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Everyone struggles with homework sometimes, but if getting your homework done has become a chronic issue for you, then you may need a little extra help. That’s why we’ve written this article all about how to do homework. Once you’re finished reading it, you’ll know how to do homework (and have tons of new ways to motivate yourself to do homework)!

We’ve broken this article down into a few major sections. You’ll find:

• A diagnostic test to help you figure out why you’re struggling with homework
• A discussion of the four major homework problems students face, along with expert tips for addressing them
• A bonus section with tips for how to do homework fast

By the end of this article, you’ll be prepared to tackle whatever homework assignments your teachers throw at you .

So let’s get started!

How to Do Homework: Figure Out Your Struggles 

Sometimes it feels like everything is standing between you and getting your homework done. But the truth is, most people only have one or two major roadblocks that are keeping them from getting their homework done well and on time. 

The best way to figure out how to get motivated to do homework starts with pinpointing the issues that are affecting your ability to get your assignments done. That’s why we’ve developed a short quiz to help you identify the areas where you’re struggling. 

Take the quiz below and record your answers on your phone or on a scrap piece of paper. Keep in mind there are no wrong answers! 

1. You’ve just been assigned an essay in your English class that’s due at the end of the week. What’s the first thing you do?

A. Keep it in mind, even though you won’t start it until the day before it’s due  B. Open up your planner. You’ve got to figure out when you’ll write your paper since you have band practice, a speech tournament, and your little sister’s dance recital this week, too.  C. Groan out loud. Another essay? You could barely get yourself to write the last one!  D. Start thinking about your essay topic, which makes you think about your art project that’s due the same day, which reminds you that your favorite artist might have just posted to Instagram...so you better check your feed right now. 

2. Your mom asked you to pick up your room before she gets home from work. You’ve just gotten home from school. You decide you’ll tackle your chores: 

A. Five minutes before your mom walks through the front door. As long as it gets done, who cares when you start?  B. As soon as you get home from your shift at the local grocery store.  C. After you give yourself a 15-minute pep talk about how you need to get to work.  D. You won’t get it done. Between texts from your friends, trying to watch your favorite Netflix show, and playing with your dog, you just lost track of time! 

3. You’ve signed up to wash dogs at the Humane Society to help earn money for your senior class trip. You: 

A. Show up ten minutes late. You put off leaving your house until the last minute, then got stuck in unexpected traffic on the way to the shelter.  B. Have to call and cancel at the last minute. You forgot you’d already agreed to babysit your cousin and bake cupcakes for tomorrow’s bake sale.  C. Actually arrive fifteen minutes early with extra brushes and bandanas you picked up at the store. You’re passionate about animals, so you’re excited to help out! D. Show up on time, but only get three dogs washed. You couldn’t help it: you just kept getting distracted by how cute they were!

4. You have an hour of downtime, so you decide you’re going to watch an episode of The Great British Baking Show. You: 

A. Scroll through your social media feeds for twenty minutes before hitting play, which means you’re not able to finish the whole episode. Ugh! You really wanted to see who was sent home!  B. Watch fifteen minutes until you remember you’re supposed to pick up your sister from band practice before heading to your part-time job. No GBBO for you!  C. You finish one episode, then decide to watch another even though you’ve got SAT studying to do. It’s just more fun to watch people make scones.  D. Start the episode, but only catch bits and pieces of it because you’re reading Twitter, cleaning out your backpack, and eating a snack at the same time.

5. Your teacher asks you to stay after class because you’ve missed turning in two homework assignments in a row. When she asks you what’s wrong, you say: 

A. You planned to do your assignments during lunch, but you ran out of time. You decided it would be better to turn in nothing at all than submit unfinished work.  B. You really wanted to get the assignments done, but between your extracurriculars, family commitments, and your part-time job, your homework fell through the cracks.  C. You have a hard time psyching yourself to tackle the assignments. You just can’t seem to find the motivation to work on them once you get home.  D. You tried to do them, but you had a hard time focusing. By the time you realized you hadn’t gotten anything done, it was already time to turn them in. 

Like we said earlier, there are no right or wrong answers to this quiz (though your results will be better if you answered as honestly as possible). Here’s how your answers break down: 

• If your answers were mostly As, then your biggest struggle with doing homework is procrastination. 
• If your answers were mostly Bs, then your biggest struggle with doing homework is time management. 
• If your answers were mostly Cs, then your biggest struggle with doing homework is motivation. 
• If your answers were mostly Ds, then your biggest struggle with doing homework is getting distracted. 

Now that you’ve identified why you’re having a hard time getting your homework done, we can help you figure out how to fix it! Scroll down to find your core problem area to learn more about how you can start to address it. 

And one more thing: you’re really struggling with homework, it’s a good idea to read through every section below. You may find some additional tips that will help make homework less intimidating. 

How to Do Homework When You’re a Procrastinator  

Merriam Webster defines “procrastinate” as “to put off intentionally and habitually.” In other words, procrastination is when you choose to do something at the last minute on a regular basis. If you’ve ever found yourself pulling an all-nighter, trying to finish an assignment between periods, or sprinting to turn in a paper minutes before a deadline, you’ve experienced the effects of procrastination. 

If you’re a chronic procrastinator, you’re in good company. In fact, one study found that 70% to 95% of undergraduate students procrastinate when it comes to doing their homework. Unfortunately, procrastination can negatively impact your grades. Researchers have found that procrastination can lower your grade on an assignment by as much as five points ...which might not sound serious until you realize that can mean the difference between a B- and a C+. 

Procrastination can also negatively affect your health by increasing your stress levels , which can lead to other health conditions like insomnia, a weakened immune system, and even heart conditions. Getting a handle on procrastination can not only improve your grades, it can make you feel better, too! 

The big thing to understand about procrastination is that it’s not the result of laziness. Laziness is defined as being “disinclined to activity or exertion.” In other words, being lazy is all about doing nothing. But a s this Psychology Today article explains , procrastinators don’t put things off because they don’t want to work. Instead, procrastinators tend to postpone tasks they don’t want to do in favor of tasks that they perceive as either more important or more fun. Put another way, procrastinators want to do things...as long as it’s not their homework! 

3 Tips f or Conquering Procrastination 

Because putting off doing homework is a common problem, there are lots of good tactics for addressing procrastination. Keep reading for our three expert tips that will get your homework habits back on track in no time. 

#1: Create a Reward System

Like we mentioned earlier, procrastination happens when you prioritize other activities over getting your homework done. Many times, this happens because homework...well, just isn’t enjoyable. But you can add some fun back into the process by rewarding yourself for getting your work done. 

Here’s what we mean: let’s say you decide that every time you get your homework done before the day it’s due, you’ll give yourself a point. For every five points you earn, you’ll treat yourself to your favorite dessert: a chocolate cupcake! Now you have an extra (delicious!) incentive to motivate you to leave procrastination in the dust. 

If you’re not into cupcakes, don’t worry. Your reward can be anything that motivates you . Maybe it’s hanging out with your best friend or an extra ten minutes of video game time. As long as you’re choosing something that makes homework worth doing, you’ll be successful. 

#2: Have a Homework Accountability Partner 

If you’re having trouble getting yourself to start your homework ahead of time, it may be a good idea to call in reinforcements . Find a friend or classmate you can trust and explain to them that you’re trying to change your homework habits. Ask them if they’d be willing to text you to make sure you’re doing your homework and check in with you once a week to see if you’re meeting your anti-procrastination goals. 

Sharing your goals can make them feel more real, and an accountability partner can help hold you responsible for your decisions. For example, let’s say you’re tempted to put off your science lab write-up until the morning before it’s due. But you know that your accountability partner is going to text you about it tomorrow...and you don’t want to fess up that you haven’t started your assignment. A homework accountability partner can give you the extra support and incentive you need to keep your homework habits on track. 

#3: Create Your Own Due Dates 

If you’re a life-long procrastinator, you might find that changing the habit is harder than you expected. In that case, you might try using procrastination to your advantage! If you just can’t seem to stop doing your work at the last minute, try setting your own due dates for assignments that range from a day to a week before the assignment is actually due. 

Here’s what we mean. Let’s say you have a math worksheet that’s been assigned on Tuesday and is due on Friday. In your planner, you can write down the due date as Thursday instead. You may still put off your homework assignment until the last minute...but in this case, the “last minute” is a day before the assignment’s real due date . This little hack can trick your procrastination-addicted brain into planning ahead! 

If you feel like Kevin Hart in this meme, then our tips for doing homework when you're busy are for you. 

How to Do Homework When You’re too Busy

If you’re aiming to go to a top-tier college , you’re going to have a full plate. Because college admissions is getting more competitive, it’s important that you’re maintaining your grades , studying hard for your standardized tests , and participating in extracurriculars so your application stands out. A packed schedule can get even more hectic once you add family obligations or a part-time job to the mix. 

If you feel like you’re being pulled in a million directions at once, you’re not alone. Recent research has found that stress—and more severe stress-related conditions like anxiety and depression— are a major problem for high school students . In fact, one study from the American Psychological Association found that during the school year, students’ stress levels are higher than those of the adults around them. 

For students, homework is a major contributor to their overall stress levels . Many high schoolers have multiple hours of homework every night , and figuring out how to fit it into an already-packed schedule can seem impossible. 

3 Tips for Fitting Homework Into Your Busy Schedule

While it might feel like you have literally no time left in your schedule, there are still ways to make sure you’re able to get your homework done and meet your other commitments. Here are our expert homework tips for even the busiest of students. 

#1: Make a Prioritized To-Do List 

You probably already have a to-do list to keep yourself on track. The next step is to prioritize the items on your to-do list so you can see what items need your attention right away. 

Here’s how it works: at the beginning of each day, sit down and make a list of all the items you need to get done before you go to bed. This includes your homework, but it should also take into account any practices, chores, events, or job shifts you may have. Once you get everything listed out, it’s time to prioritize them using the labels A, B, and C. Here’s what those labels mean:

• A Tasks : tasks that have to get done—like showing up at work or turning in an assignment—get an A. 
• B Tasks : these are tasks that you would like to get done by the end of the day but aren’t as time sensitive. For example, studying for a test you have next week could be a B-level task. It’s still important, but it doesn’t have to be done right away.
• C Tasks: these are tasks that aren’t very important and/or have no real consequences if you don’t get them done immediately. For instance, if you’re hoping to clean out your closet but it’s not an assigned chore from your parents, you could label that to-do item with a C.

Prioritizing your to-do list helps you visualize which items need your immediate attention, and which items you can leave for later. A prioritized to-do list ensures that you’re spending your time efficiently and effectively, which helps you make room in your schedule for homework. So even though you might really want to start making decorations for Homecoming (a B task), you’ll know that finishing your reading log (an A task) is more important. 

#2: Use a Planner With Time Labels

Your planner is probably packed with notes, events, and assignments already. (And if you’re not using a planner, it’s time to start!) But planners can do more for you than just remind you when an assignment is due. If you’re using a planner with time labels, it can help you visualize how you need to spend your day.

A planner with time labels breaks your day down into chunks, and you assign tasks to each chunk of time. For example, you can make a note of your class schedule with assignments, block out time to study, and make sure you know when you need to be at practice. Once you know which tasks take priority, you can add them to any empty spaces in your day. 

Planning out how you spend your time not only helps you use it wisely, it can help you feel less overwhelmed, too . We’re big fans of planners that include a task list ( like this one ) or have room for notes ( like this one ). 

#3: Set Reminders on Your Phone 

If you need a little extra nudge to make sure you’re getting your homework done on time, it’s a good idea to set some reminders on your phone. You don’t need a fancy app, either. You can use your alarm app to have it go off at specific times throughout the day to remind you to do your homework. This works especially well if you have a set homework time scheduled. So if you’ve decided you’re doing homework at 6:00 pm, you can set an alarm to remind you to bust out your books and get to work. 

If you use your phone as your planner, you may have the option to add alerts, emails, or notifications to scheduled events . Many calendar apps, including the one that comes with your phone, have built-in reminders that you can customize to meet your needs. So if you block off time to do your homework from 4:30 to 6:00 pm, you can set a reminder that will pop up on your phone when it’s time to get started. 

This dog isn't judging your lack of motivation...but your teacher might. Keep reading for tips to help you motivate yourself to do your homework.

How to Do Homework When You’re Unmotivated 

At first glance, it may seem like procrastination and being unmotivated are the same thing. After all, both of these issues usually result in you putting off your homework until the very last minute. 

But there’s one key difference: many procrastinators are working, they’re just prioritizing work differently. They know they’re going to start their homework...they’re just going to do it later. 

Conversely, people who are unmotivated to do homework just can’t find the willpower to tackle their assignments. Procrastinators know they’ll at least attempt the homework at the last minute, whereas people who are unmotivated struggle with convincing themselves to do it at a ll. For procrastinators, the stress comes from the inevitable time crunch. For unmotivated people, the stress comes from trying to convince themselves to do something they don’t want to do in the first place. 

Here are some common reasons students are unmotivated in doing homework : 

• Assignments are too easy, too hard, or seemingly pointless 
• Students aren’t interested in (or passionate about) the subject matter
• Students are intimidated by the work and/or feels like they don’t understand the assignment 
• Homework isn’t fun, and students would rather spend their time on things that they enjoy 

To sum it up: people who lack motivation to do their homework are more likely to not do it at all, or to spend more time worrying about doing their homework than...well, actually doing it.

