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Prewriting
Understanding Your Assignment
“What is expected of me?” Writing a strong paper requires that you fully understand your assignment, and answering this question is the first crucial step in the academic writing process. What is your professor asking of you? The suggestions below will assist you as you determine what is expected of you.
Assignment Comprehension Tips
Click on the tabs below for tips on how to fully understand what is expected of you.
- STUDY THE DETAILS
- CREATE A TANGIBLE RESOURCE
- IMPLEMENT A TIMETABLE
- HIGHLIGHT KEY WORDS
- STAY WITHIN CLOSE PROXIMITY OF DETAILS
- RELY ON SUPPORT
Read the instructions line-by-line to familiarize yourself initially. Reading them aloud helps too.
Print out the instructions if necessary and highlight key information, such as the due date, word count, format, or citation style. Print and study the rubric, if available. The rubric reveals how you will be graded for each part of your essay and will give you clues on how exactly to structure your writing.
Plug the due date into your smartphone calendar and request a reminder notification. In addition, work backward from the due date and schedule specific weeks for planning, prewriting, researching, writing, getting feedback, and rewriting.
Circle any key phrases that can guide your actions.
Keep your assignment instructions next to you as you work on informal prewriting exercises and planning so you avoid getting off track.
When in doubt, ask your professor. Your professors want you to succeed and welcome any remaining questions about assignment expectations.
Read the instructions line-by-line to familiarize yourself initially. Reading them aloud helps too.
Print out the instructions if necessary and highlight key information, such as the due date, word count, format, or citation style. Print and study the rubric, if available. The rubric reveals how you will be graded for each part of your essay and will give you clues on how exactly to structure your writing.
Plug the due date into your smartphone calendar and request a reminder notification. In addition, work backward from the due date and schedule specific weeks for planning, prewriting, researching, writing, getting feedback, and rewriting.
Circle any key phrases that can guide your actions.
Keep your assignment instructions next to you as you work on informal prewriting exercises and planning so you avoid getting off track.
When in doubt, ask your professor. Your professors want you to succeed and welcome any remaining questions about assignment expectations.
Finding Purpose and Meaning
The purpose of the preparative steps above is to create a foundation for nuanced writing. Some additional questions can help you reach a deeper understanding of the assignment. Ask yourself the following questions:
Table 2.1 below shows you how to identify keywords and expectations from the directive wording of the assignment. These key phrases are often associated with essay questions, as well as informal and formal papers. As a note, the table is based on Benjamin Bloom’s cognitive objectives.
Table 2.1
Assignment Wording and Expectations
| Assignment uses the following directive wording: | When your instructor expects you to do the following: |
| Define, label, list, name, repeat, order, arrange, memorize | Memorize, recall, and present information |
| Describe, indicate, restate, explain, review, summarize, classify | Interpret information in your own words |
| Apply, illustrate, prepare, solve, use, sketch, operate, practice, calculate | Apply knowledge to new situations |
| Analyze, categorize, compare, test, distinguish, examine, contrast | Break down knowledge into parts and show relationships among parts |
| Arrange, compose, formulate, organize, plan, assemble, construct | Bring together parts of knowledge to form a whole; build relationships for new situations |
| Appraise, evaluate, conclude, judge, predict, compare, score | Make judgments based on criteria; support, confirm preferences |
| Use supporting examples, cite passages from the text, paraphrase, summarize | Quote or paraphrase to support what you have written |
| Provide corroborating evidence, reference other works, research, cite examples from case studies | Use outside research to support your thesis or hypothesis |
Once you understand your assignment and decide on what approach to take, you can move on to identifying and targeting your audience.
Table of Contents: Online Guide to Writing
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How Does College Writing Differ from Workplace Writing? -
What Is College Writing? -
Why So Much Emphasis on Writing?
