University life is much better than school life in plenty of ways, but it also comes with its fair share of hurdles. Writing assignment papers and essays throughout the semester is not uncommon at all.

If you have taken admission in DU SOL, then it is really important for you to pay attention to your assignments as these are a very vital part of your final assessments. You cannot back out of writing these papers either, as they constitute a hefty part of your grades. Any tardiness in submitting papers carries a very real risk of failing the subject.

That’s why students need to be able to write high-quality assignment papers in order to get good passing grades and be eligible to get their degrees. This article will shine some light on tips to improve the quality of the assignment papers.

10 Tips to Improve Assignment Papers for University Students

  • Understand what is Being Asked of You

Assignments are not dull work that professors assign to students without a second thought. They are much more than that. They are supposed to be a test of a student’s skill and knowledge regarding a particular topic. 

Professors assign these tasks to measure something tangible, and they are obligated to explain to the students what is being asked of them. In fact, some professors even provide pointers and instructions when they assign the paper to the students.

If they don’t provide such details, it is the student’s right to ask for that information, and the teachers must provide it. Details that professors may provide are:

  • The target audience of the assignment
  • The purpose of the assignment
  • The grading criteria
  • Information about appropriate resources

And there could be more things as well. When such details are known, students have an easier time creating an assignment.

  • Plan Out Your Approach

What is the deadline for your assignment? How much time do you have to complete it? These are important questions as they decide how much time you need to allocate to different parts of your assignment.

Creating an assignment consists of:

  • Doing research
  • Gathering data
  • Writing a draft
  • Proofreading
  • Editing

You need to plan in advance how much time you are going to delegate to each task. Let’s assume you have a week to do the assignment. A standard plan would allocate three days combined for research and data collection, two days to write the draft, and then another two days to proofread and edit the draft. 

Following a plan and allocating your time between tasks effectively is a great method to create good assignments without feeling rushed or pressed for time. No good assignments are ever made on the day before the deadline.

  • Conduct Your Research Using Multiple Sources

You have asked your professor for details regarding the assignment, and you have also made a plan to tackle the assignment. Now it is time to start researching and gathering relevant data.

Now a common mistake that students can make is to read only two or three research papers and think it is enough for research. However, this carries a risk.

When your sources are few, there is a greater chance for you to get affected by their opinions and develop a biased view of the topic. 

For example, if you only read some research papers, your opinions will be skewed towards the academic aspect. If you read news and articles on the topic, then your opinions will tilt toward the social aspect. But reading both will let you develop an unbiased view of both sides.

An objective study without bias is more valuable compared to a study that is skewed in favor of one point of view. In research, bias is considered a systematic error as it carries the possibility of misrepresenting results.

  • Write Clearly and Formally

Assignments in universities are usually research projects. That’s why they are considered to be academic writing. In academic writing, it is important for you to keep an authentic and formal tone.

That means that you cannot use slang, colloquial language (such as “gonna” and “wanna”), or make jokes of any kind in your assignment. 

You should also maintain a clear and straightforward writing style so that your readers are able to understand what you want to convey. If you do end up writing something difficult, you may need to rephrase it to make it clearer.

Paraphrasing can be done in multiple ways, but if you are short on time, then an online sentence rephraser can help you out. Online tools are usually free, and quite a lot of them do not require accounts. 

However, before relying on online paraphrasers, do check your institute’s guidelines and see if they have allowed or forbidden the use of such tools. Just to be sure, double-check with your professor as well.

  • Get Help If Necessary

Sometimes the topic of the assignment may be a tad too difficult for you to tackle alone. It could be for various reasons such as:

  • The topic is new to you
  • The topic is slightly more advanced than your current level
  • Your understanding of the topic is lacking.

And that is fine; you are a student, and you are here to learn. The purpose of the assignments is to check how much the student has learned. This is just another opportunity to learn more.

While you are conducting your research, every time you come across a difficult concept, make a note of it. Keep a notebook in which you have listed your data and findings, as well as anything you didn’t understand.

Go to your professor or a senior and ask them for help. Ask them to explain what you did not understand during your research. These are people who have more knowledge and experience than you. 

If you make a request, they may help you out. In the case of your own instructor, they are obligated to help you when it comes to explaining concepts and new information. 

