5 Common Assignment Writing Problems for Students

Assignments are something that trains students and add some value to their life. Although most students perceive assignments as a punishment, that is never the case. Keeping the controversy about the importance of assignments aside, it is a proven fact that assignments make students more knowledgeable. However, that is not the only benefit of assignments. The importance of assignments goes beyond just imparting knowledge, which we are going to explain here.

• Learning and comprehension

Assignments provide you with the perfect opportunity to delve deeper into the subject matter. By doing so, you gain a better understanding of the topics that they learn in the class. When asked to write assignments, you are forced to comprehend the meaning of each paragraph. So, in a way, you engage with the courses actively and reinforce those concepts in the assignment.

• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills

When you are asked to do an assignment, you immediately need to create a roadmap of how you want to proceed to do the assignment. That means you need to develop not only an analytical mind but also a problem-solver attitude. While doing the assignments, you will get raw data from various sources. Your job will be to logically analyse them, evaluate their importance, and develop arguments to prove your point.

• Application of knowledge

Assignment topics cover various real-world issues. So, you get the opportunity to go beyond the walls of the classroom and implement your learning to solve actual problems. This way, assignment help to bridge the gap between theory and the practical world, enabling you to understand the practical relevance of their learning.

• Time management

As you already know, all assignments are time bound. That means you can lose marks for late submissions. So, this time pressure teaches you how to prioritise your tasks and manage time effectively. You can also work on your planning and organising skills and eventually develop time management skills. Time management is an important aspect of everyone’s life and gives you both academic and professional success.

• Communication and presentation skills

The assignments can be in the form of essays, reports, or presentations. By completing such assignments, you can enhance your presentation and communication skills. You will learn to articulate your thoughts, develop coherent arguments and present them in the best way possible. Presentation and communication skills are essential for both academic and professional causes, and having such skills guarantees a successful career.

Having effective assignment writing skills carry a lot of significance in your life other than securing better grades. You can –

• Communicate ideas

As you keep writing assignments, you become more proficient in communicating your ideas. You learn how to convey your thoughts seamlessly to others. Writing assignments help you to write your arguments clearly and coherently. When you can finally convey everything in an organised and structured manner, it becomes easier for the readers to comprehend what they are reading.

• Get professional success

As you master the art of communicating yourself coherently, you build trustworthiness among your readers. In the professional world, being trustworthy and dependable has its perks and helps you to advance faster than your peers. So, mastering assignment writing skills can eventually guarantee your professional success.

• Improve research skills

Once you know how to research for assignments, you become well aware of how and where to look for the best data. Research skills can be handy if you are a professional researcher or if you are in any other analytical job role. In such situations, you will be able to find out reliable sources easily and understand if that data hold value after careful evaluation.

• Be more creative

Assignments are literary works that allow you to express yourself creatively. Effective assignment writing not only helps you to highlight your individuality but also allows you to come up with a unique writing style, approach and voice. As you learn how to think and present an idea creatively, you can implement this skill for other purposes too.

Now that we have clarified how important assignment writing is and its significance, it should be addressed that writing assignments isn’t as easy as one believes. We get several queries from students each year about assignment writing and how to better an assignment. So, we have listed 5 major problems that students face while writing assignments and how you can overcome those –

Problem 1: Lack of Understanding

There are various ways you may struggle with the assignments if you lack understanding of the subjects –

• Unclear instructions

The assignment instructions may be too ambiguous to understand or lack clarity. Such statements can be confusing, and you will struggle to grasp the specific requirements or what the professors expect from the assignment.

• Complex topics

Assignments can have unfamiliar or complex topics outside of your knowledge. If you face such topics, a lack of enough knowledge can be a major issue. Moreover, without proper knowledge, you will find it difficult to comprehend the topic properly.

• Lack of interest

You may not like the subject and get easily disengaged while doing the assignments. When you lose interest in a topic, it becomes ten times more difficult for you to focus and do it efficiently.

• Communication gap

Many times your instructors fail to explain the assignment requirements clearly, while sometimes, there remains a gap from your side. Language barriers can also create a communication gap while understanding the assignment requirements. Despite this gap, you may hesitate to seek clarification. That way, you miss out on important information and guidance. Hence, you may feel uncertain about what is expected from you.

When you lack understanding of what you are asked to do, you never become fully confident of doing it alone. You will always live in doubt and keep asking your peers how to proceed. That way, you always remain at risk of losing crucial time and invaluable grades. Hence, you must follow these tips to overcome this problem –

• Read the instructions carefully

The best way to ensure you don’t lack understanding of the topic is to go through the instructions multiple times. The assignments can be deceiving and may ask for something else. Hence, reading the instructions multiple times ensures you don’t miss out on any critical information.

• Ask for clarification

If reading the instructions repeatedly ends in a moot, ask the professors for further clarification. Never shy away from clearing your doubts. Meet them after the classes, and devote whatever time you need to get full clarity about the topic.

• Seek assistance from the instructor

Even while doing the assignments, if you feel you are lacking understanding of any concept, seek assistance from the instructors. They are there to help you with your doubts, and asking them is the best way to get quick resolutions without wasting any time.

Problem 2: Time Management

The longer forms of assignments, like dissertations or thesis papers, are unlike anything you have done in school. They are usually exceptionally long and require a huge time commitment. Moreover, all assignments come with a fixed deadline which you need to abide by religiously.

However, managing time effectively isn’t child’s play. If you don’t know how to manage time efficiently, you will never be able to complete anything within time. This will force you to rush to finish projects in the final moments. As you rush to complete an assignment, you risk making silly mistakes like spelling and grammatical mistakes and other syntax errors.

