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5 tips on writing better university assignments

university assignment ideas

Lecturer in Student Learning and Communication Development, University of Sydney

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Alexandra Garcia does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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University life comes with its share of challenges. One of these is writing longer assignments that require higher information, communication and critical thinking skills than what you might have been used to in high school. Here are five tips to help you get ahead.

1. Use all available sources of information

Beyond instructions and deadlines, lecturers make available an increasing number of resources. But students often overlook these.

For example, to understand how your assignment will be graded, you can examine the rubric . This is a chart indicating what you need to do to obtain a high distinction, a credit or a pass, as well as the course objectives – also known as “learning outcomes”.

Other resources include lecture recordings, reading lists, sample assignments and discussion boards. All this information is usually put together in an online platform called a learning management system (LMS). Examples include Blackboard , Moodle , Canvas and iLearn . Research shows students who use their LMS more frequently tend to obtain higher final grades.

If after scrolling through your LMS you still have questions about your assignment, you can check your lecturer’s consultation hours.

2. Take referencing seriously

Plagiarism – using somebody else’s words or ideas without attribution – is a serious offence at university. It is a form of cheating.

Hands on a keyboard using the Ctrl C copy function

In many cases, though, students are unaware they have cheated. They are simply not familiar with referencing styles – such as APA , Harvard , Vancouver , Chicago , etc – or lack the skills to put the information from their sources into their own words.

To avoid making this mistake, you may approach your university’s library, which is likely to offer face-to-face workshops or online resources on referencing. Academic support units may also help with paraphrasing.

You can also use referencing management software, such as EndNote or Mendeley . You can then store your sources, retrieve citations and create reference lists with only a few clicks. For undergraduate students, Zotero has been recommended as it seems to be more user-friendly.

Using this kind of software will certainly save you time searching for and formatting references. However, you still need to become familiar with the citation style in your discipline and revise the formatting accordingly.

3. Plan before you write

If you were to build a house, you wouldn’t start by laying bricks at random. You’d start with a blueprint. Likewise, writing an academic paper requires careful planning: you need to decide the number of sections, their organisation, and the information and sources you will include in each.

Research shows students who prepare detailed outlines produce higher-quality texts. Planning will not only help you get better grades, but will also reduce the time you spend staring blankly at the screen thinking about what to write next.

Young woman sitting at desk with laptop and checking notes for assignment

During the planning stage, using programs like OneNote from Microsoft Office or Outline for Mac can make the task easier as they allow you to organise information in tabs. These bits of information can be easily rearranged for later drafting. Navigating through the tabs is also easier than scrolling through a long Word file.

4. Choose the right words

Which of these sentences is more appropriate for an assignment?

a. “This paper talks about why the planet is getting hotter”, or b. “This paper examines the causes of climate change”.

The written language used at university is more formal and technical than the language you normally use in social media or while chatting with your friends. Academic words tend to be longer and their meaning is also more precise. “Climate change” implies more than just the planet “getting hotter”.

To find the right words, you can use SkELL , which shows you the words that appear more frequently, with your search entry categorised grammatically. For example, if you enter “paper”, it will tell you it is often the subject of verbs such as “present”, “describe”, “examine” and “discuss”.

Another option is the Writefull app, which does a similar job without having to use an online browser.

5. Edit and proofread

If you’re typing the last paragraph of the assignment ten minutes before the deadline, you will be missing a very important step in the writing process: editing and proofreading your text. A 2018 study found a group of university students did significantly better in a test after incorporating the process of planning, drafting and editing in their writing.

Hand holding red pen to edit paper.

You probably already know to check the spelling of a word if it appears underlined in red. You may even use a grammar checker such as Grammarly . However, no software to date can detect every error and it is not uncommon to be given inaccurate suggestions.

So, in addition to your choice of proofreader, you need to improve and expand your grammar knowledge. Check with the academic support services at your university if they offer any relevant courses.

Written communication is a skill that requires effort and dedication. That’s why universities are investing in support services – face-to-face workshops, individual consultations, and online courses – to help students in this process. You can also take advantage of a wide range of web-based resources such as spell checkers, vocabulary tools and referencing software – many of them free.

Improving your written communication will help you succeed at university and beyond.

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Teaching excellence & educational innovation, creating assignments.

Here are some general suggestions and questions to consider when creating assignments. There are also many other resources in print and on the web that provide examples of interesting, discipline-specific assignment ideas.

Consider your learning objectives.

What do you want students to learn in your course? What could they do that would show you that they have learned it? To determine assignments that truly serve your course objectives, it is useful to write out your objectives in this form: I want my students to be able to ____. Use active, measurable verbs as you complete that sentence (e.g., compare theories, discuss ramifications, recommend strategies), and your learning objectives will point you towards suitable assignments.

Design assignments that are interesting and challenging.

This is the fun side of assignment design. Consider how to focus students’ thinking in ways that are creative, challenging, and motivating. Think beyond the conventional assignment type! For example, one American historian requires students to write diary entries for a hypothetical Nebraska farmwoman in the 1890s. By specifying that students’ diary entries must demonstrate the breadth of their historical knowledge (e.g., gender, economics, technology, diet, family structure), the instructor gets students to exercise their imaginations while also accomplishing the learning objectives of the course (Walvoord & Anderson, 1989, p. 25).

Double-check alignment.

After creating your assignments, go back to your learning objectives and make sure there is still a good match between what you want students to learn and what you are asking them to do. If you find a mismatch, you will need to adjust either the assignments or the learning objectives. For instance, if your goal is for students to be able to analyze and evaluate texts, but your assignments only ask them to summarize texts, you would need to add an analytical and evaluative dimension to some assignments or rethink your learning objectives.

Name assignments accurately.

Students can be misled by assignments that are named inappropriately. For example, if you want students to analyze a product’s strengths and weaknesses but you call the assignment a “product description,” students may focus all their energies on the descriptive, not the critical, elements of the task. Thus, it is important to ensure that the titles of your assignments communicate their intention accurately to students.

Consider sequencing.

Think about how to order your assignments so that they build skills in a logical sequence. Ideally, assignments that require the most synthesis of skills and knowledge should come later in the semester, preceded by smaller assignments that build these skills incrementally. For example, if an instructor’s final assignment is a research project that requires students to evaluate a technological solution to an environmental problem, earlier assignments should reinforce component skills, including the ability to identify and discuss key environmental issues, apply evaluative criteria, and find appropriate research sources.

Think about scheduling.

Consider your intended assignments in relation to the academic calendar and decide how they can be reasonably spaced throughout the semester, taking into account holidays and key campus events. Consider how long it will take students to complete all parts of the assignment (e.g., planning, library research, reading, coordinating groups, writing, integrating the contributions of team members, developing a presentation), and be sure to allow sufficient time between assignments.

Check feasibility.

Is the workload you have in mind reasonable for your students? Is the grading burden manageable for you? Sometimes there are ways to reduce workload (whether for you or for students) without compromising learning objectives. For example, if a primary objective in assigning a project is for students to identify an interesting engineering problem and do some preliminary research on it, it might be reasonable to require students to submit a project proposal and annotated bibliography rather than a fully developed report. If your learning objectives are clear, you will see where corners can be cut without sacrificing educational quality.

Articulate the task description clearly.

If an assignment is vague, students may interpret it any number of ways – and not necessarily how you intended. Thus, it is critical to clearly and unambiguously identify the task students are to do (e.g., design a website to help high school students locate environmental resources, create an annotated bibliography of readings on apartheid). It can be helpful to differentiate the central task (what students are supposed to produce) from other advice and information you provide in your assignment description.

Establish clear performance criteria.

Different instructors apply different criteria when grading student work, so it’s important that you clearly articulate to students what your criteria are. To do so, think about the best student work you have seen on similar tasks and try to identify the specific characteristics that made it excellent, such as clarity of thought, originality, logical organization, or use of a wide range of sources. Then identify the characteristics of the worst student work you have seen, such as shaky evidence, weak organizational structure, or lack of focus. Identifying these characteristics can help you consciously articulate the criteria you already apply. It is important to communicate these criteria to students, whether in your assignment description or as a separate rubric or scoring guide . Clearly articulated performance criteria can prevent unnecessary confusion about your expectations while also setting a high standard for students to meet.

Specify the intended audience.

Students make assumptions about the audience they are addressing in papers and presentations, which influences how they pitch their message. For example, students may assume that, since the instructor is their primary audience, they do not need to define discipline-specific terms or concepts. These assumptions may not match the instructor’s expectations. Thus, it is important on assignments to specify the intended audience http://wac.colostate.edu/intro/pop10e.cfm (e.g., undergraduates with no biology background, a potential funder who does not know engineering).

Specify the purpose of the assignment.

If students are unclear about the goals or purpose of the assignment, they may make unnecessary mistakes. For example, if students believe an assignment is focused on summarizing research as opposed to evaluating it, they may seriously miscalculate the task and put their energies in the wrong place. The same is true they think the goal of an economics problem set is to find the correct answer, rather than demonstrate a clear chain of economic reasoning. Consequently, it is important to make your objectives for the assignment clear to students.

Specify the parameters.

If you have specific parameters in mind for the assignment (e.g., length, size, formatting, citation conventions) you should be sure to specify them in your assignment description. Otherwise, students may misapply conventions and formats they learned in other courses that are not appropriate for yours.

A Checklist for Designing Assignments

Here is a set of questions you can ask yourself when creating an assignment.

  • Provided a written description of the assignment (in the syllabus or in a separate document)?
  • Specified the purpose of the assignment?
  • Indicated the intended audience?
  • Articulated the instructions in precise and unambiguous language?
  • Provided information about the appropriate format and presentation (e.g., page length, typed, cover sheet, bibliography)?  
  • Indicated special instructions, such as a particular citation style or headings?  
  • Specified the due date and the consequences for missing it?
  • Articulated performance criteria clearly?
  • Indicated the assignment’s point value or percentage of the course grade?
  • Provided students (where appropriate) with models or samples?

Adapted from the WAC Clearinghouse at http://wac.colostate.edu/intro/pop10e.cfm .

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How Do I Create Meaningful and Effective Assignments?

Prepared by allison boye, ph.d. teaching, learning, and professional development center.

Assessment is a necessary part of the teaching and learning process, helping us measure whether our students have really learned what we want them to learn. While exams and quizzes are certainly favorite and useful methods of assessment, out of class assignments (written or otherwise) can offer similar insights into our students' learning.  And just as creating a reliable test takes thoughtfulness and skill, so does creating meaningful and effective assignments. Undoubtedly, many instructors have been on the receiving end of disappointing student work, left wondering what went wrong… and often, those problems can be remedied in the future by some simple fine-tuning of the original assignment.  This paper will take a look at some important elements to consider when developing assignments, and offer some easy approaches to creating a valuable assessment experience for all involved.

First Things First…

Before assigning any major tasks to students, it is imperative that you first define a few things for yourself as the instructor:

  • Your goals for the assignment . Why are you assigning this project, and what do you hope your students will gain from completing it? What knowledge, skills, and abilities do you aim to measure with this assignment?  Creating assignments is a major part of overall course design, and every project you assign should clearly align with your goals for the course in general.  For instance, if you want your students to demonstrate critical thinking, perhaps asking them to simply summarize an article is not the best match for that goal; a more appropriate option might be to ask for an analysis of a controversial issue in the discipline. Ultimately, the connection between the assignment and its purpose should be clear to both you and your students to ensure that it is fulfilling the desired goals and doesn't seem like “busy work.” For some ideas about what kinds of assignments match certain learning goals, take a look at this page from DePaul University's Teaching Commons.
  • Have they experienced “socialization” in the culture of your discipline (Flaxman, 2005)? Are they familiar with any conventions you might want them to know? In other words, do they know the “language” of your discipline, generally accepted style guidelines, or research protocols?
  • Do they know how to conduct research?  Do they know the proper style format, documentation style, acceptable resources, etc.? Do they know how to use the library (Fitzpatrick, 1989) or evaluate resources?
  • What kinds of writing or work have they previously engaged in?  For instance, have they completed long, formal writing assignments or research projects before? Have they ever engaged in analysis, reflection, or argumentation? Have they completed group assignments before?  Do they know how to write a literature review or scientific report?

In his book Engaging Ideas (1996), John Bean provides a great list of questions to help instructors focus on their main teaching goals when creating an assignment (p.78):

1. What are the main units/modules in my course?

2. What are my main learning objectives for each module and for the course?

3. What thinking skills am I trying to develop within each unit and throughout the course?

4. What are the most difficult aspects of my course for students?

5. If I could change my students' study habits, what would I most like to change?

6. What difference do I want my course to make in my students' lives?

What your students need to know

Once you have determined your own goals for the assignment and the levels of your students, you can begin creating your assignment.  However, when introducing your assignment to your students, there are several things you will need to clearly outline for them in order to ensure the most successful assignments possible.

  • First, you will need to articulate the purpose of the assignment . Even though you know why the assignment is important and what it is meant to accomplish, you cannot assume that your students will intuit that purpose. Your students will appreciate an understanding of how the assignment fits into the larger goals of the course and what they will learn from the process (Hass & Osborn, 2007). Being transparent with your students and explaining why you are asking them to complete a given assignment can ultimately help motivate them to complete the assignment more thoughtfully.
  • If you are asking your students to complete a writing assignment, you should define for them the “rhetorical or cognitive mode/s” you want them to employ in their writing (Flaxman, 2005). In other words, use precise verbs that communicate whether you are asking them to analyze, argue, describe, inform, etc.  (Verbs like “explore” or “comment on” can be too vague and cause confusion.) Provide them with a specific task to complete, such as a problem to solve, a question to answer, or an argument to support.  For those who want assignments to lead to top-down, thesis-driven writing, John Bean (1996) suggests presenting a proposition that students must defend or refute, or a problem that demands a thesis answer.
  • It is also a good idea to define the audience you want your students to address with their assignment, if possible – especially with writing assignments.  Otherwise, students will address only the instructor, often assuming little requires explanation or development (Hedengren, 2004; MIT, 1999). Further, asking students to address the instructor, who typically knows more about the topic than the student, places the student in an unnatural rhetorical position.  Instead, you might consider asking your students to prepare their assignments for alternative audiences such as other students who missed last week's classes, a group that opposes their position, or people reading a popular magazine or newspaper.  In fact, a study by Bean (1996) indicated the students often appreciate and enjoy assignments that vary elements such as audience or rhetorical context, so don't be afraid to get creative!
  • Obviously, you will also need to articulate clearly the logistics or “business aspects” of the assignment . In other words, be explicit with your students about required elements such as the format, length, documentation style, writing style (formal or informal?), and deadlines.  One caveat, however: do not allow the logistics of the paper take precedence over the content in your assignment description; if you spend all of your time describing these things, students might suspect that is all you care about in their execution of the assignment.
  • Finally, you should clarify your evaluation criteria for the assignment. What elements of content are most important? Will you grade holistically or weight features separately? How much weight will be given to individual elements, etc?  Another precaution to take when defining requirements for your students is to take care that your instructions and rubric also do not overshadow the content; prescribing too rigidly each element of an assignment can limit students' freedom to explore and discover. According to Beth Finch Hedengren, “A good assignment provides the purpose and guidelines… without dictating exactly what to say” (2004, p. 27).  If you decide to utilize a grading rubric, be sure to provide that to the students along with the assignment description, prior to their completion of the assignment.

A great way to get students engaged with an assignment and build buy-in is to encourage their collaboration on its design and/or on the grading criteria (Hudd, 2003). In his article “Conducting Writing Assignments,” Richard Leahy (2002) offers a few ideas for building in said collaboration:

• Ask the students to develop the grading scale themselves from scratch, starting with choosing the categories.

• Set the grading categories yourself, but ask the students to help write the descriptions.

• Draft the complete grading scale yourself, then give it to your students for review and suggestions.

A Few Do's and Don'ts…

Determining your goals for the assignment and its essential logistics is a good start to creating an effective assignment. However, there are a few more simple factors to consider in your final design. First, here are a few things you should do :

  • Do provide detail in your assignment description . Research has shown that students frequently prefer some guiding constraints when completing assignments (Bean, 1996), and that more detail (within reason) can lead to more successful student responses.  One idea is to provide students with physical assignment handouts , in addition to or instead of a simple description in a syllabus.  This can meet the needs of concrete learners and give them something tangible to refer to.  Likewise, it is often beneficial to make explicit for students the process or steps necessary to complete an assignment, given that students – especially younger ones – might need guidance in planning and time management (MIT, 1999).
  • Do use open-ended questions.  The most effective and challenging assignments focus on questions that lead students to thinking and explaining, rather than simple yes or no answers, whether explicitly part of the assignment description or in the  brainstorming heuristics (Gardner, 2005).
  • Do direct students to appropriate available resources . Giving students pointers about other venues for assistance can help them get started on the right track independently. These kinds of suggestions might include information about campus resources such as the University Writing Center or discipline-specific librarians, suggesting specific journals or books, or even sections of their textbook, or providing them with lists of research ideas or links to acceptable websites.
  • Do consider providing models – both successful and unsuccessful models (Miller, 2007). These models could be provided by past students, or models you have created yourself.  You could even ask students to evaluate the models themselves using the determined evaluation criteria, helping them to visualize the final product, think critically about how to complete the assignment, and ideally, recognize success in their own work.
  • Do consider including a way for students to make the assignment their own. In their study, Hass and Osborn (2007) confirmed the importance of personal engagement for students when completing an assignment.  Indeed, students will be more engaged in an assignment if it is personally meaningful, practical, or purposeful beyond the classroom.  You might think of ways to encourage students to tap into their own experiences or curiosities, to solve or explore a real problem, or connect to the larger community.  Offering variety in assignment selection can also help students feel more individualized, creative, and in control.
  • If your assignment is substantial or long, do consider sequencing it. Far too often, assignments are given as one-shot final products that receive grades at the end of the semester, eternally abandoned by the student.  By sequencing a large assignment, or essentially breaking it down into a systematic approach consisting of interconnected smaller elements (such as a project proposal, an annotated bibliography, or a rough draft, or a series of mini-assignments related to the longer assignment), you can encourage thoughtfulness, complexity, and thoroughness in your students, as well as emphasize process over final product.

