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Daniel Wong

30 Tips to Stop Procrastinating and Find Motivation to Do Homework

Updated on June 6, 2023 By Daniel Wong 44 Comments

To stop procrastinating on homework, you need to find motivation to do the homework in the first place.

But first, you have to overcome feeling too overwhelmed to even start.

You know what it feels like when everything hits you at once, right?

You have three tests to study for and a math assignment due tomorrow.

And you’ve got a history report due the day after.

You tell yourself to get down to work. But with so much to do, you feel overwhelmed.

So you procrastinate.

You check your social media feed, watch a few videos, and get yourself a drink. But you know that none of this is bringing you closer to getting the work done.

Does this sound familiar?

Don’t worry – you are not alone. Procrastination is a problem that everyone faces, but there are ways around it.

By following the tips in this article, you’ll be able to overcome procrastination and consistently find the motivation to do the homework .

So read on to discover 30 powerful tips to help you stop procrastinating on your homework.

Enter your email below to download a PDF summary of this article. The PDF contains all the tips found here, plus  3 exclusive bonus tips that you’ll only find in the PDF.

How to stop procrastinating and motivate yourself to do your homework.

Procrastination when it comes to homework isn’t just an issue of laziness or a lack of motivation .

The following tips will help you to first address the root cause of your procrastination and then implement strategies to keep your motivation levels high.

1. Take a quiz to see how much you procrastinate.

The first step to changing your behavior is to become more self-aware.

How often do you procrastinate? What kinds of tasks do you tend to put off? Is procrastination a small or big problem for you?

To answer these questions, I suggest that you take this online quiz designed by Psychology Today .

2. Figure out why you’re procrastinating.

Procrastination is a complex issue that involves multiple factors.

Stop thinking of excuses for not doing your homework , and figure out what’s keeping you from getting started.

Are you procrastinating because:

• You’re not sure you’ll be able to solve all the homework problems?
• You’re subconsciously rebelling against your teachers or parents?
• You’re not interested in the subject or topic?
• You’re physically or mentally tired?
• You’re waiting for the perfect time to start?
• You don’t know where to start?

Once you’ve identified exactly why you’re procrastinating, you can pick out the tips in this article that will get to the root of the problem.

3. Write down what you’re procrastinating on.

Students tend to procrastinate when they’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed.

But you might be surprised to discover that simply by writing down the specific tasks you’re putting off, the situation will feel more manageable.

It’s a quick solution, and it makes a real difference.

Give it a try and you’ll be less likely to procrastinate.

4. Put your homework on your desk.

Here’s an even simpler idea.

Many times, the hardest part of getting your homework done is getting started.

It doesn’t require a lot of willpower to take out your homework and put it on your desk.

But once it’s sitting there in front of you, you’ll be much closer to actually getting down to work.

5. Break down the task into smaller steps.

This one trick will make any task seem more manageable.

For example, if you have a history report to write, you could break it down into the following steps:

• Read the history textbook
• Do online research
• Organize the information
• Create an outline
• Write the introduction
• Write the body paragraphs
• Write the conclusion
• Edit and proofread the report

Focus on just one step at a time. This way, you won’t need to motivate yourself to write the whole report at one go.

This is an important technique to use if you want to study smart and get more done .

6. Create a detailed timeline with specific deadlines.

As a follow-up to Point #5, you can further combat procrastination by creating a timeline with specific deadlines.

Using the same example above, I’ve added deadlines to each of the steps:

• Jan 30 th : Read the history textbook
• Feb 2 nd : Do online research
• Feb 3 rd : Organize the information
• Feb 5 th : Create an outline
• Feb 8 th : Write the introduction
• Feb 12 th : Write the body paragraphs
• Feb 14 th : Write the conclusion
• Feb 16 th : Edit and proofread the report

Assigning specific dates creates a sense of urgency, which makes it more likely that you’ll keep to the deadlines.

7. Spend time with people who are focused and hardworking.

Jim Rohn famously said that you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

If you hang out with people who are motivated and hardworking, you’ll become more like them.

Likewise, if you hang out with people who continually procrastinate, you’ll become more like them too.

Motivation to do homework naturally increases when you surround yourself with the right people.

So choose your friends wisely. Find homework buddies who will influence you positively to become a straight-A student who leads a balanced life.

That doesn’t mean you can’t have any fun! It just means that you and your friends know when it’s time to get down to work and when it’s time to enjoy yourselves.

8. Tell at least two or three people about the tasks you plan to complete.

When you tell others about the tasks you intend to finish, you’ll be more likely to follow through with your plans.

This is called “accountability,” and it kicks in because you want to be seen as someone who keeps your word.

So if you know about this principle, why not use it to your advantage?

You could even ask a friend to be your accountability buddy. At the beginning of each day, you could text each other what you plan to work on that day.

Then at the end of the day, you could check in with each other to see if things went according to plan.

9. Change your environment .

Maybe it’s your environment that’s making you feel sluggish.

When you’re doing your homework, is your super-comfortable bed just two steps away? Or is your distracting computer within easy reach?

If your environment is part of your procrastination problem, then change it.

Sometimes all you need is a simple change of scenery. Bring your work to the dining room table and get it done there. Or head to a nearby café to complete your report.

10. Talk to people who have overcome their procrastination problem.

If you have friends who consistently win the battle with procrastination, learn from their experience.

What was the turning point for them? What tips and strategies do they use? What keeps them motivated?

Find all this out, and then apply the information to your own situation.

11. Decide on a reward to give yourself after you complete your task.

“Planned” rewards are a great way to motivate yourself to do your homework.

The reward doesn’t have to be something huge.

For instance, you might decide that after you finish 10 questions of your math homework, you get to watch your favorite TV show.

Or you might decide that after reading one chapter of your history textbook, you get to spend 10 minutes on Facebook.

By giving yourself a reward, you’ll feel more motivated to get through the task at hand.

12. Decide on a consequence you’ll impose on yourself if you don’t meet the deadline.

It’s important that you decide on what the consequence will be before you start working toward your goal.

As an example, you could tell your younger brother that you’ll give him $1 for every deadline you don’t meet (see Point #6).

Or you could decide that you’ll delete one game from your phone for every late homework submission.

Those consequences would probably be painful enough to help you get down to work, right?

13. Visualize success.

Take 30 seconds and imagine how you’ll feel when you finish your work.

What positive emotions will you experience?

Will you feel a sense of satisfaction from getting all your work done?

Will you relish the extra time on your hands when you get your homework done fast and ahead of time?

This simple exercise of visualizing success may be enough to inspire you to start doing your assignment.

14. Visualize the process it will take to achieve that success.

Even more important than visualizing the outcome is visualizing the process it will take to achieve that outcome.

Research shows that focusing on the process is critical to success. If you’re procrastinating on a task, take a few moments to think about what you’ll need to do to complete it.

Visualize the following:

• What resources you’ll need
• Who you can turn to for help
• How long the task will take
• Where you’ll work on the task
• The joy you’ll experience as you make progress

This kind of visualization is like practice for your mind.

Once you understand what’s necessary to achieve your goal, you’ll find that it’s much easier to get down to work with real focus. This is key to doing well in school .

15. Write down why you want to complete the task.

You’ll be more motivated when you’re clear about why you want to accomplish something.

To motivate yourself to do your homework, think about all the ways in which it’s a meaningful task.

So take a couple of minutes to write down the reasons. Here are some possible ones:

• Learn useful information
• Master the topic
• Enjoy a sense of accomplishment when you’ve completed the task
• Become a more focused student
• Learn to embrace challenges
• Fulfill your responsibility as a student
• Get a good grade on the assignment

16. Write down the negative feelings you’ll have if you don’t complete the task.

If you don’t complete the assignment, you might feel disappointed or discouraged. You might even feel as if you’ve let your parents or your teacher – or even yourself – down.

It isn’t wise to dwell on these negative emotions for too long. But by imagining how you’ll feel if you don’t finish the task, you’ll realize how important it is that you get to work.

17. Do the hardest task first.

Most students will choose to do the easiest task first, rather than the hardest one. But this approach isn’t effective because it leaves the worst for last.

It’s more difficult to find motivation to do homework in less enjoyable subjects.

As Brian Tracy says , “Eat that frog!” By this, he means that you should always get your most difficult task out of the way at the beginning of the day.

If math is your least favorite subject, force yourself to complete your math homework first.

After doing so, you’ll feel a surge of motivation from knowing it’s finished. And you won’t procrastinate on your other homework because it will seem easier in comparison.

(On a separate note, check out these tips on how to get better at math if you’re struggling.)

18. Set a timer when doing your homework.

I recommend that you use a stopwatch for every homework session. (If you prefer, you could also use this online stopwatch or the Tomato Timer .)

Start the timer at the beginning of the session, and work in 30- to 45-minute blocks.

Using a timer creates a sense of urgency, which will help you fight off your urge to procrastinate.

When you know you only have to work for a short session, it will be easier to find motivation to complete your homework.

Tell yourself that you need to work hard until the timer goes off, and then you can take a break. (And then be sure to take that break!)

19. Eliminate distractions.

Here are some suggestions on how you can do this:

• Delete all the games and social media apps on your phone
• Turn off all notifications on your phone
• Mute your group chats
• Archive your inactive chats
• Turn off your phone, or put it on airplane mode
• Put your phone at least 10 feet away from you
• Turn off the Internet access on your computer
• Use an app like Freedom to restrict your Internet usage
• Put any other distractions (like food, magazines and books unrelated to your homework) at the other end of the room
• Unplug the TV
• Use earplugs if your surroundings are noisy

20. At the start of each day, write down the two to three Most Important Tasks (MITs) you want to accomplish.

This will enable you to prioritize your tasks. As Josh Kaufman explains , a Most Important Task (MIT) is a critical task that will help you to get significant results down the road.

Not all tasks are equally important. That’s why it’s vital that you identify your MITs, so that you can complete those as early in the day as possible.

What do you most need to get done today? That’s an MIT.

Get to work on it, then feel the satisfaction that comes from knowing it’s out of the way.

21. Focus on progress instead of perfection.

Perfectionism can destroy your motivation to do homework and keep you from starting important assignments.

Some students procrastinate because they’re waiting for the perfect time to start.

Others do so because they want to get their homework done perfectly. But they know this isn’t really possible – so they put off even getting started.

What’s the solution?

To focus on progress instead of perfection.

There’s never a perfect time for anything. Nor will you ever be able to complete your homework perfectly. But you can do your best, and that’s enough.

So concentrate on learning and improving, and turn this into a habit that you implement whenever you study .

22. Get organized.

Procrastination is common among students who are disorganized.

When you can’t remember which assignment is due when or which tests you have coming up, you’ll naturally feel confused. You’ll experience school- and test-related stress .

This, in turn, will lead to procrastination.

That’s why it’s crucial that you get organized. Here are some tips for doing this:

• Don’t rely on your memory ; write everything down
• Keep a to-do list
• Use a student planner
• Use a calendar and take note of important dates like exams, project due dates, school holidays , birthdays, and family events
• At the end of each day, plan for the following day
• Use one binder or folder for each subject or course
• Do weekly filing of your loose papers, notes, and old homework
• Throw away all the papers and notes you no longer need

23. Stop saying “I have to” and start saying “I choose to.”

When you say things like “I have to write my essay” or “I have to finish my science assignment,” you’ll probably feel annoyed. You might be tempted to complain about your teachers or your school .

What’s the alternative?

To use the phrase “I choose to.”

The truth is, you don’t “have” to do anything.

You can choose not to write your essay; you’ll just run the risk of failing the class.

You can choose not to do your science assignment; you’ll just need to deal with your angry teacher.

When you say “I choose to do my homework,” you’ll feel empowered. This means you’ll be more motivated to study and to do what you ought to.

24. Clear your desk once a week.

Clutter can be demotivating. It also causes stress , which is often at the root of procrastination.

Hard to believe? Give it a try and see for yourself.

By clearing your desk, you’ll reduce stress and make your workspace more organized.

So set a recurring appointment to organize your workspace once a week for just 10 minutes. You’ll receive huge benefits in the long run!

25. If a task takes two minutes or less to complete, do it now.

This is a principle from David Allen’s bestselling book, Getting Things Done .

You may notice that you tend to procrastinate when many tasks pile up. The way to prevent this from happening is to take care of the small but important tasks as soon as you have time.

Here are some examples of small two-minute tasks that you should do once you have a chance:

• Replying to your project group member’s email
• Picking up anything on the floor that doesn’t belong there
• Asking your parents to sign a consent form
• Filing a graded assignment
• Making a quick phone call
• Writing a checklist
• Sending a text to schedule a meeting
• Making an online purchase that doesn’t require further research

26. Finish one task before starting on the next.

You aren’t being productive when you switch between working on your literature essay, social studies report, and physics problem set – while also intermittently checking your phone.

Research shows that multitasking is less effective than doing one thing at a time. Multitasking may even damage your brain !

When it comes to overcoming procrastination, it’s better to stick with one task all the way through before starting on the next one.

You’ll get a sense of accomplishment when you finish the first assignment, which will give you a boost of inspiration as you move on to the next one.

27. Build your focus gradually.

You can’t win the battle against procrastination overnight; it takes time. This means that you need to build your focus progressively.

If you can only focus for 10 minutes at once, that’s fine. Start with three sessions of 10 minutes a day. After a week, increase it to three sessions of 15 minutes a day, and so on.

As the weeks go by, you’ll become far more focused than when you first started. And you’ll soon see how great that makes you feel.

28. Before you start work, write down three things you’re thankful for.

Gratitude improves your psychological health and increases your mental strength .

These factors are linked to motivation. The more you practice gratitude, the easier it will be to find motivation to do your homework. As such, it’s less likely that you’ll be a serial procrastinator.

Before you get down to work for the day, write down three things you’re thankful for. These could be simple things like good health, fine weather, or a loving family.

You could even do this in a “gratitude journal,” which you can then look back on whenever you need a shot of fresh appreciation for the good things in your life.

Either way, this short exercise will get you in the right mindset to be productive.

29. Get enough sleep.

For most people, this means getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. And teenagers need 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night to function optimally.

What does sleep have to do with procrastination?

More than you might realize.

It’s almost impossible to feel motivated when you’re tired. And when you’re low on energy, your willpower is depleted too.

That’s why you give in to the temptation of Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube videos more easily when you’re sleep-deprived.

Here are ways to get more sleep , and sleep better too:

• Create a bedtime routine
• Go to sleep at around the same time every night
• Set a daily alarm as a reminder to go to bed
• Exercise regularly (but not within a few hours of bedtime)
• Make your bedroom as dark as possible
• Remove or switch off all electronic devices before bedtime
• Avoid caffeine at least six hours before bedtime
• Use an eye mask and earplugs

30. Schedule appointments with yourself to complete your homework.

These appointments are specific blocks of time reserved for working on a report, assignment, or project. Scheduling appointments is effective because it makes the task more “official,” so you’re more likely to keep the appointment.

For example, you could schedule appointments such as:

• Jan 25 th , 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm: Math assignment
• Jan 27 th , 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm: Online research for social studies project
• Jan 28 th , 4:30 pm – 5:00 pm: Write introduction for English essay

Transform homework procrastination into homework motivation

Procrastination is a problem we all face.

But given that you’ve read all the way to here, I know you’re committed to overcoming this problem.

And now that you’re armed with these tips, you have all the tools you need to become more disciplined and focused .

By the way, please don’t feel as if you need to implement all the tips at once, because that would be too overwhelming.

Instead, I recommend that you focus on just a couple of tips a week, and make gradual progress. No rush!

Over time, you’ll realize that your habit of procrastination has been replaced by the habit of getting things done.

Now’s the time to get started on that process of transformation. 🙂

Like this article? Please share it with your friends.

Images: Student and books , Homework , Group of students , Consequences , Why , Writing a list , Organized desk , Gratitude

January 19, 2016 at 11:53 am

Ur tips are rlly helpful. Thnkyou ! 🙂

January 19, 2016 at 1:43 pm

You’re welcome 🙂

August 29, 2018 at 11:21 am

Thanks very much

February 19, 2019 at 1:38 pm

The funny thing is while I was reading the first few steps of this article I was procrastinating on my homework….

