The Assignment Writing Process

S.L. McGaughey

Why are you expected to write assignments?

The writing of assignments is used to develop and demonstrate an array of skills. The specific skills
emphasised will depend on the type of assignment you are expected to undertake. A written assignment
demonstrates your understanding of a topic and a number of skills that go beyond simply ‘writing’.
These include the ability to:
ƒ identify and refine research questions that are manageable in scope, and explain why this
question is of importance;
ƒ design iterative search strategies to identify information (including prior research) relevant to
your assignment question;
ƒ summarise and synthesis diverse literatures;
ƒ analyse, evaluate and critique existing information and arguments, including sources that may
present conflicting views or information;
ƒ organise your ideas and clearly present your own analysis and conclusions;
ƒ support your analysis and conclusions through the referencing of appropriate evidence; and
ƒ analyse and evaluate your own arguments, including their strengths and weaknesses, and to
identify important questions or issues left unanswered.

Of course, the writing process doesn’t just produce a ‘finished product.’ Rather, writing is a useful tool
for thinking. It is often only in writing about your ideas and arguments that you can see if your
argument is strong, whether you have an appropriate balance between descriptive material, analysis and
evaluation, and whether you need to undertake further research.

Is writing easy?
No! Academic writing is a skill, learned over time. Few people are exceptionally good writers when they
first start writing, and most professors continue throughout their whole careers to think carefully about
how they structure, draft and redraft their academic articles. You should expect to find it challenging.

What common pitfalls exist in students’ assignment writing?

Not clearly describing the focus early on: When you undertake research, you often uncover many
exciting avenues that you had not previously thought about. You may want to change your focus. This
can be dangerous – especially when you have limited time to finish the assignment! Take the time early
on to clearly identify and refine your focus, and then maintain the focus throughout the research process.
In the final report, tell the reader what your focus is, and then stick to it!

Trying to say everything possible: The temptation to show how much work you have done or to tell
the reader about every possible interesting fact or idea you have had can be strong – particularly when
you have become immersed in the topic and worked hard to develop a deeper understanding. The
reader, however, may have trouble working out what is important and what is peripheral, and can even
lose the thread of your central argument. You also typically have a word limit that should not be
exceeded. Making decisions about what to leave out is as important as decision about what to put in!

Failure to integrate team contributions: All too often professors are given team assignments where
it is obvious that different team members have written different parts, with no effort at integration.
Sometimes the conclusions bear no relation to the introduction; data presented early on does not
coincide with analysis presented; linkages between two sections (e.g. comparisons) are not made; and
sometimes even different fonts and paper sizes are used in the different sections! A team assignment
has great benefits in terms of dividing tasks and generating ideas, but it also requires special attention to
issues of integration.

Trying to sound `academic´: Good academic writing is not synonymous with long words and
convoluted sentences. Generally, if your assignment is difficult for the reader to understand, it suggests
that you have not developed sufficient understanding of the topic yourself. Your aim should be writing
that is well structured, clear and concise.

Leaving the writing process too late: Sometimes students undertake extensive research and
excellent analysis, only to ‘fall down’ at what seems the last hurdle – writing the assignment. In fact,
writing is not the last hurdle, but should begin early. This helps with building a deeper understanding of
the topic. Editing also takes a lot of time and successive drafts, even for the best writers. Do not
underestimate the time required!

What process should you follow in writing assignments?

The precise process you will follow will depend largely on two things: (1) the type of assignment you
have been asked to write (e.g. essay, research report, case study analysis, business plan, etc); and (2)
your own personal style or the style preferred by your team.

Below is a guideline for how to approach the assignment set in International Business Environment. It is
just one possible way of undertaking the assignment, and you should approach the process with some
flexibility. For example, you may find that some steps need to be expanded or revisited throughout the
process. Whatever your personal adaptations to the process, you should note that:
ƒ the writing process begins early
ƒ there is an iterative process to writing as you move back and forth between your emerging
ideas and arguments and materials gathered through research; and
ƒ that the latter stages of writing requires significant editing of content, coherence, cohesion
and correctness.

1. Break the assignment task into its component parts to make sure you understand it
An assignment task or research question often comprises multiple components. Identify each of these
and list them so that none are ‘lost’ or forgotten as you progress with your research and writing. Note
any obvious connections between the component parts.

2. Choose a topic that interests you

It is always more enjoyable to learn about something that interests you. If you are not passionate about
any recent issues in international business, talk to friends, colleagues and relatives to get some ideas, or
take a look at recent media reports on the internet or magazines such as The Economist.

3. Brainstorm
List down everything you know about the topic. Think about connections between different items in your
list. What connections seem strongest or most important? Why?

4. Craft the task as a series of research questions

You may find it useful to think of your assignment task/topic in terms of questions. You can then focus
on answering the question.

5. Write a short proposal

This will help you structure your thoughts, and ensure that your chosen topic is well justified. It also
allows the course professor or peers to check that you are ‘on track’. Parts of this written proposal can
later be used in the final version of your assignment. So don’t put it off!

6. Visualise what your assignment should look like when completed

It is easy to collect volumes and volumes of research information and get so involved in a project that
you loose sight of what you need to do. Drafting a proposed structure for your assignment early on will
help you stay focused and avoid getting side-tracked by peripheral issues.
7. Develop a research strategy
Questions you should ask yourself include: What do we need to find out? What types and sources of
information can we use? How should we organise and analyse the information collected? How can the
various tasks involved in the project be to divided between team members? What is our timeline for the
various tasks? Have we left enough time for pulling it all together?