Next are a few elements to avoid in your assignments:

  • Do not ask too many questions in your assignment.  In an effort to challenge students, instructors often err in the other direction, asking more questions than students can reasonably address in a single assignment without losing focus. Offering an overly specific “checklist” prompt often leads to externally organized papers, in which inexperienced students “slavishly follow the checklist instead of integrating their ideas into more organically-discovered structure” (Flaxman, 2005).
  • Do not expect or suggest that there is an “ideal” response to the assignment. A common error for instructors is to dictate content of an assignment too rigidly, or to imply that there is a single correct response or a specific conclusion to reach, either explicitly or implicitly (Flaxman, 2005). Undoubtedly, students do not appreciate feeling as if they must read an instructor's mind to complete an assignment successfully, or that their own ideas have nowhere to go, and can lose motivation as a result. Similarly, avoid assignments that simply ask for regurgitation (Miller, 2007). Again, the best assignments invite students to engage in critical thinking, not just reproduce lectures or readings.
  • Do not provide vague or confusing commands . Do students know what you mean when they are asked to “examine” or “discuss” a topic? Return to what you determined about your students' experiences and levels to help you decide what directions will make the most sense to them and what will require more explanation or guidance, and avoid verbiage that might confound them.
  • Do not impose impossible time restraints or require the use of insufficient resources for completion of the assignment.  For instance, if you are asking all of your students to use the same resource, ensure that there are enough copies available for all students to access – or at least put one copy on reserve in the library. Likewise, make sure that you are providing your students with ample time to locate resources and effectively complete the assignment (Fitzpatrick, 1989).

The assignments we give to students don't simply have to be research papers or reports. There are many options for effective yet creative ways to assess your students' learning! Here are just a few:

Journals, Posters, Portfolios, Letters, Brochures, Management plans, Editorials, Instruction Manuals, Imitations of a text, Case studies, Debates, News release, Dialogues, Videos, Collages, Plays, Power Point presentations

Ultimately, the success of student responses to an assignment often rests on the instructor's deliberate design of the assignment. By being purposeful and thoughtful from the beginning, you can ensure that your assignments will not only serve as effective assessment methods, but also engage and delight your students. If you would like further help in constructing or revising an assignment, the Teaching, Learning, and Professional Development Center is glad to offer individual consultations. In addition, look into some of the resources provided below.

Online Resources

“Creating Effective Assignments” http://www.unh.edu/teaching-excellence/resources/Assignments.htm This site, from the University of New Hampshire's Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning,  provides a brief overview of effective assignment design, with a focus on determining and communicating goals and expectations.

Gardner, T.  (2005, June 12). Ten Tips for Designing Writing Assignments. Traci's Lists of Ten. http://www.tengrrl.com/tens/034.shtml This is a brief yet useful list of tips for assignment design, prepared by a writing teacher and curriculum developer for the National Council of Teachers of English .  The website will also link you to several other lists of “ten tips” related to literacy pedagogy.

“How to Create Effective Assignments for College Students.”  http:// tilt.colostate.edu/retreat/2011/zimmerman.pdf     This PDF is a simplified bulleted list, prepared by Dr. Toni Zimmerman from Colorado State University, offering some helpful ideas for coming up with creative assignments.

“Learner-Centered Assessment” http://cte.uwaterloo.ca/teaching_resources/tips/learner_centered_assessment.html From the Centre for Teaching Excellence at the University of Waterloo, this is a short list of suggestions for the process of designing an assessment with your students' interests in mind. “Matching Learning Goals to Assignment Types.” http://teachingcommons.depaul.edu/How_to/design_assignments/assignments_learning_goals.html This is a great page from DePaul University's Teaching Commons, providing a chart that helps instructors match assignments with learning goals.

Additional References Bean, J.C. (1996). Engaging ideas: The professor's guide to integrating writing, critical thinking, and active learning in the classroom . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Fitzpatrick, R. (1989). Research and writing assignments that reduce fear lead to better papers and more confident students. Writing Across the Curriculum , 3.2, pp. 15 – 24.

Flaxman, R. (2005). Creating meaningful writing assignments. The Teaching Exchange .  Retrieved Jan. 9, 2008 from http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Sheridan_Center/pubs/teachingExchange/jan2005/01_flaxman.pdf

Hass, M. & Osborn, J. (2007, August 13). An emic view of student writing and the writing process. Across the Disciplines, 4. 

Hedengren, B.F. (2004). A TA's guide to teaching writing in all disciplines . Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Hudd, S. S. (2003, April). Syllabus under construction: Involving students in the creation of class assignments.  Teaching Sociology , 31, pp. 195 – 202.

Leahy, R. (2002). Conducting writing assignments. College Teaching , 50.2, pp. 50 – 54.

Miller, H. (2007). Designing effective writing assignments.  Teaching with writing .  University of Minnesota Center for Writing. Retrieved Jan. 9, 2008, from http://writing.umn.edu/tww/assignments/designing.html

MIT Online Writing and Communication Center (1999). Creating Writing Assignments. Retrieved January 9, 2008 from http://web.mit.edu/writing/Faculty/createeffective.html .

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How to write the best college assignments.

By Lois Weldon

When it comes to writing assignments, it is difficult to find a conceptualized guide with clear and simple tips that are easy to follow. That’s exactly what this guide will provide: few simple tips on how to write great assignments, right when you need them. Some of these points will probably be familiar to you, but there is no harm in being reminded of the most important things before you start writing the assignments, which are usually determining on your credits.

The most important aspects: Outline and Introduction

Preparation is the key to success, especially when it comes to academic assignments. It is recommended to always write an outline before you start writing the actual assignment. The outline should include the main points of discussion, which will keep you focused throughout the work and will make your key points clearly defined. Outlining the assignment will save you a lot of time because it will organize your thoughts and make your literature searches much easier. The outline will also help you to create different sections and divide up the word count between them, which will make the assignment more organized.

The introduction is the next important part you should focus on. This is the part that defines the quality of your assignment in the eyes of the reader. The introduction must include a brief background on the main points of discussion, the purpose of developing such work and clear indications on how the assignment is being organized. Keep this part brief, within one or two paragraphs.

This is an example of including the above mentioned points into the introduction of an assignment that elaborates the topic of obesity reaching proportions:

Background : The twenty first century is characterized by many public health challenges, among which obesity takes a major part. The increasing prevalence of obesity is creating an alarming situation in both developed and developing regions of the world.

Structure and aim : This assignment will elaborate and discuss the specific pattern of obesity epidemic development, as well as its epidemiology. Debt, trade and globalization will also be analyzed as factors that led to escalation of the problem. Moreover, the assignment will discuss the governmental interventions that make efforts to address this issue.

Practical tips on assignment writing

Here are some practical tips that will keep your work focused and effective:

–         Critical thinking – Academic writing has to be characterized by critical thinking, not only to provide the work with the needed level, but also because it takes part in the final mark.

–         Continuity of ideas – When you get to the middle of assignment, things can get confusing. You have to make sure that the ideas are flowing continuously within and between paragraphs, so the reader will be enabled to follow the argument easily. Dividing the work in different paragraphs is very important for this purpose.

–         Usage of ‘you’ and ‘I’ – According to the academic writing standards, the assignments should be written in an impersonal language, which means that the usage of ‘you’ and ‘I’ should be avoided. The only acceptable way of building your arguments is by using opinions and evidence from authoritative sources.

–         Referencing – this part of the assignment is extremely important and it takes a big part in the final mark. Make sure to use either Vancouver or Harvard referencing systems, and use the same system in the bibliography and while citing work of other sources within the text.  

–         Usage of examples – A clear understanding on your assignment’s topic should be provided by comparing different sources and identifying their strengths and weaknesses in an objective manner. This is the part where you should show how the knowledge can be applied into practice.

–         Numbering and bullets – Instead of using numbering and bullets, the academic writing style prefers the usage of paragraphs.

–         Including figures and tables – The figures and tables are an effective way of conveying information to the reader in a clear manner, without disturbing the word count. Each figure and table should have clear headings and you should make sure to mention their sources in the bibliography.

–         Word count – the word count of your assignment mustn’t be far above or far below the required word count. The outline will provide you with help in this aspect, so make sure to plan the work in order to keep it within the boundaries.

The importance of an effective conclusion

The conclusion of your assignment is your ultimate chance to provide powerful arguments that will impress the reader. The conclusion in academic writing is usually expressed through three main parts:

–         Stating the context and aim of the assignment

–         Summarizing the main points briefly

–         Providing final comments with consideration of the future (discussing clear examples of things that can be done in order to improve the situation concerning your topic of discussion).

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Lois Weldon is writer at  Uk.bestdissertation.com . Lives happily at London with her husband and lovely daughter. Adores writing tips for students. Passionate about Star Wars and yoga.

7 comments on “How To Write The Best College Assignments”

Extremely useful tip for students wanting to score well on their assignments. I concur with the writer that writing an outline before ACTUALLY starting to write assignments is extremely important. I have observed students who start off quite well but they tend to lose focus in between which causes them to lose marks. So an outline helps them to maintain the theme focused.

Hello Great information…. write assignments

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This article is certainly going to help student . Well written.

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Practical tips on assignment writing, the’re fantastic. Thank you!

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Home / Blog / 15 foolproof tips for writing a great assignment

15 foolproof tips for writing a great assignment

15th Aug 2015

Student advice

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If you’re the kind of person that only has to hear the word “assignment” and immediately has flashbacks to stuffy classrooms, ticking clocks and staring a blank page for hours….DON’T PANIC.

Our 15 foolproof tips for writing a great assignment will guide you to success.

Before you start…

1. do your reading.

Your course or module will have a reading list; make sure you actually use it! Your tutors choose texts to specifically help with your assignments and modules, and you’ll gain some valuable insights into the topic that are sure to make writing your assignment easier.

Expert tip:  If you have the time, do some reading from other sources not on your list to back up your argument.

2. Check the deadline

There’s nothing worse than scheduling time to sit down and write then glancing at the calendar and realising you’ve only got a few days left. Double-checking the deadline means you’ll have no nasty surprises.

Expert tip:  There are many apps out there that can add a ‘countdown’ to your phone or tablet. Use these to keep your assignment deadline front of mind.

3. Plan your time

Finding time to write is easier said than done, but if you break your time down into manageable chunks you’ll find it’s much easier to keep on top of your workload. Try scheduling mini-deadlines along the way (e.g. aim to have the first section done by a certain day) to keep your momentum going.

Expert tip:  Be realistic about the time you have spare, and the time you’re willing to give up. If you schedule a writing session at 9 p.m. on Friday evening when you’d rather be relaxing, chances are you won’t get anything done.

4. Ask for help (if you need it)

If there’s any doubt in your mind about the question or the requirements of the assignment, ask your tutor. It’s better to start right than have to re-write in the last few days.

Expert tip:  Remember, your tutor wants you to do well. He or she will not be annoyed if you need to ask a few questions.

5. Plan your assignment structure

Before you start, it can help to create a basic assignment structure. This can be as detailed as you like but the basic structure should contain your introduction points, your key arguments and points, and your planned conclusion.

Expert tip:  Try writing out your plan on sticky notes. These will allow you to rearrange your arguments and points easily as your plan develops.

As you’re writing…

6. introduction.

You wouldn’t start a conversation without introducing yourself; your assignment is the same. Your first paragraph should introduce your key argument, add a bit of context and the key issues of the question, and then go on to explain how you plan to answer it.

Expert tip:  Some people find it easier to write their introduction after they’ve finished the rest of their assignment. Give it a try!

7. Structure your argument

As you write the body of your assignment, make sure that each point you make has some supporting evidence. Use statistics or quotes you gathered during your reading to support your argument, or even as something to argue against.

Expert tip:  If you’re using a lot of different sources, it’s easy to forget to add them to your reference list. Make things easier for yourself by writing it as you go along.

8. Conclusion

Your conclusion is your final chance to summarise your argument and leave a lasting impression with your reader. Make sure you recap the key points and arguments you made in your assignment, including supporting evidence if needed.

Expert tip:  Make sure that you don’t introduce any new ideas in your conclusion; this section is purely for summarising your previous arguments.

9. Getting over writer’s block

Struggling to write? There’s nothing more frustrating than putting aside time to write and then just staring at a blank page. Luckily, there are lots of thing to try to get you inspired : a change of scenery, putting on some music, writing another section of the essay or just taking a short break.

Expert tip:  If you find yourself unable to write, try to use your time to read ahead or re-read what you’ve already written.

10. Make sure you use your ‘essay voice’

While each university, school or each college will probably have its own style guide, you should always use a neutral and professional tone when writing an assignment. Try to avoid slang, overly-familiar phrases and definitely don’t use text-speak!

Expert tip:  If you’re not sure about a phrase or word, search for it online to see what other publications use it. If it’s in a dictionary or used by a national newspaper it’s probably OK to use in your assignment.

After you finish…

11. get a little distance.

If you’ve got time (and you should have if you managed to stick to your schedule!), put your first draft aside for a day or two before re-reading it. This will give you time to step back and read your assignment objectively, making it easier to spot mistakes and issues.

Expert tip:  If you find it easier to review on paper, print out your assignment with double-line spacing to accommodate your notes and corrections.

12. Make sure you’ve answered the question

As you’re reading through your first draft of your assignment, check that all your points are relevant to the original question. It’s easy to drift off on a tangent when you’re in mid-flow.

Expert tip:  Read each paragraph and consider it on its own merit as to whether it answers the question, and also to check that it contributes to your overall argument.

13. Don’t be afraid to cut text out

Sometimes, when you’ve struggled to reach a word count it can be hard to remove text that you’ve slaved over. But if a piece of text isn’t supporting your argument then it doesn’t have a place in your assignment.

Expert tip:  With word processing software, the ‘Track Changes’ feature allows you to edit text without losing it forever. And if you realise later that you’ve made a mistake, just reject the change.

14. Check and double-check your spelling

Nothing can give a bad impression as quickly as a spelling mistake. Errors are distracting, look unprofessional and in the worst case they can undermine your argument. If you’re unsure about the correct use of a word, look it up online or use an alternative that you’re more comfortable with.

Expert tip:  While you’re running your spell-checker, check your word count too. You’re usually allowed to deviate by 10% above or below the assignment word count, but check with your institution’s guidelines.

15. Cite your sources

References and creating a bibliography are key skills that you unfortunately have to master when writing an assignment. Check your institution’s guidelines before you start to make sure you’re including all the information you need.

Expert tip:  Some eBooks have a citation feature that automatically collates all the information you need for your bibliography.

Wondering how you can apply these skills? Download a prospectus to choose your course today!

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The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Understanding Assignments

What this handout is about.

The first step in any successful college writing venture is reading the assignment. While this sounds like a simple task, it can be a tough one. This handout will help you unravel your assignment and begin to craft an effective response. Much of the following advice will involve translating typical assignment terms and practices into meaningful clues to the type of writing your instructor expects. See our short video for more tips.

Basic beginnings

Regardless of the assignment, department, or instructor, adopting these two habits will serve you well :

  • Read the assignment carefully as soon as you receive it. Do not put this task off—reading the assignment at the beginning will save you time, stress, and problems later. An assignment can look pretty straightforward at first, particularly if the instructor has provided lots of information. That does not mean it will not take time and effort to complete; you may even have to learn a new skill to complete the assignment.
  • Ask the instructor about anything you do not understand. Do not hesitate to approach your instructor. Instructors would prefer to set you straight before you hand the paper in. That’s also when you will find their feedback most useful.

Assignment formats

Many assignments follow a basic format. Assignments often begin with an overview of the topic, include a central verb or verbs that describe the task, and offer some additional suggestions, questions, or prompts to get you started.

An Overview of Some Kind

The instructor might set the stage with some general discussion of the subject of the assignment, introduce the topic, or remind you of something pertinent that you have discussed in class. For example:

“Throughout history, gerbils have played a key role in politics,” or “In the last few weeks of class, we have focused on the evening wear of the housefly …”

The Task of the Assignment

Pay attention; this part tells you what to do when you write the paper. Look for the key verb or verbs in the sentence. Words like analyze, summarize, or compare direct you to think about your topic in a certain way. Also pay attention to words such as how, what, when, where, and why; these words guide your attention toward specific information. (See the section in this handout titled “Key Terms” for more information.)

“Analyze the effect that gerbils had on the Russian Revolution”, or “Suggest an interpretation of housefly undergarments that differs from Darwin’s.”

Additional Material to Think about

Here you will find some questions to use as springboards as you begin to think about the topic. Instructors usually include these questions as suggestions rather than requirements. Do not feel compelled to answer every question unless the instructor asks you to do so. Pay attention to the order of the questions. Sometimes they suggest the thinking process your instructor imagines you will need to follow to begin thinking about the topic.

“You may wish to consider the differing views held by Communist gerbils vs. Monarchist gerbils, or Can there be such a thing as ‘the housefly garment industry’ or is it just a home-based craft?”

These are the instructor’s comments about writing expectations:

“Be concise”, “Write effectively”, or “Argue furiously.”

Technical Details

These instructions usually indicate format rules or guidelines.

“Your paper must be typed in Palatino font on gray paper and must not exceed 600 pages. It is due on the anniversary of Mao Tse-tung’s death.”

The assignment’s parts may not appear in exactly this order, and each part may be very long or really short. Nonetheless, being aware of this standard pattern can help you understand what your instructor wants you to do.

Interpreting the assignment

Ask yourself a few basic questions as you read and jot down the answers on the assignment sheet:

Why did your instructor ask you to do this particular task?

Who is your audience.

  • What kind of evidence do you need to support your ideas?

What kind of writing style is acceptable?

  • What are the absolute rules of the paper?