November 12, 2019 at 12:44 pm

same here! but now I actually want to get my stuff done… huh

December 4, 2022 at 11:35 pm

May 30, 2023 at 6:26 am

October 25, 2023 at 11:35 am

fr tho i totally was but now I’m actually going to get started haha

June 6, 2020 at 6:04 am

I love your articles

January 21, 2016 at 7:07 pm

Thanks soo much. It’s almost like you could read my mind- when I felt so overwhelmed with the workload heap I had created for myself by procrastination, I know feel very motivated to tackle it out completely and replace that bad habit with the wonderful tips mentioned here! 🙂

January 21, 2016 at 8:04 pm

I’m glad to help 🙂

January 25, 2016 at 3:09 pm

You have shared great tips here. I especially like the point “Write down why you want to complete the task” because it is helpful to make us more motivated when we are clear about our goals

January 25, 2016 at 4:51 pm

Glad that you found the tips useful, John!

January 29, 2016 at 1:22 am

Thank you very much for your wonderful tips!!! ☺☺☺

January 29, 2016 at 10:41 am

It’s my joy to help, Kabir 🙂

February 3, 2016 at 12:57 pm

Always love your articles. Keep them up 🙂

February 3, 2016 at 1:21 pm

Thanks, Matthew 🙂

February 4, 2016 at 1:40 pm

There are quite a lot of things that you need to do in order to come out with flying colors while studying in a university away from your homeland. Procrastinating on homework is one of the major mistakes committed by students and these tips will help you to avoid them all and make yourself more efficient during your student life.

February 4, 2016 at 1:58 pm

Completely agreed, Leong Siew.

October 5, 2018 at 12:52 am

Wow! thank you very much, I love it .

November 2, 2018 at 10:45 am

You are helping me a lot.. thank you very much….😊

November 6, 2018 at 5:19 pm

I’m procrastinating by reading this

November 29, 2018 at 10:21 am

January 8, 2021 at 3:38 am

March 3, 2019 at 9:12 am

Daniel, your amazing information and advice, has been very useful! Please keep up your excellent work!

April 12, 2019 at 11:12 am

We should stop procrastinating.

September 28, 2019 at 5:19 pm

Thank you so much for the tips:) i’ve been procrastinating since i started high schools and my grades were really bad “F” but the tips have made me a straight A student again.

January 23, 2020 at 7:43 pm

Thanks for the tips, Daniel! They’re really useful! 😁

April 10, 2020 at 2:15 pm

I have always stood first in my class. But procrastination has always been a very bad habit of mine which is why I lost marks for late submission .As an excuse for finding motivation for studying I would spend hours on the phone and I would eventually procrastinate. So I tried your tips and tricks today and they really worked.i am so glad and thankful for your help. 🇮🇳Love from India🇮🇳

April 15, 2020 at 11:16 am

Well I’m gonna give this a shot it looks and sounds very helpful thank you guys I really needed this

April 16, 2020 at 9:48 pm

Daniel, your amazing information and advice, has been very useful! keep up your excellent work! May you give more useful content to us.

May 6, 2020 at 5:03 pm

nice article thanks for your sharing.

May 20, 2020 at 4:49 am

Thank you so much this helped me so much but I was wondering about like what if you just like being lazy and stuff and don’t feel like doing anything and you don’t want to tell anyone because you might annoy them and you just don’t want to add your problems and put another burden on theirs

July 12, 2020 at 1:55 am

I’ve read many short procrastination tip articles and always thought they were stupid or overlooking the actual problem. ‘do this and this’ or that and that, and I sit there thinking I CAN’T. This article had some nice original tips that I actually followed and really did make me feel a bit better. Cheers, diving into what will probably be a 3 hour case study.

August 22, 2020 at 10:14 pm

Nicely explain each tips and those are practical thanks for sharing. Dr.Achyut More

November 11, 2020 at 12:34 pm

Thanks a lot! It was very helpful!

November 15, 2020 at 9:11 am

I keep catching myself procrastinating today. I started reading this yesterday, but then I realized I was procrastinating, so I stopped to finish it today. Thank you for all the great tips.

November 30, 2020 at 5:15 pm

Woow this is so great. Thanks so much Daniel

December 3, 2020 at 3:13 am

These tips were very helpful!

December 18, 2020 at 11:54 am

Procrastination is a major problem of mine, and this, this is very helpful. It is very motivational, now I think I can complete my work.

December 28, 2020 at 2:44 pm

Daniel Wong: When you’re doing your homework, is your super-comfortable bed just two steps away? Me: Nope, my super-comfortable bed is one step away. (But I seriously can’t study anywhere else. If I go to the dining table, my mum would be right in front of me talking loudly on the phone with colleagues and other rooms is an absolute no. My mum doesn’t allow me to go outside. Please give me some suggestions. )

September 19, 2022 at 12:14 pm

I would try and find some noise cancelling headphones to play some classical music or get some earbuds to ignore you mum lol

March 1, 2021 at 5:46 pm

Thank you very much. I highly appreciate it.

May 12, 2023 at 3:38 am

This is great advice. My little niece is now six years old and I like to use those nice cheap child friendly workbooks with her. This is done in order to help her to learn things completely on her own. I however prefer to test her on her own knowledge however. After a rather quick demonstration in the lesson I then tend to give her two simple questions to start off with. And it works a treat. Seriously. I love it. She loves it. The exam questions are for her to answer on her own on a notepad. If she can, she will receive a gold medal and a box of sweets. If not she only gets a plastic toy. We do this all the time to help her understand. Once a week we spend up to thirty minutes in a math lesson on this technique for recalling the basic facts. I have had a lot of great success with this new age technique. So I’m going to carry on with it for now.

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Enter your email to unlock an extra $25 off an sat or act program, by submitting my email address. i certify that i am 13 years of age or older, agree to recieve marketing email messages from the princeton review, and agree to terms of use., 8 easy ways to finish your homework faster.

How many times have you found yourself still staring at your textbook around midnight (or later!) even when you started your homework hours earlier? Those lost hours could be explained by Parkinson’s Law, which states, “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” In other words, if you give yourself all night to memorize those geometry formulas for your quiz tomorrow, you’ll inevitably find that a 30 minute task has somehow filled your entire evening.

We know that you have more homework than ever. But even with lots and lots to do, a few tweaks to your study routine could help you spend less time getting more accomplished. Here are 8 steps to make Parkinson’s Law work to your advantage:

1. Make a list

This should be a list of everything that has to be done that evening. And we mean, everything—from re-reading notes from this morning’s history class to quizzing yourself on Spanish vocabulary.

2. Estimate the time needed for each item on your list

You can be a little ruthless here. However long you think a task will take, try shaving off 5 or 10 minutes. But, be realistic. You won’t magically become a speed reader.

Free SAT Practice Tests & Events

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3. Gather all your gear

Collect EVERYTHING you will need for the homework you are working on (like your laptop for writing assignments and pencils for problem sets). Getting up for supplies takes you off course and makes it that much harder to get back to your homework.

The constant blings and beeps from your devices can make it impossible to focus on what you are working on. Switch off or silence your phones and tablets, or leave them in another room until it’s time to take a tech break.

Read More: How to Calculate Your GPA

5. Time yourself

Noting how much time something actually takes will help you estimate better and plan your next study session.

6. Stay on task

If you’re fact checking online, it can be so easy to surf on over to a completely unrelated site. A better strategy is to note what information you need to find online, and do it all at once at the end of the study session.

7. Take plenty of breaks

Most of us need a break between subjects or to break up long stretches of studying. Active breaks are a great way to keep your energy up. Tech breaks can be an awesome way to combat the fear of missing out that might strike while you are buried in your work, but they also tend to stretch much longer than originally intended. Stick to a break schedule of 10 minutes or so.

8. Reward yourself! 

Finish early? If you had allocated 30 minutes for reading a biology chapter and it only took 20, you can apply those extra 10 minutes to a short break—or just move on to your next task. If you stay on track, you might breeze through your work quickly enough to catch up on some Netflix.

Our best piece of advice? Keep at it. The more you use this system, the easier it will become. You’ll be surprised by how much time you can shave off homework just by focusing and committing to a distraction-free study plan.

Stuck on homework?

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Homework Hacks: 8 Tips to Get It Done Faster

Homework is no fun, especially if you’ve got a full schedule. You only have a little bit of time and a little bit of energy. And it takes so long to get through it.

Not anymore. We’ve got some helpful homework hacks for you that will make doing your homework faster and less painful.

1. Plan Your Homework and Make a List

When you start your homework, you’ll probably jump right into the first thing on your mind or the first thing you pull out of your backpack, then work your way through the rest of your assignments. There’s a better way.

Figure out how much time you have to do homework, then list out all the different tasks that you have to do. Estimate how long it will take to complete each assignment to see if you need to allow yourself more time. Be realistic. Once your list is complete you can work straight through instead of stopping frequently to figure out what to do next. It will also be extremely gratifying to cross things off after each assignment you finish!

2. Get Out All the Books and Supplies You Need

While you’re working, you discover you need a calculator, you need a certain book, you need a new pencil, you ran out of paper… the list can go on.

Since you’ve now identified all your assignments, figure out everything you need to get each item done and bring it to your workspace so it’s there when you need it.

3. Find a Quiet Place to Work Without Distractions

Speaking of workspace, you probably prefer doing your homework in front of the TV, but that can actually be the biggest distraction of all. Sitting in front of the TV is probably slowing you down, making homework time seem much longer that it actually is.

Find a place that’s quiet, with as few distractions and clutter possible. Remember, the faster you get it done, the faster you can get back to fully enjoying Netflix.

4. Turn Off Your Phone

We know this is probably the last thing you want to hear. How can you live without your phone? But for a couple hours, its totally worth it. Every time you get a notification and check your phone, it breaks your focus. It then takes more brain power to get back on track to what you were working on.

5. Listen to Classical Music While Working

We know what you’re thinking… Classical music? Seriously?

However, classical music is great for background audio. There aren’t any lyrics or beats to distract your focus. And research has shown that students who listen to classical music score higher on tests than students who listen to other genres of music. So find some good classical playlist on Spotify, then celebrate with Queen Bey when you’re done.

6. Eat Snacks and Drink Water

At the end of a long day, you may be mentally and physically tired. If you go straight into homework it may take you a long time to finish and it won’t be your best work.

Having some light healthy snacks and drinking plenty of water helps revitalize your brain and body. Avoid soda, energy drinks, or sugary snacks that will only make you crash before you’re done.

7. Take Short Breaks in Between Homework Tasks

If you have a lot to do, you may feel the pressure to just work straight through hours and hours of homework. But this will likely end up slowing you down, prolonging the entire session.

Do your work in short sprints. Go hard at a task, then take a quick break to stretch and walk around. It’ll re-energize your mind and body to keep going. For starters, try working for 25 minutes, then taking a 5-minute break.

8. Reward Yourself After You’re Finished

Homework isn’t always fun. But negativity can slow you down.

Our brains work off of reward systems. If you give yourself a reward when finishing your homework, it makes it a lot easier to start your homework the next time and you’ll get through it faster. Rewards could be being able to watch a show, eat ice cream, play a game, or going out and doing something fun.

Now that you’ve got all these tips, go get your homework done faster than ever before. It may be hard at first, but keep using these tips and it’ll get easier as you go.

Featured Image: Piotr Marcinski/Shutterstock

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Assignments Hacks: 8 Tips to Get It Done Faster

October 16, 2020 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

When you are in college, assignments can go both ways. They can either be interesting or a big challenge . The latter happens very often, especially if you have little time or are tired. What should be a short assignment can turn into hours of work, finished with an essay of average quality.

But, there’s no reason why writing should be so hard for a student. With the 8 tips in this list, you can make your assignments easier and complete them faster.

Before you start working on your homework and assignments, you need a plan. You don’t want to end up juggling more tasks than you can handle when you can simply prioritize and get everything done on schedule.

Figure out how much time you have. Then, see how much you’ll need to complete your assignments. Be realistic while doing so. If a task isn’t due in a week, complete the ones that have a more urgent schedule. But, if you realize that you won’t have time for it, make sure to find a solution sooner to avoid the pressure afterward.

If the time is still tight and you fear that you won’t be able to handle the pressure, you can always ask Writix to write your assignment. Delegating your tasks is much better than missing deadlines and ruining your grades.

Find the Ideal Working Space

Students have different spaces where they feel most productive and can do their work without problems. If you are distracted by the TV, you need a room without it. If you prefer some background noise, this is the cafe around the corner for you. Or, you can go the traditional way and do your research and writing in the library.

Experiment a little to find your ideal working space. This can boost your productivity, keep you focused, and help you complete your assignments faster.

Gather All the Tools You Need

When you are working on your papers, you’ll need some basic tools like pens, calculators, your laptop, an Internet connection, some books for the research, your notes, etc.

Have these at your fingertips when you do your work. Having to go around the house looking for that book you need for your homework can take away your focus.

Turn Off Your Phone

Nowadays, if you want to ace your assignment, you need to turn off social media, notifications, and all those endless messages from your friends. Your phone beeping every minute is sure to take away your focus. You’ll find yourself procrastinating and tasks will take much longer than they should. For the duration of your studying, turn off your mobile device.

Try Some Background Music

Studying with some background music works for many, so why wouldn’t this work for writing, too? Try out different things such as classical music, background lyric-free melodies, nature songs, etc. Don’t go overboard and pick genres that have too much wording in it—it can be a distraction.

Keep Yourself Hydrated—and Well-Fed

Nutrition is highly important while you’re at college. In a rush to get things done, many slack off on the most important thing—their wellbeing. To keep your energy levels high and remain focused on the work, have some brain food handy for snacks, and hydrate regularly.

Make Time for Breaks

Pushing yourself too hard will only make you work slower. It can also have a bad effect on the quality of your work. When making your schedule, take some time for breaks. Don’t overdo it, but make sure that your schedule is flexible. This way, when you feel like you are losing focus, you can take a 20-minute break to refuel and keep going.

Praise Your Work

Small rewards can do wonders with our motivation. When you cross a thing off your schedule, reward yourself with something. It doesn’t have to be anything big. Sit down and watch an episode from your favorite show while sipping on hot cocoa. Go out and have a night off with your friends. Play your favorite game or simply stay home in bed all day. A bit of praise never hurt anyone.

Final Thoughts

Assignments aren’t always fun. When you are assigned task after task, this can become so dull and repetitive, students can hardly sit down to write. However, with some organization and tricks under your sleeve, the school can get significantly easier as you go. Use these 8 tips to make your assignment writing faster and more effective.

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9 Ways to Finish Homework in College Even When You Don't Feel Like It

• Student Success

Do you put the “pro” in procrastinate?

In truth, we’ve all experienced how difficult it feels just to start. So we tend to ignore it and focus on something more fun instead. But then, before we realize, a project that at first seemed manageable now appears next to impossible to complete. 

So we go into a deadline-induced panic. 

Even if you think you work well under stress and pressure in college, you probably still feel the overwhelming sense of anxiety that accompanies procrastination, whether or not you meet that looming deadline.

But if you want to break your procrastination habit, you can. It’s fixable. All you need is a solid support system and a few clever productivity tactics to keep your self-discipline and focus in check.

So instead of falling into the frantic last-minute cycle again , use this list of tools and strategies to push ahead and finish what needs to be done.  

1. Play That Music

Music boosts your energy and keeps you alert. So if you are distracted by the slightest of sounds in a usually quiet atmosphere, music can drown out any spontaneous interruptions. It also has a powerful effect on your mood and recall. When you select the right song to play while studying, writing a paper or posting in the discussion board, the tune can trigger your memory.

2. Find a Study Buddy

If you find it difficult to sit down and create a study guide for your next exam, team up with a few classmates to draft a master study guide. Assign each person a section to work on. Perhaps one of your teammates has a better understanding of the material in a specific section and can help you better grasp the concepts. Then, combine everyone’s work for a complete and comprehensive guide.  

