Nudgee College Library

Follow the 6 Steps to plan and produce a better assignment.

Step 1 - Define Or Deconstruct The Question

• Examine the question you have been asked to answer.
• Underline the key words to identify exactly what you have been asked to do.
• Identify the task words - things such as genre required, word limit, due date.
• What information do you know about the topic already?
• What do you need to find out?

Step 2 - Locate Information

• What will be the most useful resources to use to find the information required?
• What search terms or keywords will I use?
• Who can I ask for help?

Step 3 - Select / Analyse

• What information do I need to answer the question?
• Take notes and organise them according to the parts of the question.
• Determine how relevant the information is.
• Detect bias, stereotypes, inaccuracies.
• Keep track of quotes and resources for by Bibliography and referencing

Step 4 - Organize / Synthesise

• What sections of the question does this information fit into?
• Have I found enough information?
• What do I need to get rid of as irrelevant?
• What sub headings will I use to group the information I have found from different sources?
• Prepare my Bibliography

Step 5 - Present

• How can I present this information?
• What genre and form does it need to be - analytical, report, argument, etc
• Have I planned my writing for cohesion and logical structure?
• Have I read through my work carefully to eliminate errors and present a polished piece of work?

Step 6 - Evaluate

• What did I learn from this?
• Did I do as well as I thought?
• How can I improve the process of completing this work?