3 Tips for How to Get Motivated to Do Homework

The key to getting homework done when you’re unmotivated is to figure out what does motivate you, then apply those things to homework. It sounds tricky...but it’s pretty simple once you get the hang of it! Here are our three expert tips for motivating yourself to do your homework. 

#1: Use Incremental Incentives

When you’re not motivated, it’s important to give yourself small rewards to stay focused on finishing the task at hand. The trick is to keep the incentives small and to reward yourself often. For example, maybe you’re reading a good book in your free time. For every ten minutes you spend on your homework, you get to read five pages of your book. Like we mentioned earlier, make sure you’re choosing a reward that works for you! 

So why does this technique work? Using small rewards more often allows you to experience small wins for getting your work done. Every time you make it to one of your tiny reward points, you get to celebrate your success, which gives your brain a boost of dopamine . Dopamine helps you stay motivated and also creates a feeling of satisfaction when you complete your homework !  

#2: Form a Homework Group 

If you’re having trouble motivating yourself, it’s okay to turn to others for support. Creating a homework group can help with this. Bring together a group of your friends or classmates, and pick one time a week where you meet and work on homework together. You don’t have to be in the same class, or even taking the same subjects— the goal is to encourage one another to start (and finish!) your assignments. 

Another added benefit of a homework group is that you can help one another if you’re struggling to understand the material covered in your classes. This is especially helpful if your lack of motivation comes from being intimidated by your assignments. Asking your friends for help may feel less scary than talking to your teacher...and once you get a handle on the material, your homework may become less frightening, too. 

#3: Change Up Your Environment 

If you find that you’re totally unmotivated, it may help if you find a new place to do your homework. For example, if you’ve been struggling to get your homework done at home, try spending an extra hour in the library after school instead. The change of scenery can limit your distractions and give you the energy you need to get your work done. 

If you’re stuck doing homework at home, you can still use this tip. For instance, maybe you’ve always done your homework sitting on your bed. Try relocating somewhere else, like your kitchen table, for a few weeks. You may find that setting up a new “homework spot” in your house gives you a motivational lift and helps you get your work done. 

Social media can be a huge problem when it comes to doing homework. We have advice for helping you unplug and regain focus.

How to Do Homework When You’re Easily Distracted

We live in an always-on world, and there are tons of things clamoring for our attention. From friends and family to pop culture and social media, it seems like there’s always something (or someone!) distracting us from the things we need to do.

The 24/7 world we live in has affected our ability to focus on tasks for prolonged periods of time. Research has shown that over the past decade, an average person’s attention span has gone from 12 seconds to eight seconds . And when we do lose focus, i t takes people a long time to get back on task . One study found that it can take as long as 23 minutes to get back to work once we’ve been distracte d. No wonder it can take hours to get your homework done! 

3 Tips to Improve Your Focus

If you have a hard time focusing when you’re doing your homework, it’s a good idea to try and eliminate as many distractions as possible. Here are three expert tips for blocking out the noise so you can focus on getting your homework done. 

#1: Create a Distraction-Free Environment

Pick a place where you’ll do your homework every day, and make it as distraction-free as possible. Try to find a location where there won’t be tons of noise, and limit your access to screens while you’re doing your homework. Put together a focus-oriented playlist (or choose one on your favorite streaming service), and put your headphones on while you work. 

You may find that other people, like your friends and family, are your biggest distraction. If that’s the case, try setting up some homework boundaries. Let them know when you’ll be working on homework every day, and ask them if they’ll help you keep a quiet environment. They’ll be happy to lend a hand! 

#2: Limit Your Access to Technology 

We know, we know...this tip isn’t fun, but it does work. For homework that doesn’t require a computer, like handouts or worksheets, it’s best to put all your technology away . Turn off your television, put your phone and laptop in your backpack, and silence notifications on any wearable tech you may be sporting. If you listen to music while you work, that’s fine...but make sure you have a playlist set up so you’re not shuffling through songs once you get started on your homework. 

If your homework requires your laptop or tablet, it can be harder to limit your access to distractions. But it’s not impossible! T here are apps you can download that will block certain websites while you’re working so that you’re not tempted to scroll through Twitter or check your Facebook feed. Silence notifications and text messages on your computer, and don’t open your email account unless you absolutely have to. And if you don’t need access to the internet to complete your assignments, turn off your WiFi. Cutting out the online chatter is a great way to make sure you’re getting your homework done. 

#3: Set a Timer (the Pomodoro Technique)

Have you ever heard of the Pomodoro technique ? It’s a productivity hack that uses a timer to help you focus!

Here’s how it works: first, set a timer for 25 minutes. This is going to be your work time. During this 25 minutes, all you can do is work on whatever homework assignment you have in front of you. No email, no text messaging, no phone calls—just homework. When that timer goes off, you get to take a 5 minute break. Every time you go through one of these cycles, it’s called a “pomodoro.” For every four pomodoros you complete, you can take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes.

The pomodoro technique works through a combination of boundary setting and rewards. First, it gives you a finite amount of time to focus, so you know that you only have to work really hard for 25 minutes. Once you’ve done that, you’re rewarded with a short break where you can do whatever you want. Additionally, tracking how many pomodoros you complete can help you see how long you’re really working on your homework. (Once you start using our focus tips, you may find it doesn’t take as long as you thought!)

Two Bonus Tips for How to Do Homework Fast

Even if you’re doing everything right, there will be times when you just need to get your homework done as fast as possible. (Why do teachers always have projects due in the same week? The world may never know.)

The problem with speeding through homework is that it’s easy to make mistakes. While turning in an assignment is always better than not submitting anything at all, you want to make sure that you’re not compromising quality for speed. Simply put, the goal is to get your homework done quickly and still make a good grade on the assignment! 

Here are our two bonus tips for getting a decent grade on your homework assignments , even when you’re in a time crunch. 

#1: Do the Easy Parts First 

This is especially true if you’re working on a handout with multiple questions. Before you start working on the assignment, read through all the questions and problems. As you do, make a mark beside the questions you think are “easy” to answer . 

Once you’ve finished going through the whole assignment, you can answer these questions first. Getting the easy questions out of the way as quickly as possible lets you spend more time on the trickier portions of your homework, which will maximize your assignment grade. 

(Quick note: this is also a good strategy to use on timed assignments and tests, like the SAT and the ACT !) 

#2: Pay Attention in Class 

Homework gets a lot easier when you’re actively learning the material. Teachers aren’t giving you homework because they’re mean or trying to ruin your weekend... it’s because they want you to really understand the course material. Homework is designed to reinforce what you’re already learning in class so you’ll be ready to tackle harder concepts later.

When you pay attention in class, ask questions, and take good notes, you’re absorbing the information you’ll need to succeed on your homework assignments. (You’re stuck in class anyway, so you might as well make the most of it!) Not only will paying attention in class make your homework less confusing, it will also help it go much faster, too.

What’s Next?

If you’re looking to improve your productivity beyond homework, a good place to begin is with time management. After all, we only have so much time in a day...so it’s important to get the most out of it! To get you started, check out this list of the 12 best time management techniques that you can start using today.

You may have read this article because homework struggles have been affecting your GPA. Now that you’re on the path to homework success, it’s time to start being proactive about raising your grades. This article teaches you everything you need to know about raising your GPA so you can

Now you know how to get motivated to do homework...but what about your study habits? Studying is just as critical to getting good grades, and ultimately getting into a good college . We can teach you how to study bette r in high school. (We’ve also got tons of resources to help you study for your ACT and SAT exams , too!)

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.

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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6 Tips for a Homework & Studying Schedule That Actually Works

Waiting until the last minute to cram for a test or to write an essay isn’t just going to make your life more stressful. It’s also less likely to produce the results you want.

Studies have shown that the most effective way to retain new material is with spaced repetition . This means engaging with the concepts consistently over a longer span of time.

If you want to cut down on the all-nighters, try these six easy tips to create a homework and studying schedule that actually works.

1. Review Your Homework in Advance

First, set some time aside at the beginning of your semester or school term to look over your assignments. Make sure you understand:

• What each one entails
• How much time each task will take
• Its due date

Then, check to see if you need any additional resources. For example, you may need a library book to complete an assignment. Nothing will throw off your schedule more than sitting down at your desk only to find out that you don’t have what you need to do the work. Reviewing your assignments before they’re due will help with efficiency once you start working.

2. Make Your Schedule as Specific as Possible

Once you have a list of everything you need to do, turn it into a daily or weekly schedule. Decide which tasks you want to do first and when. Then, you can write it in a planner or use an Excel template to create a printable homework chart.

Avoid generalized terms like “study Spanish for two hours.” Otherwise, you’ll be tempted to fill the time with the easiest task that falls into that category.

Instead, list specific items like, “write book report” or “study flash cards.” This way, you know exactly what you need to do and are less likely to put it off.

3. Find Your Preferred Study Routine

Sometimes you have to do homework when you’re tired or aren’t feeling well, but that doesn’t mean you should totally ignore what your body’s telling you.

According to the latest research , multiple 40-minute study sessions can be more productive than three-hour chunks. Experiment with studying at different times of day and for varying lengths of time.

Take notes about which sessions were productive and which ones weren’t to help you figure out your ideal study routine.

4. Download a Studying App

There’s no denying that phones can be distracting while studying. But if you use them wisely they can be a lot of help.

Use flashcard apps to create your own flashcards and gamify your study experience. These apps help you study in small bits throughout the day plus you won’t have to carry physical flashcards around with you.

There are other apps to help you learn a language, practice math, or take better notes . You can also use a homework scheduling app and color-code your assignments by subject.

5. Create a Productive Workspace

Using the same workspace every day can help you stick to your homework schedule. Avoid distracting places like the living room or kitchen, and try not to work on your bed or in front of the TV. Even small things, like making sure your laptop is charged or putting on your favorite study playlist, can make a big difference in your productivity.

Ideally, you should set aside a desk in a quiet room that’s comfortable enough to sit at for a few hours at a time. The more you use it for studying, the more you’ll associate it with productivity and be in the right headspace to get work done.

For some tips on how to get started, check out our guide on how to create the perfect homework environment .

6. Ask for Help if You Need it

Finally, don’t be afraid to reach out for support. Even if you have a good grasp on the material, sometimes studying alone can be isolating.

From joining an online study group to hiring a professional tutor for your SATs, there are plenty of ways to get outside support. You can ask a friend or parent to check in on your progress or proofread your assignments before you submit them.

Whether you’re in middle school, high school, or college, homework never really goes away. But you can make it more manageable with these six helpful homework and studying schedule tips.

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5 tips on writing better university assignments

Lecturer in Student Learning and Communication Development, University of Sydney

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Alexandra Garcia does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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University life comes with its share of challenges. One of these is writing longer assignments that require higher information, communication and critical thinking skills than what you might have been used to in high school. Here are five tips to help you get ahead.

1. Use all available sources of information

Beyond instructions and deadlines, lecturers make available an increasing number of resources. But students often overlook these.

For example, to understand how your assignment will be graded, you can examine the rubric . This is a chart indicating what you need to do to obtain a high distinction, a credit or a pass, as well as the course objectives – also known as “learning outcomes”.

Other resources include lecture recordings, reading lists, sample assignments and discussion boards. All this information is usually put together in an online platform called a learning management system (LMS). Examples include Blackboard , Moodle , Canvas and iLearn . Research shows students who use their LMS more frequently tend to obtain higher final grades.

If after scrolling through your LMS you still have questions about your assignment, you can check your lecturer’s consultation hours.

2. Take referencing seriously

Plagiarism – using somebody else’s words or ideas without attribution – is a serious offence at university. It is a form of cheating.

In many cases, though, students are unaware they have cheated. They are simply not familiar with referencing styles – such as APA , Harvard , Vancouver , Chicago , etc – or lack the skills to put the information from their sources into their own words.

To avoid making this mistake, you may approach your university’s library, which is likely to offer face-to-face workshops or online resources on referencing. Academic support units may also help with paraphrasing.

You can also use referencing management software, such as EndNote or Mendeley . You can then store your sources, retrieve citations and create reference lists with only a few clicks. For undergraduate students, Zotero has been recommended as it seems to be more user-friendly.

Using this kind of software will certainly save you time searching for and formatting references. However, you still need to become familiar with the citation style in your discipline and revise the formatting accordingly.

3. Plan before you write

If you were to build a house, you wouldn’t start by laying bricks at random. You’d start with a blueprint. Likewise, writing an academic paper requires careful planning: you need to decide the number of sections, their organisation, and the information and sources you will include in each.

Research shows students who prepare detailed outlines produce higher-quality texts. Planning will not only help you get better grades, but will also reduce the time you spend staring blankly at the screen thinking about what to write next.

During the planning stage, using programs like OneNote from Microsoft Office or Outline for Mac can make the task easier as they allow you to organise information in tabs. These bits of information can be easily rearranged for later drafting. Navigating through the tabs is also easier than scrolling through a long Word file.

4. Choose the right words

Which of these sentences is more appropriate for an assignment?

a. “This paper talks about why the planet is getting hotter”, or b. “This paper examines the causes of climate change”.

The written language used at university is more formal and technical than the language you normally use in social media or while chatting with your friends. Academic words tend to be longer and their meaning is also more precise. “Climate change” implies more than just the planet “getting hotter”.