Try to look at the question from the point of view of the instructor. Recognize that your instructor has a reason for giving you this assignment and for giving it to you at a particular point in the semester. In every assignment, the instructor has a challenge for you. This challenge could be anything from demonstrating an ability to think clearly to demonstrating an ability to use the library. See the assignment not as a vague suggestion of what to do but as an opportunity to show that you can handle the course material as directed. Paper assignments give you more than a topic to discuss—they ask you to do something with the topic. Keep reminding yourself of that. Be careful to avoid the other extreme as well: do not read more into the assignment than what is there.

Of course, your instructor has given you an assignment so that he or she will be able to assess your understanding of the course material and give you an appropriate grade. But there is more to it than that. Your instructor has tried to design a learning experience of some kind. Your instructor wants you to think about something in a particular way for a particular reason. If you read the course description at the beginning of your syllabus, review the assigned readings, and consider the assignment itself, you may begin to see the plan, purpose, or approach to the subject matter that your instructor has created for you. If you still aren’t sure of the assignment’s goals, try asking the instructor. For help with this, see our handout on getting feedback .

Given your instructor’s efforts, it helps to answer the question: What is my purpose in completing this assignment? Is it to gather research from a variety of outside sources and present a coherent picture? Is it to take material I have been learning in class and apply it to a new situation? Is it to prove a point one way or another? Key words from the assignment can help you figure this out. Look for key terms in the form of active verbs that tell you what to do.

Key Terms: Finding Those Active Verbs

Here are some common key words and definitions to help you think about assignment terms:

Information words Ask you to demonstrate what you know about the subject, such as who, what, when, where, how, and why.

  • define —give the subject’s meaning (according to someone or something). Sometimes you have to give more than one view on the subject’s meaning
  • describe —provide details about the subject by answering question words (such as who, what, when, where, how, and why); you might also give details related to the five senses (what you see, hear, feel, taste, and smell)
  • explain —give reasons why or examples of how something happened
  • illustrate —give descriptive examples of the subject and show how each is connected with the subject
  • summarize —briefly list the important ideas you learned about the subject
  • trace —outline how something has changed or developed from an earlier time to its current form
  • research —gather material from outside sources about the subject, often with the implication or requirement that you will analyze what you have found

Relation words Ask you to demonstrate how things are connected.

  • compare —show how two or more things are similar (and, sometimes, different)
  • contrast —show how two or more things are dissimilar
  • apply—use details that you’ve been given to demonstrate how an idea, theory, or concept works in a particular situation
  • cause —show how one event or series of events made something else happen
  • relate —show or describe the connections between things

Interpretation words Ask you to defend ideas of your own about the subject. Do not see these words as requesting opinion alone (unless the assignment specifically says so), but as requiring opinion that is supported by concrete evidence. Remember examples, principles, definitions, or concepts from class or research and use them in your interpretation.

  • assess —summarize your opinion of the subject and measure it against something
  • prove, justify —give reasons or examples to demonstrate how or why something is the truth
  • evaluate, respond —state your opinion of the subject as good, bad, or some combination of the two, with examples and reasons
  • support —give reasons or evidence for something you believe (be sure to state clearly what it is that you believe)
  • synthesize —put two or more things together that have not been put together in class or in your readings before; do not just summarize one and then the other and say that they are similar or different—you must provide a reason for putting them together that runs all the way through the paper
  • analyze —determine how individual parts create or relate to the whole, figure out how something works, what it might mean, or why it is important
  • argue —take a side and defend it with evidence against the other side

More Clues to Your Purpose As you read the assignment, think about what the teacher does in class:

  • What kinds of textbooks or coursepack did your instructor choose for the course—ones that provide background information, explain theories or perspectives, or argue a point of view?
  • In lecture, does your instructor ask your opinion, try to prove her point of view, or use keywords that show up again in the assignment?
  • What kinds of assignments are typical in this discipline? Social science classes often expect more research. Humanities classes thrive on interpretation and analysis.
  • How do the assignments, readings, and lectures work together in the course? Instructors spend time designing courses, sometimes even arguing with their peers about the most effective course materials. Figuring out the overall design to the course will help you understand what each assignment is meant to achieve.

Now, what about your reader? Most undergraduates think of their audience as the instructor. True, your instructor is a good person to keep in mind as you write. But for the purposes of a good paper, think of your audience as someone like your roommate: smart enough to understand a clear, logical argument, but not someone who already knows exactly what is going on in your particular paper. Remember, even if the instructor knows everything there is to know about your paper topic, he or she still has to read your paper and assess your understanding. In other words, teach the material to your reader.

Aiming a paper at your audience happens in two ways: you make decisions about the tone and the level of information you want to convey.

  • Tone means the “voice” of your paper. Should you be chatty, formal, or objective? Usually you will find some happy medium—you do not want to alienate your reader by sounding condescending or superior, but you do not want to, um, like, totally wig on the man, you know? Eschew ostentatious erudition: some students think the way to sound academic is to use big words. Be careful—you can sound ridiculous, especially if you use the wrong big words.
  • The level of information you use depends on who you think your audience is. If you imagine your audience as your instructor and she already knows everything you have to say, you may find yourself leaving out key information that can cause your argument to be unconvincing and illogical. But you do not have to explain every single word or issue. If you are telling your roommate what happened on your favorite science fiction TV show last night, you do not say, “First a dark-haired white man of average height, wearing a suit and carrying a flashlight, walked into the room. Then a purple alien with fifteen arms and at least three eyes turned around. Then the man smiled slightly. In the background, you could hear a clock ticking. The room was fairly dark and had at least two windows that I saw.” You also do not say, “This guy found some aliens. The end.” Find some balance of useful details that support your main point.

You’ll find a much more detailed discussion of these concepts in our handout on audience .

The Grim Truth

With a few exceptions (including some lab and ethnography reports), you are probably being asked to make an argument. You must convince your audience. It is easy to forget this aim when you are researching and writing; as you become involved in your subject matter, you may become enmeshed in the details and focus on learning or simply telling the information you have found. You need to do more than just repeat what you have read. Your writing should have a point, and you should be able to say it in a sentence. Sometimes instructors call this sentence a “thesis” or a “claim.”

So, if your instructor tells you to write about some aspect of oral hygiene, you do not want to just list: “First, you brush your teeth with a soft brush and some peanut butter. Then, you floss with unwaxed, bologna-flavored string. Finally, gargle with bourbon.” Instead, you could say, “Of all the oral cleaning methods, sandblasting removes the most plaque. Therefore it should be recommended by the American Dental Association.” Or, “From an aesthetic perspective, moldy teeth can be quite charming. However, their joys are short-lived.”

Convincing the reader of your argument is the goal of academic writing. It doesn’t have to say “argument” anywhere in the assignment for you to need one. Look at the assignment and think about what kind of argument you could make about it instead of just seeing it as a checklist of information you have to present. For help with understanding the role of argument in academic writing, see our handout on argument .

What kind of evidence do you need?

There are many kinds of evidence, and what type of evidence will work for your assignment can depend on several factors–the discipline, the parameters of the assignment, and your instructor’s preference. Should you use statistics? Historical examples? Do you need to conduct your own experiment? Can you rely on personal experience? See our handout on evidence for suggestions on how to use evidence appropriately.

Make sure you are clear about this part of the assignment, because your use of evidence will be crucial in writing a successful paper. You are not just learning how to argue; you are learning how to argue with specific types of materials and ideas. Ask your instructor what counts as acceptable evidence. You can also ask a librarian for help. No matter what kind of evidence you use, be sure to cite it correctly—see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial .

You cannot always tell from the assignment just what sort of writing style your instructor expects. The instructor may be really laid back in class but still expect you to sound formal in writing. Or the instructor may be fairly formal in class and ask you to write a reflection paper where you need to use “I” and speak from your own experience.

Try to avoid false associations of a particular field with a style (“art historians like wacky creativity,” or “political scientists are boring and just give facts”) and look instead to the types of readings you have been given in class. No one expects you to write like Plato—just use the readings as a guide for what is standard or preferable to your instructor. When in doubt, ask your instructor about the level of formality she or he expects.

No matter what field you are writing for or what facts you are including, if you do not write so that your reader can understand your main idea, you have wasted your time. So make clarity your main goal. For specific help with style, see our handout on style .

Technical details about the assignment

The technical information you are given in an assignment always seems like the easy part. This section can actually give you lots of little hints about approaching the task. Find out if elements such as page length and citation format (see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial ) are negotiable. Some professors do not have strong preferences as long as you are consistent and fully answer the assignment. Some professors are very specific and will deduct big points for deviations.

Usually, the page length tells you something important: The instructor thinks the size of the paper is appropriate to the assignment’s parameters. In plain English, your instructor is telling you how many pages it should take for you to answer the question as fully as you are expected to. So if an assignment is two pages long, you cannot pad your paper with examples or reword your main idea several times. Hit your one point early, defend it with the clearest example, and finish quickly. If an assignment is ten pages long, you can be more complex in your main points and examples—and if you can only produce five pages for that assignment, you need to see someone for help—as soon as possible.

Tricks that don’t work

Your instructors are not fooled when you:

  • spend more time on the cover page than the essay —graphics, cool binders, and cute titles are no replacement for a well-written paper.
  • use huge fonts, wide margins, or extra spacing to pad the page length —these tricks are immediately obvious to the eye. Most instructors use the same word processor you do. They know what’s possible. Such tactics are especially damning when the instructor has a stack of 60 papers to grade and yours is the only one that low-flying airplane pilots could read.
  • use a paper from another class that covered “sort of similar” material . Again, the instructor has a particular task for you to fulfill in the assignment that usually relates to course material and lectures. Your other paper may not cover this material, and turning in the same paper for more than one course may constitute an Honor Code violation . Ask the instructor—it can’t hurt.
  • get all wacky and “creative” before you answer the question . Showing that you are able to think beyond the boundaries of a simple assignment can be good, but you must do what the assignment calls for first. Again, check with your instructor. A humorous tone can be refreshing for someone grading a stack of papers, but it will not get you a good grade if you have not fulfilled the task.

Critical reading of assignments leads to skills in other types of reading and writing. If you get good at figuring out what the real goals of assignments are, you are going to be better at understanding the goals of all of your classes and fields of study.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Getting Started with Creative Assignments

Creative teaching and learning can be cultivated in any course context to increase student engagement and motivation, and promote thinking skills that are critical to problem-solving and innovation. This resource features examples of Columbia faculty who teach creatively and have reimagined their course assessments to allow students to demonstrate their learning in creative ways. Drawing on these examples, this resource provides suggestions for creating a classroom environment that supports student engagement in creative activities and assignments.  

On this page:

  • The What and Why of Creative Assignments

Examples of Creative Teaching and Learning at Columbia

  • How To Get Started

Cite this resource: Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning (2022). Getting Started with Creative Assignments. Columbia University. Retrieved [today’s date] from https://ctl.columbia.edu/resources-and-technology/resources/creative-assignments/

The What and Why of Creative Assignments  

Creative assignments encourage students to think in innovative ways as they demonstrate their learning. Thinking creatively involves combining or synthesizing information or course materials in new ways and is characterized by “a high degree of innovation, divergent thinking, and risk-taking” (AAC&U). It is associated with imagination and originality, and additional characteristics include: being open to new ideas and perspectives, believing alternatives exist, withholding judgment, generating multiple approaches to problems, and trying new ways to generate ideas  (DiYanni, 2015: 41). Creative thinking is considered an important skill alongside critical thinking in tackling contemporary problems. Critical thinking allows students to evaluate the information presented to them while creative thinking is a process that allows students to generate new ideas and innovate.

Creative assignments can be integrated into any course regardless of discipline. Examples include the use of infographic assignments in Nursing (Chicca and Chunta, 2020) and Chemistry (Kothari, Castañeda, and McNeil, 2019); podcasting assignments in Social Work (Hitchcock, Sage & Sage, 2021); digital storytelling assignments in Psychology (Sheafer, 2017) and Sociology (Vaughn and Leon, 2021); and incorporating creative writing in the economics classroom (Davis, 2019) or reflective writing into Calculus assignment ( Gerstle, 2017) just to name a few. In a 2014 study, organic chemistry students who elected to begin their lab reports with a creative narrative were more excited to learn and earned better grades (Henry, Owens, and Tawney, 2015). In a public policy course, students who engaged in additional creative problem-solving exercises that included imaginative scenarios and alternative solution-finding showed greater interest in government reform and attentiveness to civic issues (Wukich and Siciliano, 2014).

The benefits of creative assignments include increased student engagement, motivation, and satisfaction (Snyder et al., 2013: 165); and furthered student learning of course content (Reynolds, Stevens, and West, 2013). These types of assignments promote innovation, academic integrity, student self-awareness/ metacognition (e.g., when students engage in reflection through journal assignments), and can be made authentic as students develop and apply skills to real-world situations.  

When instructors give students open-ended assignments, they provide opportunities for students to think creatively as they work on a deliverable. They “unlock potential” (Ranjan & Gabora and Beghetto in Gregerson et al., 2013) for students to synthesize their knowledge and propose novel solutions. This promotes higher-level thinking as outlined in the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy’s “create” cognitive process category: “putting elements together to form a novel coherent whole or make an original product,” this involves generating ideas, planning, and producing something new. 

The examples that follow highlight creative assignments in the Columbia University classroom. The featured Columbia faculty taught creatively – they tried new strategies, purposefully varied classroom activities and assessment modalities, and encouraged their students to take control of what and how they were learning (James & Brookfield, 2014: 66).

university assignment ideas

Dr. Cruz changed her course assessment by “moving away from high stakes assessments like a final paper or a final exam, to more open-ended and creative models of assessments.”  Students were given the opportunity to synthesize their course learning, with options on topic and format of how to demonstrate their learning and to do so individually or in groups. They explored topics that were meaningful to them and related to the course material. Dr. Cruz noted that “This emphasis on playfulness and creativity led to fantastic final projects including a graphic novel interpretation, a video essay that applied critical theory to multiple texts, and an interactive virtual museum.” Students “took the opportunity to use their creative skills, or the skills they were interested in exploring because some of them had to develop new skills to produce these projects.” (Dr. Cruz; Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning , Season 3, Episode 6). Along with their projects, students submitted an artist’s statement, where they had to explain and justify their choices. 

Dr. Cruz noted that grading creative assignments require advanced planning. In her case, she worked closely with her TAs to develop a rubric that was shared with students in advance for full transparency and emphasized the importance of students connecting ideas to analytical arguments discussed in the class. 

Watch Dr. Cruz’s 2021 Symposium presentation. Listen to Dr. Cruz talk about The Power of Blended Classrooms in Season 3, Episode 6 of the Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning podcast. Get a glimpse into Dr. Cruz’s online classroom and her creative teaching and the design of learning experiences that enhanced critical thinking, creativity, curiosity, and community by viewing her Voices of Hybrid and Online Teaching and Learning submission.

university assignment ideas

As part of his standard practice, Dr. Yesilevskiy scaffolds assignments – from less complex to more complex – to ensure students integrate the concepts they learn in the class into their projects or new experiments. For example, in Laboratory 1, Dr. Yesilevskiy slowly increases the amount of independence in each experiment over the semester: students are given a full procedure in the first experiment and by course end, students are submitting new experiment proposals to Dr. Yesilevskiy for approval. This is creative thinking in action. Students not only learned how to “replicate existing experiments, but also to formulate and conduct new ones.”

Watch Dr. Yesilevskiy’s 2021 Symposium presentation. 

How Do I Get Started?: Strategies to Support Creative Assignments

The previous section showcases examples of creative assignments in action at Columbia. To help you support such creative assignments in your classroom, this section details three strategies to support creative assignments and creative thinking. Firstly, re-consider the design of your assignments to optimize students’ creative output. Secondly, scaffold creative assignments using low-stakes classroom activities that build creative capacity. Finally, cultivate a classroom environment that supports creative thinking.     

Design Considerations for Creative Assignments 

Thoughtfully designed open-ended assignments and evaluation plans encourage students to demonstrate their learning in authentic ways. When designing creative assignments, consider the following suggestions for structuring and communicating to your students about the assignment. 

Set clear expectations . Students may feel lost in the ambiguity and complexity of an open-ended assignment that requires them to create something new. Communicate the creative outcomes and learning objectives for the assignments (Ranjan & Gabora, 2013), and how students will be expected to draw on their learning in the course. Articulare how much flexibility and choice students have in determining what they work on and how they work on it. Share the criteria or a rubric that will be used to evaluate student deliverables. See the CTL’s resource Incorporating Rubrics Into Your Feedback and Grading Practices . If planning to evaluate creative thinking, consider adapting the American Association of Colleges and Universities’ creative thinking VALUE rubric . 

Structure the project to sustain engagement and promote integrity. Consider how the project might be broken into smaller assignments that build upon each other and culminate in a synthesis project. The example presented above from Dr. Yesilevskiy’s teaching highlights how he scaffolded lab complexity, progressing from structured to student-driven. See the section below “Activities to Prepare Students for Creative Assignments” for sample activities to scaffold this work. 

Create opportunities for ongoing feedback . Provide feedback at all phases of the assignment from idea inception through milestones to completion. Leverage office hours for individual or group conversations and feedback on project proposals, progress, and issues. See the CTL’s resource on Feedback for Learning . Consider creating opportunities for structured peer review for students to give each other feedback on their work. Students benefit from learning about their peers’ projects, and seeing different perspectives and approaches to accomplishing the open-ended assignment. See the CTL’s resource Peer Review: Intentional Design for Any Course Context . 

Share resources to support students in their work. Ensure all students have access to the resources they will need to be successful on the assigned project. Connect students with campus resources that can help them accomplish the project’s objectives. For instance, if students are working on a research project – connect them to the Library instruction modules “ From Books to Bytes: Navigating the Research Ecosystem ,” encourage them to schedule a consultation with a specialist for research support through Columbia Libraries , or seek out writing support. If students will need equipment to complete their project, remind them of campus resources such as makerspaces (e.g., The Makerspace @ Columbia in Room 254 Engineering Terrace/Mudd; Design Center at Barnard College); borrowing equipment (e.g., Instructional Media and Technology Services (IMATS) at Barnard; Gabe M. Wiener Music & Arts Library ). 

