Writing assignments and reports

 WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND REPORTS HAVE MUCH IN COMMON WITH WRITING EXAMINATION.
FOLLOWING A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH:
STEPS TO FOLLOW:
1. REVIEWING THE TOPIC
2. GATHERING MATERIALS BEFORE YOU WRITE
3. PREPARING AN OUTLINE AND WRITING THE PAPER
4. USING CORRECT PUNCTUATION AND GRAMMAR
5. THE FORMAT OF AN ASSIGNMENT
6. REFERENCES AND SOURCE LISTS
STEP 1: REVIEWING THE TOPIC

 Topic should be acceptable to the lecturer

 Availability of resource material
 Understanding the question/s is the key element
when receiving an assignment
 Identify the key elements in the question/s.
 Discuss the questions with other students to see
whether you understand the topic or question correct
 Discuss it with you lecturer again
STEP 2: GATHERING MATERIALS BEFORE YOU
WRITE
 Assemble the materials you will need.
 Look for information on the internet, visit the library and get the
material you want to use.
 Using index cards for references is an excellent way to organise
your materials.
 Using index cards where you write down the name of the source
and author for example the name of a certain book or website
will just simplify your work.
 It is important to do this because you must remember that at
the end of each assignment as part of your assignment you
have to compile a reference list and this index list with all the
sources will come in handy. We will discuss the reference list
later in the this unit.
STEP 3: PREPARING AN OUTLINE AND WRITING
THE PAPER
1. Outline your paper
2. Put your outline on paper
3. Don't make the mistake of trying to keep everything in your
head.
4. Don't make the mistake of trying to keep everything in your
head.
5. Make your outline in the form of main headings or ideas with
sub-headings fleshing out the flow of the paper, using Mind
Maps.
6. Write, revise, and review your work
7. Ask other students to criticize your work
8. Go through many revisions,
STEP 4: USING CORRECT PUNCTUATION AND
GRAMMAR
 Good grammar and punctuation are a must.
 Be sure to use the spell checker that almost all
word processors have built in.
 Get a second eye, editor to look at your work.
STEP 5: THE FORMAT OF AN ASSINGMENT

1. Lecturers will differ in how they want their

assignments to be written.
2. An assignment must have a front cover where
you must write your details e.g. your name,
surname student number and the topic of the
assignment or the assignment questions.
3. Every assignment must begin with a good
introduction, body and conclusion
STEP 5: THE FORMAT OF AN ASSIGNMENT
1. Here you introduce your topic, you tell the reader
what is the assignment about.
2. State the focus of your assignment clearly, describing
the main parts of it and explain the key point/issue
of discussion.
3. Refer to the actual wording of your title.
4. You can briefly state the structure of your assignment
or stating the objectives of the assignment
STEP 5: THE FORMAT OF AN ASSIGNMENT
1.Here you elaborate on the topic/question/s.
2. It should contain the facts an opinions of it.
3.You must present your work in a logical sequence in
clear paragraphs.
4. One paragraph should lead logically to the next. When
you make a statement or an argument, support it with
evidence, examples or quotations.
5. Remember to acknowledge your sources.
6. Make use of headings and subheadings where
necessary.
STEP 5: THE FORMAT OF AN ASSIGNMENT
1. Each assignment or piece of writing ends with a
conclusion.
2. In your conclusion you sum up the main points of
your discussions.
3. Comment here on the main points of your
assignment from your own point of view.
4. Your conclusion must link clearly with your main
arguments/points.
5. Here you can also give recommendation if necessary
STEP 6: THE REFERENCE LIST
1. The last part of your assignment is your reference
list.
2. Reference give recognition to the original author from
whom the facts are taken.
3. The author provides proof of where he got his
information and shows whether he has consulted the
most authoritative sources in the field.
4. The references to sources can confirm the
completeness of the study.
5. References render proof to the reader about the
provenance of the author's thoughts/ideas.
STEP 6: THE REFERENCE LIST
1. Students or any other person who take information from
books or articles, rewrite them in their own words, and then
attempt to pass them off as their own work, are guilty of
plagiarism; and so, of course, are students who copy essays
or parts of essays from other students.
2. Plagiarism includes any unacknowledged use of another
person's phrasing, insights, and general line of argument,
conclusions or opinions.
3. Plagiarism is one of the more serious offenses a
student/person can commit.
4. Universities often impose stiff penalties on those who
plagiarise and students guilty of plagiarism are likely at the
very least to fail an essay with a zero or they may even be
excluded from the course altogether.
STEP 6: THE REFERENCE LIST
1. Textual References
In the text of you assignment, acknowledge each author from which you obtained information
even if it is not a direct quotation.

 Only the author's Surname, date (year) should be given in the text.
 The reference can be in the beginning of the sentence for example:
 According to Johnson (1990 the........

 or at the end of the sentences for example:

...integration is the keystone to the whole learning process (Visser, 1998).

 If there are two authors reference in text will look like this"
Gardner and Shelton (1967) r................

 If it is a direct quotation (the authors, direct words) the page number must appear e.g.
.....Horn (2009) maintains that “The essence of learning in lifelong learning is
towards the less formal methods of learning” (p.68)
 “The essence of learning in lifelong learning is towards the less formal methods of
learning” (Horn, 2009, p.68).
STEP 6: THE REFERENCE LIST
2.The Reference List
Learning how to learn Title
Robert M Smith Author
Open University Press Publishers
London Place of publication
Edition 2nd, 3rd etc .
1990 Year of publication
 Example of source list reference of the example above
 Surname, Initials. (Date of publishing). Title of book. Place of
publishing. Name of publishers.
STEP 6: THE REFERENCE LIST
 References when using Internet
 In the text (example)
In his inaugural speech Mandela (1994) used the following
famous words: "Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace
for all".
 In the reference list:
Author, Initials. (Year). Title. Retrieved Month Day, Year, from web
Address

 Example: Bedford, M. (2004). Life Changes. Retrieved June 18,

2006, from http://www. drc.org.na/land.htm

 If there is no author and no date and just an article that you have
read do the following:
 Title of item. (n.d.). Retrieved Month Day, Year, from web address
 e.g.Time Management. (n.d.). Retrieved November, 20, 2010, from
 http://www.ulc.psu.edu/studyskills/time-management.html