To find the right words, you can use SkELL , which shows you the words that appear more frequently, with your search entry categorised grammatically. For example, if you enter “paper”, it will tell you it is often the subject of verbs such as “present”, “describe”, “examine” and “discuss”.

Another option is the Writefull app, which does a similar job without having to use an online browser.

5. Edit and proofread

If you’re typing the last paragraph of the assignment ten minutes before the deadline, you will be missing a very important step in the writing process: editing and proofreading your text. A 2018 study found a group of university students did significantly better in a test after incorporating the process of planning, drafting and editing in their writing.

You probably already know to check the spelling of a word if it appears underlined in red. You may even use a grammar checker such as Grammarly . However, no software to date can detect every error and it is not uncommon to be given inaccurate suggestions.

So, in addition to your choice of proofreader, you need to improve and expand your grammar knowledge. Check with the academic support services at your university if they offer any relevant courses.

Written communication is a skill that requires effort and dedication. That’s why universities are investing in support services – face-to-face workshops, individual consultations, and online courses – to help students in this process. You can also take advantage of a wide range of web-based resources such as spell checkers, vocabulary tools and referencing software – many of them free.

Improving your written communication will help you succeed at university and beyond.

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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.

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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.

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How to Make a Better Homework Schedule for Your Family

Verywell / Zackary Angeline

Why Homework Schedules Are Effective

• Developing a Schedule

Other Considerations

Do you frequently have homework struggles with your child or teen? Or, does your student procrastinate doing their work? Maybe they even fail to turn in assignments. If any of these scenarios resonate with you, a better homework schedule may help.

A regular homework schedule establishes predictable times when homework is to be completed. Once the homework schedule has been in place for a few weeks, you may even find your child will begin doing their homework without needing to be reminded—although you may still need to monitor their work progress.

If you're struggling with homework completion in your household, or if you're having daily battles about allotting the appropriate amount of time to homework, you're not alone. That's why educators recommend developing a homework schedule—with input from your kids.

Once you set a homework schedule, then there are no questions about when the work will be done. It also communicates clear expectations; having a homework schedule helps kids understand what is required of them. And following the schedule encourages them to develop a good work ethic.

Schedules also help prevent procrastination and instill good habits like completing work on time. Homework routines also improve study skills and encourage kids to plan ahead.

Other benefits include developing your child's work ethic and organizational abilities. By helping your child complete their work at regular intervals, you are modeling how to manage time and projects in the future. When you send them off to college , they will know how to pace their work so they can avoid all-nighters at the end of the semester.

How to Develop a Homework Schedule

To develop a homework schedule, start by talking with your kids. Get their input on how they would like to manage their time and incorporate their homework into their daily routine. A successful homework schedule allows kids to finish their work and also have some free time.

Give Kids an Option

If you ask kids when they want to do their homework, their first answer might be "Never" or "Later." But if you dig a little deeper, your child may tell you what matters to them as they plan their schedule. This information will help you avoid scheduling homework during their favorite television program or when they usually get online to play games with friends.

When you include your child in the decision-making process, you also will get more buy-in from them because they know that their concerns were heard. You don't have to give them their way, but at least considering what they have to say will let them feel included. After all, this homework schedule is about them completing their homework.

Allow for Free Time

Some kids can step through the front door and buckle down on their homework right away. When this happens, they reap the reward of getting their work done early and having the rest of the evening to do what they want. But most kids need to eat and decompress a bit before tackling their assignments.

As you develop your homework schedule, keep in mind your child has already spent at least six hours in class. And this time doesn't include getting to and from school or participation in extracurricular programs . Allow kids some free time before beginning their homework if that's what they need to unwind.

Establish a Timeline

Generally, you can expect about 10 minutes of homework per grade level of school. This means that a third-grade student will need about 30 minutes to complete homework. However, the amount of time needed can vary dramatically between students, teachers, and schools.

Find out how much time your child's teacher expects homework to take each evening. If your child takes a lot of time to complete their work or struggles with homework , talk with the teacher. Your child may need extra instruction on a task or tutoring assistance—or fewer homework assignments.

Pick a Homework Spot

Designate a comfortable and efficient spot for your kids to do their homework. This workspace should be well-lit, stocked with supplies , and quiet. The workspace should allow you to provide some supervision. 

If you have multiple kids trying to complete their homework at one time, you may want to find a separate location for each child. Sometimes kids can complete their homework together at the kitchen table, but other times having siblings around can be distracting. Do what works best for your family.

Put It All Together

Now that you know what your child's needs and concerns are for finding a time to do homework, you need to come up with the actual plan. Creating a homework routine is really just one piece of creating a daily school year routine .

For the homework time itself, get it down on paper so you can see exactly what they will be doing and when they will be doing it. Do this for each day of the week if you have different activities on different weekdays. Students who are assigned larger projects will need to review their homework plans regularly to make adjustments as needed.

Expect your child to work consistently throughout the assigned time. Avoid having multiple homework sessions, such as one before dinner and a second one after dinner. Starting and stopping may mean children may spend more time getting into what they are doing than working continuously.

Be Consistent

Once you have decided on a time to do homework, stick to the plan! It usually takes about three weeks for most children to really get into the habit of their new schedule.

If your child or teen has difficulty maintaining concentration for the length of time that their homework should take, then you may want to carefully consider breaking up the work to take advantage of the time when your child can focus.

This added step is especially important for children and teens with depression or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They may benefit from multiple smaller work sessions and more frequent breaks.

Even though the idea behind creating a homework schedule is to get your child to work consistently and independently, you may need to look over their work when they are done. This is especially important for younger children.

Make sure they understand their assignments and that they completed a reasonable amount of work during the homework session. If you find your child is having trouble actually working during their homework time, troubleshoot to find out what might be the issue. Sometimes kids need extra help and other times they simply need more motivation to get their work done.

If you find that your child continues to struggle with homework even with a schedule in place, you might need to dig a little deeper. Consider discussing your child's issues with their teacher or pediatrician.

Sometimes kids are reluctant to complete their homework because of undiagnosed learning disabilities. It could be that your child struggles with reading comprehension or has a processing disorder. Or it could be that your child is struggling with a mental health issue like anxiety .

A Word From Verywell

Establishing a homework schedule allows children to build some important life skills that will help them as they navigate high school, college, and eventually the workforce. Practice is important when kids are learning new skills. So, having a nightly homework routine enhances your child's learning. Just be sure you aren't requiring homework time at the expense of being a kid. Having time to play is just as important to a child's development as learning new material.

National Institute of Mental Health. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder .

By Lisa Linnell-Olsen Lisa Linnell-Olsen has worked as a support staff educator, and is well-versed in issues of education policy and parenting issues.

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How to write the best college assignments.

By Lois Weldon

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

The most important aspects: Outline and Introduction

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

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

This is an example of including the above mentioned points into the introduction of an assignment that elaborates the topic of obesity reaching proportions:

Background : The twenty first century is characterized by many public health challenges, among which obesity takes a major part. The increasing prevalence of obesity is creating an alarming situation in both developed and developing regions of the world.

Structure and aim : This assignment will elaborate and discuss the specific pattern of obesity epidemic development, as well as its epidemiology. Debt, trade and globalization will also be analyzed as factors that led to escalation of the problem. Moreover, the assignment will discuss the governmental interventions that make efforts to address this issue.

Practical tips on assignment writing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The importance of an effective conclusion

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

–         Stating the context and aim of the assignment

–         Summarizing the main points briefly

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

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Lois Weldon is writer at  Uk.bestdissertation.com . Lives happily at London with her husband and lovely daughter. Adores writing tips for students. Passionate about Star Wars and yoga.

7 comments on “How To Write The Best College Assignments”

Extremely useful tip for students wanting to score well on their assignments. I concur with the writer that writing an outline before ACTUALLY starting to write assignments is extremely important. I have observed students who start off quite well but they tend to lose focus in between which causes them to lose marks. So an outline helps them to maintain the theme focused.

Hello Great information…. write assignments

Well elabrated

Thanks for the information. This site has amazing articles. Looking forward to continuing on this site.

This article is certainly going to help student . Well written.

Really good, thanks

Practical tips on assignment writing, the’re fantastic. Thank you!

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20 Effective Time Management Strategies and Tools for Students

Teachers can use these too!

One of the most important life skills for anyone to master is time management. Keeping track of everything that we have to do and carving out the time to get it all done can be a real struggle. Try these time management strategies and techniques, plus find helpful tools for staying on track.

General Time Management Strategies

Time management techniques, time management tools.

These time management strategies work for everyone, helping you set goals and prioritize, then set a schedule to get things done.

Visualize the big picture

Use a calendar of some type to lay out all your big-picture goals for a year, month, or week. Include major projects and assignments, as well as school and personal events. This is your place to get an overview of everything that’s on your plate. Keep items to broad descriptions: “History Project” or “Spring Play Opening Night.” You’ll get into the details next.

Break it down

The next step is to take major projects and assignments and break them down into smaller, more manageable parts. This is an incredibly effective way to overcome that feeling of “I’ll never get this all done!” It also prevents procrastinating on an entire project until the very last minute. Set smaller, more manageable goals with their own due dates in advance of a complete project or event.

For example, imagine your big-picture calendar says “History Project Due Feb. 23.” Breaking that down could look like this:

• Choose topic and presentation method: Jan. 9
• Initial research: Jan. 10-30
• Presentation outline: Jan. 31
• Write presentation script: Feb. 1-5
• Create visual aids: Feb. 6-12
• Rehearse presentation: Feb. 13
• Fine-tune presentation: Feb 14-16
• Final rehearsals: Feb. 17
• Give history presentation: Feb. 23

At first, this method might feel a little overwhelming, because it may make you feel like there’s too much to get done. But as you use it, you’ll see how it can actually make you feel more prepared and in control, and make your time easier to manage.

Determine priorities

Sometimes it’s simply true: You don’t have enough time in a day to get all the things done that you’d like to. That’s where setting priorities becomes vital. In the “Time Management Techniques” section below, you’ll find several different ideas for determining the priority of different items on your lists.

Once you’ve figured out which items are the most important, try a color-coding system to indicate which items get a higher priority. This will help you identify at a glance what you need to do now and what can wait until another day.

Make daily to-do lists

Make it a habit to start each day by creating a to-do list. (Not a morning person? You can do this the night before too.) Include high-priority items, as well as things you’d like to do but may not have to complete. Throughout the day, as you complete an item, revisit your list and check it off. It’s incredibly satisfying to cross things off, and checking in with your list a few times a day ensures you don’t forget important things.

Limit multitasking

Today’s world places a lot of value on multitasking (doing several things at once). But when you’re doing multiple things at the same time, you’re probably not doing any of them well. So keep your multitasking to a minimum. When it’s time to work on something, set your focus to that particular thing. Other stuff can wait.

But some multitasking is OK. For instance, you might throw your clothes in the washing machine, then work on your math homework while waiting for them to be ready for the dryer. Later on, you could fold and put away the laundry while practicing conjugating Spanish verbs out loud. This type of multitasking works because the physical tasks are ones that don’t require much concentration, leaving your brain free for academic subjects.

On the other hand, avoid something like trying to listen to a podcast for your history class while also doing your math homework. Your attention won’t be fully on each, and your learning will suffer.

Remove distractions

Some people are capable of deep focus no matter what’s going on around them. Most of us, though, need to find ways to remove distractions when it’s time to get down to work. Here are some examples to try:

• Turn off your phone, or set it to alert you only in case of emergencies.
• Wear noise-cancelling headphones or earplugs to block out distracting sounds. A white-noise machine or app can help with this too.
• Close miscellaneous tabs in your web browser (like social media or news sites), and use only the tabs you need for your work.
• Go into a quiet room and shut the door. Ask friends and family not to disturb you.
• Check your to-do list before you start to make sure you’re on track. Then, clear your mind of other projects or tasks, and focus on what’s at hand.

Do an end-of-day review

At the end of each day, sit down with your to-do list. Was there anything you didn’t get to? Move it to another day. Did you feel too rushed today? Think about how you might make tomorrow run a bit more smoothly. Where do you stand in terms of your big-picture goals? Take a few minutes to adjust any plans accordingly.

Try a time audit

It’s OK if you don’t get to everything on your list every day. But if you find that there’s never enough time to get things done, you might benefit from a time audit. Over the period of a week or two, write down exactly how you spend your time, hour by hour. Then, look it over and see if you can identify problem areas. You might need to cut down on some optional activities and give that time to high-priority items instead. Learn how to do a time audit here.

The time management strategies we’ve talked about so far are general ways to stay on track and get stuff done. But there are multiple ways to approach some of these strategies, especially when it comes to actually settling down to work. Check out these popular time management techniques and choose one or more that seem right for you.

Eisenhower Decision Matrix

President Eisenhower developed this matrix and used it to help him prioritize his tasks. He looked at each item to evaluate it by importance and urgency, then broke them into four categories:

• Do First: These are urgent, important tasks with high priority.
• Schedule: These are important tasks that aren’t quite as urgent.
• Delegate: You may be able to delegate less important but still urgent tasks to someone else.
• Don’t Do: These non-urgent, unimportant items can be eliminated entirely or postponed indefinitely.