3. Grab Your Phone

Use your smartphone to your advantage. Make use of those awkward segments of time throughout the day when you may have a 10-minute opening. Waiting for your kid to finish soccer practice? Have a couple minutes before your meeting starts? Study anytime by loading your notes onto your phone or turning them into digital, on-the-go flashcards.

4. Make It Fun

It’s ok to face it - we avoid tasks because they seem boring. The easiest way to fix this is to make those tasks fun. For example, if you are writing a paper, invite a friend who might have their own work to do to join you at a coffee shop. Or recruit your kids to quiz you on your study material. Your kids will love helping (and they’ll learn something too!).

5. Take Advantage of Web Apps

Writing apps like Hemingway and Grammarly can ease the process of writing papers by helping you write more clearly. Think of these apps as your own personal writing coach. As you write, the app identifies hard to read sentences, as well as awkward phrasing, and promotes better word choices.

6. Set an Alarm

Not just any alarm. One programmed to tell you what you need to do and how it will impact your day. Think, “start working on your paper now and you’ll be able to go to a movie.” If you ignore that one, then set another saying, “if you start your paper now, you can watch an hourlong drama,” and so on. This type of self-reward system can help you better manage your time and still fulfill your wants later on.   

7. Recruit a Supervisor

Being accountable to someone is often the drive we need to kick us into gear. Use a similar tactic to ensure your schoolwork is done on time. Ask someone to check on your progress periodically to assure you’re staying on task. This someone can be your spouse, a friend or even your children. Choose wisely, though. You want someone who is serious about helping and won’t try to bother you while you are working. Your teenaged son or daughter will probably be very good at checking up on you and keeping you on task. Maybe even too good.

8. Do Your Least Favorite Work First

When you do your least favorite work first, you will increase your confidence and decrease your stress levels. And, naturally, avoid procrastination later on. Finishing the largest item on your to-do list will give you the productivity boost you need to do other assignments you may have pushed aside.

9. Change Your Perspective

Are things just not right in your usual study space ? Or do you just not like it anymore? Maybe it’s too loud, too quiet, too dark or just too hot. Consider making a change. Try working in your local coffee shop, in a community library or a nearby park. The change in scenery and perspective will impact your productivity for the better.

Written by Thomas Edison State University

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The 5 Best Homework Help Websites (Free and Paid!)

Other High School , General Education

Listen: we know homework isn’t fun, but it is a good way to reinforce the ideas and concepts you’ve learned in class. But what if you’re really struggling with your homework assignments?

If you’ve looked online for a little extra help with your take-home assignments, you’ve probably stumbled across websites claiming to provide the homework help and answers students need to succeed . But can homework help sites really make a difference? And if so, which are the best homework help websites you can use? 

Below, we answer these questions and more about homework help websites–free and paid. We’ll go over: 

• The basics of homework help websites
• The cost of homework help websites 
• The five best homework websites out there 
• The pros and cons of using these websites for homework help 
• The line between “learning” and “cheating” when using online homework help 
• Tips for getting the most out of a homework help website

So let’s get started! 

The Basics About Homework Help Websites–Free and Paid

Homework help websites are designed to help you complete your homework assignments, plain and simple. 

What Makes a Homework Help Site Worth Using

Most of the best sites allow users to ask questions and then provide an answer (or multiple possible answers) and explanation in seconds. In some instances, you can even send a photo of a particular assignment or problem instead of typing the whole thing out! 

Homework help sites also offer more than just help answering homework questions. Common services provided are Q&A with experts, educational videos, lectures, practice tests and quizzes, learning modules, math solving tools, and proofreading help. Homework help sites can also provide textbook solutions (i.e. answers to problems in tons of different textbooks your school might be using), one-on-one tutoring, and peer-to-peer platforms that allow you to discuss subjects you’re learning about with your fellow students. 

And best of all, nearly all of them offer their services 24/7, including tutoring! 

What You Should Should Look Out For

When it comes to homework help, there are lots–and we mean lots –of scam sites out there willing to prey on desperate students. Before you sign up for any service, make sure you read reviews to ensure you’re working with a legitimate company. 

A word to the wise: the more a company advertises help that veers into the territory of cheating, the more likely it is to be a scam. The best homework help websites are going to help you learn the concepts you’ll need to successfully complete your homework on your own. (We’ll go over the difference between “homework help” and “cheating” a little later!) 

You don't need a golden piggy bank to use homework help websites. Some provide low or no cost help for students like you!

How Expensive Are the Best Homework Help Websites?

First of all, just because a homework help site costs money doesn’t mean it’s a good service. Likewise, just because a homework help website is free doesn’t mean the help isn’t high quality. To find the best websites, you have to take a close look at the quality and types of information they provide! 

When it comes to paid homework help services, the prices vary pretty widely depending on the amount of services you want to subscribe to. Subscriptions can cost anywhere from $2 to $150 dollars per month, with the most expensive services offering several hours of one-on-one tutoring with a subject expert per month.

The 5 Best Homework Help Websites 

So, what is the best homework help website you can use? The answer is that it depends on what you need help with. 

The best homework help websites are the ones that are reliable and help you learn the material. They don’t just provide answers to homework questions–they actually help you learn the material. 

That’s why we’ve broken down our favorite websites into categories based on who they’re best for . For instance, the best website for people struggling with math might not work for someone who needs a little extra help with science, and vice versa. 

Keep reading to find the best homework help website for you! 

Best Free Homework Help Site: Khan Academy

• Price: Free!
• Best for: Practicing tough material 

Not only is Khan Academy free, but it’s full of information and can be personalized to suit your needs. When you set up your account , you choose which courses you need to study, and Khan Academy sets up a personal dashboard of instructional videos, practice exercises, and quizzes –with both correct and incorrect answer explanations–so you can learn at your own pace. 

As an added bonus, it covers more course topics than many other homework help sites, including several AP classes.

Runner Up: Brainly.com offers a free service that allows you to type in questions and get answers and explanations from experts. The downside is that you’re limited to two answers per question and have to watch ads. 

Best Paid Homework Help Site: Chegg

• Price: $14.95 to $19.95 per month
• Best for: 24/7 homework assistance  

This service has three main parts . The first is Chegg Study, which includes textbook solutions, Q&A with subject experts, flashcards, video explanations, a math solver, and writing help. The resources are thorough, and reviewers state that Chegg answers homework questions quickly and accurately no matter when you submit them.  

Chegg also offers textbook rentals for students who need access to textbooks outside of their classroom. Finally, Chegg offers Internship and Career Advice for students who are preparing to graduate and may need a little extra help with the transition out of high school. 

Another great feature Chegg provides is a selection of free articles geared towards helping with general life skills, like coping with stress and saving money. Chegg’s learning modules are comprehensive, and they feature solutions to the problems in tons of different textbooks in a wide variety of subjects. 

Runner Up: Bartleby offers basically the same services as Chegg for $14.99 per month. The reason it didn’t rank as the best is based on customer reviews that say user questions aren’t answered quite as quickly on this site as on Chegg. Otherwise, this is also a solid choice!

Best Site for Math Homework Help: Photomath

• Price: Free (or $59.99 per year for premium services) 
• Best for: Explaining solutions to math problems

This site allows you to t ake a picture of a math problem, and instantly pulls up a step-by-step solution, as well as a detailed explanation of the concept. Photomath also includes animated videos that break down mathematical concepts to help you better understand and remember them. 

The basic service is free, but for an additional fee you can get extra study tools and learn additional strategies for solving common math problems.

Runner Up: KhanAcademy offers in-depth tutorials that cover complex math topics for free, but you won’t get the same tailored help (and answers!) that Photomath offers. 

Best Site for English Homework Help: Princeton Review Academic Tutoring

• Price: $40 to $153 per month, depending on how many hours of tutoring you want 
• Best for: Comprehensive and personalized reading and writing help 

While sites like Grammarly and Sparknotes help you by either proofreading what you write via an algorithm or providing book summaries, Princeton Review’s tutors provide in-depth help with vocabulary, literature, essay writing and development, proofreading, and reading comprehension. And unlike other services, you’ll have the chance to work with a real person to get help. 

The best part is that you can get on-demand English (and ESL) tutoring from experts 24/7. That means you can get help whenever you need it, even if you’re pulling an all-nighter! 

This is by far the most expensive homework site on this list, so you’ll need to really think about what you need out of a homework help website before you commit. One added benefit is that the subscription covers over 80 other subjects, including AP classes, which can make it a good value if you need lots of help!  

Best Site for STEM Homework Help: Studypool

• Best for: Science homework help
• Price: Varies; you’ll pay for each question you submit

When it comes to science homework help, there aren’t a ton of great resources out there. The best of the bunch is Studypool, and while it has great reviews, there are some downsides as well. 

Let’s start with the good stuff. Studypool offers an interesting twist on the homework help formula. After you create a free account, you can submit your homework help questions, and tutors will submit bids to answer your questions. You’ll be able to select the tutor–and price point–that works for you, then you’ll pay to have your homework question answered. You can also pay a small fee to access notes, lectures, and other documents that top tutors have uploaded. 

The downside to Studypool is that the pricing is not transparent . There’s no way to plan for how much your homework help will cost, especially if you have lots of questions! Additionally, it’s not clear how tutors are selected, so you’ll need to be cautious when you choose who you’d like to answer your homework questions.  

What Are the Pros and Cons of Using Homework Help Sites?

Homework help websites can be a great resource if you’re struggling in a subject, or even if you just want to make sure that you’re really learning and understanding topics and ideas that you’re interested in. But, there are some possible drawbacks if you don’t use these sites responsibly. 

We’ll go over the good–and the not-so-good–aspects of getting online homework help below. 

3 Pros of Using Homework Help Websites 

First, let’s take a look at the benefits. 

#1: Better Grades Beyond Homework

This is a big one! Getting outside help with your studies can improve your understanding of concepts that you’re learning, which translates into better grades when you take tests or write essays. 

Remember: homework is designed to help reinforce the concepts you learned in class. If you just get easy answers without learning the material behind the problems, you may not have the tools you need to be successful on your class exams…or even standardized tests you’ll need to take for college. 

#2: Convenience

One of the main reasons that online homework help is appealing is because it’s flexible and convenient. You don’t have to go to a specific tutoring center while they’re open or stay after school to speak with your teacher. Instead, you can access helpful resources wherever you can access the internet, whenever you need them.

This is especially true if you tend to study at off hours because of your extracurriculars, work schedule, or family obligations. Sites that offer 24/7 tutoring can give you the extra help you need if you can’t access the free resources that are available at your school. 

#3: Variety

Not everyone learns the same way. Maybe you’re more of a visual learner, but your teacher mostly does lectures. Or maybe you learn best by listening and taking notes, but you’re expected to learn something just from reading the textbook . 

One of the best things about online homework help is that it comes in a variety of forms. The best homework help sites offer resources for all types of learners, including videos, practice activities, and even one-on-one discussions with real-life experts. 

This variety can also be a good thing if you just don’t really resonate with the way a concept is being explained (looking at you, math textbooks!).

Not so fast. There are cons to homework help websites, too. Get to know them below!

3 Cons of Using Homework Help Websites 

Now, let’s take a look at the drawbacks of online homework help. 

#1: Unreliable Info

This can be a real problem. In addition to all the really good homework help sites, there are a whole lot of disreputable or unreliable sites out there. The fact of the matter is that some homework help sites don’t necessarily hire people who are experts in the subjects they’re talking about. In those cases, you may not be getting the accurate, up-to-date, and thorough information you need.

Additionally, even the great sites may not be able to answer all of your homework questions. This is especially true if the site uses an algorithm or chatbot to help students…or if you’re enrolled in an advanced or college-level course. In these cases, working with your teacher or school-provided tutors are probably your best option. 

#2: No Clarification

This depends on the service you use, of course. But the majority of them provide free or low-cost help through pre-recorded videos. Watching videos or reading info online can definitely help you with your homework… but you can’t ask questions or get immediate feedback if you need it .

#3: Potential For Scamming 

Like we mentioned earlier, there are a lot of homework help websites out there, and lots of them are scams. The review comments we read covered everything from outdated or wrong information, to misleading claims about the help provided, to not allowing people to cancel their service after signing up. 

No matter which site you choose to use, make sure you research and read reviews before you sign up–especially if it’s a paid service! 

When Does “Help” Become “Cheating”?

Admittedly, whether using homework help websites constitutes cheating is a bit of a grey area. For instance, is it “help” when a friend reads your essay for history class and corrects your grammar, or is it “cheating”? The truth is, not everyone agrees on when “help” crosses the line into “cheating .” When in doubt, it can be a good idea to check with your teacher to see what they think about a particular type of help you want to get. 

That said, a general rule of thumb to keep in mind is to make sure that the assignment you turn in for credit is authentically yours . It needs to demonstrate your own thoughts and your own current abilities. Remember: the point of every homework assignment is to 1) help you learn something, and 2) show what you’ve learned. 

So if a service answers questions or writes essays for you, there’s a good chance using it constitutes cheating. 

Here’s an example that might help clarify the difference for you. Brainstorming essay ideas with others or looking online for inspiration is “help” as long as you write the essay yourself. Having someone read it and give you feedback about what you need to change is also help, provided you’re the one that makes the changes later. 

But copying all or part of an essay you find online or having someone write (or rewrite) the whole thing for you would be “cheating.” The same is true for other subjects. Ultimately, if you’re not generating your own work or your own answers, it’s probably cheating.

5 Tips for Finding the Best Homework Help Websites for You

Now that you know some of our favorite homework help websites, free and paid, you can start doing some additional research on your own to decide which services might work best for you! Here are some top tips for choosing a homework help website. 

Tip 1: Decide How You Learn Best 

Before you decide which site or sites you’re going to use for homework help, y ou should figure out what kind of learning style works for you the most. Are you a visual learner? Then choose a site that uses lots of videos to help explain concepts. If you know you learn best by actually doing tasks, choose a site that provides lots of practice exercises.

Tip 2: Determine Which Subjects You Need Help With

Just because a homework help site is good overall doesn’t mean that it’s equally good for every subject. If you only need help in math, choose a site that specializes in that area. But if history is where you’re struggling, a site that specializes in math won’t be much help. So make sure to choose a site that you know provides high-quality help in the areas you need it most. 

Tip 3: Decide How Much One-On-One Help You Need 

This is really about cost-effectiveness. If you learn well on your own by reading and watching videos, a free site like Khan Academy is a good choice. But if you need actual tutoring, or to be able to ask questions and get personalized answers from experts, a paid site that provides that kind of service may be a better option.

Tip 4: Set a Budget

If you decide you want to go with a paid homework help website, set a budget first . The prices for sites vary wildly, and the cost to use them can add up quick. 

Tip 5: Read the Reviews

Finally, it’s always a good idea to read actual reviews written by the people using these homework sites. You’ll learn the good, the bad, and the ugly of what the users’ experiences have been. This is especially true if you intend to subscribe to a paid service. You’ll want to make sure that users think it’s worth the price overall!

What’s Next?

If you want to get good grades on your homework, it’s a good idea to learn how to tackle it strategically. Our expert tips will help you get the most out of each assignment…and boost your grades in the process.

Doing well on homework assignments is just one part of getting good grades. We’ll teach you everything you need to know about getting great grades in high school in this article.

Of course, test grades can make or break your GPA, too. Here are 17 expert tips that’ll help you get the most out of your study prep before you take an exam.

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Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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10 Tips to Get Your Homework Done Fast

Introduction

It's a tale as old as time: the clock ticking away ominously as you sit there, a heap of untouched homework glaring at you. The common hurdle many face is not the complexity of homework but the time management and discipline it requires. As the night descends, the looming deadline causes stress levels to skyrocket. However, fret not! Through this article, we unfold ten practical homework tips and hacks aimed at transforming this daunting task into a manageable one. Let's break it down together and achieve ultimate motivation.

