Step 1: Understand your assignment
Why?
In order to complete an assignment successfully, you need to understand it - its purpose, your audience, the type of evidence you'll need to support your ideas, the writing style you should use, and the rules of the assignment (such as the due date, length, and citation style requirements). Understanding your assignment is an essential first step towards a good English Composition paper.
How?
- Read the assignment carefully.
- Ask your instructor questions if you don’t understand any part of the assignment.
- For more information, consult this in-depth handout about understanding your assignment provided by the Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.