Ask students to submit a self-reflection with their project. Encourage students to reflect on their process and the decisions they made in order to complete the project. Provide guiding questions that have students reflect on their learning, make meaning, and engage their metacognitive thinking skills (see the CTL’s resource of Metacognition ). Students can be asked to apply the rubric to their work or to submit a creative statement along with their work that describes their intent and ownership of the project.

Collect feedback from students and iterate. Invite students to give feedback on the assigned creative project, as well as the classroom environment and creative activities used. Tell students how you will use their suggestions to make improvements to activities and assignments, and make adjustments to the classroom environment. See the CTL’s resource on Early and Mid-Semester Student Feedback . 

Low-Stakes Activities to Prepare Students for Creative Assignments

The activities described below are meant to be scaffolded opportunities leading to a larger creative project. They are low-stakes, non-graded activities that make time in the classroom for students to think, brainstorm, and create (Desrochers and Zell, 2012) and prepare them to do the creative thinking needed to complete course assignments. The activities can be adapted for any course context, with or without the use of technology, and can be done individually or collaboratively (see the CTL’s resource on Collaborative Learning to explore digital tools that are available for group work). 

Brainstorming 

Brainstorming is a process that students can engage in to generate as many ideas as possible related to a topic of study or an assignment topic (Sweet et al., 2013: 87). As they engage in this messy and jugement-free work, students explore a range of possibilities. Brainstorming reveals students’ prior knowledge (Ambrose et al., 2010: 29). Brainstorm activities are useful early on to help create a classroom culture rooted in creativity while also serving as a potential icebreaker activity that helps instructors learn more about what prior knowledge and experiences students are bringing to the course or unit of study. This activity can be done individually or in groups, and in class or asynchronously. Components may include:

  • Prompt students to list off (individually or collaboratively) their ideas on a whiteboard, free write in a Google Doc or some other digital space. 
  • Provide formative feedback to assist students to further develop their ideas.
  • Invite students to reflect on the brainstorm process, look over their ideas and determine which idea to explore further.

Mind mapping

A mind map, also known as a cognitive or concept map, allows students to visually display their thinking and knowledge organization, through lines connecting concepts, arrows showing relationships, and other visual cues (Sweet et al., 2013: 89; Ambrose et al. 2010: 63). This challenges students to synthesize and be creative as they display words, ideas, tasks or principles (Barkley, 2010: 219-225). A mind mapping activity can be done individually or in groups, and in class or asynchronously. This activity can be an extension of a brainstorming session, whereby students take an idea from their brainstormed list and further develop it. 

Components of a mind mapping activity may include:

  • Prompt students to create a map of their thinking on a topic, concept, or question. This can be done on paper, on a whiteboard, or with digital mind mapping or whiteboard tools such as Google Drawing.
  • Provide formative feedback on the mind maps.
  • Invite students to reflect on their mind map, and determine where to go next.

Digital storytelling

Digital storytelling involves integrating multimedia (images, text, video, audio, etc.) and narrative to produce immersive stories that connect with course content. Student-produced stories can promote engagement and learning in a way that is both personal and universal (McLellan, 2007). Digital storytelling contributes to learning through student voice and creativity in constructing meaning (Rossiter and Garcia, 2010). 

Tools such as the CTL-developed Mediathread as well as EdDiscussion support collaborative annotation of media objects. These annotations can be used in writing and discussions, which can involve creating a story. For freeform formats, digital whiteboards allow students to drop in different text and media and make connections between these elements. Such storytelling can be done collaboratively or simply shared during class. Finally, EdBlogs can be used for a blog format, or Google Slides if a presentation format is better suited for the learning objective.

Asking questions to explore new possibilities

Tap into student imagination, stimulate curiosity, and create memorable learning experiences by asking students to pose “What if?” “why” and “how” questions – how might things be done differently; what will a situation look like if it is viewed from a new perspective?; or what could a new approach to solving a problem look like? (James & Brookfield, 2014: 163). Powerful questions are open-ended ones where the answer is not immediately apparent; such questions encourage students to think about a topic in new ways, and they promote learning as students work to answer them (James & Brookfield, 2014: 163). Setting aside time for students to ask lots of questions in the classroom and bringing in questions posed on CourseWorks Discussions or EdDiscussion sends the message to students that their questions matter and play a role in learning. 

Cultivate Creative Thinking in the Classroom Environment

Create a classroom environment that encourages experimentation and thinking from new and diverse perspectives. This type of environment encourages students to share their ideas without inhibition and personalize the meaning-making process. “Creative environments facilitate intentional acts of divergent (idea generation, collaboration, and design thinking) and convergent (analysis of ideas, products, and content created) thinking processes.” (Sweet et al., 2013: 20)

Encourage risk-taking and learning from mistakes . Taking risks in the classroom can be anxiety inducing so students will benefit from reassurance that their creativity and all ideas are welcome. When students bring up unexpected ideas, rather than redirecting or dismissing, seize it as an opportunity for a conversation in which students can share, challenge, and affirm ideas (Beghetto, 2013). Let students know that they can make mistakes, “think outside of the box” without penalty (Desrochers and Zell, 2012), and embrace failure seeing it as a learning opportunity.

Model creative thinking . Model curiosity and how to ask powerful questions, and encourage students to be curious about everything (Synder et al., 2013, DiYanni, 2015). Give students a glimpse into your own creative thinking process – how you would approach an open-ended question, problem, or assignment? Turn your own mistakes into teachable moments. By modeling creative thinking, you are giving students permission to engage in this type of thinking.

Build a community that supports the creative classroom environment. Have students get to know and interact with each other so that they become comfortable asking questions and taking risks in front of and with their peers. See the CTL’s resource on Community Building in the Classroom . This is especially important if you are planning to have students collaborate on creative activities and assignments and/or engage in peer review of each other’s work. 

Plan for play. Play is integral to learning (Cavanagh, 2021; Eyler, 2018; Tatter, 2019). Play cultivates a low stress, high trust, inclusive environment, as students build relationships with each. This allows students to feel more comfortable in the classroom and motivates them to tackle more difficult content (Forbes, 2021). Set aside time for play (Ranjan & Gabora, 2013; Sinfield, Burns, & Abegglen, 2018). Design for play with purpose grounded in learning goals. Create a structured play session during which students experiment with a new topic, idea, or tool and connect it to curricular content or their learning experience. Play can be facilitated through educational games such as puzzles, video games, trivia competitions, scavenger hunts or role-playing activities in which students actively apply knowledge and skills as they act out their role (Eyler, 2018; Barkley, 2010). For an example of role-playing games explore Reacting to the Past , an active learning pedagogy of role-playing games developed by Mark Carnes at Barnard College. 

The CTL is here to help!

CTL consultants are happy to support instructors as they design activities and assignments that promote creative thinking. Email [email protected] to schedule a consultation.

Ambrose et al. (2010). How Learning Works: 7 Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching. Jossey-Bass.

Barkley, E. F., Major, C. H., and Cross, K. P. (2014). Collaborative Learning Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty . 

Barkley, E. F. (2010) Student Engagement Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty.

Beghetto, R. (2013). Expect the Unexpected: Teaching for Creativity in the Micromoments. In M.B. Gregerson, H.T. Snyder, and J.C. Kaufman (Eds.). Teaching Creatively and Teaching Creativity . Springer. 

Cavanagh, S. R. (2021). How to Play in the College Classroom in a Pandemic, and Why You Should . The Chronicle of Higher Education. February 9, 2021.

Chicca, J. and Chunta, K, (2020). Engaging Students with Visual Stories: Using Infographics in Nursing Education . Teaching and Learning in Nursing. 15(1), 32-36.

Davis, M. E. (2019). Poetry and economics: Creativity, engagement and learning in the economics classroom. International Review of Economics Education. Volume 30. 

Desrochers, C. G. and Zell, D. (2012). Gave projects, tests, or assignments that required original or creative thinking! POD-IDEA Center Notes on Instruction. 

DiYanni, R. (2015). Critical and creative thinking : A brief guide for teachers . John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. 

Eyler, J. R. (2018). How Humans Learn. The Science and Stories Behind Effective College Teaching. West Virginia University Press. 

Forbes, L. K. (2021). The Process of Play in Learning in Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study. Journal of Teaching and Learning. Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 57-73. 

Gerstle, K. (2017). Incorporating Meaningful Reflection into Calculus Assignments. PRIMUS. Problems, Resources, and Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate Studies. 29(1), 71-81.

Gregerson, M. B., Snyder, H. T., and Kaufman, J. C. (2013). Teaching Creatively and Teaching Creativity . Springer. 

Henry, M., Owens, E. A., and Tawney, J. G. (2015). Creative Report Writing in Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory Inspires Non Majors. Journal of Chemical Education , 92, 90-95.

Hitchcock, L. I., Sage, T., Lynch, M. and Sage, M. (2021). Podcasting as a Pedagogical Tool for Experiential Learning in Social Work Education. Journal of Teaching in Social Work . 41(2). 172-191.

James, A., & Brookfield, S. D. (2014). Engaging imagination : Helping students become creative and reflective thinkers . John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.

Jackson, N. (2008). Tackling the Wicked Problem of Creativity in Higher Education.

Jackson, N. (2006). Creativity in higher education. SCEPTrE Scholarly Paper , 3 , 1-25.

Kleiman, P. (2008). Towards transformation: conceptions of creativity in higher education.

Kothari, D., Hall, A. O., Castañeda, C. A., and McNeil, A. J. (2019). Connecting Organic Chemistry Concepts with Real-World Context by Creating Infographics. Journal of Chemistry Education. 96(11), 2524-2527. 

McLellan, H. (2007). Digital Storytelling in Higher Education. Journal of Computing in Higher Education. 19, 65-79. 

Ranjan, A., & Gabora, L. (2013). Creative Ideas for Actualizing Student Potential. In M.B. Gregerson, H.T. Snyder, and J.C. Kaufman (Eds.). Teaching Creatively and Teaching Creativity . Springer. 

Rossiter, M. and Garcia, P. A. (2010). Digital Storytelling: A New Player on the Narrative Field. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education. No. 126, Summer 2010. 

Sheafer, V. (2017). Using digital storytelling to teach psychology: A preliminary investigation. Psychology Learning & Teaching. 16(1), 133-143. 

Sinfield, S., Burns, B., & Abegglen, S. (2018). Exploration: Becoming Playful – The Power of a Ludic Module. In A. James and C. Nerantzi (Eds.). The Power of Play in Higher Education . Palgrave Macmillan.

Reynolds, C., Stevens, D. D., and West, E. (2013). “I’m in a Professional School! Why Are You Making Me Do This?” A Cross-Disciplinary Study of the Use of Creative Classroom Projects on Student Learning. College Teaching. 61: 51-59.

Sweet, C., Carpenter, R., Blythe, H., and Apostel, S. (2013). Teaching Applied Creative Thinking: A New Pedagogy  for the 21st Century. Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press Inc. 

Tatter, G. (2019). Playing to Learn: How a pedagogy of play can enliven the classroom, for students of all ages . Harvard Graduate School of Education. 

Vaughn, M. P. and Leon, D. (2021). The Personal Is Political Art: Using Digital Storytelling to Teaching Sociology of Sexualities. Teaching Sociology. 49(3), 245-255. 

Wukich, C. and Siciliano, M. D. (2014). Problem Solving and Creativity in Public Policy Courses: Promoting Interest and Civic Engagement. Journal of Political Science Education . 10, 352-368.

CTL resources and technology for you.

  • Overview of all CTL Resources and Technology

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Designing Research Assignments: Assignment Ideas

  • Student Research Needs
  • Assignment Guidelines
  • Assignment Ideas
  • Scaffolding Research Assignments
  • BEAM Method

Assignment Templates

Research diaries offer students an opportunity to reflect on the research process, think about how they will address challenges they encounter, and encourage students to think about and adjust their strategies. 

  • Research Diary Template
  • Research Diary Instructions

Alternative Assignments

There are many different types of assignments that can help your students develop their information literacy and research skills. 

The assignments listed below target different skills, and some may be more suitable for certain courses than others.

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  • Last Updated: Jun 9, 2022 12:23 PM
  • URL: https://columbiacollege-ca.libguides.com/designing_assignments

Duke Learning Innovation and Lifetime Education

Ideas for Great Group Work

Many students, particularly if they are new to college, don’t like group assignments and projects. They might say they “work better by themselves” and be wary of irresponsible members of their group dragging down their grade. Or they may feel group projects take too much time and slow down the progression of the class. This blog post by a student— 5 Reasons I Hate Group Projects —might sound familiar to many faculty assigning in-class group work and longer-term projects in their courses.

We all recognize that learning how to work effectively in groups is an essential skill that will be used by students in practically every career in the private sector or academia. But, with the hesitancy of students towards group work and how it might impact their grade, how do we make group in-class work, assignments, or long-term projects beneficial and even exciting to students?

The methods and ideas in this post have been compiled from Duke faculty who we have consulted with as part of our work in Learning Innovation or have participated in one of our programs. Also included are ideas from colleagues at other universities with whom we have talked at conferences and other venues about group work practices in their own classrooms.

Have clear goals and purpose

Students want to know why they are being assigned certain kinds of work – how it fits into the larger goals of the class and the overall assessment of their performance in the course. Make sure you explain your goals for assigning in-class group work or projects in the course. You may wish to share:

  • Information on the importance of developing skills in group work and how this benefits the students in the topics presented in the course.
  • Examples of how this type of group work will be used in the discipline outside of the classroom.
  • How the assignment or project benefits from multiple perspectives or dividing the work among more than one person.

Some faculty give students the option to come to a consensus on the specifics of how group work will count in the course, within certain parameters. This can help students feel they have some control over their own learning process and and can put less emphasis on grades and more on the importance of learning the skills of working in groups.

Choose the right assignment

Some in-class activities, short assignments or projects are not suitable for working in groups. To ensure student success, choose the right class activity or assignment for groups.

  • Would the workload of the project or activity require more than one person to finish it properly?
  • Is this something where multiple perspectives create a greater whole?
  • Does this draw on knowledge and skills that are spread out among the students?
  • Will the group process used in the activity or project give students a tangible benefit to learning in and engagement with the course?

Help students learn the skills of working in groups

Students in your course may have never been asked to work in groups before. If they have worked in groups in previous courses, they may have had bad experiences that color their reaction to group work in your course. They may have never had the resources and support to make group assignments and projects a compelling experience.

One of the most important things you can do as an instructor is to consider all of the skills that go into working in groups and to design your activities and assignments with an eye towards developing those skills.

In a group assignment, students may be asked to break down a project into steps, plan strategy, organize their time, and coordinate efforts in the context of a group of people they may have never met before.

Consider these ideas to help your students learn group work skills in your course.

  • Give a short survey to your class about their previous work in groups to gauge areas where they might need help: ask about what they liked best and least about group work, dynamics of groups they have worked in, time management, communication skills or other areas important in the assignment you are designing.
  • Allow time in class for students in groups to get to know each other. This can be a simple as brief introductions, an in-class active learning activity or the drafting of a team charter.
  • Based on the activity you are designing and the skills that would be involved in working as a group, assemble some links to web resources that students can draw on for more information, such as sites that explain how to delegate and share responsibilities, conflict resolution, or planning a project and time management. You can also address these issues in class with the students.
  • Have a plan for clarifying questions or possible problems that may emerge with an assignment or project.   Are there ways you can ask questions or get draft material to spot areas where students are having difficulty understanding the assignment or having difficulty with group dynamics that might impact the work later?

Designing the assignment or project

The actual design of the class activity or project can help the students transition into group work processes and gain confidence with the skills involved in group dynamics.   When designing your assignment, consider these ideas.

  • Break the assignment down into steps or stages to help students become familiar with the process of planning the project as a group.
  • Suggest roles for participants in each group to encourage building expertise and expertise and to illustrate ways to divide responsibility for the work.
  • Use interim drafts for longer projects to help students manage their time and goals and spot early problems with group projects.
  • Limit their resources (such as giving them material to work with or certain subsets of information) to encourage more close cooperation.
  • Encourage diversity in groups to spread experience and skill levels and to get students to work with colleagues in the course who they may not know.

Promote individual responsibility

Students always worry about how the performance of other students in a group project might impact their grade. A way to allay those fears is to build individual responsibility into both the course grade and the logistics of group work.

  • Build “slack days” into the course. Allow a prearranged number of days when individuals can step away from group work to focus on other classes or campus events. Individual students claim “slack days” in advance, informing both the members of their group and the instructor. Encourage students to work out how the group members will deal with conflicting dates if more than one student in a group wants to claim the same dates.
  • Combine a group grade with an individual grade for independent write-ups, journal entries, and reflections.
  • Have students assess their fellow group members. Teammates is an online application that can automate this process.
  • If you are having students assume roles in group class activities and projects, have them change roles in different parts of the class or project so that one student isn’t “stuck” doing one task for the group.

Gather feedback

To improve your group class activities and assignments, gather reflective feedback from students on what is and isn’t working. You can also share good feedback with future classes to help them understand the value of the activities they’re working on in groups.

  • For in-class activities, have students jot down thoughts at the end of class on a notecard for you to review.
  • At the end of a larger project, or at key points when you have them submit drafts, ask the students for an “assignment wrapper”—a short reflection on the assignment or short answers to a series of questions.

Further resources

Information for faculty

Best practices for designing group projects (Eberly Center, Carnegie Mellon)

Building Teamwork Process Skills in Students (Shannon Ciston, UC Berkeley)

Working with Student Teams   (Bart Pursel, Penn State)

Barkley, E.F., Cross, K.P., and Major, C.H. (2005). Collaborative learning techniques: A handbook for college faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R., & Smith, K. (1998). Active learning: Cooperation in the college classroom. Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company.

Thompson, L.L. (2004). Making the team: A guide for managers. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.