Here are some possible student examples for each category:

• Do First: Homework that’s due tomorrow takes top priority, as might doing laundry if you’re out of clean clothes.
• Schedule: Set aside time (see Time Blocking) for smaller parts of long-term projects, such as research time or writing an outline. That could be today or one day in the near future.
• Delegate: Students aren’t always able to delegate their tasks, but they can ask for help. For example, if your schedule is incredibly tight, you could ask your dad if he’d be willing to throw your clothes in the dryer when the washer is done.
• Don’t Do: These are often bad habits you need to break, like surfing the web aimlessly instead of working, or texting your friends for hours instead of doing your chores.

Find out much more about the Eisenhower Matrix and how to use it for time management strategies here.

ABCDE Method

This is another time management strategy for prioritizing the tasks at hand. Assign each item a letter:

• A: Highest priority
• B: Should do soon, if not today
• C: Could do, but no serious consequences if not done
• D: Delegate or ask for help
• E: Eliminate from your list

This is very similar to the Eisenhower Matrix, with a little more flexibility around should-dos and could-dos. Learn more about the ABCDE method here.

Most Difficult First (Eat That Frog)

This method is based on a quote often attributed to Mark Twain: “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”

In other words, don’t put off the biggest, hardest tasks. Get them out of the way first. Then, everything else you have to do will seem easy in comparison.

For some people, though, this concept can be counterproductive. If you’re already feeling overwhelmed, tackling something extremely difficult can be too much and cause you to shut down entirely. In that case, it’s just fine to choose smaller, simpler items. The key is to make progress, one step at a time.

Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique is a simple time management method: You work for 25 minutes at a time, then take a 5-minute break to rest and recharge. Simply set a timer for 25 minutes, and focus on one single task until it goes off. Then, you can spend 5 minutes stretching, resting your eyes, or checking your social media feeds. When the 5 minutes are up, set the timer for another 25 minutes, and get back to work. If you do four 25-minute sessions in a row, take a longer break afterwards. Learn more about the Pomodoro Technique here.

If 25 minutes seems too short and you’d like a little more uninterrupted time, try Flowtime instead. This stretches out both the work and break time proportionally. If you work for 25-50 minutes, take an 8-minute break. For 50-90 minutes, you get a 10-minute break. And if you’ve been at it for more than 90 minutes, take 15 minutes to recharge. Learn about Flowtime here.

Parkinson’s Law says that work will always expand to fill the amount of time available. Timeboxing seeks to shrink tasks back to the size they truly need to be. When you timebox, you set a specific amount of time for a task and complete it within that time.

In other words, you might look over your study planner and decide that you need one hour for tonight’s geometry and chemistry assignments, plus you’d like to spend another hour working on your English essay.

Set a timer and work on your geometry and chemistry for an hour, with no other distractions. When the timer goes off, reassess and adjust your goals as needed. Since you have to finish that homework tonight, you’ll probably need to add more time if you’re not finished.

Your English essay isn’t due for two weeks, though, so if you’ve boxed out one hour for working on it today, that’s all you need to do. Set a timer, determine your goals for day, and get to work. When the timer goes off, you’re done for today.

Here’s more on timeboxing.

Time Blocking

This method is similar to timeboxing, but it involves setting blocks of time aside on your calendar for specific tasks. For example, you might block out 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. each day for daily homework, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. for working on your biology research paper, and 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for piano practice. Some people like to start each day by blocking time out on their calendar, figuring out how they’ll make the most of their time. Find out more about time blocking here.

Once you’ve selected some time management strategies to try, you’ll find plenty of tools to help make them work. Check out these top time management tools for students, from planners to timers and beyond.

Student Planners

Traditional paper planners come in a variety of styles, with some made especially for students. The most important thing is to choose one you’ll actually use, and keep it on hand at all times. See our selection of the top student planners here.

Planner Apps

Planner apps and online calendars are nice because you have access to them everywhere you go. For students, we really like:

• My Study Life

See more details on each of these here, plus more options.

Study Planners

Study planners are specific to academics, and they are a simple way to keep track of both short-term and long-term assignments, projects, and more. Check out these free printable options:

• Develop Good Habits: Study Planner
• Alex Marie: Weekly Assignments Due
• Sophia Lee: Homework Planner Pack

Time Management Apps

Planner apps are a good start, but other time management apps can help you stay on track by eliminating distractions or setting time limits. Here are a few to try:

• Pomofocus : A free online 25–5 timer with the ability to add a task list for each work segment
• Rize : An AI productivity coach that uses time tracking to improve your focus and build better work habits
• Forest : Eliminate distractions, stay on task, and grow a digital forest to celebrate your achievements

Bullet Journal

Bullet journaling has a lot of benefits, and some page setups are especially good for time management:

• Daily Schedule
• Project Planner
• Study Tracker

Check out our big roundup of bullet journal ideas here.

What time management strategies do your students find most effective? Come share your thoughts and ask for advice in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Plus, ultimate study skills guide: tips, tricks, and strategies for every grade ..

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Teaching, Learning, & Professional Development Center

• Teaching Resources
• TLPDC Teaching Resources

How Do I Create Meaningful and Effective Assignments?

Prepared by allison boye, ph.d. teaching, learning, and professional development center.

Assessment is a necessary part of the teaching and learning process, helping us measure whether our students have really learned what we want them to learn. While exams and quizzes are certainly favorite and useful methods of assessment, out of class assignments (written or otherwise) can offer similar insights into our students' learning.  And just as creating a reliable test takes thoughtfulness and skill, so does creating meaningful and effective assignments. Undoubtedly, many instructors have been on the receiving end of disappointing student work, left wondering what went wrong… and often, those problems can be remedied in the future by some simple fine-tuning of the original assignment.  This paper will take a look at some important elements to consider when developing assignments, and offer some easy approaches to creating a valuable assessment experience for all involved.

First Things First…

Before assigning any major tasks to students, it is imperative that you first define a few things for yourself as the instructor:

• Your goals for the assignment . Why are you assigning this project, and what do you hope your students will gain from completing it? What knowledge, skills, and abilities do you aim to measure with this assignment?  Creating assignments is a major part of overall course design, and every project you assign should clearly align with your goals for the course in general.  For instance, if you want your students to demonstrate critical thinking, perhaps asking them to simply summarize an article is not the best match for that goal; a more appropriate option might be to ask for an analysis of a controversial issue in the discipline. Ultimately, the connection between the assignment and its purpose should be clear to both you and your students to ensure that it is fulfilling the desired goals and doesn't seem like “busy work.” For some ideas about what kinds of assignments match certain learning goals, take a look at this page from DePaul University's Teaching Commons.
• Have they experienced “socialization” in the culture of your discipline (Flaxman, 2005)? Are they familiar with any conventions you might want them to know? In other words, do they know the “language” of your discipline, generally accepted style guidelines, or research protocols?
• Do they know how to conduct research?  Do they know the proper style format, documentation style, acceptable resources, etc.? Do they know how to use the library (Fitzpatrick, 1989) or evaluate resources?
• What kinds of writing or work have they previously engaged in?  For instance, have they completed long, formal writing assignments or research projects before? Have they ever engaged in analysis, reflection, or argumentation? Have they completed group assignments before?  Do they know how to write a literature review or scientific report?

In his book Engaging Ideas (1996), John Bean provides a great list of questions to help instructors focus on their main teaching goals when creating an assignment (p.78):

1. What are the main units/modules in my course?

2. What are my main learning objectives for each module and for the course?

3. What thinking skills am I trying to develop within each unit and throughout the course?

4. What are the most difficult aspects of my course for students?

5. If I could change my students' study habits, what would I most like to change?

6. What difference do I want my course to make in my students' lives?

What your students need to know

Once you have determined your own goals for the assignment and the levels of your students, you can begin creating your assignment.  However, when introducing your assignment to your students, there are several things you will need to clearly outline for them in order to ensure the most successful assignments possible.

• First, you will need to articulate the purpose of the assignment . Even though you know why the assignment is important and what it is meant to accomplish, you cannot assume that your students will intuit that purpose. Your students will appreciate an understanding of how the assignment fits into the larger goals of the course and what they will learn from the process (Hass & Osborn, 2007). Being transparent with your students and explaining why you are asking them to complete a given assignment can ultimately help motivate them to complete the assignment more thoughtfully.
• If you are asking your students to complete a writing assignment, you should define for them the “rhetorical or cognitive mode/s” you want them to employ in their writing (Flaxman, 2005). In other words, use precise verbs that communicate whether you are asking them to analyze, argue, describe, inform, etc.  (Verbs like “explore” or “comment on” can be too vague and cause confusion.) Provide them with a specific task to complete, such as a problem to solve, a question to answer, or an argument to support.  For those who want assignments to lead to top-down, thesis-driven writing, John Bean (1996) suggests presenting a proposition that students must defend or refute, or a problem that demands a thesis answer.
• It is also a good idea to define the audience you want your students to address with their assignment, if possible – especially with writing assignments.  Otherwise, students will address only the instructor, often assuming little requires explanation or development (Hedengren, 2004; MIT, 1999). Further, asking students to address the instructor, who typically knows more about the topic than the student, places the student in an unnatural rhetorical position.  Instead, you might consider asking your students to prepare their assignments for alternative audiences such as other students who missed last week's classes, a group that opposes their position, or people reading a popular magazine or newspaper.  In fact, a study by Bean (1996) indicated the students often appreciate and enjoy assignments that vary elements such as audience or rhetorical context, so don't be afraid to get creative!
• Obviously, you will also need to articulate clearly the logistics or “business aspects” of the assignment . In other words, be explicit with your students about required elements such as the format, length, documentation style, writing style (formal or informal?), and deadlines.  One caveat, however: do not allow the logistics of the paper take precedence over the content in your assignment description; if you spend all of your time describing these things, students might suspect that is all you care about in their execution of the assignment.
• Finally, you should clarify your evaluation criteria for the assignment. What elements of content are most important? Will you grade holistically or weight features separately? How much weight will be given to individual elements, etc?  Another precaution to take when defining requirements for your students is to take care that your instructions and rubric also do not overshadow the content; prescribing too rigidly each element of an assignment can limit students' freedom to explore and discover. According to Beth Finch Hedengren, “A good assignment provides the purpose and guidelines… without dictating exactly what to say” (2004, p. 27).  If you decide to utilize a grading rubric, be sure to provide that to the students along with the assignment description, prior to their completion of the assignment.

A great way to get students engaged with an assignment and build buy-in is to encourage their collaboration on its design and/or on the grading criteria (Hudd, 2003). In his article “Conducting Writing Assignments,” Richard Leahy (2002) offers a few ideas for building in said collaboration:

• Ask the students to develop the grading scale themselves from scratch, starting with choosing the categories.

• Set the grading categories yourself, but ask the students to help write the descriptions.

• Draft the complete grading scale yourself, then give it to your students for review and suggestions.

A Few Do's and Don'ts…

Determining your goals for the assignment and its essential logistics is a good start to creating an effective assignment. However, there are a few more simple factors to consider in your final design. First, here are a few things you should do :

• Do provide detail in your assignment description . Research has shown that students frequently prefer some guiding constraints when completing assignments (Bean, 1996), and that more detail (within reason) can lead to more successful student responses.  One idea is to provide students with physical assignment handouts , in addition to or instead of a simple description in a syllabus.  This can meet the needs of concrete learners and give them something tangible to refer to.  Likewise, it is often beneficial to make explicit for students the process or steps necessary to complete an assignment, given that students – especially younger ones – might need guidance in planning and time management (MIT, 1999).
• Do use open-ended questions.  The most effective and challenging assignments focus on questions that lead students to thinking and explaining, rather than simple yes or no answers, whether explicitly part of the assignment description or in the  brainstorming heuristics (Gardner, 2005).
• Do direct students to appropriate available resources . Giving students pointers about other venues for assistance can help them get started on the right track independently. These kinds of suggestions might include information about campus resources such as the University Writing Center or discipline-specific librarians, suggesting specific journals or books, or even sections of their textbook, or providing them with lists of research ideas or links to acceptable websites.
• Do consider providing models – both successful and unsuccessful models (Miller, 2007). These models could be provided by past students, or models you have created yourself.  You could even ask students to evaluate the models themselves using the determined evaluation criteria, helping them to visualize the final product, think critically about how to complete the assignment, and ideally, recognize success in their own work.
• Do consider including a way for students to make the assignment their own. In their study, Hass and Osborn (2007) confirmed the importance of personal engagement for students when completing an assignment.  Indeed, students will be more engaged in an assignment if it is personally meaningful, practical, or purposeful beyond the classroom.  You might think of ways to encourage students to tap into their own experiences or curiosities, to solve or explore a real problem, or connect to the larger community.  Offering variety in assignment selection can also help students feel more individualized, creative, and in control.
• If your assignment is substantial or long, do consider sequencing it. Far too often, assignments are given as one-shot final products that receive grades at the end of the semester, eternally abandoned by the student.  By sequencing a large assignment, or essentially breaking it down into a systematic approach consisting of interconnected smaller elements (such as a project proposal, an annotated bibliography, or a rough draft, or a series of mini-assignments related to the longer assignment), you can encourage thoughtfulness, complexity, and thoroughness in your students, as well as emphasize process over final product.