Make a To-Do List

The first step towards conquering your homework begins on a note of organization. Drafting a to-do list is a classic yet effective homework tip. This list will serve as your roadmap, outlining the tasks at hand. It not only organizes your thoughts but also provides a clear picture of the workload, helping to prioritize tasks accordingly.

Gather Your Resources

Before diving into the homework ocean, ensure you have all the necessary gear. Books, notes, stationery, and any other materials should be at arm's length. This prep step is a significant time-saver. It's also a moment to seek homework help if you realize you're missing crucial information. Having everything ready will smoothen the journey, ensuring you don't have to scurry around searching for a pen or a textbook amidst a study session.

Seek Help When Needed

There's no glory in struggling alone. When a concept seems confusing, seeking homework help from teachers, peers or online platforms can provide clarity. Platforms like Tutorpeers come in handy, offering assistance in over 50 subjects with affordable tutors available 24/7. The best part? All studying happens on the platform, eliminating the need for extra apps. This smart strategy not only saves time but also builds a better understanding, making your homework journey a lot smoother.

Create a Timetable

A timetable is your game plan. Allocate time slots to each task based on its complexity and urgency. This structure provides a clear vision, helps in tracking your progress, and ensures that you are on schedule. It's a step closer to mastering the art of time management, a core element in achieving homework success.

Stay tuned as we delve deeper into more insightful homework hacks in the following sections aimed to ease your homework routine, offering a lifeline when you're in dire need of homework help.

Designate a Distraction-free Zone

Crafting the right environment is crucial for homework success. Dedicate a spot that's not only free from distractions like noise or visual clutter, but also inviting and comfortable. Ensure you have a comfy chair, a table at the right height, and enough room to spread your resources. Personalize your space with elements that make it enjoyable to be at—be it a plant, some soft music, or pictures that inspire you. This homework hack goes beyond just limiting distractions—it's about creating a space where your mind can focus and flourish.

Limit Technology Usage

It's easy to lose track of time browsing social media or responding to messages. Create a tech-free bubble during your homework time. Keep your phone, tablet, or other distractions in another room. If you need a device for your work, consider using apps that block distractions.

Team Up With a Study Buddy

Companionship can make the daunting homework journey enjoyable. A study buddy brings a different perspective, and together you can divide tasks, discuss concepts, and keep each other on track. It's a blend of social interaction and productivity. Platforms like Tutorpeers offer a fantastic avenue to connect with peers for one-on-one tutoring sessions. Whether it's homework assignments or exam prep, having a study buddy from Tutorpeers can significantly enrich your learning experience. Ready to elevate your homework game? Sign up as a learner on Tutorpeers and discover a community ready to support your academic journey!

Take Scheduled Breaks

Continuous study sessions can lead to burnout, hampering productivity. Techniques like the Pomodoro Technique, working for 25 minutes followed by a 5-minute break, can be effective. However, everyone's rhythm is different. Some might find longer work intervals of 2 hours with a 15 to 20-minute break more suitable. The key is to find a rhythm that keeps you refreshed and focused. Tailoring your break schedule to what suits you best can significantly enhance your concentration and efficiency, making the homework routine more sustainable and less stressful.

Reward Your Progress

Positive reinforcement is a powerful motivator. Set up a reward system to celebrate small and big wins alike. Finished a challenging assignment? Treat yourself to a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte. Maintained a consistent homework routine for a month? Maybe it's time to discuss that iPhone 15 reward with your parents. By associating rewards with accomplishments, you create a motivating cycle that makes tackling homework a more enticing endeavor. This cycle of work and reward fosters a positive attitude towards homework, steering you towards a path of homework success.

Prioritize and Chunk Your Tasks

Start by listing all your assignments and categorize them based on their due dates and importance. Tackle the most urgent and challenging tasks first. This approach not only helps you meet deadlines but also allows you to focus on complex tasks while your energy levels are high.

Once you've prioritized your assignments, break them down into smaller, more manageable pieces. For example, if you have a 10-page essay to write, aim to complete two pages a day instead of cramming it all into one night. This method makes the work less daunting and gives you a sense of accomplishment as you tick off each mini-goal.

By combining prioritization with task chunking, you'll find that your homework becomes much more manageable. You'll reduce stress, improve your focus, and, most importantly, you'll get your homework done more efficiently.

Conclusion:

The voyage through piles of homework need not be solitary or dreary. Armed with these 10 insightful tips, navigating through the homework landscape can be a more organized, less stressful endeavor. Implementing these strategies can usher in a transformative approach towards homework, morphing it from a dreaded task to a manageable, even enjoyable endeavor. Embrace these hacks, seek homework help when needed, and stride confidently on the path of academic success. Your journey towards achieving homework success just got a lot smoother!

Q: How can I enjoy doing homework?

A: To enjoy doing homework, try to make it more engaging. Use colorful notes, listen to calming music, or turn it into a game. The key is to find what makes the task enjoyable for you.

Q: What's the best time of day to do homework for maximum efficiency?

A: The best time to do homework varies from person to person. Some people are more productive in the morning, while others find their focus in the evening. Experiment to find your peak productivity hours.

Q: How long does it take to receive scores?

A: The time it takes to receive scores can vary depending on the type of assignment and the grading process. For most regular homework assignments, you can expect feedback within a week.

Q: Is multitasking an effective way to get homework done faster?

A: Multitasking might seem like a good idea, but it often leads to decreased focus and quality. It's generally more effective to concentrate on one task at a time.

Q: How can I minimize distractions while doing homework?

A: To minimize distractions, create a dedicated, clutter-free workspace. Use apps or techniques like the Pomodoro Technique to manage your time and take short, scheduled breaks to recharge.

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How To Organize Assignments So You Never Miss A Due Date Again

If you aren’t a pro at organizing your assignments for school, I guarantee you will be after this! One of the first things a student should do before school starts is to make sure that they have a reliable way to organize their assignments. This is why I’m going to teach you how to organize assignments so you never miss a due date again!

Putting all of your assignments for the semester in at least ONE place will actively remind you of your due dates so you don’t ever forget them. I will go through some of the most popular methods to organize your assignments as well as let you know which method I prefer the best.

How To Organize Your Assignments As A Student

The three major ways you can organize your assignments include using a school planner app, using a physical planner, and using Google Calendar. All of these methods have their benefits and drawbacks, but they all have been proven to work and I know you will find the perfect method for you.

myHomework App

One of my favorite apps for college students is myHomework ! It is the ultimate app for organizing your assignments. You all do not understand how life-changing this one app was when I discovered it during my freshman year! Because of myHomework, I never missed an assignment due date. The best part is that it’s extremely easy to use! Check out the tutorial video below.

how to organize with myhomework:

• Download the app from your app store
• Create a free account
• Color code each class
• Put in what times you will take that class
• What type of assignment it is
• Priority level (how important/urgent it is to get it done)
• Reminders (so you don’t forget to actually do it)
• Attach any additional files (instructions, deadline timeline, etc.)
• And completing an assignment is as easy as swiping to the left and poof💨 it’s gone!

This is by far my favorite method because after you set everything, you’re done! Unlike a physical planner where you have to constantly refer to what you wrote, with this app, you can get automated notifications and reminders for each assignment. Spend a day before the semester begins to take a couple of hours to import all of your assignments. Seriously focus on customizing exactly how you want (reminders, priority level, etc). Once you’re done, you will have a complete look at every single assignment you will need to complete and any additional information right at your fingertips. It’s simple, straightforward, and reliable.

Why it works:

• Built-in structure for organizing classes and assignments
• See monthly, weekly, and daily views of assignments that you need to complete
• Your data can sync across multiple platforms
• Supports time-block and period-based schedules
• It’s 100% free

Related Article ⇾ The Best Essential iPhone Apps For Students

Planner Method

Another way to make sure you keep track of your assignments is to have a physical planner. This is the old-school way that still gets the job done. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there are new planners with different and cool features popping up constantly. There’s a reason why… Planners work when you make them work! The steps for this method are very similar to the steps you would use with the myHomework app.

• Go through each syllabus and write the classes you will be taking (in the notes section of your planner)
• I would also highlight them in a particular color and write the days and times that you will take these classes
• Write down every single assignment that you will have to turn in throughout the semester on its due date
• Add in every quiz and test day as well as the day you will have to take them

Now the next thing you need to do is create reminders. As far as reminding you when things are due, there are many options:

• You can write reminders in your planner. If you have all of your due dates in your monthly view (as I instructed and recommended above), you can then use the daily or weekly view to insert reminders weekly of assignments/quizzes/projects/tests coming up.
• If you have all of your due dates in your planner, you can couple this method with using your phone for reminders. Using apps such as Google Calendar or the regular Calendar app can help you get instant reminders to work on assignments and study for tests.

I will have a post all about the best college planners soon! I have tried countless planners. So, I can’t wait to share what has worked a lot for me and how it can help you as well. So stay tuned by signing up for my email list to know when that post will be live!

• You’re more likely to remember things when you write them down
• Complete freedom in organizing and being creative with your planning
• You don’t have to worry about not having wifi

Google Calendar

Google Calendar is a God-send. I prefer this method right now in my daily life because it helps me stay organized and informed of my schedule at ALL times!! I have a complete tutorial on how I set up and organize my Google Calendar so I will have that linked below. But I want to give some great tips in this article as well for organizing your classes and assignments!

Related Article ⇾ How To Time-Block Your Life For Success

Google Calendar has an incredible feature that allows you to create different calendars. For example, I have a calendar that’s strictly for work-related things, I have one for getting random things done, which is appropriately named “Getting Sh*t Done”, and even a calendar strictly for family things. I can also subscribe family members to the “family” one so we all know what is going on.

Color coding helps keep everything more organized as well. Different colors mean different calendars. Choosing brighter colors can be for the more important calendars such as work and appointments and dimmer colors can be for more routine things.

How to apply this method to your classes:

• This allows you to color-code your classes to differentiate every class and their assignments
• This blends every class together, but you will be able to determine what’s school-related and what is not related to school in your schedule
• This helps you see a clear difference between when you have classes when things are due, and when you will work on the things that are due (study time)
• Complete organization of classes and assignments

Final Things To Consider

Choose what works for you. I like to give different options because I know everyone is different. What works for me might not work for you. So try one way of organizing your assignments. If it doesn’t work out, no biggie, just move on to a new method. The goal is to keep trying until you find that magic formula that helps you stay on top of your school life.

Don’t wait to import your assignments. This is a major pro tip. There was a time one of my professors added a random assignment that we had to complete that semester and I forgot to put it in the myHomework app, so I missed it 🥴 lol… This is why I encourage you to always put things in your planner when your teacher announces any extra assignments or extra credit opportunities that may not have been on the syllabus – right when it’s announced . Otherwise, you will most likely forget. Also, check out my post about how you can get every assignment, even new/random ones automatically imported into your Google Calendar if your school uses Canvas.

Related Article ⇾ How To Sync Your Canvas Calendar To Your Google Calendar

Lastly, make sure you insert reminders for every assignment. In the case that you do forget about a due date, you have enough time to complete it because you placed a reminder for that assignment. Whether you’re super busy or not, we constantly forget things throughout the day and it’s important to have that sort of virtual “personal assistant” to remind us of things. So use your phone to your advantage and make sure you keep track of your due dates.

Many classes, especially in college, won’t allow you to turn in anything late. Which makes organizing your assignments and due dates that much more important!

If you have any other ways that you organize your assignments and due dates, please leave them in the comments below. I’d love to hear how you organize your class dates. I hope you’ve found some awesome ways how to organize assignments in a way that works for you!

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This is great advice! I’m looking into these tools, I think they will help a lot. Thank you 🙂

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How to Get Your Homework Done in College

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In contrast to the academic requirements of high school, college courses present a much heavier, more consistent workload. And with everything else that college students have to manage -- jobs, personal life, relationships, physical health, cocurricular obligations -- it can sometimes seem like getting your homework done is an impossible feat. At the same time, however,  not  getting your work done is a recipe for disaster. So, what tips and tricks can you use to get your homework done in college?

Tips for Successfully Doing College Homework

Use these tips to create a process that works for you and your personal study style.

Use a Time Management System

Put all major assignments and their due dates in your time management system . A key part of staying on top of your homework is knowing what's coming; no one, after all, wants to realize on Tuesday that they have a major midterm on Thursday. To avoid surprising yourself, make sure all of your major homework assignments and their due dates are documented in your calendar. That way, you won't inadvertently sabotage your own success simply because you've mismanaged your time.

Schedule Homework Time

Schedule times to do homework each week, and keep those appointments. Without designated time for addressing your to-dos, you're more likely to cram at the last minute, which adds to your anxiety levels.

By putting homework on your calendar, you'll have the time allocated in your already-too-busy schedule, you'll reduce your stress by knowing when, exactly, your homework will be done, and you'll be better able to enjoy whatever else you have planned since you'll know your homework is already taken care of.

Sneak in Your Homework

Use small increments of time whenever possible. You know that 20-minute bus ride you have to and from campus every day? Well, that's 40 minutes a day, 5 days a week which means that if you did some reading during the ride, you'd get more than 3 hours of homework done during your commute.

Those little increments can add up: 30 minutes between classes here, 10 minutes waiting for a friend there. Be smart about sneaking in small bits of homework so that you can conquer the bigger assignments piece by piece.

You Can't Always Get It All Done

Understand that you can't always get all your homework done. One of the biggest skills to learn in college is how to gauge what you  can't  get done. Because sometimes, there really is only so many hours in a day, and the basic laws of physics mean you can't accomplish everything on your to-do list.

If you just can't get all your homework done, make some smart decisions about how to choose what to do and what to leave behind. Are you doing great in one of your classes, and skipping the reading one week shouldn't hurt too much? Are you failing another and definitely need to focus your efforts there?

Hit the Reset Button

Don't get caught up in the get-caught-up trap. If you fall behind on your homework , it's easy to think -- and hope -- that you'll be able to catch up. So you'll set a plan to catch up, but the more you try to catch up, the more you fall behind. If you're falling behind on your reading and are feeling overwhelmed, give yourself permission to start anew.

Figure out what you need to get done for your next assignment or class, and get it done. It's easier to cover the material you missed when you're studying for an exam in the future than it is to fall further and further behind right now.

Use Your Resources

Use class and other resources to help make doing your homework more productive and efficient. You might, for example, think that you don't need to go to class because the professor only covers what's already been addressed in the reading. Not true.

You should always go to class -- for a variety of reasons -- and doing so can make your homework load lighter. You'll better understand the material, be better able to absorb the work you do out of class, be better prepared for upcoming exams (thereby saving you studying time and improving your academic performance), and overall just have a better mastery of the material. Additionally, use your professor's office hours or time in an academic support center to reinforce what you've learned through your homework assignments. Doing homework shouldn't just be a to-do item on your list; it should be an essential part of your college academic experience.

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The ADHD Homework System We Swear By

Homework stress is real — and exhausting for parents and students alike. spare your family the drama and fights by following this homework system designed for children with adhd and learning disabilities..

ADHD + Executive Function Deficits = Stress

Homework requires children with ADHD to copy assignments correctly, bring home the right books, keep track of due dates and hand in finished work — all difficult for anyone with poor memory, focus, or attention to detail. While it may take a few months to become a habit, creating consistent routines at home and at school will result in better work skills, a sense of accomplishment, less homework stress — and lots of after-school smiles.

Step 1: Get the Teachers On Board

For many kids with ADHD, bringing home each day's assignments is as tough as the work itself. Teachers should post the day's assignments, read them aloud to reinforce, and distribute assignment sheets or make sure that there is time in class for each child to record homework homework assignments in a planner. Ask the teacher to review or sign your child's homework planner before class ends.

Step Two: Don't Leave School Without....

Emphasize the daily routine of checking the assignment sheet before leaving class to make sure all the necessary materials are in the backpack. Help your child establish a list of partner classmates or "study buddies" with whom he can check backpacks before leaving school, and call or text with questions about the assignments. Some teachers record daily assignments on their website, blog, or voicemail, as well.