Information for students

10 tips for working effectively in groups (Vancouver Island University Learning Matters)

Teamwork skills: being an effective group member (University of Waterloo Centre for Teaching Excellence)

5 ways to survive a group project in college (HBCU Lifestyle)

Group project tips for online courses (Drexel Online)

Group Writing (Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill)

Logo for University of Southern Queensland

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Types of Assignments

Cristy Bartlett and Kate Derrington

Hand higghlighting notes on paper

Introduction

As discussed in the previous chapter, assignments are a common method of assessment at university. You may encounter many assignments over your years of study, yet some will look quite different from others. By recognising different types of assignments and understanding the purpose of the task, you can direct your writing skills effectively to meet task requirements. This chapter draws on the skills from the previous chapter, and extends the discussion, showing you where to aim with different types of assignments.

The chapter begins by exploring the popular essay assignment, with its two common categories, analytical and argumentative essays. It then examines assignments requiring case study responses , as often encountered in fields such as health or business. This is followed by a discussion of assignments seeking a report (such as a scientific report) and reflective writing assignments, common in nursing, education and human services. The chapter concludes with an examination of annotated bibliographies and literature reviews. The chapter also has a selection of templates and examples throughout to enhance your understanding and improve the efficacy of  your assignment writing skills.

Different Types of Written Assignments

At university, an essay is a common form of assessment. In the previous chapter Writing Assignments we discussed what was meant by showing academic writing in your assignments. It is important that you consider these aspects of structure, tone and language when writing an essay.

Components of an essay

Essays should use formal but reader friendly language and have a clear and logical structure. They must include research from credible academic sources such as peer reviewed journal articles and textbooks. This research should be referenced throughout your essay to support your ideas (See the chapter Working with Information ).

Diagram that allocates words of assignment

If you have never written an essay before, you may feel unsure about how to start.  Breaking your essay into sections and allocating words accordingly will make this process more manageable and will make planning the overall essay structure much easier.

  • An essay requires an introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion.
  • Generally, an introduction and conclusion are approximately 10% each of the total word count.
  • The remaining words can then be divided into sections and a paragraph allowed for each area of content you need to cover.
  • Use your task and criteria sheet to decide what content needs to be in your plan

An effective essay introduction needs to inform your reader by doing four basic things:

Table 20.1 An effective essay

An effective essay body paragraph needs to:

An effective essay conclusion needs to:

Elements of essay in diagram

Common types of essays

You may be required to write different types of essays, depending on your study area and topic. Two of the most commonly used essays are analytical and argumentative .  The task analysis process discussed in the previous chapter Writing Assignments will help you determine the type of essay required. For example, if your assignment question uses task words such as analyse, examine, discuss, determine or explore, you would be writing an analytical essay . If your assignment question has task words such as argue, evaluate, justify or assess, you would be writing an argumentative essay . Despite the type of essay, your ability to analyse and think critically is important and common across genres.  

Analytical essays

Woman writing an essay

These essays usually provide some background description of the relevant theory, situation, problem, case, image, etcetera that is your topic. Being analytical requires you to look carefully at various components or sections of your topic in a methodical and logical way to create understanding.

The purpose of the analytical essay is to demonstrate your ability to examine the topic thoroughly. This requires you to go deeper than description by considering different sides of the situation, comparing and contrasting a variety of theories and the positives and negatives of the topic. Although in an analytical essay your position on the topic may be clear, it is not necessarily a requirement that you explicitly identify this with a thesis statement, as is the case with an argumentative essay. If you are unsure whether you are required to take a position, and provide a thesis statement, it is best to check with your tutor.

Argumentative essays

These essays require you to take a position on the assignment topic. This is expressed through your thesis statement in your introduction. You must then present and develop your arguments throughout the body of your assignment using logically structured paragraphs. Each of these paragraphs needs a topic sentence that relates to the thesis statement. In an argumentative essay, you must reach a conclusion based on the evidence you have presented.

Case Study Responses

Case studies are a common form of assignment in many study areas and students can underperform in this genre for a number of key reasons.

Students typically lose marks for not:

  • Relating their answer sufficiently to the case details
  • Applying critical thinking
  • Writing with clear structure
  • Using appropriate or sufficient sources
  • Using accurate referencing

When structuring your response to a case study, remember to refer to the case. Structure your paragraphs similarly to an essay paragraph structure but include examples and data from the case as additional evidence to support your points (see Figure 20.5 ). The colours in the sample paragraph below show the function of each component.

Diagram fo structure of case study

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) Code of Conduct and Nursing Standards (2018) play a crucial role in determining the scope of practice for nurses and midwives. A key component discussed in the code is the provision of person-centred care and the formation of therapeutic relationships between nurses and patients (NMBA, 2018). This ensures patient safety and promotes health and wellbeing (NMBA, 2018). The standards also discuss the importance of partnership and shared decision-making in the delivery of care (NMBA, 2018, 4). Boyd and Dare (2014) argue that good communication skills are vital for building therapeutic relationships and trust between patients and care givers. This will help ensure the patient is treated with dignity and respect and improve their overall hospital experience. In the case, the therapeutic relationship with the client has been compromised in several ways. Firstly, the nurse did not conform adequately to the guidelines for seeking informed consent before performing the examination as outlined in principle 2.3 (NMBA, 2018). Although she explained the procedure, she failed to give the patient appropriate choices regarding her health care. 

Topic sentence | Explanations using paraphrased evidence including in-text references | Critical thinking (asks the so what? question to demonstrate your student voice). | Relating the theory back to the specifics of the case. The case becomes a source of examples as extra evidence to support the points you are making.

Reports are a common form of assessment at university and are also used widely in many professions. It is a common form of writing in business, government, scientific, and technical occupations.

Reports can take many different structures. A report is normally written to present information in a structured manner, which may include explaining laboratory experiments, technical information, or a business case.  Reports may be written for different audiences including clients, your manager, technical staff, or senior leadership within an organisation. The structure of reports can vary, and it is important to consider what format is required. The choice of structure will depend upon professional requirements and the ultimate aims of the report. Consider some of the options in the table below (see Table 20.2 ).

Table 20.2 Explanations of different types of reports

Reflective writing.

Reflective flower

Reflective writing is a popular method of assessment at university. It is used to help you explore feelings, experiences, opinions, events or new information to gain a clearer and deeper understanding of your learning. A reflective writing task requires more than a description or summary.  It requires you to analyse a situation, problem or experience, consider what you may have learnt and evaluate how this may impact your thinking and actions in the future. This requires critical thinking, analysis, and usually the application of good quality research, to demonstrate your understanding or learning from a situation. Essentially, reflective practice is the process of looking back on past experiences and engaging with them in a thoughtful way and drawing conclusions to inform future experiences. The reflection skills you develop at university will be vital in the workplace to assist you to use feedback for growth and continuous improvement. There are numerous models of reflective writing and you should refer to your subject guidelines for your expected format. If there is no specific framework, a simple model to help frame your thinking is What? So what? Now what?   (Rolfe et al., 2001).

Diagram of bubbles that state what, now what, so what

Table 20.3 What? So What? Now What? Explained.

Gibb's reflective cycle of decription, feelings, evauation, analysis, action plan, cocnlusion

The Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle

The Gibbs’ Cycle of reflection encourages you to consider your feelings as part of the reflective process. There are six specific steps to work through. Following this model carefully and being clear of the requirements of each stage, will help you focus your thinking and reflect more deeply. This model is popular in Health.

The 4 R’s of reflective thinking

This model (Ryan and Ryan, 2013) was designed specifically for university students engaged in experiential learning.  Experiential learning includes any ‘real-world’ activities including practice led activities, placements and internships.  Experiential learning, and the use of reflective practice to heighten this learning, is common in Creative Arts, Health and Education.

Annotated Bibliography

What is it.

An annotated bibliography is an alphabetical list of appropriate sources (books, journals or websites) on a topic, accompanied by a brief summary, evaluation and sometimes an explanation or reflection on their usefulness or relevance to your topic. Its purpose is to teach you to research carefully, evaluate sources and systematically organise your notes. An annotated bibliography may be one part of a larger assessment item or a stand-alone assessment piece. Check your task guidelines for the number of sources you are required to annotate and the word limit for each entry.

How do I know what to include?

When choosing sources for your annotated bibliography it is important to determine:

  • The topic you are investigating and if there is a specific question to answer
  • The type of sources on which you need to focus
  • Whether they are reputable and of high quality

What do I say?

Important considerations include:

  • Is the work current?
  • Is the work relevant to your topic?
  • Is the author credible/reliable?
  • Is there any author bias?
  • The strength and limitations (this may include an evaluation of research methodology).

Annnotated bibliography example

Literature Reviews

It is easy to get confused by the terminology used for literature reviews. Some tasks may be described as a systematic literature review when actually the requirement is simpler; to review the literature on the topic but do it in a systematic way. There is a distinct difference (see Table 20.4 ). As a commencing undergraduate student, it is unlikely you would be expected to complete a systematic literature review as this is a complex and more advanced research task. It is important to check with your lecturer or tutor if you are unsure of the requirements.

Table 20.4 Comparison of Literature Reviews

Generally, you are required to establish the main ideas that have been written on your chosen topic. You may also be expected to identify gaps in the research. A literature review does not summarise and evaluate each resource you find (this is what you would do in an annotated bibliography). You are expected to analyse and synthesise or organise common ideas from multiple texts into key themes which are relevant to your topic (see Figure 20.10 ). Use a table or a spreadsheet, if you know how, to organise the information you find. Record the full reference details of the sources as this will save you time later when compiling your reference list (see Table 20.5 ).

Table of themes

Overall, this chapter has provided an introduction to the types of assignments you can expect to complete at university, as well as outlined some tips and strategies with examples and templates for completing them. First, the chapter investigated essay assignments, including analytical and argumentative essays. It then examined case study assignments, followed by a discussion of the report format. Reflective writing , popular in nursing, education and human services, was also considered. Finally, the chapter briefly addressed annotated bibliographies and literature reviews. The chapter also has a selection of templates and examples throughout to enhance your understanding and improve the efficacy of your assignment writing skills.

  • Not all assignments at university are the same. Understanding the requirements of different types of assignments will assist in meeting the criteria more effectively.
  • There are many different types of assignments. Most will require an introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion.
  • An essay should have a clear and logical structure and use formal but reader friendly language.
  • Breaking your assignment into manageable chunks makes it easier to approach.
  • Effective body paragraphs contain a topic sentence.
  • A case study structure is similar to an essay, but you must remember to provide examples from the case or scenario to demonstrate your points.
  • The type of report you may be required to write will depend on its purpose and audience. A report requires structured writing and uses headings.
  • Reflective writing is popular in many disciplines and is used to explore feelings, experiences, opinions or events to discover what learning or understanding has occurred. Reflective writing requires more than description. You need to be analytical, consider what has been learnt and evaluate the impact of this on future actions.
  • Annotated bibliographies teach you to research and evaluate sources and systematically organise your notes. They may be part of a larger assignment.
  • Literature reviews require you to look across the literature and analyse and synthesise the information you find into themes.

Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Further Education Unit, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford.

Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., Jasper, M. (2001). Critical reflection in nursing and the helping professions: a user’s guide . Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Ryan, M. & Ryan, M. (2013). Theorising a model for teaching and assessing reflective learning in higher education.  Higher Education Research & Development , 32(2), 244-257. doi: 10.1080/07294360.2012.661704

Academic Success Copyright © 2021 by Cristy Bartlett and Kate Derrington is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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First-Year Seminar for Faculty: Assignment Ideas

  • FYS Student Learning Outcomes
  • Assignment Ideas
  • Campus Resources
  • First-Year Experience Resources
  • Diversity and Inclusion Resources

General Information and Ideas on Assignments

To maintain some consistency across FYS, the task force recommends argument based and/or research based writing assignments totaling around 15 pages, and ideally no more than 20 pages (or the equivalent in alternative projects).

  • Low-stakes assignments with feedback can encourage students to take intellectual risks, explore, and experience setbacks and frustration so that they develop grit and resilience.
  • Keep in mind that the course is not a writing intensive course, and many students will not have completed their composition courses, ENGL 101 or 115.
  • We strongly encourage other forms of writing assignments that would not count toward the 15 pages, e.g., reflective papers, short response papers, journaling, blogging, or creative forms of writing. For instance, after completing an argument based writing assignment students might write a reflective paper about their research and writing process, or students might keep a journal about their personal responses to the readings or class discussions.
  • Assignments Handout (Mariani and Yandell) A flowchart for thinking through assignments
  • One Week of Class (Anderson) How to bring together reading, viewing, discussion and research--in one week of class.
  • Poster Example (Herren)
  • The Writing Center (Todd) Suggestions for how to incorporate visits to the Writing Center into your FYS.
  • Blog Post Assignment (Wyett)
  • Google Maps Assignment (Wyett)
  • Wiki Assignment (Wyett)
  • Final Project (Wyett)
  • Final Project (Herren) Example of a final project bringing library research, multiple contexts, and presentation together.
  • Making Presentations (Murphy)
  • Flame Best Practices
  • Oral Presentations Support for oral presentations in a Library Research Guide.

Library Assignments

Each CORE 100 course will have a dedicated Library Liaison who can provide library research instruction and assist with the creation of assignments that incorporate research and information literacy skills. These skills should be used with at least one specific assignment, rather than a general skills overview. While the assignments are left to the discretion of the instructor, we strongly recommend the following:

  • Enroll your Library Liaison into your Canvas course
  • Discuss assignments with your Library Liaison
  • Assign  XUTutor  modules
  • Bring the class to the library for instruction and to work on a tailored assignment

The following resources can help instructors design assignments:

  • Suggested Library Assignments
  • Library Goals and SLOs for Information Literacy (including rubrics)
  • Digital Humanities Toolkit
  • Atomic Learning  (tech and research skills in short videos that can be embedded directly into Canvas and assigned to students)
  • Articles on designing effective library assignments

An assignment may include:

  • Research using library databases
  • A critique of internet searches
  • Pre-tests and post-tests of information literacy
  • Media projects and/or presentations instead of or in addition to research papers
  • Library Instruction Menu Librarians are available to visit your class to teach students a variety of information literacy skills that are critical for their academic success at Xavier. You can choose which elements you'd like to include in your class. This menu also lists how long a lesson takes.
  • Example Assignment: Research Worksheet (Segerman)
  • Example Assignment: Bibliographic Essay (Anderson)
  • Example Assignment: Research Bibliography (Whipple)
  • Example Assignment: Information Literacy (Austin)
  • Example Assignment: Current journal articles in social psychology (End)
  • Example Assignment: Academic journal profile put in a Lib Guide for the use of other students (Ottum)
  • Scholarly, Non-Scholarly, Popular A handout for distinguishing among types of sources (von Weissenberg)
  • University Library Prize for First-Year Seminar Students
  • University Library Prize Finalists The Library has posted the papers of the finalists for the University Library Prize for First-Year Seminars. These papers may be used as examples for your students.
  • Databases vs. Search Engines A handout (thanks to von Weissenberg)

Teaching Difficult Texts

  • Class Participation: Grading Rubric Giving feedback on student participation (Zucchero)
  • Leading Discussion Guidelines for students who are leading class discussion (Yandell)
  • Leading Discussion: Grading Rubric Giving feedback to student discussion leaders (Yandell)
  • Leading Discussion: Grading Rubric Giving feedback to student discussion leaders (Zucchero)

Preview the document

  • The Minute Memo Encourage class participation with this exercise (Malik)
  • Taking Notes One student's very intense guide on taking notes.
  • Fostering Discussion Studies on discussion show us why it is hard. Jay R. Howard's Discussion in the College Classroom has some answers.
  • Unguided Discussions A three-part model for student-run discussion. Key part: we don't talk.
  • Getting Students to Prepare to Discuss Texts (Austin) Publication Timeline for Pride and Prejudice
  • Distinguishing Scholarly from Popular (Austin) Janeites vs. Austen Scholars
  • Contextualizing Text (Austin) Researching inheritance law to provide context for Jane Austen's novels.
  • Contextualizing Text (Austin) Research into Jane Austen and Regency England.
  • Preparing for Discussion (Austin) Discussion Post assignment for The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
  • Preparing for Discussion (Austin) Posting questions and answers in advance to a discussion board.
  • The Problem Problem and Other Oddities of Academic Discourse Excellent article by Gerald Graff on the difficulties that students have with crafting academic arguments (from McFarlane Harris).
  • Discussing Leading This assignment comes from Naomi Andrews at Santa Clara University. See the next file for her outline of how she runs this assignment.
  • Discussing Leading: How and Why This is the companion outline to Naomi Andrews's discussion leading assignment.

Assessing Core 3a: Assignment Ideas

In 2017-2018, FYS will conduct a program-wide assessment of Core 3a:

Core 3a: Identify and critically assess multiple dimensions of an  ethical issue  in an attempt to reach a conclusion. In FYS, this includes***:

  • Interpreting challenging  readings .
  • Employing effective  library research and information literacy skills .
  • Constructing  arguments supported with evidence .

The assessment is two-pronged: faculty will assess their students' success achieving this SLO based on their own, individual assignments. They will submit this assessment using a rubric available via Qualtrics (link coming soon). Below are some assignments that FYS faculty have developed to help them assess this SLO.

  • Tim Brownlee's Thematic Paper Assignment
  • Tom Strunk's Tyrants of the Modern World Paper Assignment
  • Niamh O'Leary's Historical Villain/Antihero Assignment
  • Jaylene Schaefer's Health Care Proposal Poster Assignment
  • Graley Herren's "How to Live" Essay Assignment
  • Graley Herren's Critical Edition assignment This assignment directly addresses using library research.
  • Graley Herren: Sample Critical Edition Assignment Here is an example of the assignment above.