Next are a few elements to avoid in your assignments:

• Do not ask too many questions in your assignment.  In an effort to challenge students, instructors often err in the other direction, asking more questions than students can reasonably address in a single assignment without losing focus. Offering an overly specific “checklist” prompt often leads to externally organized papers, in which inexperienced students “slavishly follow the checklist instead of integrating their ideas into more organically-discovered structure” (Flaxman, 2005).
• Do not expect or suggest that there is an “ideal” response to the assignment. A common error for instructors is to dictate content of an assignment too rigidly, or to imply that there is a single correct response or a specific conclusion to reach, either explicitly or implicitly (Flaxman, 2005). Undoubtedly, students do not appreciate feeling as if they must read an instructor's mind to complete an assignment successfully, or that their own ideas have nowhere to go, and can lose motivation as a result. Similarly, avoid assignments that simply ask for regurgitation (Miller, 2007). Again, the best assignments invite students to engage in critical thinking, not just reproduce lectures or readings.
• Do not provide vague or confusing commands . Do students know what you mean when they are asked to “examine” or “discuss” a topic? Return to what you determined about your students' experiences and levels to help you decide what directions will make the most sense to them and what will require more explanation or guidance, and avoid verbiage that might confound them.
• Do not impose impossible time restraints or require the use of insufficient resources for completion of the assignment.  For instance, if you are asking all of your students to use the same resource, ensure that there are enough copies available for all students to access – or at least put one copy on reserve in the library. Likewise, make sure that you are providing your students with ample time to locate resources and effectively complete the assignment (Fitzpatrick, 1989).

The assignments we give to students don't simply have to be research papers or reports. There are many options for effective yet creative ways to assess your students' learning! Here are just a few:

Journals, Posters, Portfolios, Letters, Brochures, Management plans, Editorials, Instruction Manuals, Imitations of a text, Case studies, Debates, News release, Dialogues, Videos, Collages, Plays, Power Point presentations

Ultimately, the success of student responses to an assignment often rests on the instructor's deliberate design of the assignment. By being purposeful and thoughtful from the beginning, you can ensure that your assignments will not only serve as effective assessment methods, but also engage and delight your students. If you would like further help in constructing or revising an assignment, the Teaching, Learning, and Professional Development Center is glad to offer individual consultations. In addition, look into some of the resources provided below.

Online Resources

“Creating Effective Assignments” http://www.unh.edu/teaching-excellence/resources/Assignments.htm This site, from the University of New Hampshire's Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning,  provides a brief overview of effective assignment design, with a focus on determining and communicating goals and expectations.

Gardner, T.  (2005, June 12). Ten Tips for Designing Writing Assignments. Traci's Lists of Ten. http://www.tengrrl.com/tens/034.shtml This is a brief yet useful list of tips for assignment design, prepared by a writing teacher and curriculum developer for the National Council of Teachers of English .  The website will also link you to several other lists of “ten tips” related to literacy pedagogy.

“How to Create Effective Assignments for College Students.”  http:// tilt.colostate.edu/retreat/2011/zimmerman.pdf     This PDF is a simplified bulleted list, prepared by Dr. Toni Zimmerman from Colorado State University, offering some helpful ideas for coming up with creative assignments.

“Learner-Centered Assessment” http://cte.uwaterloo.ca/teaching_resources/tips/learner_centered_assessment.html From the Centre for Teaching Excellence at the University of Waterloo, this is a short list of suggestions for the process of designing an assessment with your students' interests in mind. “Matching Learning Goals to Assignment Types.” http://teachingcommons.depaul.edu/How_to/design_assignments/assignments_learning_goals.html This is a great page from DePaul University's Teaching Commons, providing a chart that helps instructors match assignments with learning goals.

Additional References Bean, J.C. (1996). Engaging ideas: The professor's guide to integrating writing, critical thinking, and active learning in the classroom . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Fitzpatrick, R. (1989). Research and writing assignments that reduce fear lead to better papers and more confident students. Writing Across the Curriculum , 3.2, pp. 15 – 24.

Flaxman, R. (2005). Creating meaningful writing assignments. The Teaching Exchange .  Retrieved Jan. 9, 2008 from http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Sheridan_Center/pubs/teachingExchange/jan2005/01_flaxman.pdf

Hass, M. & Osborn, J. (2007, August 13). An emic view of student writing and the writing process. Across the Disciplines, 4. 

Hedengren, B.F. (2004). A TA's guide to teaching writing in all disciplines . Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Hudd, S. S. (2003, April). Syllabus under construction: Involving students in the creation of class assignments.  Teaching Sociology , 31, pp. 195 – 202.

Leahy, R. (2002). Conducting writing assignments. College Teaching , 50.2, pp. 50 – 54.

Miller, H. (2007). Designing effective writing assignments.  Teaching with writing .  University of Minnesota Center for Writing. Retrieved Jan. 9, 2008, from http://writing.umn.edu/tww/assignments/designing.html

MIT Online Writing and Communication Center (1999). Creating Writing Assignments. Retrieved January 9, 2008 from http://web.mit.edu/writing/Faculty/createeffective.html .

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How to Start an Assignment

Last Updated: January 29, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Michelle Golden, PhD . Michelle Golden is an English teacher in Athens, Georgia. She received her MA in Language Arts Teacher Education in 2008 and received her PhD in English from Georgia State University in 2015. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 106,334 times.

Getting started on an assignment or homework can often times be the hardest step. Putting off the assignment can make the problem worse, reducing the time you have to complete the task and increasing stress. By learning how to get started and overcome the urge to procrastinate, you can get your assignments done on schedule and with less stress, opening up more free time.

Restructuring Your Assignment

• For example, you might research areas of a report that you find most interesting before moving on to other areas.
• If your math assignment has different types of questions, try doing those that you enjoy the most before moving on to the others.
• You might also try tackling smaller or easier tasks first so you can cross a few items off your list. Seeing that you've already made progress may help you feel motivated to continue.

• Promise yourself that you will meet your goal of working for five minutes on the assignment.
• Once you get started, you may find that you don't want to stop working. Otherwise, you can take a break and come back to the assignment, knowing you're at least five minutes closer to finishing than you were before.

• Try to set reasonable periods of time that you know you can meet. For example, you might set aside two hours on a Friday to dedicate to your assignment. If you don't have that much time all at once, try to carve out a few 20- or 30-minute blocks.
• You may or may not wish to continue working after your time limit has gone by.
• Have a realistic understanding of how fast you can write and plan your schedule accordingly.

• It can help to read the assignment as soon as you get it and then ask any questions you might have.
• If you're not sure if you understand the assignment, try rewriting it in your own words or explaining it to someone else. If you find you can't or have a lot of questions, you may need more information.
• You should have an overview of the assignment, understand the main task, and understand the technical and stylistic requirements.
• Look for important words in the instructions to understand the assignment. These words might include define, explain, compare, relate, or prove.
• Keep your audience in mind and write a paper that would best deliver information to them.

• Goals that are too big or not well defined can be difficult to start working towards.
• Smaller and well defined goals can seem easier to achieve than larger ones.
• For example, you could break a research paper down into several smaller tasks: 1) do preliminary research, 2) write an outline, 3) draft an introduction, 4) draft body paragraphs, 5) write conclusion, 6) revise. Each of these is much more do-able on its own.

Changing Your Focus

• You might want to go for a quick walk after working for a set amount of time.
• Try reading a website or book that you enjoy for a few minutes after working.
• Alternatively, try a quick burst of exercise before setting to work. Exercise releases feel-good chemicals called endorphins and can also help boost your memory. [8] X Research source

• Instead of dreading your work, focus on how good it will feel to make progress. You won't have it hanging over your head. You can actually enjoy the weekend instead of feeling guilty.
• Keeping your eye on long-term rewards can help you stay motivated to finish your assignment.

• Avoid moving your workspace constantly.
• Don't get lost on tangential research.
• Don't take constant breaks to get a snack.

• For every hour you waste procrastinating, you can limit how much television you watch that night.
• If you waste too much time procrastinating, you might deny yourself a favorite snack later on.

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• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/solving-unsolvable-problems/201408/4-steps-stop-procrastinating
• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/friendship-20/201405/the-surefire-first-step-stop-procrastinating
• ↑ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/procrastination/
• ↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/homework.html
• ↑ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/understanding-assignments/
• ↑ https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/ab22ff64-3358-4387-9761-8c58878a6b84/resource/3ee38320-17e4-46f9-b24f-c95f9f345eb9/download/ipp7.pdf
• ↑ http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/how-exercise-can-help-us-learn/
• ↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/happy-life.html

About This Article

To start an assignment, try working on the most enjoyable or easiest parts of the assignment first to get the ball rolling. Even if no part of the assignment seems enjoyable or easy, set a timer and try to make yourself work for at least 5 minutes, which is usually enough time to build momentum and overcome procrastination. You can also try breaking your assignment up into smaller, more manageable tasks and scheduling yourself regular breaks so it doesn't seem as overwhelming. To learn how to stay positive and avoid procrastination while working on your homework, scroll down! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Discover Your Best Time of the Day to Work

When you try to become more productive, you don’t get there by mere willpower. In order to attain peak productivity, you’ve got to have a plan. In this article, you’ll learn an easy-to-follow plan that will dramatically improve your productivity. The secret is simple — discovering the best time of day to work.

If you follow this plan, you will become more productive. It’s just that simple. By finding your ideal time of day for productive work, you can achieve an unstoppable flow of productivity. Productivity isn’t just about cool inbox tricks or nifty time management strategies. Those are important, but it’s more — it’s about harnessing energy and time to do more and better work.

First, this article discusses the role of energy in productivity. Then, you will discover the five guidelines for getting in the zone of productivity in your own schedule and workday.

Productivity Is All about Energy

Let’s set the stage for the plan. As we do so, there’s an essential principle to grasp: Productivity is about energy.

In the bestselling book by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, The Power of Full Engagement, the authors make the case that “managing energy, not time, is the key to high performance and personal renewal.” The operative theory of the book is that using one’s energy correctly enables an individual to work at a more productive level.

That’s not to say that time has nothing to do with it! Time and energy are locked in an symbiotic relationship. That’s why you manage your energy during the right time of day. Productivity is more than the sum of your time management techniques. Productivity requires that you discover the blend of your resources — time and energy — that allows you to reach maximum productivity. In order to successfully manage time, you must also competently manage energy.

Just as time is a limited resource, so is energy. You must spend both time and energy in a strategic way to 1) make the best use of both, and to 2) conserve and spend each of them as wisely as possible.

Prepare to Discover Your Productivity Zone: Get Enough Sleep

In order to find your productivity zone, your body needs to be prepared. The most important feature of being prepared is having sufficient rest. Before you can expect to find your zone, you need at least three consecutive nights of good sleep.

You simply can’t be productive if you’re running off of four hours of sleep a night. It’s obvious that your level of sleep is directly tied to your level of energy. What is not quite as obvious is that lack of sleep can destroy key cognitive processes that contribute to productivity. Lack of sleep corrupts your attention span, destroys alertness, ruins concentration, impairs reasoning, cripples problem solving, and hampers decision making. All of these brain-intensive activities are essential to productivity.

Let me say it simply: You will not be productive unless you get enough sleep.

It may seem overly simplistic to discuss something as mundane as sleep in an article about productivity. However, in order to be productive, you must be well rested. There’s no other way.

Many of us function under the delusion that we don’t have enough time to sleep. The contrary is true. We don’t have enough time not to sleep. Let’s say, for example, that you sleep four hours in a 24-hour period. Then, you work/play for the remaining twenty. While you may have been awake and functional for twenty hours, your work output may be equivalent to six hours, and your play is not enjoyable. If, however, you sleep for eight hours and work/play for the remaining sixteen, you will be far more productive and be engaged enough to enjoy both work and play.

Sleep is your biggest ally in the pursuit of productivity.

Now, let’s find your productive zone.

5 guidelines for discovering your best time of day

1. determine your optimal part of the day to work..

The first step in discovering your best time is to do a careful self-analysis. In this step, your goal is not to set a strict schedule, but to find the broadest part of the day that you are going to be more productive. Here are two questions to guide you to this discovery.

• Question 1:  When during the day do I have the greatest amount of energy and concentration? When do you feel the most alive, energized, creative, optimistic, and enthusiastic? For me, this is the morning. For my wife, it’s the evening. That’s why our work schedules blend, allowing us to share childcare and household duties while still maintaining full time work schedules. Discover when you’re at your peak — morning, afternoon, evening, etc. It could be that you’re at peak efficiency at more than one time, say the early morning and the late afternoon. That’s fine, too.

Tip: Most of us are not wired to have strong periods of productivity following a big meal. There is, however, a correlation between exercise and concentration. Research suggests that our concentration and mental acumen are sharpened following at least thirty minutes of vigorous exercise.

• Question 2:  When do I have the fewest interruptions and distractions? Part of productivity is being able to shut out the distractions that cripple concentration. Now that you have a general part of the day when you have the highest amount of energetic output, determine when the major distractions are. If you have an unavoidable distraction right in your productive zone, you will need to break up your productive zone to make way for this built-in interruption. Let’s say you pick the kids up from school from 3-4 every day. However, your most productive time is the afternoon. If this is the case, you can isolate two productive zones from 1-3pm, and perhaps from 4-5:30pm. I’ll discuss managing interruptions in detail below.

Tip: Interruptions and distractions fall into two categories, 1) planned and 2) unplanned. You can set up your schedule around planned distractions. When it comes to unplanned distractions, you should determine the time of day when unplanned distractions are least likely to occur. For me, unplanned distractions are least likely to happen very early in the morning when my kids are sleeping.

2. Isolate three 90-minute periods for concentrated work.

Now that you’ve determined the phases of your highest energy, it’s time to carve out several 90-minute periods. These 90-minute sessions are your productive bursts.

