This blog was originally posted on Mind & Ink, a website I used to own that has since been let go.
College students, this one is for you.
I recently helped a friend get caught up on grading some writing assignments for a lower division college writing course. Getting to see some of the assignments reminded me of all the grading I used to do as a High School English teacher. It’s a great feeling getting to see the evolution of someone’s writing, especially when you’re the one shaping and molding it.
Although it can be really rewarding when a student finally nails it, for every well-done assignment, there is a slew of frustrating submissions.
Here is a list of 6 things you should always do before turning in an assignment…
1. MAKE SURE YOUR NAME IS ON THE ASSIGNMENT
You’re probably thinking, “C’mon lady, this is college, not grade school.” You’re right, it’s not, but you would not believe the number of unnamed assignments I’ve seen come from college students. When you’re trying to get an assignment done last minute, as most college students do, you’re bound to leave something out. A lot of times, that ends up being the simplest thing, like your name.
This counts for online submissions as well. When you’re submitting an assignment online, chances are you don’t know what the back-end of the platform you’re using looks like for instructors. Many of these platforms have an interface that just makes finding things harder than they should be. Often times, the heading of your assignment is the first place an instructor will look to find out whose paper they are grading.
If your name isn’t there, it sends the instructor on a hunt. If you’re lucky, they’ll be patient enough to search for it. If you’re not, your assignment will be lost or trashed, and you might end up without a grade.
2. MAKE SURE YOUR HEADING IS IN THE CORRECT FORMAT
I remember having this issue a lot with my high school seniors, and I’ve seen it happen in college papers time and time again. When you’re asked to submit a writing assignment in a specific format or style, be it MLA, Chicago, APA, or AP style, you should always make sure your heading matches the format you’ve been asked to write in.
Many students forget that each style has different formatting for the heading of a paper. Even if the differences are minimal, a teacher or instructor will notice the difference right away. Chances are you will lose points if your heading isn’t in the correct style or has an error in formatting.
3. MAKE SURE YOUR IN-TEXT CITATIONS AND WORKS CITED ARE IN THE CORRECT FORMAT
Like I said before, each style has a different way of formatting parts of a paper. This includes in-text citations and citations in your works cited section. The way you cite something depends on the type of media format — audio, video, book, website, etc. — even within the same style, and there are so many styles.
As an English major in college, the style I became the most familiar with was the Modern Language Association style, more commonly known as MLA style. Although I had an MLA handbook, my favorite resource for figuring out proper citation was the Purdue OWL website. They have easy-to-read guidelines for every type of source imaginable and every style you might use.
4. MAKE SURE YOU ACTUALLY CITE YOUR SOURCES — ALL OF THEM.
When you’re writing any paper, you will make claims. When you make a claim, you absolutely must have a source to support it. If you make a claim and you don’t cite the source you used, then you’re just presenting an unfounded opinion.
No matter how unimportant a piece of information might seem to you, if you use it anywhere in your paper, it should be cited. If that citation isn’t necessary, it’s always best to have it listed in your works cited, just in case. And if you have a limit on how many sources you can cite, it’s best to just leave out sources you don’t have space for.
5. TAKE TIME TO PROOFREAD.
Proofreading might seem like an obvious thing to do before turning in an assignment, but so many students take too little time to proofread, if they do it at all. Taking the time to proofread your paper thoroughly can be the difference between an A and a B.
If you’re not sure there is anything else you can improve on, have a friend, colleague, or family member read it. You can also check your library for tutoring and writing services. Ask them if they understand your paper and if there is anything they notice that you might have missed.
Remember, proofreading is not just about making sure your spelling and grammar are correct, it is also about readability, logic, and flow. This is especially important to consider if you are writing a paper in a language you are not native to.
6. REVIEW YOUR ASSIGNMENT PAGE BEFORE SUBMITTING
It’s easy to get caught up in your ideas when you’re writing your assignment. You might have taken your time to plan out your essay and your research, but when you’re in the midst of creation it’s easy to forget things. It’s always a good idea to re-read the assignment page and check to see if you missed anything while writing your paper.
I have graded so many papers where students very obviously skimmed or misunderstood the instructions that they unintentionally skipped over a question (or several) listed on the assignment page. That is something that is so easy to avoid. Do yourself a favor and double-check the instructions before turning in that paper!