of those things. They are symptoms of the sleepwalking disease. You are more important than any label. We are not our professions. We are not our feelings. We are not our circumstances. We are not even our mind.

What we are is far greater, far superior, far more important, and far more mysterious than our conceptual mind tries to define. This is why we are far more powerful than we think we are.

2. Choose to embrace life.

Let go and embrace the moment, whether it contains an obstacle or an opportunity. Stop fussing over trivial matters and start focusing on what’s really important to you.

Don’t go through life expecting things to change. Life becomes hard and unfair when we decide to complain about things rather than trying to change them ourselves. Wake up to the truth that life is not a practice-run.

Be bold and courageous, and make decisions that benefit your growth. Put yourself on your imaginary death-bed and realize that time stands still for no one. Start as soon as possible to make any necessary changes you may need to.

Take the first step before more time gradually passes by while you stand still stagnating. Your choice. Your life. Your responsibility. Your power.

3. Realize that you get to control your reactions.

We create our outside reality by the thoughts and beliefs we maintain about life in general. What we believe in our inner world, we see in our outer world—not the other way around.

We all have problems, and we’re often tested by circumstances outside of our control. Even though you may not be in control of what’s going on outside of you, you most definitely can control your reaction to those situations.

We have the power because our inner world (cause) affects the influence we allow the outer world (effect) to have on us. So next time you hear somebody mention that you have great personal power, know they are 100% correct. You have more control than you think.

4. Know that no one is better qualified.

We place far too much emphasis on other people’s opinions about us, often to the exclusion of our own. This takes away from our own personal power. No matter what anybody says about you, it doesn’t hold any significance to who you truly are unless you identify or agree with them.

Stop identifying with other people’s opinions and become aware of how you see yourself. Nobody knows you better than you do. Never accept another person’s reality as your own. Always believe that you can achieve anything you put your mind to. And, most importantly, never let another person’s opinion of you affect what you believe about yourself.

5. Believe that you are more than enough.

If you have to compare yourself to someone else, let it be a person who is less fortunate, and let it be a lesson to learn just how abundant your life truly is. It’s just a matter of perspective.

You may find that you are not entirely grateful for what you possess. You may believe that you need more than you have right now to be happy. If this is the case, then you are absolutely right—you will need more, and you will continue to need more.

This cycle will perpetuate as long as your mind believes it to be true. If you focus on what you have, and not on what you lack, you will always have enough, because you will always be enough.

6. Love yourself.

You have arrived. Everything you need is right here. Cut out the distractions, open your eyes, and see that you already have everything in your possession to be happy, loved, and fulfilled.

It’s not out there. It never was out there. It’s in the same place it was since the day you were born. It’s just been covered up by all the external things you have identified with over the years.

Be yourself. Love yourself completely and accept everything that you are. You are beautiful. Believe it, and most importantly, remind yourself often.

7. Stay cool.

If someone cuts us off in traffic or skips the queue at our local cinema, we may feel our blood pressure begin to rise and feel the need to react in a negative manner. We get uptight with other people’s actions, and in the end we punish ourselves for their bad behavior.

We and up losing control over our own actions because of the way other people act. But we are responsible for our own action, regardless of how rude other people may act. If it’s hard to stay cool, remember: you are the one who loses in the end, if you lose the lesson.

8. Journey well.

We know life is about the journey and not the arrival. We don’t need to arrive if we accept that we are already here.

Be content with where you are today and don’t make the mistake of putting off being happy because you are waiting for the right moment to shine. Sometimes it takes a conscious effort to enjoy the journey.

Not everyone woke up this morning and not everyone will go to bed tonight. Life has no guarantees. Every minute you are living is a blessing that has to be experienced in the moment. It’s not always easy, but it’s always an option—a choice. Your choice

How to be a Successful College Student

Are you thinking about enrolling in college? You may already have an idea of what it takes to be a successful college student, such as creating good study habits, developing test-taking strategies, and perfecting your time management and computer skills. However, there are five other important ways to become a successful college student, and we’ve let you in on the secrets below.

1.  Drive and motivation

You must be driven and motivated to achieve your goal when you enroll in college. You have to really want to earn your degree and be prepared to do anything it takes to reach your educational goals. College is not going to be easy; if it was easy, everyone would be walking around with a college degree. The best things in life are the things you have to work hard for and achieve on your own. 

2.  Persistence

You must be able to keep going in the face of adversity. This can be a challenging assignment; there are many things that can go wrong while you’re enrolled in school, such as the loss of a loved one and the inability to access the Internet from home. You must persist and keep striving for success in your courses—do not let an obstacle become a wall.

It is important to connect with your student advisor whenever an issue arises that you need help working through; they are there for you and will help you develop a roadmap to your graduation, help you evenly balance your coursework, as well as anything else that could come up. There is nothing like the feeling of crossing the stage on graduation day after you have worked hard to obtain your degree—do not give up before you get a chance to know what this feeling is like.

3. Positive thinking skills

It is really easy to slip into a pattern of negative thoughts, like the test was too hard, there is too much reading or there is no way to get everything done. You must change from negative thinking to positive, solution-oriented thinking. Instead of thinking you are going to fail the test, think about how the test is going to be challenging and think of ways to prepare.

4.  Support

When you enroll in college, you need to find and rely on your support system; this can be your family, friends, your deans or Classmates.

This will help alleviate the stress you feel when you really do need some assistance and support

Remember: you are not in this alone.