• Why 90 minutes? Work cycle research has shown that most people work best in 90-minute cycles followed by a reprieve. Nathan Kleitman, a sleep scientist during the mid 1900s discovered the 90-minute pattern in sleep and energy expenditure. Energy/productivity guru Schwartz recommends that workers “build at least one period of uninterrupted focus each day for 60 to 90 minutes and see how much more you get done.” This principle is built upon our body’s ultradian rhythms, and it’s futile to fight against them even with artificial stimulants such as caffeine and sugary intake. As Drake Bauer wrote for the Fast Company, “The 90-minute cycle works.”
• Why three periods? Three times 90 minutes is 270 minutes — four and half hours. This may not seem like a ton of time to do your work, but if you’re in a productive zone, you will accomplish more work than you would in an 8-hour marathon of ennui and fatigue. Besides, most of us will not be able to find more than five hours in any given day where we can be at maximum productivity. When we factor in life, sleep, interruptions, and ordinary scheduling constraints, it’s tough to find more than three cycles in any given 24-hour period. Finding three cycles allows you to be more flexible with your productive zones, and work around the other important things in your life.
• What happens in between each cycle? That’s up to you and your unique situation. What you should not do, however, is work — or at least work like you’ve been working for the past 90 minutes. You should take a break — a good, solid, get-up-and-move-around break. I have two 90-minute cycles in the morning, followed by a three and half to four hour break. After that, I finish out my workday in the late afternoon with a final 90-minute cycle.

3. Do the right work at the right time.

Not all work is equal. Different types of work require different levels of energetic output. Some work may be completely draining mentally. Other types of work might actually be energizing and exciting. You want to do the most demanding tasks during your time of greatest energy, and distribute less demanding tasks across your times of waning mental strength. Here are some examples.

I’m going to create the business proposal first thing in the morning since it requires a lot of thought. Then, I’ll make time for the mindless meetings in the afternoon.

During my most productive time, I’m going to write a ton of code. At the end of the day, I’ll handle all the emails from clients.

It may seem counterintuitive to do your hardest and most challenging tasks first. Won’t that leave you wasted for the rest of the day? Not exactly. As Brian Tracy explains in Eat that Frog, getting monumental tasks completed in the early part of the day is not enervating, but energizing. The sense of completion and success signals psychological reward centers in our brain that fuel further productive work. Rather than drain us, completing big tasks has the power to motivate us.

4. Tolerate strategic interruptions.

You have a life, and you need to factor that into your productive zone discovery. There are kids to care for, meetings to attend, meals to eat, and maybe naps to take. How do interruptions factor into your best time of day to work? As explained above, we work best in 90-minute cycles. Any repetitive work that extends beyond that time will begin to diminish in quality. This built-in cycle of productivity allows you to embrace your interruptions at the right time.

My greatest and most enjoyable interruption happens at lunch time. I come home to my family, enjoy a meal, play with the kids, and just chill for a few hours. This is an unorthodoxy for those who swear by the nine-to-five rule, but since such unorthodoxy allows insane levels of productivity, it’s okay. When I return from my three-hour hiatus, I’m energized, creative, and chomping at the bit for another 90-minute zone to finish out my day

When you look at your day, find those times where the distractions are the lowest and your energy is the highest. Then look at your interruptions. Enjoy them. Use those interruptions to enhance your productivity, not hamper it.

5. Use creativity to your advantage.

There is one universal limitation we all work with — the twenty-four hour day. Within these allotted hours, we must find our most productive work times. If you discover that the traditional nine-to-five is your productive zone, so be it. However, there are many hours beyond this conventional timeframe that might just be your most productive. Confront your limitations, then discover your best time.

To do that, you might just have to think outside the box.

We all face other limitations that require creative solutions. When Nelson Mandela was imprisoned in a South African prison, he wrote his memoirs during the night and slept during the day. He was enormously productive in this secret project, completing a massive amount of writing during a very short amount of time. During the eight years of Eisenhower’s presidency, he started work at 6am and worked until 3 or 4pm. These hours enabled him to get more done than most people, and still golf more frequently than any other American president in history. Some uberproductive people sleep in, goof off half the day, and step into their productive stride around 8pm. Then, from 8pm to 3 or 4am they hit their stride and churn out enormous amounts of work.

What works best for you? The key is creativity. Look at the blank slate of 24 hours, factor in your challenges, and find the time that works best.

4 productivity zone tips

It’s not just mornings..

Let’s get rid of the morning myth. There’s always this elitist chatter going on that mornings are the only time to be productive. That’s true for some people, but not for everyone. The morning-loving crew is convinced that the mornings are the best time for them to get things done, because their experience corroborates it. If you give mornings your best effort, but fail miserably, don’t sweat it. Find the time that works best for you — even if it sounds totally bizarre — and use that. Productivity isn’t about following rules as much as it is breaking the rules to make things work for you.

Be skeptical of the nine-to-five.

The nine-to-five workday is a persistent vestige of the industrial reformation and its subsequent generational refinements. Today, with remote work on the rise, and globalization opening up the 24-hour cycle to endless variations of work and sleep, you can choose when and how you work. If you are institutionalized into the strictures of a nine-to-five workday, then you must work within these limitations or campaign for change. If, however, your schedule is your own to mold to your preferences, dispense with the nine-to-five model and start from scratch based on your own personal rhythms, lifestyle, family needs, and personal productivity zones.

Guard your productive zone.

You will not be productive unless you maintain the practice of your 90-minute cycles that fall within your productive zone. Do everything in your power to protect against incursions into these times. Meetings, phone calls, appointments, meals, etc., should all take a back seat to your important productive cycles. Hey, it’s only 4.5 hours of every day! That leaves you more than 19 hours to do everything else!

Managers, free your workers!

If you manage knowledge workers, give them the freedom to choose their own schedules. If there is little to no customer interface time or important meetings, give them the freedom to choose when (and where) they do their work. Your goal is to empower them to do more and to do it better, not to have them filling desks and punching clocks. I work as a project manager for a distributed team in various time zones, so this is a built-in part of my job. If you are tied to a conventional office, do what you can to liberate your workers to find their zones and become better workers.

Finally, be free to have fun. It’s way too easy to become a slave to productivity, and forget about the freedom and fun that it allows! Productivity is a strategy that allows you to enjoy life, not become dominated by schedules and tasks. The only way that you’ll enjoy the productive life is if you’re being productive and having fun. Do both with a passion.

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I Tried 4 To-Do List Methods. Here’s What Worked.

• Kelsey Alpaio

…and what didn’t.

There are a lot of methods out there for staying organized. But which method prevails? Over four days, I tried four ways of organizing my to-do list. I tracked my overall productivity and stress levels to see which worked best.

• Monday: Get rid of your to-do list and instead schedule out your tasks in your digital calendar. This method is good for people who like structure, aren’t afraid of a crowded calendar, and love planning ahead.
• Tuesday: Keep a running list but do just “one thing” on it. This method is good for daydreamers, multitaskers, and people who are easily distracted.
• Wednesday: Use a digital task manager. This method is good for techies and people who have A LOT of tasks to organize, or are working on a variety of projects.
• Thursday: Make three lists, one for immediate tasks, one for future tasks, and one for tasks you’re never going to get done. This method is good for self-motivated people with competing priorities who love crossing the easy items off their list (a little too much), and don’t need much support to stay focused.

Where your work meets your life. See more from Ascend here .

You know that slimy, green ghost from Ghostbusters ? The one that floats around eating everything in sight?

• KA Kelsey Alpaio is an Associate Editor at Harvard Business Review. kelseyalpaio

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College & Research Libraries News  ( C&RL News ) is the official newsmagazine and publication of record of the Association of College & Research Libraries,  providing articles on the latest trends and practices affecting academic and research libraries.

C&RL News  became an online-only publication beginning with the January 2022 issue.

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Give us your feedback in the 2024  C&RL News   reader survey ! The survey asks a series of questions today to gather your thoughts on the contents and presentation of the magazine and should only take approximately 5-7 minutes to complete. Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback and suggestions for  C&RL News , we greatly appreciate and value your input.

Jeanine Mazak-Kahne is associate professor at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania History Department, email: [email protected] .

Theresa McDevitt is government information and outreach librarian at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, email: [email protected] .

Lorilie Blose is currently a student in the Clarion University Department of Information and Library Science, email: [email protected] .

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Jeanine Mazak-Kahne, Theresa McDevitt, and Lorilie Blose

Academic Libraries and Public Art

Engaging Students in a Timely Discussion

Jeanine Mazak-Kahne is associate professor at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania History Department, email: [email protected] . Theresa McDevitt is government information and outreach librarian at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, email: [email protected] . Lorilie Blose is currently a student in the Clarion University Department of Information and Library Science, email: [email protected] .

© 2024 Jeanine Mazak-Kahne, Theresa McDevitt, and Lorilie Blose

A cademic libraries are dynamic institutions that are constantly changing in response to the needs and wants of their users. At the same time, they are also the offices that house the institution’s archives and are responsible for preserving the records that document the institution’s past. While they strive to adopt best practices consistent with student needs, they also work to protect and preserve the past. Such roles can be at odds.

What do libraries do when current student and administrative priorities, tastes, and institutional missions clash with their interest in preserving the past? Are libraries’ users best served by exclusively supporting current taste and initiatives, or does preservation of the past serve students and institutions more? Can libraries use existing historic places to share significant historical stories about their institution and still be perceived as current and attractive? These questions are ones that librarians might struggle with, but they do not have to struggle alone.

Academic libraries exist in colleges and universities that are staffed by discipline-specific experts and the students who are training in these disciplines. Librarians, who work daily with faculty and students, have a ready opportunity to seek advice from both seasoned and budding experts and include them in discussions on authentic dilemmas that libraries face. Collaboration may result in more informed decision-making, as well as provide educational and professional benefits for students as they build work skills, develop more impressive vitas, and become more deeply engaged in their learning.

Public history programs provide students with civically engaged instruction, often incorporating practical projects into traditional classroom learning. Public history fields include librarianship and/or encourage strong relationships with libraries and librarians not only as a source of research, but also as tied to their nature as being public service–oriented. Both have a concern for ensuring information is preserved and shared, and shape community and identity, in shared, as well as unique ways.

During the 2022–2023 academic year, an Indiana University of Pennsylvania Libraries issue related to historic public art was brought to faculty and students with an expertise in public history when seeking a practical solution to a real-world problem. This article will describe the problem, the collaboration, and the manner in which the service-learning activity at once benefited the library, faculty, and students.

Mural tracing the evolution of communications, located in a stairwell of the IUP Stabley Library. The mural was installed c. 1960s by student and artist Wayne Hawxhurst. Photo by Rhonda Yeager.

The People and the Issue

Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is a mid-sized public university in Western Pennsylvania that began as a Normal School in 1875 to prepare teachers for common schools. Over the years, it developed into a university with an R2 or High Research Activity classification. In the summer of 2022, IUP Libraries were renovated to support student success by physically uniting a number of campus support services and creating a Learning Commons in the library facility. In the course of the renovations, a stairway previously available only to staff was again opened to the public and a mural painted in the late 1960s was rediscovered. The mural was painted as part of a course assignment by a graduate student who loved the library. It illustrated the evolution of information storage and sharing from the beginning of time to the 1960s. Although it survived for more than 50 years, in the fall of 2022 the new renovations and resulting altered traffic patterns drew attention to the mural and led some to question whether it should be preserved or painted over. Interesting in its time, and related to the library’s current and historical mission, it was not consistent with the more minimalist and standardized style of the renovated building. The question arose: should it be painted over, or should it be preserved?

Public History Instruction and Libraries

Theresa McDevitt is a librarian who has a PhD in history. Over the years she has developed several history-based initiatives in the library and university communities and long served as the embedded librarian for the History Department. In this role, McDevitt has worked closely with Jeanine Mazak-Kahne, a public history professor, to develop authentic public history assignments based upon existing local history records. Mazak-Kahne considers this relationship as essential in providing critical instruction to public history students, from information literacy to research practices in local history.

Instruction in public history is anchored in understanding and fostering the preservation of cultural heritage, whether it be on the local level or a national scale. Course materials and faculty instruction involve a historical understanding of community and memory, especially that fostered by cultural and heritage objects created (such as public art or memorials) for a given purpose and examining how purpose and meaning change over time. In contemporary discussions, the weight has fallen on monuments and memorials. Discussion is often lively and reflective; however, for many, these issues are abstract as students are removed by space and time from the objects and the surrounding debates.

Also critical to public history instruction is the understanding of community and memory. While typical case studies examined in the classroom are often part of larger debates over a national identity, in reality, peoples’ lives are most often rooted in the local identity, community, and memory. As students are part of a university community, public history professors recognize that student learning and engagement with material deepens when an understanding of place, identity, and memory is drawn from their immediate surroundings. This leads to the development of connections to the community in which they are immersed in new ways. Through projects that stem from authentic local issues, students apply what they have learned in the classroom to their immediate, discuss identity, memory, and community values and how they have changed over time.

Students in the IUP public history program comprise multiple disciplines from history and anthropology to art and English. Students continue to work in a variety of fields, including historic sites and museums, but also in archives and libraries, and they benefit from developing an understanding of how information is preserved and used in these different organizations. Therefore, it is an ideal situation to work with the embedded librarian and university library to develop authentic applications of theory at every opportunity possible.