The Greater Good

  • The Greater Good and Human Health (Smythe) A short piece by Kathleen Smythe on her understanding of the Greater Good and its connections to E/RS, to be read and discussed by her FYS students.
  • Philosophers on the Good Excerpts from Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Kant, and Mill (compiled by Polt)
  • Geger, "What Magis Really Means and Why It Matters"

" Learning and Living Magis "--Marcus Mescher (Theology) wrote this piece about magis. He was inspired to write about Magis in part by his experience teaching FYS. Reading and discussing this can help promote a consideration of the greater good in the context of our Jesuit values. 

  • Nicolás, "Challenges to Jesuit Higher Education Today"
  • Busse, "The Dirtiest Word in Jesuit Higher Education"
  • Kolvenbach, "The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice in American Jesuit Higher Education"
  • Arrupe, "Men for Others"
  • Hollenbach, "The Common Good in a Divided Society" Discussed in our brown bag on Jesuits and the Greater Good on November 2, 2016.

Chadwick, "I Don't Know How to Explain to You that You Should Care About Other People," (Mescher)

Classroom Policies

FYS does not prescribe classroom policies on attendance, participation, etc.  However, during the course of our workshops, faculty offered a number of suggestions.

Attendance policies can be used as a tool to acknowledge students' choices as adults and to help you communicate to them that you are concerned when they miss class.

Laptop and device policy (from O'Leary)

  • "Why I'm Asking You Not to Use Laptops" (Curzan, The Chronicle of Higher Education )
  • "The Case for Banning Laptops in the Classroom" (Rockmore, The New Yorker )
  • "Laptop Multitasking Hinders Classroom Learning for Both Users and Nearby Peers" (Sana, Weston, & Cepeda, Computers & Education )

Exam period: Many (if not all) FYS courses will have a final project in lieu of a final exam.  What to do during exam time?

  • Oral presentations of a final project
  • Class conversation about their first-day-of-class goals for the course
  • How to Email Your Professor Worth an early conversation. Step-by-step and why. (from O'Leary and von Weissenberg).

Vocation and Mentoring

College as a path to vocation

One way to consider vocation is to get students to think carefully about the purpose of pursuing higher education. Separating students from thinking solely about college as credentialing can help them consider all the ways to learn and grow while they are at Xavier. This conversation can be supported by attendance at Spark: the First-Year Seminar's Call to the Greater Good and a follow-up discussion. You might also consider these readings:

"What is the Point of College?" (Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times 8 September 2015)

"The Tune-Up that Every First-Year College Student Needs" (Deborah J. Cohan, Psychology Today , 16 July 2017)

There are also a number of excellent readings that directly address vocation. Several of these are linked or attached below.

Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation   (Parker J. Palmer)

A catalyst for conversation may be the question "Who are you now?"  This question asks students to think about personal interests, skills and development, a broader conversation than a job search.

  • Vocation: A Visualization Here's one way to visualize vocation. (from von Weissenberg)
  • Vocation: Your Life in Weeks, a Visualization (from Yandell)
  • Vocation: Heart Searching and Life Choice By Wilkie Au, S.J. (from Groppe)
  • Vocation: Assignment (Strunk) Reflection on Mary Oliver's poem "The Summer Day" vs. Amazon's white collar workers
  • How to Live Wisely Suggestions for in-class conversations about aligning your time with your values.
  • Wanted in College Students: Tolerance for Ambiguity Short piece by Jeff Selingo on why students need to figure things out on their own (from Renzi)

Recommended: Katharine Brooks, You Majored in What? Mapping your Path from Chaos to Career (New York: Viking, 2009). You might use a chapter from this book as an alternative for students who can't make it to Spark.

  • TED Talk on Vocation What if you have more than one calling?
  • Letter to Self Setting goals for the semester (von Weissenberg)
  • "Meet the Parents Who Won't Let Their Children Study Literature" from the Washington Post (thanks to O'Leary)
  • "Six Myths About Choosing a College Major" An article by Jeffrey J. Selingo in the November 2017 New York Times compares average career earnings of various majors to debunk myths about which majors lead to the most stable careers. more... less... Thanks to Randy Browne and Jodi Wyett for sharing.

Reflective and Meta-cognitive Assignments

Campus issues.

Video on Alter Hall

The Casings of Our Hearts: Talking Honestly and Angrily About Campus Sexual Assault

Who Do We Say that We Are? Changing the Institutional Culture ...

Hook-Up Culture as Rape Culture

  • Mental Health on Campus The many issues facing students--plus, the grit of first-generation college students.
  • Choosing in Everyday Life--Ottum
  • Black Literature and Faith--Pramuk
  • Adapting Austen--Wyett
  • Extraordinary Women--Zascavage
  • Life and Death in the Gospels--Dewey
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Resources for Faculty: Assignment Ideas

  • Course Reserves
  • Accessing Library Materials
  • Free Instructional Resources
  • Faculty & Librarian Collaboration
  • Assignment Ideas
  • What is Information Literacy?
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  • Campus Common Reader This link opens in a new window

About Assignments

Librarians have expertise and resources to assist you in designing and testing information fluency assignments suited to your subject area and your students' needs.

Information Literacy Assignments

Librarians can help you design assignments that meet specific information fluency learning outcomes you have established.

Print versions of the documents are available below.

  • Assignment Suggestions
  • Embedded Information Literacy Assignment Suggestions

In-class Activities and Exercises

1) Following an in-class discussion of research assignments, students:

  • Develop a topic sentence and search statement for a database that addresses the topic in their paper/project.  The work is turned in before leaving class and returned to the students at the next class or by email with librarian comments and suggestions.
  • Select the best database for each group member's topic and describe why it was the first choice.
  • Use a topic selected by the librarian and see how the search strategies vary from group to group.
  • Evaluate a sample search provided by the librarian, looking at the first 10 articles on the result list.  What is in the result list?  What is missing?  Students then give ideas on how to improve the results or cover different aspects of the topic.
  • Include an analysis of how they incorporated and located multiple perspectives on a topic (as part of a paper).

2) Test/quiz question:

  • Explain some of the criteria you used in evaluating sources for the research papers in this course.

3) Student self-assessment :

  • What are the important parts of this research assignment? How well have I done this? How do I know?
  • Describe the 3-5 most important things you learned about: a) the research process, while doing this assignment; and b) yourself as a researcher, while doing this assignment
  • Briefly describe the assignment.  What was it about? Give 1 or 2 examples of your most successful research techniques or finds.  Explain what made them successful or good.
  • Give 1 or 2 examples, if relevant, of less successful research techniques or sources.  What makes you say they are less successful?  The next time you confront a similar situation, what, if anything, could you do differently to increase your learning, research methods and productivity?
  • Looking at the criteria for information competency, which of these would you say you have accomplished through this assignment?  Briefly explain why and how. 

Assignments and Project Ideas

Research Assignments

Classroom Options

Text-based Assignments

Discussions

Writing Assignments

Presentations

Students identify a topic and effectively conduct research in order to write a business plan, a brochure, an industry analysis, grant proposal etc.  

Students submit a topic worksheet and bibliography to the library faculty member. The worksheet documents their vocabulary, topic development and rationale for selecting the resources they did, including why they are scholarly enough to meet the requirements of the assignment. Topic is approved by the course instructor only after approval from the librarian. Worksheet becomes part of the grade for the paper / project / assignment.

English Composition

Require students to create a research journal with guided questions.

Each student takes one work from the required reading. Who else has built on this core work? What has been done with this idea since the date of publication? What was your strategy on identifying these items?

Students writing a paper on World War II are to examine the same concept in a chronology, a specialized encyclopedia and a specialized dictionary and compare / contrast the type of information and access points, and describe how the information was used in development of their paper.

Students find one article on a health or immune system topic that would be useful for themselves as professionals, and one on the same topic that would be useful for a patient. Compare and contrast the two sources and explain why they are a good choice for each group.

Performing Arts

Students will identify a topic and effectively conduct research in order to compile and create an artist’s/dramaturge portfolio or theatrical protocol.  

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  • MOC Course at Harvard
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  • Course Overview
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  • Sample Student Projects

MOC Student Projects on Country & Cluster Competitiveness

The competitive assessments listed on this page have been prepared by teams of graduate students mostly from Harvard Business School and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and other universities as part of the requirements for the Microeconomics of Competitiveness.  Each study focuses on the competitiveness of a specific cluster in a country or region and includes specific action recommendations.

These studies represent a valuable resource for researchers, government officials, and other leaders.  Students have given permission to publish their work here; the copyright for each report is retained by the student authors.  References to the reports should include a full list of the authors.

Student Projects by Country

  • Argentina Soy Cluster  (2016)
  • Armenia IT Services Cluster  (2006)
  • Australia Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Cluster  (2016)
  • South Australia Wine Cluster  (2010)
  • Australia Renewable Energy  (2008)
  • Belgium Chocolate Cluster  (2016)
  • Wallonia Aeronautic Cluster  (2013)
  • Belgium Pharmaceuticals  (2011)
  • The Botswana Textiles Cluster  (2007)
  • Brazilian Petrochemical Cluster  (2017)
  • Sao Paulo Plastics  (2013)
  • Leather Footwear in Brazil  (2012)
  • Brazil Aviation  (2011)
  • Bio-ethanol Cluster in Brazil  (2009)
  • Brazil Biotech Cluster: Minas Gerais  (2009)
  • The Poultry Cluster in Brazil  (2006)
  • Bulgaria's Apparel Cluster  (2007)
  • Alberta Energy Cluster  (2010)
  • Ontario Financial Services  (2008)
  • Transportation and Logistics Cluster in Northeast China  (2017)
  • Wind Turbine Cluster in Inner Mongolia  (2009)
  • The Chinese Apparel Cluster in Guangdong  (2006)
  • Bogota Software Cluster  (2013)
  • The Sugar Cane Cluster in Colombia  (2007)
  • Colombia Shrimp Aquaculture  (2008)
  • Costa Rica Data Centers  (2016)
  • Costa Rica Medical Tourism  (2016)
  • Ship & Boatbuilding in Croatia  (2009)
  • The Danish Wind Cluster  (2017)
  • The Danish Design Cluster  (2007)

Dominican Republic

  • The Dominican Republic Tourism Cluster  (2012)
  • Tourism in the Dominican Republic  (2007)
  • The Textile Cluster in Egypt  (2012)
  • The Offshoring Cluster in Egypt  (2009)
  • France's Competitiveness in AI  (2017)
  • Toulouse Aerospace Cluster  (2013)
  • France Wine Cluster  (2013)
  • Baden-Wuerttemberg Automobile Cluster  (2015)
  • Germany Wind Power Cluster  (2010)
  • Germany’s Photovoltaic Cluster  (2009)
  • Hamburg Aviation Cluster  (2009)
  • Biotechnology and Life Sciences in Munich  (2007)
  • Ghana Cocoa Sector  (2017)
  • Greece Shipping Cluster  (2010)
  • The Fresh Produce Cluster in Guatemala  (2009)
  • The Apparel Cluster in Honduras  (2007)
  • Hong Kong Financial Services  (2008)
  • Iceland Financial Services  (2008)
  • The Antiretroviral Drug Cluster in India  (2017)
  • Andhra Pradesh Pharmaceutical Cluster  (2013)
  • Tamil Nadu (India) Automotive Cluster  (2012)
  • Tirupur (India) Knitwear  (2011)
  • India (Maharashtra) Automotive Cluster  (2010)
  • Maharashtra Biopharmaceutical Cluster  (2009)
  • Bangalore Biotechnology  (2008)
  • Gujarat Diamonds  (2008)
  • Bollywood — Maharashtra and India’s Film Cluster  (2008)
  • Karnataka Offshore IT and Business Process Outsourcing Services Cluster  (2006)
  • Bali Tourism Cluster  (2013)
  • Ireland Financial Services Cluster  (2017)
  • Ireland Internet Cluster  (2013)
  • Ireland ICT Cluster  (2010)
  • The Dublin International Financial Services Cluster  (2006)
  • Israel Aerospace Cluster  (2015)
  • Jerusalem Tourism Cluster  (2013)
  • Israeli Biotechnology Cluster  (2006)
  • Italy Tourism  (2011)
  • The Italian Sports Car Cluster  (2006)
  • Japan Automobile Cluster  (2016)
  • Japan Skin Care Cluster  (2013)
  • The Japanese Gaming Cluster  (2012)
  • Japan Flat Panel Displays  (2011)
  • The Video Games Cluster in Japan  (2009)
  • Jordan Tourism Cluster  (2009)
  • Kazakhstan Oil and Gas Cluster  (2010)
  • Kazakhstan Energy Cluster  (2007)
  • Kenya ITC Services Cluster  (2016)
  • Kenya Tourism Cluster  (2016)
  • Kenya Business Process Offshoring  (2011)
  • Kenya Tea  (2009)
  • Kenya Coffee  (2008)
  • Kenya's Cut-Flower Cluster  (2007)
  • Korea Showbiz Cluster  (2013)
  • Korea Shipbuilding Cluster  (2010)
  • Korea Online Game Cluster  (2006)
  • Textile and Apparel Cluster in Kyrgyzstan  (2012)
  • The Macedonian Wine Cluster  (2006)
  • The Shrimp Cluster in Madagascar  (2006)
  • Malaysia Semiconductor Cluster  (2015)
  • Malaysia Palm Oil  (2011)
  • Malaysia Financial Services  (2008)
  • Queretaro Aerospace Cluster  (2015)
  • Mexico Central Region Automotive Cluster  (2013)
  • Mexico Chocolate Cluster  (2010)
  • Electronics Cluster in Guadalajara Mexico  (2009)
  • Baja California Sur Tourism  (2008)
  • Monaco Tourism  (2011)
  • Mongolia Mining Services Cluster  (2010)
  • Morocco Automotive Cluster  (2015)
  • Morocco Aeronautics Cluster  (2013)
  • Morocco Tourism  (2008)
  • Nepal Tourism Cluster  (2015)
  • Nepal Tourism  (2011)

Netherlands

  • Netherlands Medical Devices Cluster  (2013)
  • Netherlands Dairy  (2011)

New Zealand

  • New Zealand's Marine Cluster  (2009)
  • The Nicaraguan Coffee Cluster  (2006)
  • Lagos ICT Services Cluster  (2017)
  • Nollywood —  The Nigerian Film Industry  (2008)
  • Nigeria Financial Services  (2008)
  • Norway’s Fish and Fish Products Cluster  (2017)
  • Textiles Cluster in Pakistan  (2007)
  • Lima Financial Services Cluster  (2016)
  • Asparagus Cluster in Peru  (2012)
  • Peru Tourism Cluster  (2010)

Philippines

  • The Philippines Electronics Components Manufacturing  (2017)
  • Medical Tourism in the Philippines  (2008)
  • The Philippines Contact Center Cluster  (2007)
  • The Tourism Cluster in Lisbon  (2017)
  • The Automotive Cluster in Portugal  (2007)
  • Romania Apparel Cluster  (2010)
  • The Moscow Financial Services Cluster  (2012)
  • Moscow Transportation  (2006)

Saudi Arabia

  • Saudi Arabia Chemicals Cluster  (2016)
  • Singapore Higher Education  (2016)
  • Slovakia Automobile Cluster  (2016)

South Africa

  • The Johannesburg Software Cluster  (2017)
  • South Africa Iron Ore Cluster  (2013)
  • South Africa Automotive Cluster  (2012)
  • The South African Wine Cluster  (2009)
  • Textiles & Apparel Cluster in South Africa  (2009)
  • The South African Wine Cluster  (2006)
  • Andalucia (Spain) Tourism  (2011)
  • Apparel Cluster in Galicia Spain  (2009)
  • The Spanish Wind Power Cluster  (2007)

Switzerland

  • Banking in Switzerland  (2017)
  • Switzerland Private Banking Cluster  (2010)
  • Switzerland Watchmaking  (2010)
  • Taiwan: Semiconductor Cluster  (2007)
  • Tanzania Horticulture Cluster  (2010)
  • Tanzania’s Tourism Cluster  (2006)
  • Thailand Automotive  (2011)
  • Thailand Automotive Cluster  (2007)
  • Thailand Medical Tourism Cluster  (2006)

Trinidad & Tobago

  • Tourism in Trinidad and Tobago  (2006)
  • Tourism Cluster in Tunisia  (2012)
  • Tunisian Tourism Cluster  (2008)
  • Turkey Textiles and Apparel Cluster  (2012)
  • Turkey Automotive  (2011)
  • Turkey & The Construction Services Cluster  (2007)
  • Uganda Fishing Cluster  (2010)

United Arab Emirates

  • Dubai Logistics Cluster  (2015)
  • Abu Dhabi (UAE) Petrochemical Cluster  (2012)
  • Dubai (UAE) Tourism  (2011)
  • The Transport and Logistics Cluster in UAE (2007)
  • Dubai Financial Services Cluster  (2006)

United Kingdom

  • The Future of the UK Midlands Automotive Cluster  (2017)
  • London FinTech Cluster  (2016)
  • IT Hardware Cluster in Cambridge, UK  (2012)
  • UK Competitiveness and the International Financial Services Cluster in London   (2007)

United States

  • Massachusetts Clean Energy Cluster  (2017)
  • Ohio Automotive Cluster  (2017)
  • Chicago Biotech Cluster  (2016)
  • San Diego Craft Beer Cluster  (2016)
  • Kentucky Bourbon Cluster  (2015)
  • New York City Apparel Cluster  (2015)
  • Pennsylvania Natural Gas Cluster  (2013)
  • New York Motion Picture Cluster  (2013)
  • Massachusetts Robotics Cluster  (2012)
  • Miami, Florida Marine Transportation Cluster  (2012)
  • South Carolina Automotive Sector  (2012)
  • Tennessee Music Cluster  (2012)
  • California Solar Energy  (2011)
  • Silicon Valley (California) Internet-Based Services  (2011)
  • Minnesota Medical Devices  (2011)
  • Massachusetts Higher Education and Knowledge Cluster (2010)
  • The North Carolina Furniture Cluster  (2009)
  • Automotive Cluster in Michigan USA  (2009)
  • Washington D.C. Information Technology and Services Cluster  (2008)
  • The Chicago Processed Food Cluster  (2006)
  • The Los Angeles Motion Picture Industry Cluster  (2006)

Student Projects by Cluster

Aerospace vehicles & defense, agricultural products.