[ Free Download: Top 5 Homework Frustrations — and Fixes for Each ]

Step 3: Set Up the Home Routine

Set a specific time (in discussion with your child) that is homework time . To develop the homework habit, it's important to keep that schedule as consistent as possible each day. Studies show that beginning homework within an hour after arrival home from school/after-school activities helps kids succeed. So, if your family schedule permits, give your child a snack, some brief down time if needed, and then get started.

Step 4: Designate a Homework Location

Create a dedicated and consistent homework location , in a quiet spot with good lighting, for homework to be done each day. Choose a location as free as possible from the kinds of visual distractions that cause ADHD minds to wander. Rule out television, screen time, or music with words during homework time. Experiment to determine whether your child concentrates best in silence or with white noise.

Step 5: Be Your Child's Coach

Review the assignments that came home for the day with your child before she starts to work. Separate the tasks into discrete sections and decide upon a time allotment for each section. As your child completes each assignment, review it to be sure all parts are complete. On a note card or the homework journal or assignment sheet, help her check off each separate task as it is completed.

Step 6: Help Him Get Started

Children with ADHD often have a hard time getting started on new tasks. Read the directions together for each segment, highlight key words in the directions, discuss how to tackle the first problem/item. Once your child knows what to do, leave him to complete homework independently. Let him know you are nearby to answer questions or, for easily distracted children, sit in the room doing another task.

[ Free Guide: Proven Homework Help for Kids with ADHD ]

Step 7: Use a Timer

Timers are great tools for daydreamers. For elementary and middle-school children with ADHD, 5- to 20-minute increments work well. Once the first 10-minute block is up, kids often hit their stride and keep working. Expand the segment time if your child is concentrating well. Vary the time per subject to meet your child's needs.

Step 8: Take Breaks, Refocus

When the timer indicates that 20 minutes have past, allow your child to move, walk-around, jump-rope for 2-3 minutes in between sections of work. Large motor movement enhances alertness. If your child becomes distracted during a segment of work, tap him on the shoulder, comments on well he is doing, and re-alert the brain to the task at hand.

Step 9: Praise Effort

Reinforce task completion with specific verbal praise. Let her know how impressed you are with how hard she has worked. Be as specific as you can. "I can see that it took a lot of time and effort to hold the paper with your left hand and write those sentences so neatly with your right hand."

Step 10: Create a Home for Completed Homework

Kids with ADHD are famous for misplacing homework between home and school . Create a “school staging center” at home that contains a homework folder for all completed homework. When the assignment is done, it goes straight into the folder, which in turn goes into a designated pocket of her backpack. Place a note on his backpack to remind him in the A.M. to check that all homework is there.

Step 11: Diagnose Problems

When kids can't get homework done, address the underlying cause. Is the amount of homework overwhelming? Don't let your child spend an excessive amount of time on homework. Speak to the teacher. Perhaps a tutor is needed. Is inability to focus a serious constraint? Discuss an after-school medication dose with your child's doctor.

Step 12: Have a Plan for Long-Term Assignments

The toughest challenge for many kids with ADHD is the long-range assignment . Go over it with your child. Write the due date on a master calendar, and break the assignment into parts, each with its own deadline. If his assignment is to write a book report on a 200-page book, and it’s due in two weeks, he can plan to read 20 pages a night, and use the last four days to write and proofread the report.

Step 13: Make Reading Homework Fun

For children who are given lots of reading assignments, reading aloud together can make homework relaxing instead of a chore. He can read the left-hand page and you can read the right-hand page. Help your child develop reading comprehension by asking questions like, “Why do you think the princess went to the castle?” or, “Do you think Buddy will win the big race?”

[ Free Webinar Replay: “‘I Forgot My Homework… Again!’” Fortifying Executive Functions to Solve School Disorganization ]

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How to Finish a Huge Assignment or Project Overnight

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The great American writer Mark Twain once said,

“Never put off till tomorrow what may be done the day after tomorrow just as well.”

When we live by that advice, though, we sometimes find ourselves chugging concentrated coffee at 2 a.m. in a valiant effort to stay awake and finish a huge project that’s due in 6 hours.

As productive as I’d like to think I am… I’ve been there.

If you’ve been there as well – or maybe if you’re there right now – this week’s video is for you. I’m not going to waste time lecturing you about the importance of planning, there are other videos for that – let’s just look at the best plan of attack when you find yourself in a time crunch.

Now, we’re going to look at some specific concepts related to planning and willpower in a minute – The Impact Effort Matrix, Ego Depletion – but let’s start with the foundation: location selection .

I think your location is vital when you’re working under pressure, and personally I like to pick my study locations based on their “vibe” – that is, what’s going on around me. I tend to favor coffee shops and libraries – I still go to my university library at times even though I’ve graduated – because I work well when I’m surrounded by other people who are also working. Also, close proximity to caffeine is helpful.

The most important part of location selection, though, is avoiding the “call of the pillow”. When you’re studying in a time crunch, it’s likely you’ll be doing it late into the night. That’s why you want to get as far away from your bed as possible.

The later it gets, the more you’ll start rationalizing how good a nap might be and the more you’ll start deciding that certain parts of your project don’t matter. So pick a place where going to bed would be more effort than finishing the next part of your project.

That piece of business taken care of, it’s now time to plan your efforts . Before you start working, take some time to break down your workload into individual parts. Then, it’s time to figure out which ones should get the bulk of your attention.

Dwight Eisenhower often remarked that,

“What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.”

In the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People , Steven Covey popularized the “Eisenhower Decision Matrix”, which is based on this principle. In the matrix, tasks are categorized based on their importance and urgency.

When you’re in a time crunch, though, everything can seem urgent – so importance is the factor you should focus on in this case. To that end, let’s use a similar but more fitting tool – the Impact/Effort matrix .

Here, tasks in a project are given scores based on their impact to the overall success of the project and the effort it will take to implement them. To illustrate how this works, here’s an example from my life.

When I was a senior in college, one of my final projects was building a web app. My idea was called AMPanic, and it was an app that would require you to log in and tell if you’re awake before a certain time – otherwise it would send an embarrassing email to someone. This was actually the precursor to the early wake-up system I use now, which I detailed in this video .

With this project, though, I found myself in a time crunch trying to finish it. So I broke my project down into different parts that I’d have to code and prioritized them using this Impact/Effort matrix.

The core functionality – the code that would let you set an alarm and an email message, the code that would schedule and send the email on time, and the function to cancel the email if the user checked in on time in the morning – those required a lot of effort to build, but they also had the highest impact on the project.

On the other hand, some parts of the site – like the About, FAQ, and Contact pages – didn’t have as high of an impact, but they were low-effort tasks. Since they didn’t take much time to create, I made sure to include them to make the site look more complete.

The main element of the site that I chose NOT to focus on was the user registration and login system. A proper one needs functions for resetting passwords, but I decided that the core alarm setting functionality would be more important to my grade since that was the point of the whole project. So I used a login system I had written for an old project and didn’t bother creating a way to reset passwords.

In the end, it was a worthwhile decision; the alarm system was more advanced than most of the other projects in the class, so I ended up getting an A.

To assign Impact/Effort scores to each component of your project – or each assignment if you’re juggling multiple – consider the following factors:

• What the core deliverables are
• The grading criteria for the project, what which components count for the most points
• What percentage of your grade each assignment counts for
• How much each component will contribute to the knowledge you need to have for tests, which usually impact your grade the most

Once you’e assigned scores to each component, I think it’s a good idea to tackle the ones with the highest impact and highest effort first. This is due to Ego Depletion – a phenomenon explained in Daniel Kahneman’s book Thinking, Fast and Slow . Citing research from the psychologist Roy Baumeister, he reveals that:

“…an effort of will or self-control is tiring; if you have had to force yourself to do something, you are less willing or less able to exert self-control when the next challenge comes around.”

Use the bulk of your willpower to complete the harder tasks first; that way, you’ll only have to deal with low-effort, high-impact tasks when you’re feeling drained.

That’s where we’re going to close for this week. If you select your location well, plan based on impact and effort, and tackle your tasks in a way that utilizes your willpower effectively, you’ll make if through your time crunch in one piece.

Need help finishing a personal project you’ve been procrastinating on? Read this next .

If you’re unable to see the video above, you can view it on YouTube .

Looking for More Study Tips?

You’ll find more tips on planning, study environments, and maintaining willpower in my free 100+ page book called 10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades (While Studying Less) .

The book covers topics like:

• Defeating procrastination
• Getting more out of your classes
• Taking great notes
• Reading your textbooks more efficiently

…and several more. It also has a lot of recommendations for tools and other resources that can make your studying easier.

If you’d like a free copy of the book, let me know where I should send it:

I’ll also keep you updated about new posts and videos that come out on this blog (they’ll be just as good as this one or better) 🙂

Video Notes

• Eisenhower Decision Matrix
• Impact/Effort Matrix
• Ego Depletion

What other topics related to working under tight deadlines would you like to see covered in the future?

Do you have any additional tips? Share them below 🙂

If you liked this video, subscribe on YouTube to stay updated and get notified when new ones are out!

Images: Eisenhower , Twain , Twain living room , James Cameron , ocean trench , Everest , wall of books , Big Ben , coffee shop

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How to Catch Up on Missed Schoolwork Quickly

Last Updated: April 5, 2024 References

This article was co-authored by Alexander Ruiz, M.Ed. . Alexander Ruiz is an Educational Consultant and the Educational Director of Link Educational Institute, a tutoring business based in Claremont, California that provides customizable educational plans, subject and test prep tutoring, and college application consulting. With over a decade and a half of experience in the education industry, Alexander coaches students to increase their self-awareness and emotional intelligence while achieving skills and the goal of achieving skills and higher education. He holds a BA in Psychology from Florida International University and an MA in Education from Georgia Southern University. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 120,427 times.

When you miss class, the work can start to pile up quickly. All those assignments and deadlines can be pretty overwhelming, but don’t panic. Talk to your teachers and friends about what you missed. Then, make a plan for tackling your workload, prioritizing the most pressing assignments. Take breaks, reward yourself, and stay positive to boost your productivity. Catching up on missed schoolwork isn’t easy, but with a little organization and strategy, you’ll be better equipped to handle the challenges that come your way.

Talking to Teachers and Friends

• Say something like, “I’m sorry, but I’ll be out of class tomorrow for a family reunion. Please let me know what I need to do to stay on top of my work.”
• You may need to provide a note from a doctor or parent. Check with your school administration to find out.

• Say something like, “I’m so sorry I was out yesterday with the flu. I’m doing my best to get back on schedule. Is there anything important that I missed?”

• You might say, “I’m sorry, I’ve been really busy with soccer lately and I’ve fallen behind on some assignments. I want to do everything I can to catch up. What would you recommend that I do?”

• While talking to students is helpful, it shouldn’t be a substitute for communicating with your teacher. Ideally, you should do both.

• You may be able to meet with your teacher before or after class for extra help.
• Keep in mind that your teacher probably won’t have time to re-explain the entire lecture. Look over all your notes and materials beforehand so you’re as prepared as possible. It may be helpful to come in with a list of questions.

Making a Plan

• Break down big assignments into smaller sub-steps, and nest these under the big assignments on your checklist.
• Don’t forget to check off items when you complete them! It’ll feel super satisfying.

• Put a star next to your top items or highlight them.
• You can color code by priority, underlining the most pressing items in red, the moderately pressing ones in yellow, and the least urgent ones in green.
• If you’re having trouble determining a top priority, ask yourself, “If I only had time to complete one assignment, which one would it be?”

• If you need even more structure, you might schedule your workload by time of day (morning, afternoon, and evening) or even by the hour.
• Input your schedule into a planner or online calendar and refer to it regularly.
• Consider turning a weekend into a “Homework Retreat”. Schedule out an entire weekend to do the assignments you missed. However, don’t overstretch yourself, and make sure to schedule breaks, snacks and other things to keep you energized.

Being Productive

• Say to yourself, “I’ve got this. I’ve caught up on work in the past, and I can do it again.”
• It may help to do something fun before you buckle down, like going for ice cream with friends or taking your dog on a walk.

• You should do something completely unrelated to your work during your breaks. Look at funny memes, take a walk, grab a snack, or chat with a friend. [9] X Research source

• Make sure your rewards are appropriate. Don’t give yourself a huge reward for finishing a relatively small task, and don’t select an insignificant reward for a major task.
• Make your rewards meaningful, specific, and immediate. For example, you might reward yourself with a quick trip to your favorite restaurant for lunch.

• It's fun to laugh and joke with friends, but do your best not to get distracted. Take turns reminding each other to stay focused.

• Teens need around eight to ten hours of sleep each night. For better sleep , try to go to bed around the same time everyday. Staying up late on the weekends can hurt sleep quality. [13] X Research source
• Eat a balanced diet containing lots of fruits and veggies, whole grains, and lean proteins, like chicken. Always eat breakfast, and drink water throughout the day to stay hydrated. [14] X Trustworthy Source HelpGuide Nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free, evidence-based mental health and wellness resources. Go to source

• Do your best to balance your social life, extracurriculars, and schoolwork.

Expert Q&A

• Be honest with your teacher if you think a deadline is unreasonable. They may give you an extension once you explain your situation. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1
• If you have a ton of work to finish, it’s easy to get paralyzed. However, remember that it’s always better to work on something than nothing. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• If this missed work was avoidable, think about ways you can stay on top of your work in the future. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

Tips from our Readers

• If a friend asks you over but you have missing schoolwork, simply tell them that you have some assignments to catch up on. Later, you could invite them over for a study session with pizza. No one said that studying had to be boring!
• Use a to-do list and grade everything from priority 1 to 4 (1 being the highest and 4 being the lowest).

• Cutting class can be tempting, especially for college students, but it can lead to hours of missed school work and stress down the line. Thanks Helpful 26 Not Helpful 2

You Might Also Like

Expert Interview

Thanks for reading our article! If you'd like to learn more about catching up on school, check out our in-depth interview with Alexander Ruiz, M.Ed. .

• ↑ http://www.students.org/2013/09/25/miss-day-school/
• ↑ https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/learning/tips-help-child-get-back-track-missing-school/#.WXpe4DYqteB
• ↑ http://www.parents.com/kids/education/homework/catch-up-on-homework/
• ↑ http://time.com/2933971/how-to-motivate-yourself-3-steps-backed-by-science/
• ↑ https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-rule-of-52-and-17-its-random-but-it-ups-your-productivity
• ↑ https://hbr.org/2011/05/the-power-of-small-wins
• ↑ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042814050009
• ↑ https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/teens-and-sleep
• ↑ https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/healthy-eating.htm

About This Article

If you’re behind on schoolwork and need to catch up quickly, start by creating a chart or checklist of the assignments you need to accomplish including their due dates. Next, use highlighters to color code the assignments by priority by underlining the most pressing items in red, moderately pressing ones in yellow, and the least urgent ones in green. Once you know what needs to be done, create a detailed schedule you can follow. Just don’t forget to give yourself time for a 20-minute break every hour or so. It might seem counter-intuitive, but rest actually increases productivity! For more tips on catching up on missed schoolwork, including how to approach the situation with a positive attitude, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Composing Effective Writing Assignments

Invisible text for formatting

Resources for Teaching Writing

Course & assignment design, examples of effective writing assignments.

• Scaffolding Writing to Support Student Learning
• Creating Assignments for Miami Plan Capstone Courses
• Teaching Literature Reviews
• Using Threshold Concepts to Design Assignments and Courses
• Teaching Grammar Rhetorically 
• Structuring Purposeful Group & Team Work
• Mentoring Graduate Writers

Feedback & Assessment

• Using ePortfolio Assignments 
• Giving Feedback to Writers
• Facilitating Meaningful Online Discussions
• Engaging Students in Effective Peer Response

Teaching Online and with AI

• Providing Online Writing Support
• Integrating AI to Guide Learning

Writing is a valuable educational tool for learning. In the classroom, writing can help students grapple with and understand content more deeply and help students learn disciplinary ways of knowing and communicating. For instructors, writing can help evaluate students’ understanding of course content, and help assess students’ prior knowledge and gauge how well they’re understanding current material.