The Assignment

Discussion of whether the library mural should be painted over came just at the time when instruction in the public history course shifted to the meaning of memory and identity as preserved and expressed in public monuments, memorials, and art. In this course, students are encouraged to think about how the meaning of public objects change over time and how evolving meaning and understanding of our past causes us to reinterpret these objects. They also seek to explore how objects have different meanings within the community and how public historians must navigate and negotiate these meanings among different groups and provide professional insight when called upon.

McDevitt and Mazak-Kahne felt that the discussion of whether the mural should be preserved or painted over would be a good authentic assignment for students. Students in two public history classes, Introduction to Public History and History Museums and Historic Sites, visited the library and read about the mural’s history in an alumni newsletter article. They were then asked to call upon what they had learned so far to provide advice to the libraries on the disposition of the mural. The mission of the libraries was shared, and the historical value of the mural and possible significance of its having been painted by an alumnus was considered. They were able to recommend that it be preserved or painted over. If they chose the latter, they were asked to suggest ways that the historical information intrinsic to the artifact could be preserved. Discussion prompts included those related to historical significance, historical content accuracy, artistic quality, and impact of ease of navigation when the space might be used for navigational signs.

While considering this real-world dilemma, they were asked to consider what the historical significance of the content of the mural was, and if it was accurate, and if that mattered. The students participated actively in the discussion, clearly drawing upon their training, and raised unanticipated issues that led to a deeper consideration of not just the mural, but of all public art in the library.

Some of the students in the classes were so intrigued with the mural that they volunteered to look more into its history. They wrote up their findings for library administration and prepared background documents that will be preserved in the Special Collections Department. They also provided wording for a plaque for the mural should it be preserved.

In reflecting on the assignment, Mazak-Kahne felt that the mural lesson enhanced student learning, immersing them in the immediate relationship between public art, public engagement, and institutional memory. She feels that it is important for students to learn that life is messy and that no solution is perfect, while giving them practice in making decisions for the common good, while not dismissing the past. She argues that engagement with this real-world problem helps students gain experience that may help them assess the complicated circumstances that professionals encounter in their field.

Based on this success, Mazak-Kahne intends to build upon this project in the future. IUP’s public history program spans multiple courses, and it is often the case that a project started in the Intro class is carried into the archives, museums, oral history, digital history, and family and local history courses. The documentation created during this project will, at the very least, be used to create a digital exhibit that will be housed on the program’s website, currently under construction.

Students who worked on the assignment echoed Mazak-Kahne’s sentiments. They reported that the mural project gave them insight and hands-on experience that corresponded to their field of interest, public history, and offered them a glimpse into the work often found within museums and archival sites.

They also agreed that the investigation of the mural led them to deepen their understanding of historical research by conducting thorough research into various primary and secondary sources in a manner that an actual public historian would. Although it was challenging, they felt that translating discovered information into an accurate and unique plaque strengthened their ability to communicate historical information effectively and efficiently.

Lorilie Blose, a student in the class, wrote, “Throughout the project, I learned about the meticulous research required to understand art and artifacts, the careful decision of what to preserve, and the significance of accurately documenting and contextualizing historical objects and art. . . . This hands-on experience helped me grasp the intricate workings of these institutions, preparing me for potential future roles in public history.” She continued that it “enhanced my academic experience but also gave me invaluable insights into the operational aspects of public history. Such projects help to bridge the gap between theory and practice, preparing students for careers in history and other related subjects.”

For the immediate future, the mural will continue to grace the walls of the stairway in the older part of the library building, and the students’ plaque text will be mounted near it in the stairway. Based on this experience, the curator of the University Museum was inspired to ask interns working at the University Museum the following semester to write descriptions for more of the art items in the library.

The decision of what to do with the historical mural presented a challenge to library personnel. Like most challenges though, it offered opportunities for learning and growth. By including history professors and students as advisors in the discussion-making process, librarian learning was extended, and students and faculty benefited as well.

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14 Proven Tips For Completing Assignments

Completing assignments can be a daunting task, but there are a few things that you can do to make the process a whole lot easier. 

Are you finding it difficult to complete your assignments on time? If you’re looking for some tips to help you get organized and stay on track, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, I’ll share some helpful strategies that will make completing your assignments a breeze.

But first, let’s analyze why it’s essential that you complete your assignments on time.

Why are assignments important?

Though often met with groans and complaints, academic assignments are actually beneficial in a number of ways. For one, they force students to engage with the material on a deeper level, encouraging them to really think about what they’re learning and stay on track with their studies.

In addition, academic assignments help students to develop important research, writing and study skills that will be useful in college and beyond.

Academic assignments also give students the opportunity to receive feedback from their instructors on their work.

Assignments are a great way to increase parent engagement in learning and for students to develop a sense of responsibility.

Notably, despite its benefits, too many assignments can do more harm than good.

Too much assignments can interfere with free time and involvement in extra-curricular activities. Assignment completion may be increasingly frustrating and stressful when there are challenges with the home environment. O’Rourke-Ferrara, 1998

Why is completing assignments on time important?

Completing assignments on time allows you to fully engage with the material and understand the concepts.

Subsequently, you’ll likely earn better grades and improve your chances of success in school. Additionally, completing assignments in a timely manner will also give you a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

Completing assignments on time demonstrates to your instructor that you are capable of meeting deadlines. This is important in both academic and professional settings.

Plus we all know that once you start falling behind on assignments, it can be difficult to catch up.

Finally, completing assignments on time will likely improve your sleep and reduce stress levels.

According to research, completing assignments improves independence, self-discipline, and time management skills. In addition, it has been linked with better grades and academic success. planchard et al., 2015

Tips for completing assignments

So how can you make sure that you complete your assignments on time? Here are a few tips that may help:

1. Read the assignment instructions carefully

Make sure you understand what is expected of you before you start working on the assignment. Read the instructions carefully, and if anything is unclear, be sure to ask for clarification.

2. Identify why the assignment is necessary

Identifying why the assignment is necessary is an important first step for success. Acknowledging the importance of a task or goal can help you stay motivated to do the best possible work and see meaningful results.

It gives purpose to your efforts, and this in turn can help provide focus and direction, leading to better results through hard work and dedication.

Research shows that the main motivating factors for homework completion were: (1) Reinforcement: desire to learn or master the material (2) Credit (3) Extra-credit planchard et al., 2015

3. Start early to complete assignments on time

Assignments can take longer than you think, so start working on them as soon as they’re assigned. This will help you avoid last-minute stress and ensure that you have enough time to complete the assignment to the best of your ability.

4. Set goals for assignment completion

One way to stay on track with an assignment is to break it down into smaller goals. For example, if you have a research paper to write, your goal for the first day might be to choose a topic and find five sources.

Once you’ve met that goal, you can set a new goal for the next day. Breaking the assignment down into smaller tasks can help to make it feel less overwhelming, and it can also help you to track your progress. 

5 . Create a schedule to finish assignments

Once you know when the assignment is due, create a schedule that breaks the work down into manageable tasks. This will help you stay on track and avoid feeling overwhelmed by the assignment.

Research shows that the most common demotivating factors for homework completion were: (1) Other commitments (2) Difficulty understanding (3) Too difficult or too long planchard et al., 2015

6. Identify the resources required for the assignment

Another important step in completing an assignment is to identify the resources that you’ll need. This might include books, articles, websites, or people you can interview. Having a list of resources will help you to focus your research and make the process easier.

7. Track your reference s when researching

As you’re doing research for your assignment, be sure to track the references that you’re using. This will save you time when you’re writing your paper and will ensure that you give credit to the sources that you’ve used.

8. Set aside uninterrupted time for assignments

Once you have a schedule, set aside time each day or each week to work on the assignment. During this time, turn off distractions like your phone and social media. This will help you stay focused and make the most of your time.

9. Ask for help if you get stuck

If you’re struggling with the assignment, don’t hesitate to ask for help. Talk to your professor, a tutor, or a friend who is doing well in the class. They can offer guidance and support that can help you get back on track.

10. Take breaks when completing assignments

Working on an assignment for long periods of time can be overwhelming and lead to burnout. To avoid this, take breaks throughout the day or week. during your break, do something that you enjoy or that will help you relax.

11. Celebrate your progress

As you complete tasks on your schedule, take a moment to celebrate your progress. This will help you stay motivated and focused. It can be something as simple as taking a break after completing a section or giving yourself a small treat.

12. Proofread your assignments

Once you’ve completed the assignment, take the time to proofread it. This will help you catch any mistakes and make sure that your work is of the best quality.

13. Submit your assignments on time

Make sure to submit your assignment on time. If you’re having trouble with this, talk to your professor or a tutor. They may be able to offer extension or help you get back on track.

14. Relax after completing each assignment

After you’ve submitted the assignment, it’s important to relax. Take some time for yourself and do something that you enjoy. This will help you relax and prepare for the next assignment.

Final words on proven tips for completing assignments

If you follow these tips, you will be well on your way to acing any assignment. Do you have any other studying or coursework tips that have worked well for you?

Drop a comment below and let me know. Best of luck in all your future assignments.

Read also: 22 Key Tips To Easily Improve Writing Skills

O’Rourke-Ferrara, Catherine. “Did You Complete All Your Homework Tonight, Dear?” Information Analyses (070) Opinion Papers (120) — Reports Research (143) 1998

Planchard, Matthew S. et al. “Homework, Motivation, and Academic Achievement in a College Genetics Course.”  Bioscene: The Journal Of College Biology Teaching  41 (2015): 11-18. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1086528.pdf

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The 5 Best Assignment Help Websites for College Students

The popularity of professional assignment help websites has grown significantly during the pandemic times when most students had to make a complex shift and start with their online studies.

There were numerous challenges that had to be faced, including heavy workload issues, misunderstanding of the grading rubric, and academic pressure.

The majority of students approach online help as a way to avoid plagiarism and receive better grades as they share their concerns with trained experts.

Still, finding the best assignment help services can be quite challenging!

Check out a list of reliable assignment help offerings online aimed at college students!

The Best Assignment Help Websites for College Students

1. assignmentbro.

Company’s History. This friendly company belongs to relatively new offerings, yet they have already earned the hearts and minds of school and college students worldwide. They are reputable and always place the client’s needs first, as they are managed by a great team of university graduates who know what students are going through.

Reliability. A plethora of online reviews and the presence of direct contact with a writer makes them reliable. There are free revisions and refunds available as well. Moreover, there are excellent citation tools and writing tools for paraphrasing, a words-to-minutes converter, and a conclusion generator.

Quality of Assignments. Our Law assignment has been delivered on time, and the paper has been free of grammar or style mistakes. The formatting has been done properly, and the content itself has been done professionally with all citations in place.

Prices. As we looked for the best assignment services, we wanted to approach only the most affordable services where the quality still remains high. At AssignmentBro, they do not have a fixed price, which is a good thing because you can negotiate the final price. Our price depended on our subject, the qualification of the writer, and the deadline. It was affordable!

Reviews. Their Sitejabber page shows that they have 4.7 stars based on 53 reviews. People praise them for their affordability and their friendly attitude. The Trustpilot page has 4.4 stars based on 29 reviews. Their writers are always praised as well as their support team.

Customer Support. It deserves six stars out of five because they are the most caring and friendliest when it comes to getting your challenges fixed.

Why Choose It? A young company that is aimed at getting you understood as you ask for academic writing help. Affordable and high-quality writing with a plethora of helpful free tools.

2. A Research Guide

Company’s History. This great service has been around for more than 10 years now, yet they are rarely mentioned when the best assignment writing services are mentioned. The reason for that is that they are not your typical company because it is a great hub for all things research writing. They offer free materials, tutorials, and templates even before you place an order.

Reliability. They cooperate with numerous institutions and businesses as they offer innovative research paper writing assistance and explore all the latest and most efficient ways to deliver excellent research. They have won several awards in the field and represent a fully legit service.

Quality of Assignments. This is where they truly stand out, as their specialists will ask you all the possible questions before they match you with a specialist in their field. We have approached them for a Political Sciences research paper, and they have delivered an excellent paper with credible sources, formatting, and high-quality research.

Prices. The prices start at $14.99 per page and belong to more expensive writing solutions. Still, when you think about the direct communication and assistance that you receive, it’s totally worth it.

Online Reviews. This is where things get rather rough, as the number of reviews is extremely limited. Still, we could find out feedback from professional educators, online course creators, and dissertation-writing students who needed complex research. Their testimonials speak in favor of the company’s reputation.

Customer Support. The support agents represent experienced researchers who will happily guide you through the website and help you with anything. They are available 24/7.

Why Choose It? Look no further if you need serious research paper writing help and want to enjoy freebies that will help you to deliver a perfect assignment.

3. EduBirdie

Company’s History. The company is one of the most famous names in the industry. Their website states that they have been offering legit academic help since 2014. The company runs a blog and stands at the top of technical and academic innovations.

Reliability. They let you talk to your writer directly and provide free paper revisions. If you are not happy with the paper, they offer full refunds. The reviews online show that they are safe to use and follow their promises.

Quality of Assignments. Speaking of online assignment help websites, they offer timely delivery and focus on anything from essay writing and dissertations to personal statement writing and online exams. Placing an order with them, our experts received expert assistance, and the paper contained no grammar, style, or plagiarism issues.