  • Asparagus in Peru  (2012)
  • Textiles and Apparel Cluster in Turkey  (2012)
  • Bulgaria's Apparel Cluster   (2007)
  • South African Automotive Cluster  (2012)
  • South Carolina (USA) Automotive Cluster  (2012)

Biopharmaceuticals

  • Bangalore (India) Biotechnology  (2008)

Business Services

  • Karnataka (India) Offshore IT and Business Process Outsourcing Services Cluster  (2006)

Construction Services

Education & knowledge creation.

  • Massachusetts Higher Education and Knowledge Cluster  (2010)

Entertainment

  • Nollywood The Nigerian Film Industry  (2008)

Financial Services

  • The Moscow (Russia) Financial Services Cluster  (2012)
  • Ontario (Canada) Financial Services  (2008)
  • UK Competitiveness and the International Financial Services Cluster in London  (2007)

Fishing & Fishing Products

Health services, hospitality & tourism.

  • Baja California Sur (Mexico) Tourism  (2008)

Information Technology

  • The Johannesburg Software Cluster  (2017)

Jewelry & Precious Metals

  • Gujarat (India) Diamonds  (2008)

Marine Equipment

Medical devices, metal manufacturing, metal mining, oil & gas products & services.

  • Abu Dhabi (UAE) Petrochemical Cluster  (2012)
  • Norway Oil and Gas Cluster  (2012)

Processed Food

Power generation & transmission, transportation & logistics.

  • The Miami Florida Marine Transportation Cluster  (2012)
  • The Transport and Logistics Cluster in the United Arab Emirates  (2007)

16 Ideas for Student Projects Using Google Docs, Slides, and Forms

July 31, 2016

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As you probably know, Google Drive is far more than a place to store files online. It also includes a suite of versatile creation tools, many of which perform the same functions as the ones we use in other spaces. These include  Google Docs,  a word processing program that behaves similarly to Microsoft Word,  Google Slides,  a presentation program similar to PowerPoint, and  Google Forms,  a survey-creation tool similar to Survey Monkey.  Although Drive also includes other tools, these three are particularly useful for creating rigorous, academically robust projects. If your school uses Google Classroom or at least gives students access to Google Drive, your students are probably already using these tools to write papers or create slideshow presentations, but there are other projects they could be doing that you may not have thought of.

Below I have listed 16 great ideas for projects using Google Docs, Slides, and Forms.

Annotated Bibliography By the time a student reaches the later years of high school, and certainly by the time she’s gotten to college, it’s likely that she’ll be required to write an annotated bibliography, a list of resources that not only includes the bibliographical information of each source, but also a short paragraph summarizing the resource and reflecting on its usefulness for a given project. Usually an annotated bibliography is required as a part of a larger research paper, but it could stand alone as an assignment that tasks students with seeking out and evaluating sources just for the practice of doing so. And the research tools in Google Docs allow students to locate, read, and cite their sources all in one place. To learn more, see this guide from Cornell University Library on How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography .

Book Review Instead of a book report, have students write a book review instead. This is certainly not a new idea, but publishing the work electronically allows students to enhance the final product with the book’s cover image, a link to the book’s page on Amazon, and even links to other titles the author has written or articles on related topics. For models and inspiration, elementary and middle school students can read student-written reviews on sites like Spaghetti Book Club . Older or advanced students might work toward more sophisticated, nuanced review styles like book reviews written on Oprah.com .

Collaborative Story Because Google Docs is cloud-based, multiple people can work on a Doc at the same time. So students can work together on a story, a script for a play, or any other kind of group writing project. They can use the comments feature to give each other feedback and make decisions together. And because students can work from any location with an Internet connection, collaboration isn’t restricted to school hours; each group member can work on the project from any location whenever they have time.

Media-Rich Research Paper Any kind of research paper can be given a big boost when done in a Google Doc, because students can insert images, drawings, and links to other relevant resources, like articles and videos. Using the research tools built into Docs, students can research their topics and include in-text citations with footnotes.

Super Simple Blog If you don’t want to mess with actual blogging platforms, but want students to be able to experience writing blog posts that contain images and hyperlinks to other websites, this could be accomplished easily in a single running Google Doc.

Table Being able to organize information visually is an important skill, and students who understand how to build a table in Google Docs will have a skill for presenting all kinds of information in the future. They can be used as a compare and contrast exercise, to display data from an experiment, or even put together a schedule. Yes, you could do these things yourself, print them, and have students fill them out, but why not have students practice creating the tables themselves? 

Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Story Because slides can contain hyperlinks to other slides, students could build a whole story where the reader chooses different options at key points in the story, leading them down completely different paths. The reader would consume the content as a slideshow, clicking on the links themselves as they go through. This could be a pretty massive undertaking, but we all know students who would be totally up for the challenge.

E-book These could take a variety of forms: mini-textbooks, children’s books, cookbooks or how-to manuals, personal art or writing portfolios, even yearbook-style memory books. To learn more about the possibilities, see my post from earlier this year on  Student E-Books .

Magazine Along the same lines as an e-book, students could use a similar template to create a PDF magazine or newsletter that is shared online on a regular schedule. The possibilities here are endless, useful for student clubs or sports teams, classroom or grade-level newsletters, or magazines put out by groups of students who share a common interest, like gaming systems, soccer, or books.

Museum Kiosk Imagine if we could enhance science fair projects with a looping video display that provides the audience with vivid visuals and text about our topic. Or imagine an art show, where a self-running informational slideshow could be placed beside an art display to share the story behind the piece and photos of the work in progress? This is possible and EASY in Google Slides: Simply create a slideshow, then use the “Publish to the Web” feature to create a slideshow that auto-advances and has no need for a presenter. Pop that up on an iPad or laptop and you’re all set. This mock-up of a slideshow on Coral Reefs shows you what it could look like (click the image to open in a new window).

Short Film Students can upload their own images and add text boxes to a slideshow to create an animated story, then record the slideshow with a Google extension called Screencastify . They can either record their own voice as narration, add background music, or both. There are so many different kinds of films students could produce: illustrated stories or poems, final reflections for a 20 Time or Genius Hour project, video textbooks on content-related topics, or news-like feature stories of school or community events. In this quick sample, I added music from YouTube’s library of royalty-free music that anyone can use to enhance their recordings:

Video Tutorial Using the same screencasting software mentioned above, students could also create their own video tutorials by creating a Slides presentation on their topic (such as “How to Open a Combination Lock”), then recording the slideshow with narration. This would make a nice final product for a unit on informational writing or a way for students to demonstrate their learning at the end of a unit in science (“How to Take Care of Lab Equipment”), social studies (“How to Measure Distance on a Map”), or math (“How to Multiply Fractions”). Student-made tutorials could even be created to teach classroom procedures. And any tutorials students make could be stored for later, so other students can also benefit from them.  Learn more about how Screencastify works right inside Chrome .

Peer Survey Whenever students need to gather data to support an argumentative essay or speech, let them gather data quickly and easily by creating a survey with Google Forms. Links to the survey can be sent out via email, QR codes , or through a post in a learning management system like Edmodo or Google Classroom. When results come in, students can use them to support whatever claim they are trying to make in their argument, or make adjustments based on what they discover in their research.

Feedback Form Have students provide feedback to each other’s presentations, speeches, even videos using Google Forms. Here’s how it would work: Each student creates her own form, asking for the kind of feedback she wants on the project. As other students view or the project, they can be sent to a form to offer praise or constructive criticism, which the creator would then be able to view privately and use to improve the project. Students could even use their feedback to write a reflection on their process after the project is done.

Quiz One great way to learn material is to create a test or quiz over the content. Have students use Google Forms to create their own multiple-choice, True/False, fill-in-the-blank, or open-ended quizzes on the content they are learning.

Visual Representation of Data Sets Whenever people enter responses to a Form, Google allows the form creator to view responses in charts and graphs. Have students gain a better understanding of how data can be represented visually by accepting responses (or entering their own fake ones) into a Form, then looking at how the numbers are represented in graphs. This could work well as a series of math lessons.

Way Beyond Worksheets

Just this morning on Twitter, someone posted a comment along these lines: “A worksheet on a Google Doc is STILL a worksheet. Students should be using tech to create!” I’ve heard this sentiment over and over, and it’s exactly why I’ve put this list together. Google offers some incredibly powerful tools if we know how to use them. I hope this list has given you a few new ideas to put into your students’ hands. ♦

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Categories: Instruction , Technology

Tags: assessment , content area literacy , English language arts , Grades 3-5 , Grades 6-8 , Grades 9-12 , project-based learning , teaching with tech , tech tools

51 Comments

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This is wonderful.

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This is my first year teaching in an alternative high school. All students have IEP’s as well as social and emotional disabilities. I really want to focus on literacy as many are well below grade-level, ability wise. Writing of course is a big part of literacy. I’m looking for ideas that they can collaborate on, via Google Docs, Slides, etc. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

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Check out Boomwriter: A Fun Twist on Collaborative Writing . Lots of good resources there that you might like. Also take a look at Student-Made E-Books: A Beautiful Way to Demonstrate Learning .

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I am an RSP teacher in Anaheim. For summer school I am going to have them build a “Bucket List” in Google slides.

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Thanks for compiling these resources. I use many already but haven’t tried Screencastify yet. My district uses Google Classroom, but the forms app is blocked on student accounts- I think because it’s a perfect medium for under-the-radar cyberbullying (“How much do you hate Linda?…A little, a lot, a ton…”). Before teachers plan a lesson using forms, they should make sure the feature is enabled for students in their district. In my district, students can access forms and create them but they cannot send them to other students.

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Thanks, Robyn. Good to know!

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I love these ideas! You are so creative and now I have GREAT ideas for my SS project! Thanks! XD

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this is all true

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Our district is allowing extra credit this year and I have always been totally opposed to offering extra credit. These ideas are worth extra credit, and my focus this year is on what the students can teach me and the rest of their peers.

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This gave me some good ideas for culminating activities. Thanks!

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Thank you so much for sharing these ideas about creating projects by using the Google Drive! The middle school I teach at implemented a 1:1 program last year with Chromebooks, so the students have easy access to all of the Google apps. I had always grown up using Word docs and I was a little hesitant to start using Google docs at first. After just a few weeks, I absolutely fell in love with it! It is amazing how you can access all of your docs, forms, slides that you create from any device you’re using and the fact that everything automatically saves is just the cherry on top. I am grateful for this feature, especially working in a middle school where it is easy for students to forget to save something before exiting out. Although I teach Math, I found a lot of your project ideas to be utilized cross-curriculum and I truly appreciate it. I got my feet wet last year and had my students create google slides presentations in groups. At the beginning of this year, I started with a google form I created where students answered review questions from 6th grade Math. I love that when you get the results from all of the forms, you can easily see which areas students are struggling in and which areas they are proficient in because it is presented the results in graphs and charts. I just learned recently that you can create quizzes now, which is awesome because all of the testing in my district is done on the computers, so this will help prepare my students. I want to borrow your idea of having students create peer surveys that they can post on Google classroom in order to gather information and analyze results. This is a great skill for students to have. Thanks again, I truly enjoy reading your blogs!

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Be positive at all time

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Great collection of resources! Easy to read and very helpful for teachers who often do not get the tutorials they need to instruct with GAFE. I particular like the Museum Kiosk idea. It will work great will my history classes.

– Kevin

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Hi everyone! I also would like to suggest my own (free) templates site. Im designing these presentations using “free” resources from other sites such as FreePik, FlatIcon,… and I think the result is pretty good. I invite you to have a look. The site is https://slidesppt.com

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In the section of student blog posts, can you clarify how all the students in one class could be writing and posting a running blog which everyone in the class can read and respond to ?

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This is Holly Burcham, a Customer Experience Manager. The idea Jenn laid out here is to simply create a shared Google Doc where each student would basically be responsible for his/her own page (literally page 1, page 2, etc.). Within a shared Doc, everyone with permission can be in and typing at the same time. Once “posts” are written, students can go in and add comments to others’ work. The comments would show up in the margins and would be arranged by corresponding content, not time like a typical blog post.

But, as you can imagine, this could quickly become very convoluted and a bit messy. The thought behind using Docs as a student blog is more for writing practice, getting the feel for writing a blog post without doing the real thing…

So, if you’re interested in your students truly creating a blog, we highly recommend checking out Edublogs and Kidblog . Hope this helps!

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How are these good for projects? you said that these are for kid presentations, all I see are essay templates and idea’s for teachers to map out their classroom jobs(other then the coral)

Hi, Isaac! I’m not sure what could be used to map out classroom jobs specifically from this post, and I think the ideas here go way beyond essay outlines–please get back to me to clarify exactly what you’re referring to, because we believe all the ideas here are good for student use. Thanks!

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You might update this post. Google Forms now supports branching which would be much easier to create a “choose your own” adventure type experience.

Thanks for the suggestion. I can picture how that would work, yes, but I guess the aesthetic experience might be lacking in a Google Form. With Slides you have complete creative freedom to design the slides like a real book. I guess it would be a matter of personal preference?

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Where do I go to find accessibility features of Google docs, slides, and forms? I am a teacher of the blind and visually impaired. This technology is wonderful but without the ability to navigate the site independently, my students are at a lost. Can you direct me?

Hi! A couple of things that may be of help: Go to “Tools” in the menu bar and select Voice Typing (use Google Chrome). You can also click on Add-Ons in the menu bar and add the Speech Recognition Soundwriter extension for free. Here’s a link to find more Google Accessibility features — you just have to spend a bit of time looking through the list to see what may be relevant to your needs. I hope this helps!

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You can also combine Google forms and docs to simplify book reports for elementary students: https://electriceducator.blogspot.com/2016/03/elementary-book-report-machine.html?m=1

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Is there an available rubric or assessment piece for the museum kiosk activity?

Hi Colleen! No, sorry, I don’t have anything on that!

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Hi I am a teacher at a elementary school and I was wondering if you had any ideas for what I could do for an autobiography book report.

Hi Madison,

There really are so many things you can have the kids do — I would first think about what you’re expecting the kids to be able to do in the end. What will actually be assessed and what will they be accountable for? (I suggest checking out Understanding Backward Design if you haven’t already.) From there, they can choose how to present what they learned, meeting the assessment criteria. I think using some of the ideas in the Slides section of the post could work really well, especially Student Made E-Books , or making a short film.

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Madison, I love the idea of using Google Slides for autobiography book report. I’m thinking about Jennifer’s Slides suggestions and just tailoring it to your book report criteria/rubric. Thoughts?

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thank you very much!!

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Thank you! I can’t wait to explore some of these options more. This list is very much appreciated! 🙂

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I really appreciate your kindness and your efforts and I’m going to try everything you have mentioned in this wonderful article

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Thanks. Higher Ed ESOL Prof -no lesson prep for me… but I DO have my reading list for the next several (10-12) hours! All suggestions added to the original post are appreciated.

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I am a huge fan of Google resources, but you have showed me some new ways I can use these. Thank you for sharing!

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Thanks for some great ideas! I have another suggestion that I have used before- my students really liked it- a collaborative Google Slides presentation. I did this for types of organic molecules as an intro to organic chemistry. Each pair of students in the class was assigned a specific molecule to research. They had to create 1 slide with some specific information and add to a collaborative google slides presentation that I shared on Google Classroom. When the slideshow was complete, they could all access it, and they used it to take notes.

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Great suggestion Susan! Thanks so much for sharing this idea.

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I am wondering if I can find similar google instructions to send to my students now that we are teaching remotely and 90% of them probably don’t know how to use Google. This would be a fantastic use of their time. Thank you

Take a look at Jenn’s Google Drive Basics video course ! I think it’s got what you’re looking for – it’s for teachers and students!

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I am thinking about doing a Rap Challenge in which they (as teams based on which class period they are in) create lyrics using WWII vocabulary we have used.

I create raps for my students and my though was that I would take parts of ALL of their submissions and create a WWII rap to add to the collection they have heard already.

Which of the Google Drive features would be my best bet for collaboration like that while the students are all working from home?

Hi Jim! I think this could be done in Google Docs pretty easily, as they are just writing a script, correct? If you want to share video or audio, you can just put these files into a shared folder in Drive and give all students access to those files. I hope this helps!

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Amazing ideas

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An innovative way to eliminate paper.

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Hi! I love this site. I am beginning to use technology in my higehr education classroom. Could you help me to suggest some kind of game to use in Communication Skilss? Thanks a lot

Hi! Check out our Gamification Pinterest board and see what might be relevant. Hope this helps!

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I’m a college student (who is now a nanny which brought me to this page) and for the screen recording, I highly reccomend Loom over Screencastify. In my experience using both during the remote learning period, the video quality is much higher on Loom, the user interface is easier, and you can’t edit Screencastify videos in an external editor like iMovie. (I had to do a group presentation and since partner lived in Kuwait we used this vs Zoom, etc. to record the presentation since we weren’t recording at the same time. It was very difficult to figure out how to merge our parts of the presentation into a single file.)

Also with screencastify the time limit per video on the free version (5 min I think) was frustrating as my work was longer. May not be a problem for students but for educators using the tool who don’t have the premium, this could be highly inconvenient. With Loom there isn’t a time limit.

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What an adventure for me, who’s relatively new to this google drive thing. Mind blowing resources. It’s amazing. I’m excited as to what I can do with and in google drive. I’m definitely taking it one day at a time, will surely enjoy this ‘CRUISE’. Thank you Jennifer.

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What does it mean to type I am from Germany?

Hi Flannery! It can mean a few different things depending on the context–either typing on a keyboard or the “kind” of something (“What type of ice cream do you like?”). We’d love to give a specific answer, so please let us know which part of the post or which comment you saw that you’d like more clarification on. Thanks!

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Thanks for sharing these ideas. July 2021

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I love all the awesome ways to incorporate technology in the classroom. This post had so many options to choose from and some that I personally loved when I was in school. There are so many different ways to make learning fun with technology!