In this resource, we provide some recommendations based on best practices in writing studies research to help you compose meaningful writing assignments that promote deep learning. You can also view our companion resource “Scaffolding Writing to Support Student Learning” to see more ideas on how to scaffold and teach writing day-to-day in your courses.

Before we get started, we encourage you to pull up the writing assignment you are reworking, or to open a new document as you plan a brand new assignment. Take some notes as you read through each step and engage with our questions. Planning course assignments is a learning activity just like any other that benefits from writing about it.

Recommendations for Composing Effective Writing Assignments

• Identify your learning goals for the course. We often assign writing because we think we should, or because that’s how we were taught in school, or for some other reason unrelated to the purpose of the course. But sometimes writing, or more likely the type of writing we assign, isn’t the best way for students to learn, achieve, and demonstrate learning of course goals. Therefore, we suggest you start at the end by first identifying your course goals; then consider how you could use writing to achieve and assess those goals. Defining your goals and then aligning assignments to those goals leads to assignments that are targeted and cohesive within your course. (In this process, you may also find that writing isn’t the best way to assess your learning goals; yet read on, because writing has many other uses.)
• Explicitly articulate the audience for an assignment. Oftentimes students will write assignments with their teacher in mind as the audience, even as they will write for a broad array of audiences in the workplace. To encourage your students to explore the real power and impact of the writing they will do in the world, consider more explicitly identifying audiences in each of your assignments. Will a CEO be reading this business memo? Concerned parents in a school district? Eligible voters across an entire county with various interests? A important first section in an assignment prompt can be articulating audience, even if that’s asking students to identify and describe audiences themselves. 
• Differentiate between declarative and procedural knowledge in your course. When determining course goals, remember that there are two types of knowledge: declarative knowledge (knowing “about” something, such as what the various parts of a microscope are) and procedural knowledge (knowing “how to” do something, such as actually using the microscope during a lab). Procedural knowledge tends to lag behind declarative knowledge. Knowing about something doesn’t necessarily mean that you know how to do something with that knowledge. Declarative knowledge is often learned through reading and lecture. Procedural knowledge requires practice, and if complex, requires practice of the component parts while building to the whole, with ongoing feedback and additional practice of those parts. It can be helpful to determine which kind of knowledge you want students to learn in your course, and then which assignments can teach which specific knowledge. Consider using this declarative and procedural knowledge worksheet as a place to get started.
• problem-focused activities
• critical thinking skills
• case studies
• synthesized reviews of literature
• assigned positions 
• real world applications

Consider reframing your writing assignments to more closely appear as one of these tasks.

• Name assignments to illustrate the goals and genre . In line with the above, research also indicates that giving your assignments relevant, descriptive names (rather than “Paper 1”) can improve students’ disciplinary knowledge and knowledge transfer. For example, “Company Stakeholder Analysis” or “Marketing Change Plan” to get at some of the more specifics of what the assignment entails and is about.
• Think about how many assignments you have in the course, and how long students will need to complete this writing assignment. A lot of faculty organize their courses into units or modules, with a set number of weeks for each. Keeping in mind the kinds of declarative and procedural knowledge you wish students to learn, take stock of how many units and assignments you have overall, and think about how long students will need to complete your desired writing assignment. To do so, also consider what component skills students will need to require each task, and how much class time you might need to devote to those skills. Check out this backwards planning worksheet to help keep track of skills, tasks, and assignments in your course as you plan.
• Explain expectations clearly. Research shows that providing clear expectations can improve student engagement and the quality of their final product (Anderson et al 2016). Clear expectations can include identifying the purpose of the assignment, how it relates to other assignments/other courses, audiences for the assignment, grading criteria, and more. Try to include clear expectations in every assignment for improved clarity and to help students meet your expectations. You can even ask students to help write and codify instructions with you, helping provide them with agency in the process. 

Economics 344: Country Report Project

Created by: Dr. Ling Shao , Assistant Teaching Professor

Context from Faculty

ECO 344 is a general elective for economics major, but it is a required course for International Studies major and International Business minor. Therefore, students enrolled in the course come from a variety of majors besides economics. They have varied levels of preparedness in math and economics training. For this reason, the course is not heavy in math. Instead, it focuses on presenting essential international trade and international macroeconomic theories in a relatively simple way. The Country Report Project (CRP) is created so that students can apply their learning of these theories to real world data and policy discussions.

The CRP is a series of assignments closely tied to the weekly content of the course. I chose this format over a single big project after learning about the merits of scaffolding. Students will have a country to work on. Depending on the number of students, it can be done individually or as a group. The country will either be assigned by the instructor or be decided by students themselves. It works well in both face-to-face and online classes. I used the CRP in Fall 2019, Spring 2020, and Summer 2020.

Sample Assignment for Economics 344

Module 1 | discussion.

For this discussion, please decide on a country that you are interested in and use the World Trade Organization (WTO) database to look at actual data on your country’s exports and imports.

Discuss the following questions based on your country’s data:

• Does your country run a surplus or deficit in total merchandise trade? How about the balances on certain smaller categories of merchandise trade such as agriculture and manufactures?
• Please include a data table in your discussion with exports and imports side by side to support your responses.

Module 2 | Discussion

For this discussion, please continue to use your country’s trade data that you have obtained. You will discuss winners and losers from trade based on your country’s top exports and top imports. Relate it to the specific-factors model. In addition, you can share any knowledge of your country’s attitude toward trade and comment if it makes sense from an economic perspective. Any trade protests you have witnessed or read about you can share as well.

This discussion will be completed through a video recording:

• 2 - 3 minutes
• Must show yourself
• You can use a few powerpoint slides if it helps make your discussion easier to follow, but it is not required.

Please respond to at least two videos from your classmates. Comment on the substance of the discussion with a critique, a question, a suggestion, or anything you see fit.

Module 3 | Discussion

For this discussion, you will discuss your country’s tariff policy. Please visit the World Trade Organization’s website. From the homepage, click “WTO membership” box in the upper middle. Find and click on the country of your interest. On the country page, please click on the pdf link under “Tariff profile” on the lower left side. Please respond to the following questions and include a screen capture of the pdf in your discussion:

• In the summary box at the top of the pdf, what is the country’s average MFN tariff rate in the most recent year?
• How does the MFN tariff compare to other summary tariff stats (e.g., final bound, trade weighted average)?
• In part A.2 of the pdf, find the product group that has the highest MFN tariff. What is that product group’s share of imports? Who do you think benefits from the tariff on the product? Who do you think is hurt by the tariff?

You must also respond to at least two posts from your classmates. Comment on your impression of their country’s tariff policy and whether their response to the winners and losers of tariff makes sense or not.

Module 4 | Discussion

Below are a few tariff case studies:

• History of U.S. Steel Protectionism
• Welfare Cost of U.S.-China Trade War

Module 5 | Discussion

For this discussion, please decide on a country (excluding the U.S.) that you are curious about and explore the history of its exchange rate policy using this paper. Click on the red PDF icon to access the paper. Please discuss the following questions:

• How many different exchange rate regimes does your country have over time?
• Select one regime change and provide some historical background on this change.
• What is the current exchange rate policy in your country?
• How has your country’s currency been performing against the U.S. dollar in the past year?

You must also comment on at least two posts from your classmates.

Module 6 | Discussion

In this discussion, you will select a country (other than the U.S.) and get exchange rates and inflation data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Then you will use the data to rest if relative PPP holds between your country and the U.S. Then discuss the following questions using the data:

• Compare your country’s inflation rates to the U.S.
• Briefly summarize how your country’s currency has been performing against the dollar over time.
• Test to see how well relative PPP holds up using the data from your country and the US.

You must also respond to at least one post from your classmates. Comment on whether the data looks right or not, and whether their understanding of relative PPP is correct or not.

Module 7 | Discussion

For this discussion, imagine you are an advisor from the International Monetary Fund and you are assigned to advise the central bank of an emerging economy on macroeconomic policy issues. Some research beyond the textbook may be necessary. Please discuss the following in a video (must show yourself; dress properly; use of PPT and visuals allowed; 3 - 4 minutes):

• What data would you collect about this economy to help you make recommendations?
• What exchange rate policy would you suggest, fixed or floating? Why?
• Would you recommend the country open up its capital market (e.g., stock market) to foreign investors or not? Why?
• If the central bank wants to know whether or not it can use monetary policy to influence domestic economics, what would you say?

Please vote for your favorite advisor (other than yourself) by posting a reply. Explain briefly what made you decide to vote for him/her.

Module 8 | Discussion

For this discussion, you will select a country (other than the U.S.) to explore its current account.

Current Account Data:

• Go to IMF BOP data site
• Click on the table titled “1. Balance of Payments Analytic Presentation by Country”
• In the country drop-down menu, select your country
• Is the current account in surplus or deficit in recent years? Any trends?
• Out of TB, NFIA, and NUT, what seems to be the determining factor of your country’s CA outcome? Is this consistent with your country’s development and income status? Why?

You must also respond to at least one post from your classmates. Please comment on whether their data analysis is correct or not and the explanation provided makes sense or not.

Economics 347: Economics of Developing Countries Analysis

Created by: Dr. Janice Kinghorn , Teaching Professor & Assessment Director

Context from the HCWE

This assignment breaks down a complex semester-long analysis into more manageable parts, by having students focus on one or two concepts they are learning each week as they build to the full analysis. The assignment explains the purpose/objectives of the assignment, specifies an audience and genre, provides detailed instructions, and describes explicitly how economists think and write so that students can practice and model those disciplinary ways of knowing.

Sample Assignment for Economics 347

The objective of this project is to allow you to apply ideas and concepts we discuss in class to a specific context - a developing country. Through completing the steps in the project you should gain a better understanding of:

• The usefulness of standard development indicators for understanding the economy of a country
• The difficulties in finding and using standard development indicators in low income countries
• The process of generating hypothesis about development by examining data
• How economists use theory to better understand development experiences
• How economists use evidence to make arguments
• How to communicate like an economist

Students will choose a developing country to work on during the semester and complete a series of assignments, mostly memos, applying what we talk about in class to that country. Through that process I expect students to become experts on their particular country and thus be able to develop a thesis about economic development and write a strong argumentative essay using economic theory to make an argument supported by evidence by the end of the term.

The implied audience for the memos and the final paper is the U.S. ambassador to that country. Remember that the ambassador is busy so it is your job to provide just enough, and never too much information. The communication should be concise, easy to read, and clearly convey your point. More detail on how to write a business memo is at http://www.fsb.miamioh.edu/fsb/content/programs/howe-writing-initiative/HWI-handout-memo.html . Another source on how to write a business memo is here.

General Notes: In the assignments I often ask you to describe. Economists tend to describe by using graphs and tables. As you are learning the field of economics, I want you to follow this convention. Of course your graphs and tables must be correct, clearly labeled, your source data must be cited in a way the reader can easily find it, and they must be original. Excellent graphs and tables will clearly communicate to the reader without making the reader work too hard to understand your point. The objective is not to demonstrate to the instructor that you found the requested data - I’m assuming you did that - rather to make a clear point with that data.

I will assume that you mean everything you write. Be careful that you don’t use generalizations for stylistic reasons that you can not back up. Be careful of using vague words that you can not define. For example, “country X’s growth rate was huge” would be more appropriately written as “country X’s growth rate averaged 6% over the past ten years”.

I expect all data and claims to be sourced (APA style). Remember that I am trying to teach you to write like an economist, so in this project I’m not only concerned that you know things, but that you can appropriately write about them.

General Grading Criteria : Most assignments, unless otherwise specified, will be graded based on:

• Is the memo on time, complete, and conforming to requirements?
• Is the memo professional - free of errors, easy to read, shows evidence of thoughtful tailoring to the audience
• Is the work properly cited?
• Do the claims demonstrate that the student can accurately apply the course concepts?
• Does the application go beyond formulaic to add to an understanding of the country’s experience?

Assignment 1: Millennium Development Goals

Choose a country, which must be approved by your instructor. You must choose a low or middle income country, NOT a high income country. See http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-and-lending-groups#High_income (Links to an external site.). to check and see if your country is high income. You must choose a country with a population of greater than five million. You may not choose a country in which you have lived. You may not choose a country in which war, political instability, or other political factors make the economic situation highly atypical (your instructor will make the judgement about which countries to exclude for this reason). No more than 3 people may choose the same country, and you may benefit from discussing your country with others who are also doing research, but your assignments must be entirely your own. See the shared Google doc linked under the assignment to “sign up” for a country.

Once you have received approval for your country, investigate how well that country achieved the Millenium Development Goals. 1. Choose two goals that you would argue were a success for that country. a. Describe why you can claim they were successful (with evidence) and b. how they were successful (find at least one credible, high quality source). 2. Describe two that they still need to work on, and give evidence for your claim. You might find it helpful to consult http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Host.aspx?Content=Data/snapshots.htm .

Assignment 2: Income

• Describe the income, over time, and in context of your country. In class we discuss ways to measure income, so in this assignment I will not specify which you are to use, but you must justify why you chose the measure you did. You must use a professional looking graph that you have created (not copied from the internet) to communicate. You will need to choose what is meant by over time and in context. We will talk about this in class, but in general I want you to make your description meaningful by the inclusion of time and context.
• Describe the HDI for your country, and comment on the individual components. Pick one other indicator of development that is interest to you, not income or the components of HDI, and describe it for your country. The United Nations publishes data on the HDI at http://hdr.undp.org/en/data .

Assignment 3: Models of Development

We discussed models of development in chapters 3 and 4. Choose two of the models and discuss why they might be applicable to the development experience of your country. This is different from the other assignments because it asks you to apply models to the situation of the country that you have been learning about. To make your argument about applicability you will likely want to use historical experiences, as you are discussing change over time or historical conditions that have an effect on the country today. This assignment may require more library research than the others. In your final paper you will need to use theory to make an argument, so this is an opportunity to try that out. You do not need to stick with what you write for this assignment in your final paper, but you may do so.

Be sure your argument does not rely on “economist x writing in journal y thinks this model is applicable”, rather I want you to make the arguments and provide the evidence yourself. Note that the argument and evidence does not need to be complex - but it does need to be specific, and evidence does need to back up the argument. Because this assignment may be difficult, please discuss with with me if you are having difficulty. This is a great time to come to office hours to brainstorm ideas. You may also want to reach out to the business librarian at this point to help you find high quality resources for background research. You can find more information at https://libguides.lib.miamioh.edu/ECO347 .

Assignment 4: Poverty and Inequality

Describe the level of poverty and inequality in your country using standard measures of income and multidimensional poverty (UNDP has this data) that we discussed in class. Do you see any indication that there is a kuznets curve? What are the characteristics of those living in poverty (gender, ethnic origin, age, etc.)?

Assignment 5: Demographic Situation

a. Create a population pyramid for your country. The U.S. Census has this data at https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/idb/informationGateway.php. If your excel skills are a bit rusty you can find tutorials on the web. One is at https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/idb/informationGateway.php. b. How may the demographic situation in your country affect development? I have not specified what I mean by “demographic situation” so you have some latitude to choose which concept/measure from our class discussion is relevant for your country. You will need to be sure and describe (see the notes above for hints on how economists describe) the situation and make an argument connecting it to development. Note that I have also not specified how you must define “development”, so you will have to make that decision thinking about our discussion at the beginning of the term, but be sure you are intentional both in your work and in your communication.

Assignment 6: Thesis Statement

Develop a thesis about economic development in your country. Unlike the other assignments, the product is not a memo, but a one-sentence thesis. In the prior assignments you were asked to explain something that is straightforward once you did the research to find the “facts”. This assignment is different in that it asks you to take your understanding of “facts” and develop an argument by using what you know about the country and what you know about the theory of development. The following examples may get your thinking started:: country x can improve development indicator y by taking z action, country x is underdeveloped because of action y, X is a binding constraint on development of country y. A thesis is a statement of an argument. A good thesis:

• Tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.
• Serves as a road map for the paper; tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.
• Is usually a single sentence that presents your argument to the reader in a nutshell (for this assignment you are required to submit a single sentence).