Prices. The prices here start at $13.99 per page and remain affordable if we compare these services to similar offerings online. They implement a bidding system so your final price will depend on the writing quality chosen, the subject, the deadline, and the popularity of your subject.

Online Reviews. This company is constantly mentioned on Sitejabber, Trustpilot, and YouTube (they have their channel), and they are popular among social media users. They are rated at 4.7 out of 5 total points, which is a sign of reliability. Most of their clients are happy with the results.

Customer Support. They are trained well and respond immediately. We had a nice experience talking to the support agents. They are available 24/7 and offer human help with no bots.

Why Choose It? The positive reputation of the company and the chance to talk to your writer directly place them at the top of the most popular assignment help websites you can find these days. They are plagiarism-free and offer reliable quality at an affordable price.

4. SameDayPapers

Company’s History. The company has been around since 2017 and started out in Great Britain and Australia. Later on, they added affordable writing help services in the United States as well. They are the best choice if you are an ESL student or a learner looking for complex custom assignments that focus on Sociology, Psychology, History, or Engineering.

Reliability. They offer free paper revisions and also provide you with a free tool to check your grammar. Regarding the plagiarism, they also let you check things free of charge. Employing native English speakers, they are very strict about their writers and let you cooperate with verified specialists.

Quality of Assignments. Placing an order is easy and logical here, which clearly shows that we are dealing with the best website for assignment help. Checking the paper on Psychology, we can state that it has been delivered even earlier than our deadline. The paper was original, had excellent formatting, and the content has been up to the highest standards.

Prices. They represent an affordable and the best website to do assignments, with their prices starting at $12.99. If you are looking for reliable editing services, the prices will start at $5.5 per page.

Online Reviews. Researching this company’s background, we could locate over two hundred reviews. Most of them are positive and come from the United States, the UK, and Australian users. The total rating is 4.38/5 points.

Customer Support. It’s available for American users, and they respond right away by assisting you with anything from placing an order to finding a specialist that matches your needs.

Why Choose It? It’s one of the global companies that implement verified writers and can offer professional assistance. There are also UK and Australian branches, should you need specific help or sources.

5. EduZaurus

Company’s History. The story of this amazing sample essay database and academic writing company dates back to June 2015. Since then, they have collected a great resource for students coming from all disciplines. The company’s website claims that they have completed over 100,000 assignments as 2021 has started. They provide hundreds of skilled writers, yet what makes them unique is a great collection of free essay samples. It makes them one of the best choices when you need inspiration.

Reliability. Offering legit academic assistance, they can be safely marked as the best assignment writing help service for their collection of samples alone that showcases their work and provides a general idea of what can be expected. There are free revisions and refunds.

Quality of Assignments. Placing an order for the coursework paper in Journalism, we received an excellent document that has been formatted correctly and contained high originality. The grammar and style have been done well. The delivery has been set to only eight hours, yet the paper has been delivered on time.

Prices. Since there are many factors that affect the price per page (writer’s level, your deadline, task specifics), our price has started at $25 per page, yet the general pricing can vary between $20 and $50 if your order is urgent. The prices with a longer deadline start at $12.99 per page. Remember that you should always wait for the best bids to appear.

Online Reviews. Sitejabber users gave them 4.52 stars out of 5 based on 29 reviews. As for TrustPilot, they’ve earned 4.3 out of 5 stars based on 15 testimonials. Most people praise them for being legit and trustworthy.

Customer Support. They have an online chat feature, which is available 24/7. The support remains friendly even if you run into problems.

Why Choose It? This service is the best choice when it comes to finding free samples for inspiration, yet their writing assistance is also up to the highest standards. They cover a wide range of subjects and have a minimum deadline of 3 hours that actually works.

Where Can I Find Trustworthy Assignment Help?

You can find it online, as there are numerous offerings.

As a way to save time, we have tested and evaluated five of the best homework help websites that can be trusted.

Take your time to explore them and see which of them fits your academic needs first.

What is The Best Assignment Help Website You Can Recommend?

While the “best” is always subjective, you may safely check these five entries explored above.

Each of them is different and provides specific benefits in each case

A Research Guide service is the best choice for research paper writing, while EduZaurus will provide you with a great selection of free samples!

Is Assignment Help Described Legit?

Absolutely! Every assignment help website on our list has been tested in terms of being legit .

These services are acknowledged providers of academic help online and are absolutely safe to use, as many online reviews can confirm.

Sharing Your Instructions Well is Essential!

As you are looking through websites that do your homework online, remember that you should always start with careful preparation and sorting of your instructions.

These must be shared with a chosen specialist and have a clear description because it is the only way to achieve success and the necessary degree of clarity.

Although many services like EduBirdie or AssignmentBro let you talk to your writer directly, you must be precise with your instructions and share anything from the assignment grading rubric to the comments and recommendations from your college professor.

It will help you to get the best quality and save time as you avoid mistakes and explain what you expect to see as you place your assignment request.

Regardless if you require research paper writing services or seek an expert who can proofread your work and fix grammar mistakes, sharing your instructions should always come first!

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Passionate members of the College Basics community that include students, essay writers, consultants and beyond. Please note, while community content has passed our editorial guidelines, we do not endorse any product or service contained in these articles which may also include links for which College Basics is compensated.

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The Online Writing Lab at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and we provide these as a free service of the Writing Lab at Purdue. Students, members of the community, and users worldwide will find information to assist with many writing projects. Teachers and trainers may use this material for in-class and out-of-class instruction.

The Purdue On-Campus Writing Lab and Purdue Online Writing Lab assist clients in their development as writers—no matter what their skill level—with on-campus consultations, online participation, and community engagement. The Purdue Writing Lab serves the Purdue, West Lafayette, campus and coordinates with local literacy initiatives. The Purdue OWL offers global support through online reference materials and services.

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9 Writing Apps For Your College Assignments

When you are in college, writing can seem like a huge job. How can someone successfully manage and organize their thoughts when they have a lot of work to do? Do not be afraid! Lots of writing apps are out there that can help you write better and faster by working like your digital helper. Are you ready to start? Let’s look into these useful tools together.

Why You Need Writing Apps

Benefits of writing apps.

You might be wondering why all the fuss is about writing apps. Many people use writing apps instead of paper, but these apps are like superheroes in the world of writing. They come to your aid and help you fix your spelling, put your ideas in order, and even remember your homework.

The Modern Writing Toolkit

Imagine having a magic set of tools that changes based on what you need to write. In fact, these writing apps do just that. With features like real-time collaboration, grammar checking, and project management, they change and adapt to make sure you have everything you need to face your assignments head-on.

1. AssignmentBro

AssignmentBro is the first tool that stands out that you might want to use for your college assignments. This is a specialized do my assignment online service that helps college students handle and do well on their tasks. AssignmentBro stands out because it focuses on giving you help that is tailored to your needs.

2. Google Docs

Real-time collaboration.

When you want to work together, Google Docs is great. It’s easy to share your work and get comments in real time. Doesn’t that sound perfect for group projects?

Access Anywhere

Because Google Docs is in the cloud, you can view your work from anywhere at any time. No more forgetting to do homework at home!

3. Grammarly

Grammar and spelling checks.

In a way, Grammarly is like a kind but thorough English teacher. It helps you improve your work by finding and fixing mistakes that are simple to miss.

Enhancing Writing Style

Grammarly doesn’t just fix mistakes; it also offers ways to improve your style, which makes your writing clear and crisp. It’s like having a writing expert help you get better.

4. Evernote

Organizing your thoughts.

As you write, Evernote keeps your thoughts and notes in order, like a personal writing assistant. It’s like having a digital notebook that is well-organized and easy to carry around with you.

Ease of Access

You can easily get to your notes and thoughts from any device. Doesn’t it make the process of writing easier and more open?

5. Scrivener

For long assignments.

Scrivener is like the planner of writing apps; it helps you organize long, complicated tasks. It’s very helpful for working on theses and papers.

Powerful Writing Tools

Scrivener makes writing more organized and less stressful by giving you a lot of strong tools. You’ll feel like you have a writing warrior by your side, ready to fight the chaos of big tasks.

6. Hemingway App

Making your writing easy.

The Hemingway App is the best app for writing that is clear and to the point. You can think of it as a personal editor that cuts out words and sentences that aren’t needed, leaving your work clear and to the point.

Improvements to Readability

The app makes sure that your writing is clear and easy to understand, so your points and ideas stand out.

Workspace with Everything You Need

Notion is like a Swiss Army Knife; it gives you many ways to handle your writing jobs. It brings together different parts of your project, making sure that everything fits together and is well-organized.

Making Changes

With Notion, you can make your workspace fit your style and tastes by customizing it. It’s like having your own personal study space.

Managing a Project

Trello is the project manager you’ve always wanted. Making a plan and organizing your tasks will help you meet your due dates without any problems.

Writing with Others

Are you working on a group project? Trello makes working together easy and efficient, which encourages teamwork and unity.

9. FocusWriter

Writing without being distracted.

FocusWriter is a safe place for writers to work without being interrupted, which helps them concentrate and stay on task. It’s like going into a quiet room where you can be creative without any interruptions.

Customizable Backgrounds

Change the background and themes to fit your mood and tastes. This will make writing more comfortable and unique for you.

There are a lot of different writing apps out there, and each one is like a magic wand for writers. They help you plan, manage, and improve your writing, so you can turn in great assignments. So, are you ready to change the way you write?

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Kentucky Derby post positions: Most wins from each spot at Churchill Downs starting gate

Over the course of an exhilarating two minutes on Saturday, horses will jockey (no pun intended) for position over 1 1/4 miles of Kentucky dirt, with the winner of that frenetic sprint earning a place in history as the champion of the world’s most storied race.

The winner of the 2024 Kentucky Derby , though, won’t just be determined by whoever crosses the finish line first at Churchill Downs . Historically speaking, it will be influenced by where the winning horse began the race.

Among the dozens of factors that go into prognosticating the Run for the Roses is the race’s post position — that is, where on the track’s 20-horse starting gate each competitor is before they take off.

For those who closely follow the sport and try to correctly bet on the winner of the race, last Saturday’s Kentucky Derby post position draw was an event of significant interest. Where a horse starts the race doesn’t foretell whether they’ll win it. But based on nearly a century’s worth of results, it can prevent even a top contender from galloping into the famed Winner’s Circle.

To get a better sense of what horses might be well-positioned to win the 2024 Derby, here’s a look at post positions of previous winners since the starting gate was first used in 1930, how many winners have come from each post position and more:

Kentucky Derby best post position

Post position No. 5 has produced the most Derby winners, with 10 wins in 94 starts, along with eight second-place finishes and four third-place showings.

The last winner from the No. 5 post position came in 2017, when Always Dreaming came in first by 2 3/4 lengths. For all of its historic success, however, the post position hasn’t had a top-three finisher since Audible came in third in 2018.

This year, Catalytic will occupy the No. 5 post position, though the horse isn’t among the race’s favorites. As of Thursday morning, Catalytic was at 42-1 odds to win.

REQUIRED READING: Who can beat the favorite in Kentucky Derby 2024? These are four horses to bet on

Kentucky Derby wins by post position

While the No. 5 post position has been the home to the most Derby winners, it doesn’t hold that distinction by a wide margin.

Post position Nos. 8 and 10 have each produced nine Derby winners, just one behind the lead. Mage, the 2023 Derby champion, came out of No. 8. Post position Nos. 1 and 7 have each been home to eight Derby victors.

Beyond post position No. 10, a horse’s chances of winning the Derby decrease noticeably. Only one gate from Nos. 11 through 20 has produced more than five Derby winners, while six of those 10 spots have been home to two or fewer champions, including post position No. 17, which has never been the starting spot for a Derby winner.

Here are the number of Derby champions that have come from each post position:

• Post No. 1 : 8 winners
• Post No. 2 : 7 winners
• Post No. 3 : 5 winners
• Post No. 4 : 5 winners
• Post No. 5 : 10 winners
• Post No. 6 : 2 winners
• Post No. 7 : 8 winners
• Post No. 8 : 9 winners
• Post No. 9 : 4 winners
• Post No. 10 : 9 winners
• Post No. 11 : 2 winners
• Post No. 12 : 3 winners
• Post No. 13 : 5 winners
• Post No. 14 : 2 winners
• Post No. 15 : 6 winners
• Post No. 16 : 4 winners
• Post No. 17 : 0 winners
• Post No. 18 : 2 winners
• No. 19 : 1 winner
• No. 20 : 2 winners

REQUIRED READING: Brown: Louisville trainers, with 5 horses in Kentucky Derby 150 field, out to make history

Kentucky Derby post positions 2024

What might that history of finishes from various spots on the starting gate mean for the 2024 Derby?

Here’s a look at which horse is starting from which post position:

• No. 1 : Dornoch
• No. 2 : Sierra Leone
• No. 3 : Mystik Dan
• No. 4 : Catching Freedom
• No. 5 : Catalytic
• No. 6 : Just Steel
• No. 7 : Honor Marie
• No. 8 : Just a Touch
• No. 9 : Encino (Scratched)
• No. 10 : T O Password
• No. 11: Forever Young
• No. 12: Track Phantom
• No. 13 : West Saratoga
• No. 14 : Endlessly
• No. 15 : Domestic Product
• No. 16 : Grand Mo the First
• No. 17 : Fierceness
• No. 18 : Stronghold
• No. 19 : Resilience
• No. 20 : Society Man
• No. 21 : Epic Ride