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Doing Exploratory Research -
Getting from Notes to Your Draft -
Introduction -
Prewriting -
Prewriting - Techniques to Get Started - Mining Your Intuition -
Prewriting: Targeting Your Audience -
Prewriting: Techniques to Get Started -
Prewriting: Understanding Your Assignment -
Rewriting -
Rewriting: Being Your Own Critic -
Rewriting: Creating a Revision Strategy -
Rewriting: Getting Feedback -
Rewriting: The Final Draft -
Techniques to Get Started - Outlining -
Techniques to Get Started - Using Systematic Techniques -
Thesis Statement and Controlling Idea -
Writing: Getting from Notes to Your Draft - Freewriting -
Writing: Getting from Notes to Your Draft - Summarizing Your Ideas -
Writing: Outlining What You Will Write
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A Word About Style, Voice, and Tone -
A Word About Style, Voice, and Tone: Style Through Vocabulary and Diction -
Critical Strategies and Writing -
Critical Strategies and Writing: Analysis -
Critical Strategies and Writing: Evaluation -
Critical Strategies and Writing: Persuasion -
Critical Strategies and Writing: Synthesis -
Developing a Paper Using Strategies -
Introduction -
Kinds of Assignments You Will Write -
Patterns for Presenting Information -
Patterns for Presenting Information: Critiques -
Patterns for Presenting Information: Discussing Raw Data -
Patterns for Presenting Information: General-to-Specific Pattern -
Patterns for Presenting Information: Problem-Cause-Solution Pattern -
Patterns for Presenting Information: Specific-to-General Pattern -
Patterns for Presenting Information: Summaries and Abstracts -
Supporting with Research and Examples -
Writing Essay Examinations -
Writing Essay Examinations: Make Your Answer Relevant and Complete -
Writing Essay Examinations: Organize Thinking Before Writing -
Writing Essay Examinations: Read and Understand the Question
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Introduction -
Planning and Writing a Research Paper -
Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Ask a Research Question -
Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Cite Sources -
Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Collect Evidence -
Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Decide Your Point of View, or Role, for Your Research -
Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Draw Conclusions -
Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Find a Topic and Get an Overview -
Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Manage Your Resources -
Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Outline -
Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Survey the Literature -
Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Work Your Sources into Your Research Writing -
Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found? - Human Resources -
Research Resources: What Are Research Resources? -
Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found? -
Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found? - Electronic Resources -
Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found? - Print Resources -
Structuring the Research Paper: Formal Research Structure -
Structuring the Research Paper: Informal Research Structure -
The Nature of Research -
The Research Assignment: How Should Research Sources Be Evaluated? -
The Research Assignment: When Is Research Needed? -
The Research Assignment: Why Perform Research?
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Academic Integrity -
Giving Credit to Sources -
Giving Credit to Sources: Copyright Laws -
Giving Credit to Sources: Documentation -
Giving Credit to Sources: Style Guides -
Integrating Sources -
Practicing Academic Integrity -
Practicing Academic Integrity: Keeping Accurate Records -
Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material -
Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material - Paraphrasing Your Source -
Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material - Quoting Your Source -
Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material - Summarizing Your Sources -
Types of Documentation -
Types of Documentation: Bibliographies and Source Lists -
Types of Documentation: Citing World Wide Web Sources -
Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations -
Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - APA Style -
Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - CSE/CBE Style -
Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - Chicago Style -
Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - MLA Style -
Types of Documentation: Note Citations
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Introduction -
Reviews and Reaction Papers: Article and Book Reviews -
Reviews and Reaction Papers: Reaction Papers -
Writing Arguments -
Writing Arguments: Adapting the Argument Structure -
Writing Arguments: Purposes of Argument -
Writing Arguments: References to Consult for Writing Arguments -
Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Anticipate Active Opposition -
Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Determine Your Organization -
Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Develop Your Argument -
Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Introduce Your Argument -
Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - State Your Thesis or Proposition -
Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Write Your Conclusion -
Writing Arguments: Types of Argument
Appendix A: Books to Help Improve Your Writing
Appendix B: Collaborative Writing and Peer Reviewing
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Collaborative Writing: Assignments to Accompany the Group Project -
Collaborative Writing: Informal Progress Report -
Collaborative Writing: Issues to Resolve -
Collaborative Writing: Methodology -
Collaborative Writing: Peer Evaluation -
Collaborative Writing: Tasks of Collaborative Writing Group Members -
Collaborative Writing: Writing Plan -
Conclusion -
General Introduction -
Peer Reviewing