For more help with writing a good thesis see this handout from the Howe center http://miamioh.edu/hcwe/handouts/thesis-statements/index.html . You are also encouraged to take advantage of the consultations available at the center. More information is at Howe Writing Center . Note that all students in this class may use the Howe Center for Business Writing, even if you are not an FSB student. If you have not looked at the resources our business librarian has put together when you were doing assignment 3 you may want to do so now. See https://libguides.lib.miamioh.edu/ECO347 . Assignment 6 will be graded based on how many times it takes you to get it right. If you submit an excellent thesis on the first try, you will get full credit. If you are asked to revise your thesis you must submit the first thesis and the revision. The more time it takes for you to get it right, the lower the grade, however you may not write the paper until you get this right.

Assignment 7: Draft

Submit a complete draft of your paper. A complete draft will 1. Have all parts complete (bibliography, footnotes, etc.) 2. Be well proofread (it should not by any means be your first draft). Details of the paper are below. For information about how to properly cite an idea or a direct quote see here. You must make sure you are fully aware of Miami’s policy on plagiarism  and take steps to prevent it. Please also review the FSB’s interpretation of the Miami policy.

Assignment 8: Peer Review

Peer review at least two students’ papers. The peer review will happen in class and you will receive instructions about what I want you to do. This assignment asks you to report on your learnings from that exercise. Write a memo describing 1. two pieces of feedback you received on your paper and how you will respond to them. Note that you do not have to accept the feedback, but if you choose not to make changes based on feedback please note your reasoning. Also describe 2. Two pieces of feedback you gave to each of two classmates and why you think this feedback would make their paper more effective.

Assignment 9: Final Paper

Your final paper should be no more than 1500 words (strictly enforced) not including bibliography (APA style) and good papers are often less. I will not specify a minimum number of sources but your sources should be sufficiently diverse so that you are confident you have an understanding of multiple perspectives and your arguments and evidence are properly sourced. I will check your sources - that is, I will find them and evaluate their quality, so be sure your citations provides enough information that I can easily find them, and make sure you are comfortable with their quality (do you know who the author is? Is the author qualified? Is the argument/evidence subject to peer review or editorial review?)

The format of the paper should be an argumentative essay - you will make an argument, supported by evidence, to substantiate your thesis. More information about this type of writing can be found  here .

Because this paper is the culmination of your semester-long effort to apply class material to your country it should be grounded in theories and concepts we used in this class. A paper which may be otherwise excellent but does not reflect the learning in this class this term will not be accepted.

Rubric for Assignment 9 Final Paper

Assignment 10: Class presentation

The audience for the presentation is your classmates. Your objective is to teach them something about development by showing them how a concept we discussed is class applies to your country. Parts of the presentation are:

• Background: give the class enough information about your country so that they can understand the argument you will make, but they do not necessarily need to know everything about the country that you have learned - be strategic in what you want to share.
• Problem/thesis: Share with the class what your thesis is, and also why it is important (what is the larger development issue that is at stake)
• Argument: Clearly make your argument in a way your classmates will easily follow
• Evidence: Convince your classmates that you are correct

Your presentation should be no longer than ten minutes, and you should expect to answer questions. You are expected not only to give a professional presentation but also be professional during your classmates’ presentations. That means your demeanor should indicate to the speaker that you are interested, you should not come in late while someone is speaking, you should occasionally raise your hand to ask questions.

Rubric for Assignment 10 Class Presentation

Due Dates: Fall 2019

A late assignment is an inferior assignment, thus you will receive a 20% reduction per day for an assignment submitted past the due date. Please see Canvas for updated due dates.

History: Dear Reader Memo

Created by: Dr. Erik Jensen , Associate Professor of History

The Dear Reader memo, sometimes called a Writer’s Note, is an assignment developed by Nancy Sommers, Harvard Writing Project , that establishes communication between the writer and the instructor and/or peers (whoever will read the draft) about the state of the draft and the writer’s perceptions of it, both positive and negative, and provides an opportunity for the writer to ask the reader for specific advice. A Dear Reader memo gives the writer an opportunity to reflect on their writing process and in later drafts often includes information about what was revised and why. Instructors should provide a prompt explaining what they want students to include in their memo and should also assign some points or other incentive for completing it.

Sample Assignment

Submit a “Dear Reader” memo (maximum 250 words) at the same time as the draft and a new “Dear Reader” memo at the same time as the final version, but always as a separate document to its own location on Canvas.

The memo for the draft is your opportunity to tell me and your peer reviewer the three aspects of your draft that you are most concerned about, so that we can focus our attention and comments on those three things in particular. (For instance, you might wonder if your organization makes sense, or you might wonder about some particular pieces of evidence that you use.) Your peer reviewer and I will comment on other areas, too, if we see problems and issues in your draft, but your memo should highlight three areas, in particular.

The memo for the final version is your opportunity to tell me how you’ve incorporated my feedback and that of your peer reviewer into this final version. You should highlight specific revisions that you’ve made. You can also use this memo to justify your reasons for not making certain changes that I or your peer reviewer may have recommended, but with which you disagreed.

• Due with your peer-reviewable draft on Tuesday, November 17, by class. Submitted either entirely via Canvas, or by hard copy in class and via Canvas (if we are face to face).
• Due with your polished final draft by Tuesday, December 8, at 5:00pm. Submitted electronically, via Canvas.

History 111: Primary Source Analysis Essay

Created by: Dr. Lindsay Schakenbach Regele , Robert H. and Nancy J. Blayney Assistant Professor of History

This is a scaffolded writing assignment for the class HST111 Survey of American History I. It's intended to introduce students (usually students who are new to history as a discipline) to primary source analysis and thesis-writing in the historical discipline. I created several pre-paper assignment deadlines to get students thinking about their document ahead of time and enable me to help students work through any interpretive issues they were having. Also, I allow students to select their own document to hopefully spark feelings of curiosity and ownership.

Sample Assignment for History 111

*Please read through the assignment description, guidelines and rubric. Following this information, there is a timeline for completing the assignment.

Primary sources form the base that supports historians’ reconstructions of the past. Historians are always trying to discover both the meaning and the significance of a piece of historical evidence. By meaning, we are trying to reconstitute what that document might have meant (or how it might have been understood) by the historical actors in that era. By significance, we attempt to relate how that evidence contributes to a particular interpretation of the past.

This assignment will give you practice in interpreting historical evidence . A good document analysis will focus upon both the text itself (with attention to the specifics and nuances of language used) and the context (the broader picture of the history of that period that informs the document. Never will simply describing what happened be sufficient as an historical interpretation of a document. No outside research is needed for this, just a familiarity with the material in your textbook.

Choose ONE primary source document from your Voices of Freedom book.

In 3-5 double-spaced pages, address the following sets of questions:

• Who wrote the document, and for whom was it written? What does this suggest about the point of view reflected in the document and any potential biases?
• Why was the document written, and how does the style/structure help or hinder its purpose?
• What do the document's author, audience, and style tell us about the historical context in which this document was produced?
• What other kinds of sources would you want to examine to corroborate the document’s claims and understand its context?

Begin your essay with a sentence or two about the author, the date and title of the text, the occasion for which the text was written, and the general subject of the document. If the author's identity is unknown, try to determine as much as you can about the type of person who was responsible for the production of the document. If the document was written after the events it describes, explain what impact that might have had on its construction.

In your introductory paragraph, present a brief summary of your interpretation of the author’s perspective, method, and purpose in writing the text. Your introduction should include a thesis statement that makes an argument about the document’s significance for understanding that period of American history (a good thesis statement requires evidence to support, and could be argued against).

In the body of your essay, you may find that the most efficient and effective way to discuss and analyze the text is to move step by step through the text. After all, that is how the author intended the text to be read or heard. As you present the points that the author makes (offer quotations from the text as evidence for your discussion), you will construct your own analysis, building and developing your interpretation as your essay progresses. Give yourself time to revise your essay, so that you can go back through the essay and refine your interpretation.

In your essay, use the simple past tense to describe what the author wrote: this serves to remind both you and your readers that the author wrote for an audience of his/her contemporaries. Whenever possible, use sentence constructions with the active voice rather than passive voice. Active verbs reiterate the author’s active role in creating the text and the argument, and they encourage you to make connections and draw conclusions about the author and the text.

The essay will be graded according to the following rubric*:

• Builds on the preparatory work you’ve done /100
• Makes a cogent thesis statement /50
• Demonstrates an understanding of the document's main points by successfully answering the questions /200 (50 points for each question)
• Supports the thesis statement with clearly written and well-organized evidence from the documents /200
• Total /500 *Please see the sample essays for what a “cogent thesis statement” and “well-organized evidence,” etc., look like.

In order to help you prepare your essay, I’m asking you to do some work ahead of time. This will help ensure that you understand both the assignment and the document you’ve chosen. It will also allow me to intervene if there are major questions or misunderstandings about the documents. (I expect you to struggle with them a little bit—Primary sources are difficult!)

• Before September 11 , select your document and read through the examples of successful essays that I’ve posted
• On the Canvas discussion board, post your selection and answer the questions that follow the document., DUE Friday, Sept. 11
• Look through other students’ posts, and post 5-7 sentences reflecting on your thoughts after reading other students’ choices and if you would like to change the document you have selected (which you are permitted to do) DUE Friday, Sept. 18
• Upload your answers to the assignment questions (Word document; these can be in draft note form), DUE Friday, October 16
• Upload final primary source analysis essay (Word document), DUE Friday, November 6

History 198: Continuity/Change Essay

I focused extensively in this course on creating a writing-feedback-rewriting framework. HST 198 (“World History since 1500”) engaged students at all levels of the curriculum, both majors and non-majors. I developed a scaffolded approach to the writing assignments that followed this template:

• A best-effort draft
• “Dear Reader” memo for the draft
• Peer review memo about your partner’s draft
• Polished final draft with “Dear Reader” memo for the polished, final draft in which the writer addresses instructor comments on the draft as well as peer reviewer’s comments

Note: I used this framework for all three courses I taught during the same semester—HST 198 (“World History since 1500”), HST 331 (“Nineteenth-century Europe”), and HST 410 (“Twentieth-century Germany”). Each of these classes, which I taught all in one semester, has two or three writing assignments. I’ve provided one sample for HST 198 below.

Sample Assignment for History 198

• Due as a peer-reviewable draft on Tuesday, November 17, by class. Submitted either entirely via Canvas, or by hard copy in class and via Canvas (if we are face to face).
• Due as a polished final draft by Tuesday, December 8, at 5:00pm. Submitted electronically, via Canvas.

Why am I having you write this Essay?

This assignment hones your ability to present a clear argument that is supported by evidence and written in a manner that is accessible to people who may have a limited background in the subject matter. This is a job skill. Whether submitting grant proposals for a non-profit organization or assessing business models for a consulting firm, an ability to write thoughtfully and persuasively will serve you well.

By prompting you to examine the explicit, implicit, and perhaps even unconscious arguments, assumptions, and experiences represented in the five texts for our course, this essay also encourages you to do the historian’s work of interpreting and presenting a vision of the past. This is an unavoidably subjective enterprise, and it makes your engaged and critical reading of these texts so important.

Other than in its expanding size and power, the general nature and purpose of the state has not changed that much over the past five hundred years. Based on your readings and comparison of The Death of Woman Wang, The History of Mary Prince, Abina and the Important Men, Spider Eaters, and The Origins of the Modern World, do you agree or disagree? Why?

The Process

In a well-organized essay of around 2,000 words (roughly 7 pages, double-spaced), answer the question based on your reading of the five assigned texts from this course. You must include at least fourteen (14) direct quotations from the texts, with at least four (4) coming from Spider Eaters; at least four (4) coming from The Origins of the Modern World; and at least two (2) coming from each of the three remaining texts. Explain each quotation’s relevance to your larger argument.

Since this is an historical essay, use dates in order to provide the necessary context for a given quotation, event, or trend. You should cite the source of the quotation in a footnote or an endnote. Here’s an example:

In Chapter 5, Robert Marks argues that transformations in economic production led to the emergence of new forms of identity, noting that "industrialization created new social classes, especially the urban working class and the capitalist class."[1] (This example also highlights the fact that you should introduce every quotation.) For subsequent quotations that come from the same source as the preceding quotation, do this.[2]

Focus on the prompt. Your answer to it constitutes your thesis, which your entire essay should then seek to support. If a piece of information does not advance your thesis, do not include it. You can just as easily write an "A" paper that disagrees with the prompt as one that agrees with it. The skill, clarity, and integrity with which you craft your argument determines your grade.

• No quotation should be longer than 40 words (i.e. NO block quotations).
• Introduce each quotation so that the reader knows who has written the words that appear within the quotation marks and can put those words in context.
• Always underline the title of a book, like this, or place it in italics, like this.

The Audience

Provide enough background information so that a person will understand the logic of your argument and the relevance of your examples even without having read any of the five texts in question.

Academic Integrity

If you are strapped for time before the final version is due, *request an extension,* which in this case might mean asking for an Incomplete for the semester. An “I” is far preferable to a conviction for academic dishonesty. Know the policies stated in the student handbook regarding academic integrity. For this assignment, you should not use any source other than the assigned text (in paper or e-book format) and the in-class discussions. If you have any questions at all about what is appropriate to use, please see me.

Grading (and Peer-Review) Rubric

• Is the thesis clear, and does it address the prompt?
• Does the introductory section provide a “roadmap” that succinctly summarizes the author’s main points and organization of the essay?
• If the essay acknowledges the opposing argument, is that acknowledgment brief and concluded with a reiteration of the thesis?
• What pieces of evidence support the argument?
• What types of evidence might be missing?
• Does the author include at least the minimum number of quotations, and does the author effectively frame each one to show how it supports the argument?
• Does the essay stay focused on its thesis and adhere to its organizational roadmap?
• Are transitions between the paragraphs smooth, and does each paragraph have a topic sentence and clear focus?
• Does the essay have a forceful conclusion?
• Are the quotations, dates, and historical context accurate? Are words and names spelled correctly? Peer reviewers: Circle anything that looks suspicious, so that the author knows to double check it.
• Has the author written clearly – avoiding repetition, using comfortable vocabulary, and employing passive voice only where it makes sense to do so?

History 331: Power Essay

I focused extensively in all three courses [taught during one semester] on creating a writing-feedback-rewriting framework. I developed two or three writing assignments in each class. The three courses—HST 198 (“World History since 1500”), HST 331 (“Nineteenth-century Europe”), and HST 410 (“Twentieth-century Germany”)—engaged students at all levels of the curriculum, both majors and non-majors. For all three classes, I developed a scaffolded approach to the writing assignments that followed the same template:

Sample Assignment for History 331

By prompting you to make an argument about which sets of forces you think had the greatest impact on people’s lives during a particular period of time, this essay also emboldens you to “do history,” which entails interpreting, presenting, and supporting with evidence your vision of the past.

The state (governments, judicial systems, laws, national and local bureaucracies) shaped people's lives in the 19th century more profoundly than did broader cultural, social, economic, or environmental forces or non-state institutions. Based on do you agree or disagree? Why?

In a well-organized essay of around 3,000 words (roughly 10-11 pages, double-spaced), answer the question based on your reading of The Transformation of the World, The Communist Manifesto, and A Doll’s House. You must include at least fourteen (14) direct quotations from The Transformation of the World, at least eight (8) of which must come from the last nine chapters (Chapter XI through the Conclusion), and from five different ones among those last nine. In addition, you must include at least three (3) direct quotations from The Communist Manifesto and three (3) from A Doll’s House. Explain each quotation’s relevance to your larger argument.

In Chapter VII, on "Frontiers," Osterhammel seems to downplay the pervasiveness of territorial acquisitions, when he writes, "In nineteenth-century Europe, especially outside Russia, colonial landgrabs on a large scale became a rarity."[1] (This example also highlights the fact that you should introduce every quotation.) For subsequent quotations that come from the same source as the preceding quotation, do this.[2]

Provide enough background information so that a person will understand the logic of your argument and the relevance of your examples even without having read The Communist Manifesto, A Doll’s House, or The Transformation of the World.

