Assignment research help

Plan

Before you begin

Planning for your assignments will help you get better marks and reduce anxiety.

Before you begin, make sure you know:

  • the due date
  • the length or word count of the assignment
  • the type of assignment (e.g. an essay, report, marketing strategy, etc)
  • the course learning objectives (found in your course outline).

If anything about the assignment is unclear to you then contact your tutor or lecturer.

For more help visit Te Taiako Student Learning website.

Analysing an assignment question

Understanding your assignment question will help you find the right information and structure for your assignment:

  1. Identify the instructional words - these are typically verbs and indicate what your assignment should do e.g. analyse, assess, outline.
  2. Identify the keywords / topics - these words will help form your information search strategy.
  3. Paraphrase the question - re-writing the question in your own words will help you better understand it.
  4. What limits does the question imply e.g. teenagers not children, causes not effects.

Example:

Briefly discuss the opportunities and threats which globalisation poses for the economy over the coming decade

Instructional words: discuss

Keywords: opportunities / threats, globalisation, economy

Limits: coming decade

Brainstorming

The goal of a brainstorm is to let your ideas flow freely and find a direction for your assignment. Focus on making connections between ideas and concepts rather than being too critical. There is no "right" way to brainstorm but it might be helpful to consider the following questions:

  • What do you already know about the topic, based on lectures, tutorials, and course readings?
  • What concepts or theories do you want to include?
  • How will you link your ideas?
  • What argument are you making?
  • Do you need to provide balance to the argument?