Moreover, poor time management skills mean you get lesser time to sleep, which leads to several health complications, and that lowers the quality of work. When you leave several things for the last moments, that inherently leads to stress. According to studies, increased stress is one of the primary reasons for procrastination. Procrastinating about the pending work makes you feel overwhelmed. Eventually, you will lose focus and will fail to meet the deadlines.

Hence, to manage time effectively, you can follow these tips –

• Creating a schedule

The first step to managing time is creating a schedule. When you have a clear idea of what and when you need to do, the entire assignments writing process becomes streamlined. You will know exactly what you need to do after completing a chapter and can wrap up the assignments easily within deadlines.

• Breaking down tasks into smaller parts

Breaking bigger tasks into smaller chunks is another proven way of managing time. Psychology says that we tend to become overwhelmed after seeing a massive assignment. So, instead, if you can break it into smaller parts, they become much more manageable. You can complete each part quickly, thus managing time effectively.

• Setting deadlines

We know that you are already pressured by the deadlines your college has set for you. Yet, setting personal deadlines can only help you meet them. Create a deadline for yourself before starting the assignment. Since you are creating these deadlines, you will have a clear idea of how to proceed to meet those without stressing yourself. Once you are able to meet your smaller deadlines, you will meet the university deadline, too, without much hassle.

Problem 3: Research and Information Gathering

Most students falter when asked to find the most relevant data. Figuring out which data is the best suited for your assignment is so tough because of the reasons –

• Information overload

The internet is full of information, and finding so many links simultaneously can be overwhelming. This is why you should learn about the right keywords while researching on the internet. Make good use of the advanced search options by filtering search results according to the date, domain, and other relevant criteria.

• Biased or misleading sources

Most of the sources that catch your eye are full of biased or misleading sources. This kind of information can do more harm than good. So, you should be extremely careful about choosing a source and always check the reputation and credibility of the authors.

• Outdated information

Information becomes outdated quickly because of rapid developments in various fields. So, an article which was relevant a week back may be outdated today. Hence, it is essential for you to pay attention to the publication dates and to check whether the data is still relevant.

All these reasons highlight the importance of conducting thorough research before doing the assignments. Doing solid research gives you a strong foundation on which you can build your opinions and ideas. You become confident about what you are writing and ensure the accuracy of the assignment. Moreover, when you submit well-researched assignments, people won’t be able to counter your arguments easily, knowing you always have fact-based answers to back them up.

So, how can you do proper research so that you get the best possible evidence every time? The answer is as simple as following these simple techniques –

• Use academic databases

There are numerous online databases for academic and professional use. You can rely on these databases as they mostly contain authentic and published papers. They are written by your peers and seniors and give you the best bet to get updated and well-researched papers.

• Hit the libraries

Visiting libraries will always remain one of the classic ways of getting information. In fact, with the emergence of online libraries, you don’t even need to spend hours looking for the book you seek. Instead, you can visit any reliable online library and use the advanced search options to find any material you need.

• Use credible online sources

Surfing through various websites will eventually give you a pool of information. You can use your analytical skills to evaluate and filter the details you need and easily write the assignments. However, be careful to ensure that whatever site you are citing is credible enough.

Problem 4: Organization and Structure

The next issue while writing assignments is struggling to organise their ideas and coming up with the right structure. For example, outlining an assignment is very important before writing a word. You may have a ton of ideas ready with you, but if you don’t know how to arrange those in the right way, the entire assignment will be gibberish. So, you should know to arrange all the data logically to give it meaning.

At the same time, formatting is another aspect you should be careful about. Your university follows a specific formatting style, and you must always maintain it. To do this, you need to understand the style you should follow. After that, follow all the necessary steps to make it presentable before submitting.

The reason it is so important to maintain proper organisation and structure is that it decides the clarity and coherence of your work. If you write well-researched data but forget to present it clearly, the readers will have a hard time deciphering it.

So, always follow a few simple steps like creating an outline, using headings and subheadings, and maintaining a logical flow in the assignment to make it readable and coherent.

Problem 5: Grammar and Language Usage

Grammar is often regarded as the “Soul of the English Language”. So, messing with the grammar can be detrimental to your assignment. Some of the most common grammatical errors all of you make are using poor sentence structures and inappropriate language. If you do these errors, it leads to incoherence and faulty communication. Your readers won’t be able to comprehend what you are trying to convey, making your assignment a failure.

Hence, by using proper grammar and appropriate language, you can get straight to the point. Your audience will easily understand what you want to tell and can comprehend the assignment easily. To ensure that there is no grammatical error, you need to follow these steps –

· Proofreading

• Read the paper aloud
• List down the errors you commonly make
• Read it backwards
• Double check everything
• Read slowly and carefully

· Editing

• Keep a list of the common errors handy
• Start editing with a fresh mind
• Use a style guide from the beginning
• Give time to edit slowly and carefully

You can also use various grammar-checking tools to improve the language quality of the assignment and ensure you are submitting a spotless assignment.

So, in this blog, we have learnt what are the importance of writing assignments and what are the five major errors that we usually make. Along with the problems, we have also discussed how to overcome these problems. You should understand how working on these problems can make your assignments look better, clear, and coherent. That way, you can convey your arguments quickly and accurately to your audience. Never forget to seek help from experts and your professors if you get stuck with your assignments instead of sitting on them. Follow these suggestions and implement them in your assignments the next time you write.