With a good understanding of your subject matter, you will be able to make a better assignment paper.

  • Join a Study Group

University cliques and friend groups are more than just people you hang out with to have a good time. They are also your partners in group projects and may become colleagues in your professional life. 

You can join a study group to tackle the assignment paper. Studying in groups has a variety of benefits, according to Oxford Learning. If you find a study group whose timings match yours and they are serious and focused, then join it by all means.

By studying together, students can teach others the concepts that they know best and learn about those that they know about less. It is great for testing and improving your own comprehension, and it is motivating as well. Some people just have a harder time concentrating alone, so an environment where everyone is studying is conducive to their concentration.

You may learn many things that you didn’t know about and use them to improve your assignment papers.

  • Create an Outline before Writing

When all your research and data collection is done, you are ready to start writing your assignment paper. The first thing you should do is create an outline for your paper.

Outlines are necessary for an effective and high-quality assignment. When you create an outline, you are mapping out what needs to be said and what doesn’t. It lets you stay focused and provides you with direction. Also Read | How to Be Focused on Studies

You may have already experienced getting detracted from your topic and saying a lot of irrelevant things in order to meet a word count. Creating outlines saves you from that hassle. 

When you already know what you need to write, you can finish writing faster as well. The entire process speeds up, and you have more time to do the post-processing of your draft.

Having more time to edit your draft can only improve the quality of your assignment and increase the chances of getting a better grade.

  • Cite Your Sources

Since university assignment papers count as academic writing, it is necessary for students to cite any sources they have used information and ideas from.

If you do not cite your sources and still use data from them, then that counts as plagiarism. Universities do not tolerate plagiarism, and they have strict mandates on how to deal with plagiarized content and the plagiarizer themselves. 

The most common punishment is that the assignment with duplicate content is given a failing grade. The student who committed plagiarism is usually warned if it is their first offense, but frequent offenders are expelled.

To avoid this outcome, students should always provide a bibliography at the end of their and provide an in-text citation whenever they use content from those sources.

  • Take a Break

When all is said and done, you should take a break instead of immediately proofreading your work. This is essential for creating a good assignment. 

When you have just finished writing something, you feel a sense of accomplishment at finishing an important task. And at that instant, you are psychologically averse to seeing any flaws in your work.

If you start proofreading right there and then, your brain will simply gloss over your mistakes, and your proofreading will be futile.

That’s why take a break and put down the assignment for a day or half a day. Take a rest and go out and do something you enjoy. You need to do something relaxing in order to reset your fatigue from writing.

When you have freshened up, and your mind has basically reset to neutral from the “studying phase,” only then can you proofread effectively.

  • Proofread and Edit

Proofreading is essential for creating quality assignment papers. People make plenty of small mistakes in their writing. Such mistakes get overlooked during the actual writing process. Proofreading, however, is very helpful in rooting out such mistakes.

Proofreading can be done either manually yourself or with the help of another person. But you can also use tools to proofread your work. There are a number of tools that can be used, but plagiarism checkers are the most important ones.

You already know what the consequences of plagiarism are, but you may ask, why should you check for plagiarism if you didn’t commit any? The answer to that is “Accidental Plagiarism”. This is a type of plagiarism that occurs unintentionally and is entirely coincidental in nature.

The bad thing is that it is treated just like intentional plagiarism. Since it can occur by chance, students need to check for it. This can be done easily using a plagiarism detector.

These are tools that can check written works for duplication against documents in their database and against online sources. They also generate reports that show exactly which part of your content was plagiarized and needs to be edited. They also provide links to the sources from which the content was copied.

Once proofreading and editing are done, you can pat yourself on the back for a job well done and turn in your assignment before the deadline.

Conclusion

University life is an important phase of student life. University students are adults who have responsibilities, and they have great aspirations. They need to be able to pass and get good grades in order to follow their ambitions.

Assignment papers and essays in universities form a large part of the grade especially if you talk about courses like MBA from IGNOU, and other such colleges; that’s why it is important for students to make sure that they create the best assignments they can.

The ten tips to improve the quality of the assignments discussed in this article range from writing tips to researching tips. By following these tips, university students can visibly improve their assignments.