8. Evaluate, summarise, analyse and synthesise information and your own ideas
It is easy to gather mountains of information, only to find that you have a pile that you don’t quite know
how to use. You should use a purposeful approach to searching for new information. That is, each
time you obtain new information (e.g. from a journal article), you should evaluate its usefulness,
summarise its content, analyse its argument, and combine it with other information or understandings.

When you evaluate and re-evaluate information, you make judgments about the nature of the
information. Ask yourself:
ƒ Who created this information? When was it created? For what purpose?
ƒ What expertise does the author of this information have in this area?
ƒ What agenda or biases might the author have?
ƒ Is the information consistent with what It found in other sources? If not, why not? If so, does
the high level of consistency mean the information is correct or trustworthy, or are there other
explanations?
ƒ Was my evaluation of earlier sources of information correct, or should I revisit it?

When you summarise information, you pick out the main points or arguments made. Often,
introductions, section headings and conclusions can be good pointers. Ask yourself:
ƒ What is the central message of the article or book?
ƒ What are the subsidiary points?
ƒ What conclusions are made?

When you analyse the main argument in, for example, a journal article or newspaper report, you
separate out the component parts of the argument and examine the connections between them.
Following analysis, you might make an evaluation of the argument. Ask yourself questions such as:
ƒ What cause and effect relationships exist in this argument? Are they reasonable?
ƒ How strong is the argument presented? Is it consistent?
ƒ What assumptions are made? Are they reasonable?
ƒ Is the supporting evidence convincing?

When you synthesise information, you combine information from different areas to create something
new. Ask yourself:
ƒ How does this new information relate to what I already know? How does it affect the way in
which I currently think about the issue or phenomenon?
ƒ How can this information be integrated into my present understanding, or contribute to
developing a deeper (or new) understanding?
ƒ What predictions, recommendations or conclusions can I make based on this new information
and my existing understanding? How can I test my new understanding?

Evaluating, summarising, analysing and synthesising information is an ongoing, iterative process, with
many of the elements working concurrently rather than as discrete steps. You should not only apply
these activities to the ideas and information from others, but also to your own ideas. For example:
ƒ What biases do I bring to the assignment? (evaluation of source)
ƒ How can I succinctly summarise my main argument? (summarise)
ƒ Is my argument logical? Is it supported by theory or empirical evidence? (analysis and
evaluation)
ƒ What are the implications of my ideas for other aspects of the project? Where do these ideas
lead me? What new information do I need? (synthesis)

9. Meet regularly to discuss progress and new action items

Each team meeting should end with action items: What does each team member need to achieve before
the next team meeting in order to stay on schedule? These action items then form the basic agenda for
the next meeting.
10. Write a first draft
Put all the earlier pieces of writing together to make a preliminary draft. The more writing you have
done along the way (see point 8), the easier this will be. It will also be much easier if, as you conducted
your research, you had a clear idea of how you wanted the end product (i.e. the final assignment) to look
(see point 6).

11. Edit for content

Read through your draft carefully, with the list you made of all the component parts of the task (see
point 1 above) in front of you. Ask yourself the following questions:
ƒ Have I addressed all the requirements of the assignment task?
ƒ Did I answer my research questions?
ƒ Is all the content in my assignment relevant, or can some be cut out?
ƒ Am I missing any content that is important to include?
ƒ Is there an appropriate balance between the various parts of the assignment?
ƒ Have I used conceptual frameworks and theory well to help structure my analysis and writing?
ƒ Have I used an appropriate mix of description and analysis, and of theory and practical
examples?
ƒ Have I appropriately acknowledged the sources of all ideas and information that are not my own?

You may find that you need to undertake some further research and/ or refinement of your analysis and
conclusions. Don’t leave this edit too late!

12. Edit for coherence

When editing for coherence, you are looking at the way in which the assignment ‘hangs together.’ Ask
yourself:
ƒ Are my ideas and argument presented in a logical order?
ƒ Does the assignment make sense to a peer who is unfamiliar with the topic area?
ƒ Is my argument explicit?
ƒ Is my argument internally consistent, or do I contradict myself?
ƒ Is my assignment an integrated whole? That is, have I drawn connections between the various
parts of the assignment, or is it just a collection of separate sections and unrelated paragraphs?
ƒ Are the linkages or transitions between paragraphs and sections smooth?

Editing for coherence can be particularly challenging in teamwork where research tasks, analysis and the
writing of different sections has been divided between team members. Achieving coherence can take
considerable time, but is extremely important in writing.

13. Edit for cohesion

Whereas editing for coherence looks at the structure, integration and flow of the assignment as a whole,
editing for cohesion is a finer-grained form of editing where you are looking for cohesion between
sentences. Ask yourself:
ƒ Are the transitions between my sentences smooth? That is, does the content of each sentence in
a paragraph seem relevant in the context of that paragraph, and the sentences around it? Are
my sentences logically ordered?
ƒ Do I begin my sentences with known information, and then move onto new information?
ƒ Is it clear to what or whom I am referring when I use words such as ‘it’, ‘they’, ‘their’, or ‘she’?

14. Edit for correctness

Editing for correctness involves checking that all punctuation, spelling and grammar is correct; that all
tables, diagrams and appendices are correctly labeled; and that all sources of information used (e.g.
books, journal articles, lecture notes) are properly cited and referenced. This is the very last step in
writing your assignment. Poor presentation of assignments can frustrate the reader and distract their
attention from all the good work you have done over the weeks. Take the time to give your assignment
one final proof read!

S.L. McGaughey, 2007