5. Organization skills

In order to be successful in college, you must become organized. This can mean many different things: scheduling your time, creating an assignment calendar, utilizing to-do lists, using binders with tabs or creating folders on the computer for each class. Being organized can help alleviate the stress that you feel; when you know where to go to access everything and have a plan in place, you will feel more relaxed.

10 Super Simple Ways to Be a Better Writer

Do you enjoy writing? Does it come naturally to you? Do colleagues praise you for your crisp, articulate, Nobel Laureate-worthy email updates?

Congratulations! Because if you work in an office or run your own business, you’re likely to spend about a quarter of your workday doing one thing:

Writing.

Oh, and that’s just the portion of your day that you’ll spend writing emails.

That figure doesn’t account for reports, proposals, best practice guidelines, blog posts, Facebook updates, tweets, texts, chapters of your forthcoming memoirs, that TED Talk script you’ve been tinkering with for the last 18 months, and the occasional hand-written “thank you” note.

We live in an era where the written word is King.

And if you’re going to write 40,000+ words this year—at minimum!—you might as well learn how to do your absolute best.

Here are 10 ways to become a better writer, right away.

(The kind of writer whose words get results.)

1. Get Clear

Before you sit down to write (anything), ask yourself: Why am I writing?

What’s the desired outcome that you want with this particular piece of writing?

Are you writing to brighten someone’s morning? Motivate your team to head back into the ring after a crushing defeat? Encourage folks to say “yes” to your new meeting time?

The best writing tends to have one clear, ringing intention. Choose it—and commit.

2. Get to the Point

In the business world, brevity is gold. 

If you’re struggling to get to the point, take a moment to think about the person (or people) that you’re writing to, and create a roadmap for yourself by filling in the following statements:

The reason I am writing is:

What I want you to know is:

What I want you to do is:

Get those three points down pat. Then refer to them as you write to keep yourself on track.

3. Strip it Down

Albert Einstein once said, “If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself.”

Imagine that you’re writing for an audience of little kids—impatient, easily distracted, with zero tolerance for jargon.

You can practice—out in the real world—by having actual conversations with kids. Try explaining to a toddler what you do for a living, for starters. You’ll see, very quickly, if your elevator pitch is clear and intriguing—or not. 

4. Write From Your Happy Place

Ever notice how when you’re stressed out and trying to “force” yourself to write something amazing, it almost never works?

Research shows that getting yourself into a happy, relaxed state—think: taking a shower—is the key to creativity-on-command. When your body is experiencing a rush of dopamine, that’s when those a-ha! moments (“Ooh! I’ve got the perfect title for my presentation!”) tend to happen.

Can’t take a shower at work? No worries. There are plenty of other ways to get into your happy place before you sit down to write. Play energizing music, light a scented candle, bounce on an exercise ball—whatever it takes to help you unclench and relax!

5. Give Yourself a Time Limit

For most people, the longer you fuss over a piece of writing, the worse it gets.

When you have a clear reason for writing and feel happy and relaxed (see tip #4), your first draft is usually best. There’s no need to endlessly chew it over.

Clearing out your inbox, for example? Give yourself a time limit—say, two minutes per email—to prevent yourself from slipping into analysis-paralysis.

6. Ask, “What Would My Hero Write?”

If you’re struggling with a sensitive piece of writing where hitting the right emotional tone is essential, try channeling one of your personal heroes.

“What would Mister Rogers write in this situation?” “What would the Dalai Lama say?” “How would Richard Branson handle this email chain?”

7. Close Strong

Lost in a sea of never-ending email threads? Questions building upon questions, never leading to decisive action?

Try taking a decisive stance, rather than wrapping up your writing with an open-ended prompt.

Think: “In my opinion, the following approach is the best choice. If you agree, write back to say ‘yes,’ and I’ll get started.”

Not: “So, what do you guys think? I’m open to everyone’s input!”

8. Use the 7 Magic Words

“All I need from you right now.”

Kick these words up to the top of your correspondence, as in:

“I’m so excited that you’re going to deliver a keynote at our annual conference.

All I need from you right now is the title of your talk, a headshot, and your bio.”

These seven magic words give your reader a clear assignment, and put them at ease. (“Ahhh—that’s all? No problem. Done.”)

You can always add more information down below, if necessary (“Here are a few other things to know—for later.”)

9. Say it Out Loud

Whenever possible, read your writing out loud.

Does it sound like it was written by a human being or a cyborg? Are you stumbling over excessively long sentences? Catch any typos or duplicate words? If so, tweak and read it out loud again.

If reading aloud isn’t possible—because you don’t want to disturb your colleagues—try lightly tapping a finger on your desk or thigh as you silently read each word in your head. (It’s bizarre, but it works almost as well as reading out loud.)

10. Be a Daymaker

David Wagner, CEO of Juut Salonspa, often speaks about being a “Daymaker”—not just going through the motions at work, but actively choosing to be a source of positivity and encouragement. Choosing to make someone’s day.

With everything you write—every email, every text, every tweet—you have an opportunity to make someone’s day. (Or not.)

Often, all it takes is a few words of kindness, a thoughtful compliment, or the kind of insightful reminder that leaves people thinking, “Yeah. I needed that.”

Set “Daymaker” as your barometer of success—for your writing, and for everything you do.

Whether your writing is “perfect” or not, your intent will shine through.