• What pieces evidence support the argument?
• Are they the strongest pieces of evidence

References: 1. Jürgen Osterhammel, The Transformation of the World: A Global History of the Nineteenth Century, trans. Patrick Camiller (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2014), 323. 2. Ibid.,115.

HST 410: Dictatorship Essay

Sample assignment for history 410.

• Due as a peer-reviewable draft on Tuesday, November 19, by class. Submitted either entirely via Canvas, or by hard copy in class and via Canvas (if we are face to face).

The individual motivations for cooperating with, opposing, or simply tolerating the Nazi and East German regimes were broadly similar. Based on your reading of Kershaw and Funder, do you agree or disagree? Why?

When you are looking at cooperation, opposition, or toleration/submission, you will want to consider an array of motivations, including patriotism, peer pressure, familial ties, material desire, longing for greater rights, obedience, and so on. Our class discussions will play a central role in helping us to think through these motivations.

In a well-organized essay of around 3,000 words (roughly 10-11 pages, double-spaced), answer the question based on your reading of The End and Stasiland. You must include at least sixteen (16) direct quotations, eight (8) of which must come from Kershaw and eight (8) of which must come from Funder. Draw these quotations from different chapters throughout both works, rather than from just a single chapter or section. Explain each quotation’s relevance to your larger argument.

In his discussion of the role of Jews during the Revolutions of 1848, Elon notes the multi-generational nature of this involvement when he writes, "An older generation of Jewish militants found a role as well." [1] (This example also highlights the fact that you should introduce every quotation.) For subsequent quotations that come from the same source as the preceding quotation, do this.[2]

Provide enough background information so that a person will understand the logic of your argument and the relevance of your examples even without having read The End or Stasiland.

References: 1 . Amos Elon, The Pity of It All: A Portrait of the German-Jewish Epoch , 1743-1933 (New York: Picador, 2002), 163. 2. Ibid.,197.

Gerontology 354: Rhetorical Analysis

Created by: Dr. Kate de Medeiros, Professor & O'Toole Family Professorship

For this undergraduate class, students work on a final persuasive paper based on a controversy of their choice over the course of the semester. I wanted them to read carefully to see how written language can be used to set a tone, to subtly persuade, to speak with authority, to leave one with a certain emotion, and so on. They first complete the rhetorical analysis on controversy articles from the “Opposing Viewpoints” database. After they write their draft, they use the same rhetorical analysis steps to provide a peer review on a classmate’s paper.

Sample Assignment from Gerontology 354

A critical part of writing well is learning to read with a discerning eye. A rhetorical analysis is a close reading of someone else’s work where you pay very close attention to not only what the writer says, but how the writer uses language – word choices, sentence structures, opposing arguments, tone, arguments structure, and others – to convey their point.

• Navigate to the “Opposing Viewpoints” database via the library’s website. Here is a brief video that shows you how to do this in case you are not familiar.
• Select a topic that is different than your own but is related to aging.
• Read the viewpoint essay for the topic you selected. Write or paste the title of the essay here, as well as the url.
• Who is the intended audience of this piece? How do you know? I am not asking you to simply guess based on the title, but see if there are subtle ways that the author conveys this.
• What is the purpose of the piece – the thesis? Either copy a sentence that you believe is the thesis or rephrase in your own words.
• What is the effect the author intends to have on readers? How do you know? Include “evidence” in your response (e.g., copy a sentence, some phrases – whatever makes your case.)
• What are the main arguments that the author uses to support his/her case? (You can cut and paste sentences from the text or explain in your own words.) Does the author bring up counter-arguments? (You can cut and paste sentences from the text or explain in your own words.) Overall, how effective would you say the author’s arguments are? Please explain your response.
• Does the author support his/her argument with additional information or data? Please give examples. How believable/reliable is that data? Please explain.
• Overall, what feelings are you left with after reading the piece (e.g., anger, sadness, outrage, etc.) Since emotions in a text are a direct result of the specific words, among other things, find words in the essay that contribute to your feelings.
• Another effective strategy that writers use is varied sentence length. Focus on one paragraph in the essay. How long are each of the sentences? Is there any relationship you see between sentence length and the message and/or emotions conveyed? Explain your answer and provide support.
• After reading this, what, if any, of the literary devices would you apply to your own work? What literary devices in this piece would you not apply to your own work. Please explain.
• In your opinion, was the essay a good piece of writing? Why or why not? (There is no right answer but be sure to support your response with clear examples and/or explanations.)

Gerontology 602: Theory Project

Created by: Dr. Jennifer Kinney , Professor and Director of Graduate Studies

Sample Assignment for Gerontology 602

At this point in the semester you have a good overview of gerontology (in large part on de Medeiros, 2017) and are beginning to read a variety of genre (journal articles, encyclopedia entries, book chapters) written for an academic gerontology audience. Over the remainder of the semester you will continue to learn about gerontological theory and its application. During this time, in addition to your assigned out-of-class reading and our class sessions, you will complete a theory project. For this project, you will explore a specific gerontological concept that you are particularly interested in/that will be most helpful to you as you prepare to be a gerontologist. Specifically, you will document the development of the concept in gerontology and its theoretical underpinnings. You will complete the project in specific steps, and receive feedback/be evaluated on each step of the project. For several of the steps you will revise your work based on the feedback you get from your peers and/or me, and incorporate the feedback into a revision that is included in the final step of the project. At the end of the semester you will present an overview of your paper to the class.

Specific instructions for each step of the project (1-8) are listed below.

Step 1: Your Initial Idea

Pick a contemporary concept in gerontology in which you are particularly interested. If a topic does not immediately come to mind, you might think about: 1) your previous work with/on behalf of older adults; 2) what interested you when you were applying to graduate school; 3) new interests that have emerged through your classwork, GA work, and other experiences and/or an area that you would like to learn more about. For Step 1, please turn in the following:

• List the top 1- 3 ideas or concepts that you have learned from your prior knowledge/experience related to gerontology.
• For each of the concepts listed, how does your prior knowledge relate to what we have read so far or what you are interested in learning more about?
• What do you need to know (e.g., more theories, applicable examples) to gain more insight into the concept/theory that you are most interested in?

Step 1 of your theory project is due during week 4 of the semester and is worth 5 possible points (2% of the written theory project, which is worth a total of 210 points).

Step 2: Identifying and Reflecting on Your Topic

Last week, I asked you to start thinking about a topic you'd like to explore. Now I am asking you to commit to that topic.

• Step 2 Product: Write a 1-2 paragraph description of what concept you plan to explore, and why you chose that concept. The audience for this concept description is me— your course instructor/a gerontology faculty member. Because of the audience, this should be well thought out and well written. You will get feedback from me about your concept description and should take this feedback into account when you complete Step 3.
• How much of your topic relies on your previous learning or experience?
• What new information/perspective do you hope to gain through your topic?
• How do you hope to apply your topic to your future work in the GTY program?
• What additional challenges will you need to face (e.g., mastering a new literature, changing previous ways of thinking) to accomplish your goal for this project?

Your concept description and reflection (in one document) is due during week 5 of the semester and is worth 15 possible points (7% of the written theory project, which is worth a total of 210 points).

Step 3: Contemporary Thinking on Your Topic

• Step 3 Product: For three of the sources (i.e., articles or book chapters) you identified, prepare a summary. You can either prepare a 1-page narrative summary for each source, or you can use a modified version of the Howe Writing Center matrix (similar to the one we have used in class).

Regardless of the format you choose, your summary should include definition of the key concept(s); what lens/perspective/theory the authors use to contextualize and/or ground the concept; and the purpose, major points/findings, and what you learned from each source. The audience for the summary(ies) is primarily yourself and your instructor/consultant who will give you feedback about your ideas (as opposed to the quality of your writing). Be sure that your ideas/writing are clear enough that another reader can understand what you are saying.

Your summary(ies) and the three sources are due during week 7 of the semester and is worth 30 possible points (14% of the written theory project, which is worth a total of 210 points).

Step 4: Looking Back/Historical Influences

• Step 4 Product: Prepare one combined summary for the three sources you identified. In contrast to your summaries from Step 3, which could be in the form of an narrative for each source or a modified version of the Howe Writing Center matrix (either one matrix per source, or one matrix with all three sources), the focus of your Step 4 summary should be how the articles “talk” to one another (e.g., how your concept developed from the earliest to the most recent article, the gerontological lens/perspective/theory used in each source, the commonalities and discrepancies across the three sources), and it should be in the form of one narrative or one matrix for all three sources. The summary (whether it is a narrative or matrix) can address the following topics:
• definitions of the concept
• how the concept is used in the conceptualization/research
• strengths and weaknesses in how the concept is defined/used
• suggestions to improve how the concept is conceptualized/measured

Note: the above topics are suggestions; you should modify them to address the points you want to make in your paper.

The audience for the summary of historical sources matrix is primarily yourself and your instructor/consultant who will give you feedback about your ideas (as opposed to the quality of your writing). Again, make sure that your ideas/writing are clear enough that another reader can understand what you are saying.

Your summary of historical sources is due during week 9 of the semester and is worth 30 possible points (14% of the written theory project, which is worth a total of 210 points).

Step 5: Constructing your “Story”

• Step 5 Product: Develop a “blueprint” of the story you want to tell your audience, which is other scholars in gerontology. This blueprint can take the form of a traditional outline, a “forensic or concept map," or any other format that “works” for you. Although you should keep in mind that the audience for your final paper is other scholars in gerontology, the audience for the blueprint is yourself and your instructor/peers who will give you feedback about your ideas.

Your blueprint is due during week 10 of the semester and is worth 30 possible points (14% of the written theory project, which is worth a total of 210 points).

Step 6: Putting it all Together

• Step 6 Product: Develop your blueprint into a 5-10 ish- page paper. This academic paper should be written for other gerontology scholars. The purpose of this paper is to explain the evolution of gerontological thinking about your concept, with an emphasis on the lenses/perspectives/theories that informed this thinking, and for you to speculate (in an informed way) about how this concept will continue to develop in gerontology.

Your paper is due during week 12 of the semester and you should bring a copy to class, where a peer will be assigned to give you feedback. Your draft is worth 40 possible points (19% of the written theory project, which is worth a total of 210 points).

Step 7: Peer Review

• Step 7 Product: You will be assigned as a peer reviewer for one of your classmates. Carefully read the draft of their paper, and provide written feedback. You will be given specific guidelines for the feedback. Your peer feedback is due during week 13 of the semester and is worth 20 possible points (10% of the written theory project, which is worth a total of 210 points).

Step 8: The Finish Line

• Step 8 Product: Using the feedback you received, prepare, revise and finalize your paper. Your final paper is due during exam week. Your final paper is worth 40 possible points (20% of the assignment, which is worth a total of 210 points).

Step 9: Final Oral Presentation

• have an appropriate powerpoint presentation that uses minimal text and instead uses engaging graphics/images when appropriate.
• be well rehearsed so that it sounds confident but not scripted.
• final paper. Remember, we as an audience do not need to know everything. Instead, you should present a coherent story of why your concept matters.

NOTE: The presentation must not exceed 12 minutes. I will cut you off at the 12 minute mark. It is important to be mindful of other people's time so staying within the allotted time is key.

The presentation will occur during the last week of classes and will be worth a total of 25 possible points.

Gerontology 702: Weekly Synthesis Assignment

The synthesis exercise was based on our observation that students had a tendency to summarize literature, not synthesize ideas. Through this exercise, I wanted to force students to read two very different articles to come up with a synthesis that somehow brought together key ideas from both. We did this weekly. Although difficult for them at first, they gradually became more comfortable with and proficient at synthesizing literature as the semester progressed.

Sample Assignment for Gerontology 702

I borrow this definition of a literature "synthesis": "Synthesis writing is a form of analysis related to comparison and contrast, classification and division. On a basic level, synthesis requires the writer to pull together two or more summaries, looking for themes in each text. In synthesis, you search for the links between various materials in order to make your point." A synthesis is not just a mere summary. It is an integrated analysis whereby you should demonstrate not only that you read and understood the readings, but also that you can pull key points together in some cohesive way. The readings will often not be obviously related. However, find a way to be true to their essence while also using them to build a new observation or idea.

synthesis: Article 1 and 2

Your synthesis should be at least 2 paragraphs long.

Avoid using block quotes (taking large chunks of direct text in quotations.) Everything should be in your own words with proper citation using APA formatting.

You should demonstrate a deep reading and understanding of some major points.

Bring these points together to pull together something related to gerontology.

Remember, this is a theory course. You should not focus on methods, on study design, findings, or anything outside of theory.

Use only the articles assigned for that week. Do not bring in outside readings or sources.

Gerontology 702: Reverse Genealogy Assignment

I found that students, even doctoral students, were not reading critically. This assignment came about during the Fellows program with relation to understanding how to build on past work when writing an article, especially in the literature review. I wanted students to clearly see what the “bones” of an article looked like by looking at its foundation – the references. It was very successful. Students were surprised to see the connections between the articles cited and the final article, which they were given after completing this exercise.

Attached is a reference list for a gerontology article. Using only this list, attempt to make sense of what the article is about and what are the major influencing literatures cited. Pay close attention to details such as: what journals are cited, what "classic" works (if any) are included, whether there are topics that you could group together, what authors are cited. You do not need to upload this — you can have hand drawn diagrams or notes if that is easier. Be prepared to discuss during class.

Gerontology 705: Genre Analysis

Sample assignment for gerontology 705.

The purpose of this activity is to explain the conventions of a particular sub-genre of gerontological writing (e.g., abstract, introduction, method, discussion) and relate these conventions to the work that the genre does for the gerontologists who use it. The main question the analysis should address is why the genre takes the shape(s) that it does given what gerontologists are trying to accomplish when they use that genre. Doing this type of analysis for different genre will enable us to: 1) articulate what that genre “looks like” in gerontology and 2) be able to more successfully create documents in that genre.

After you have carefully engaged with the exemplars/examples from the genre, identify their commonalities using the categories and questions of analysis identified by Sojna Foss (2018) as a starting point:

• What conditions (situations) call for this genre?
• What prompts this sort of document to be written?
• What is the exigence—the need or reason for a given action or communication?
• Who usually creates this genre—people doing what?
• What sort of content (substance) is typically contained in this genre?
• What do these texts tend to talk about or say?
• Is there information that is typically present (or not present) in these texts?
• What form does this sort of genre take and what does it look like (length, page layout, color, font)?
• How are its parts organized?
• What language does it use?
• Are there specialized terms?
• How are references/citations used in the text?
• What “moves” (e.g., transitions, signposting) are made?
• What tone/voice does it take (formal, informal, dense, light; passive, active)?
• What elements make this genre what it is?
• What are the common denominations of the genre (for example, what makes a resume a resume?
• For each characteristic you identify in 1-3 above, you might ask “If I took out this characteristic, would it still be recognizable as this genre?”

Your analysis should “tell the story” of the genre, including how what the genre needs to accomplish leads to the shape it typically takes; how this genre is most often used; and the features that your analysis indicates are required; features that appear to be optional. A good analysis includes a clear explanation of who uses the genre and for what purpose(s), conclusions based on comparison of several exemplars/examples of the genre; accurate assessments of the genre’s key elements; a clear organizational structure that includes a logical progression through the elements of the genre that your analysis highlights.

The source for the genre analysis guidelines: Foss, Sonja K. 2018. Rhetorical Criticism: Exploration and Practice 5th edition . Long Grove, IL: Waveland

Resources/Further Reading

• Anderson, P., Anson, C. M., Gonyea, R.M., & Paine, C. (2016). “How to create high-impact writing assignments that enhance learning and development and reinvigorate WAC/WID programs: What almost 72,000 undergraduates taught us.” Across the Disciplines, 13(4). DOI: https://doi.org/10.37514/ATD-J.2016.13.4.13
• Hyland, K. (2013). Writing in the university: Education, knowledge, and reputation. Language Teaching, 46(1), 53-70. 
• Swales, J. (2004). Research genres: Explorations and applications. Cambridge University Press.
• Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge University Press.

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