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So glad you enjoyed the post!

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17 Exciting Final Year Projects Ideas & Topics 2024 [Latest]

17 Exciting Final Year Projects Ideas &#038; Topics 2024 [Latest]

In this article, you will learn the 17 Exciting Final Year Projects Ideas & Topics 2024 . Take a glimpse below.

Python Final Year Projects

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Machine Learning Final Year Projects

  • Stock price prediction system
  • Credit scoring system
  • Online examination and evaluation system
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  • Handwritten digit classification system
  • Personality prediction system

Read the full article to know more about the project Ideas & Topics in detail.

The final year of a graduation course is one of the most crucial stages of your education and professional grooming. While the initial three years of science stream graduation courses like Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), Computer Engineering (CE) /Computer Science (CS), Information technology (IT), and Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) focus on theoretical aspects, in the final year, students get to put their theoretical knowledge to test. This is when students work on practical assignments and projects.

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Students can choose their final year projects in specialized study areas to acquire comprehensive knowledge and build niche skills in that domain. Furthermore, while working on their final year projects, students get a more in-depth insight into real-world functional processes. The objectives of final year projects include:

  • To create a platform for students to demonstrate their practical competence.
  • To encourage students to apply their subject knowledge gained in the degree course.
  • To help students sharpen their intellectual qualities like creative thinking, analytical abilities, teamwork, and communication skills.

Final year projects are designed to help students to expand their creative abilities by building a new system from scratch. Also, these projects push students to develop their communication skills, both verbal and written. While verbal skills develop throughout the project development process when students engage in one-on-one interactions and discussion sessions with their supervisors, written skills develop through detailed report writing. These reports are pivotal to the final evaluation of each student. 

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The bottom line – is final year projects prepare students for the professional world. After all, it is easier to catch potential employers’ eyes when your resume highlights your hands-on experiences and projects.  

But what exactly can you do with Python programming? And how does it help accomplish so many projects? Let’s find out before diving into learning college project ideas for college students and final-year engineering projects.

How to Choose The Project Domain in the Final Year?

Selecting the right project domain for the final year is one of the important decision that can significantly impact the academic and professional future. So, keeping this in mind let’s learn about key points to consider while selecting a project domain:

1. Passion and Interest

Identify Your Interests: Consider what subjects, topics, or technologies excite you. Passion drives motivation and creativity in your project.

Explore Previous Courses: Reflect on the courses you enjoyed the most during your academic journey. Think about the topics that captured your attention.

2. Relevance to Future Goals

Career Alignment: Choose a domain that aligns with your future career goals. It should be relevant to the industry or field you plan to work in after graduation.

Skill Enhancement : Opt for a domain that allows you to enhance skills valued in your desired profession, whether programming, research, design, or management.

3. Feasibility and Resources

Available Resources : Consider the availability of books, journals, online courses, and experts in the chosen domain.

Access to Tools and Technologies : Ensure you have access to the tools and technologies required for your project. Consider the availability of software, hardware, and datasets.

4. Complexity and Scope

Balancing Complexity : Evaluate the complexity of the project for final year . It should be challenging enough to showcase your skills but not so complex that it becomes unmanageable.

Define Scope : Clearly define the scope of your project. Be specific about what you want to achieve and what you can realistically accomplish within the given time frame.

5. Social Impact and Innovation

Social Relevance : Explore domains that have a positive impact on society. Projects addressing real-world problems can be highly rewarding and impactful.

Innovation : Consider projects that involve innovative solutions or cutting-edge technologies. It can make your project stand out and attract attention.

6. Consultation and Guidance

Seek Guidance : Consult with professors, mentors, or industry experts. They can provide valuable insights and suggestions based on your interests and skills.

Peer Discussions : Discuss potential domains with your peers. Their perspectives might help you see the project from different angles.

7. Evaluate Previous Projects

Review Past Projects: Look into previous projects undertaken by students in your department. It can inspire ideas or help you identify areas not explored extensively.

8. Personal Growth and Learning

Learning Opportunities : Choose a domain that offers learning and skill development opportunities. Your project should challenge you to learn new concepts and techniques.

Personal Growth : Consider how the project will contribute to your personal and academic growth. Will it push your boundaries and help you develop as a professional?

Python Programming to Create Interesting Things

Python, a high-level interpreted language, can support various computation processes through shorter codes. Its easy-to-use syntax and versatile layout make it very popular among developers. Python programming’s implementation has helped create many interesting final-year engineering projects for college students and diploma final-year project topics. Let’s look at some of them.

  • Python for Machine Learning and AI

Python is a popular language among developers and data scientists used for creating Machine Learning and AI workflows. Instead of using programming languages with lengthy codes, data scientists prefer Python, which adds precision to ML projects. Thanks to its reliable and flexible nature, data science professionals use Python to develop ML and AI algorithms for deep learning college project ideas. 

  • Python for Web Development

Being an open-source language, Python is a go-to for developers to use throughout the web development process. Python allows extensive access to its vast framework and modules, equipped with relevant code bundles for different use cases. Python also extends various web development frameworks, including Django, Giotto, and Flask. Top companies like Facebook, Spotify, and Mozilla use Python. 

  • Python for Data Visualization

Modern organizations use data visualization to facilitate accurate data representation. Python libraries like Matplotlib, Seaborn, Plotly, etc., are excellent tools for data visualization. The libraries contain different features and capabilities for visualizing descriptive data into a more comprehensible format for both tech and non-tech professionals.

  • Python for Programming Applications

Developers can use Python programming to create various software applications, both for mobile and desktop. From video, audio, or picture applications to blockchain apps, Python assists in creating GUIs and APIs for apps and reinforces them with a smooth functioning platform, strengthening practice for diploma final year project topics. 

  • Python for Finance

Python can assist data scientists in creating algorithms to find patterns and make predictions by leveraging the collected data. Quantitative and qualitative analysis in the finance sector can help organizations to make insightful decisions. Python libraries like Theano, PyTorch, TensorFlow, Pandas, etc., help data scientists in manifold ways.

If you are a final-year student, this article is just what you need! Today, we’ll talk about a few final-year project ideas that will make the choosing process much easier. So, let’s get right into it!

Read: Top 10 Highest Paying Jobs in India

Final Year Project Ideas Worth Trying

We’ve compiled a list of final year project ideas divided under Python projects, Data Science projects, and Machine Learning projects . 

1. Alarm clock

This beginner-level Python project is quite practical since almost everyone uses an alarm clock on a daily basis. The project is a CLI(Command Line Interface) application with a unique twist. Apart from the standard alarm clocks features like a clock, alarm, stopwatch, and timer, this alarm clock has YouTube integration. You can include YouTube links in a text file and code the application to read the file. So, when you set a time for an alarm, the app will choose a random YouTube link stored in the text file and start playing the video.

Read:   Career in data science and its future growth

2. Address book

The address book project is a pretty simple GUI application wherein users can add multiple contact details, displaying them in a list format. Users can add and store contact details like name, contact number, and address. To add new contact information, a user needs to type the desired information in the text fields and click on the add button to add the record. They can also delete any contact record that they no longer need. The three core components for this Python final year project are AddressBook.py, db.py, and gui.py.

Read: Career options in science after graduation

3. Currency converter

Another GUI application in the list, this project involves building a currency converter that can convert one currency’s value into another currency unit. For instance, you can convert the Indian rupee into a dollar or pound and vice versa. The challenge that lies here is that the value of currencies fluctuates daily. However, you can solve this issue by importing an excel spreadsheet containing the updated currency values. To build this project, you must have a basic knowledge of python programming and the Pygame library.

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4. magic 8 ball.

This is a super fun project for beginners. A Magic 8 ball is a spherical toy designed for fortune-telling and advice-seeking. Just like a toy Magic 8 ball, this application will also provide answers to users’ questions. However, here, you have to allow the users to enter their question, display an “in-progress” message, and finally reveal the answer. For example, if a user asks, “what is my favorite color?” the answer could be the name of any random color or a simple “yes” or “no.” So, you will have to program at least 10 to 20 responses. Also, the app should have the option to let the users continue playing or quit the game. 

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5. Dice rolling simulator

The dice rolling simulator is a Python application that can imitate the functions of a physical rolling dice. It works something like this – when a user rolls the dice in the game, it will generate a random number between 1 to 6 and display the final answer. The user can roll the dice any number of times they want since the program has the option of rolling the dice repeatedly. Essentially, the dice-rolling simulator should be able to pick and display a random number each time a user rolls the dice. 

Checkout:  Python Project Ideas

1. Gender and age detection system

The gender and age detection application is a popular Data Science final-year project that helps strengthen your programming skills. For developing the gender and age detection project, you will need Python, Support Vector Machine, and Convolutional Neural Network . Fortunately, you’ll get plenty of datasets for training the model. As the name suggests, the application can predict an individual’s gender and age through image recognition. Thus, once you feed a person’s image into the model, it will display their gender and age. 

2. Emotion recognition software

In this project, you will develop an emotion recognition system with integrated audio input. It is a simple yet practical final-year project for students to build their real-world skills. The components required for this project include Python, Support Vector Machine, RNN algorithm, and Convolutional Neural Network. You can use the Vox celebrity dataset having different voice samples for training the model, while the Librosa package can be used to extract and classify audio samples. It is an excellent application for people with a hearing impairment.

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3. Customer Segmentation system

Customer segmentation is a popular method used by brands to get a deeper insight into their target audience via unsupervised learning. Customer segmentation helps segment a brand’s target audience into different buyer personas according to factors like buying behavior, gender, age, location, income, interests, and preferences. The project uses the partition method to split the customers according to these attributes. Other requirements for the customer segmentation project are R, K-mean clustering, Density-based clustering, and Model-based clustering. 

4. Android chatbot

This is a general chatbot for the Android platform. It is designed to understand users’ queries and the intent behind them and provide relevant answers. So, when a user enters their question in the system, the bot will analyze the keywords and generate an appropriate response for the specific query. The chatbot can communicate with humans on a wide range of topics, including sports, health, education, entertainment, etc. Since chatbots are hugely popular now, this project is an excellent choice for final-year students. 

5. Movie recommendation system

With online content platforms becoming more and more popular every day, thanks to personalized content suggestions, recommendation engines have become the latest trend in the digital domain. You can create a movie recommendation system using R and Collaborative Filtering. This project’s main goal is to study a user’s browsing and viewing history and recommend movies that match their interests. This final-year project is an ideal choice for aspirants who wish to understand the mechanisms of recommendation engines. 

Read:  How to make a chatbot in Python?

6. Fraud app detection software

Both Apple Store and PlayStore are replete with fraudulent apps. Malicious apps can not only damage the phone’s normal functioning but also access and misuse sensitive data stored on the phone. Here, you’ll develop software that can process the information, comments, and user review of apps in the Apple Store/PlayStore to determine whether or not it is a genuine apps. The software can process multiple applications simultaneously. 

Read:  Data Science Project Ideas

1. Stock price prediction system

In this ML project , you will build a stock price predictor that can predict the future prices of stock. The best thing about working with stock market data is that it generally has short feedback cycles, making it easy for data analysts to use new market data to validate stock price predictions. However, stock market data tends to be very granular, varied, and volatile.

You can model this stock price predictor to perform simple calculations like predicting an organization’s six-month price movement based on fundamental indicators from its quarterly report. You can also model it to find and group similar stocks based on their price movements and identify periods when there are significant fluctuations in their prices.

2. Credit scoring system

The credit scoring system determines a user’s credit scoring using Big Data. This ML project combines social network analytics with mobile phone data to evaluate the credibility of users. Since it feeds on colossal amounts of financial data from across different countries and studies a comprehensive range of financial metrics (factors), the ML model features an enhanced decision-making process for determining the credit score. 

3. Online examination and evaluation system

In this ML project, you will build an application that will allow students to give their admission test online. According to the marks obtained in the test, the system will generate a list of colleges fit for a student. This application’s main aim is to offer a quick and hassle-free process of appearing for online exams and accessing the results almost immediately. The admission test conducted via this platform will have multiple-choice options, and built-in AI verifies the answers. 

4. Fitness activity recognition for smartphone

This ML project uses smartphone data, particularly fitness activity data captured through the phone’s inertial sensors. This fitness activity recognition project’s primary goal is to design a classification model that can identify human fitness activities like running, cycling, speedwalking, etc. If you choose this as one of your final year projects, it will help you understand how to build ML models for solving multi-classification problems.

Also read, Career options in medical

5. Handwritten digit classification system

This project is an excellent way to understand Deep Learning and how neural networks function. It is essentially based on image recognition. One of the best datasets for this project is the MNIST dataset because it is both varied and beginner-friendly. In this project, you will learn how to teach a machine (ML model) to understand and classify handwritten digits’ images as ten digits (0–9). The goal is to train the model to recognize numbers from disparate sources like bank cheques, images, emails, and anything else containing a numeric entry.

6. Personality prediction system

This ML project focuses on building an automated personality classification system using advanced ML algorithms and data mining techniques to extract user behavior and characteristics data and find meaningful patterns. It can classify and predict users’ personalities based on past classifications as well. The system studies the observed patterns stored in its vast database and predicts a new user’s personality based on similar patterns. This is a handy tool for brands that offer personalized products to customers based on their personalities.

Read: Machine Learning Project Ideas

More Projects for Final Year Students

If you want more interesting final year project ideas, you can check the following:

Web Scraping with Beautiful Soup

In this computer science final year project, you will basically learn about web crawling. It is the process that scans a group of web pages to find raw data. Individuals with computer engineering training can use Beautiful Soup for this project.

It will help acquire data and store that in different formats for easy decision making and analysis. The Beautiful Soup Python Package can be useful for extracting data from XML and HTML documents. In these Python projects for final year students, you can use the package alongside the best parser to provide idiomatic methods of navigating, searching, and modification.

Twitter Sentiment Analysis

It is the use of machine learning and natural language processing to ascertain the sentiments of users based on their emotions. It not only gives polarity but also a feeling or emotion of the people. We can use this analysis from tweets to understand the mood of the public towards a brand or general elections of a country, etc. It is one of the unique project ideas for college students to find tweets using specific hashtags and extract them to compute and analyze the data using R and Python programming languages.

SMS Spam Filtering

Another interesting project idea is SMS spam filtering. Since SMS is immensely popular for communication, this folder can get filled with spam items. With deep learning algorithms and TensorFlow, you will be able to create a seamless model for spam detection. Deep neural networks are adept at identifying spam short text messages with a high accuracy rate of almost 99%. 

Hangman Game

One of the major project ideas for final year students can be creating something exciting. Hangman is a fun word game. One person thinks of a word, and their friend tries to guess it, letter by letter. They only have a certain number of guesses. The goal? Find the hidden word. 

You can make a computer version of Hangman using a class. The player tries to guess a hidden word’s letters. If they make the wrong guess too many times, they lose. They guess a letter by clicking a button with that letter on it. To make the buttons work, you need special classes called listeners. Listeners react when the player clicks a button. 

A builder crafts the primary board, calling a process every time a new game kicks off. The essential program enables this class’s execution as an application. The core routine shapes a window, selecting it to comprise a Hangman panel and placing the window in the screen’s middle.

Placement Cell

One of the most interesting mini project ideas for college students can also be creating a placement cell for colleges. This task involves using several programming languages for the front end. Meanwhile, the back end of the project has to be done using MySQL.

The cell will come with the user and admin modules. All unknown users will have to register and upload the required details. The application in this segment will include details regarding the ongoing and upcoming placements in a college. On the other hand, it will also include details of students taking part in the placement drive.

Wireless Sound Control

This is one of the most exciting Python-based final year project ideas for IT students. You can use libraries like OpenCV and Pycaw to build this model. The aim of this project is to give users a hands-free way to control system volume.

You can make a MediaPipe model to change the volume with hand movements. Move your hand in front of the camera and watch the system sound rise or drop.

Smart Farming with IoT Technologies

Smart farming devices can identify the temperature, humidity, and moisture in the soil. They are great for helping farmers understand soil conditions. Building this special device will require you to use sensors, jumper wires, and an Arduino Nano IDE. By staying directly connected to the soil, this device will show all measurements on the monitor.  

Course Management System

It is one of the final year project topics that will focus on Java. In this system, you will be able to update course content and experiment with different features, like a search bar. Tools for asynchronous bulletin board messaging or real-time chat can be used to implement this. The Course Management System houses these tools. There are three modules – administrator, student, and instructor, which are essential for the system to work flawlessly. 

Employee Tracking System

It is one of the project ideas for college students to track the performance of employees and check their attendance. This system will be extremely useful for organizations in maintaining employee data. The Java GUI and SQLite technology will be particularly useful for building this database. 

E-Healthcare System

One of the major project topics can be building a digital healthcare system that maintains the data of all patients. It can support quick retrieval of data for helping patients and doctors. This seamless system can be built using the CRISP-DM to store all records accurately. 

E-Commerce Website Development

One of the most demanding final year project ideas for engineering students is building a website. It will require you to use full-stack development knowledge, including MEAN and MERN. Having extensive knowledge of JavaScript will help you develop this website with features like payment methods and filtering options. You will also need to be proficient with UI and back-end knowledge to succeed in this project.

Smart Security Application

Every day, people and businesses confront this issue of security. This is one of the final year project topics that lets you handle your security systems from any place at any time. In your cozy corner, you get the reins of your security. This can have extra features such as location detection, GPS, and emergency alerts. APIs can also help protect private data, preventing uninvited access.

Portfolio Application

It is one of the data science projects for final year that students can be made to work on. This tool will create a graphic portfolio showcasing your abilities, workload, endeavors, and more. Input your info. That’s all it needs. Craft an unshakeable, perfectly suitable site using NodeJS and Express. Handle databases, run AJAX inquiries with JQuery, and incorporate REST API. See your ideas spring to life within a genuinely operational project. 

IoT-Based Vehicle Accident Detector

This modern detection system relies on IoT to spot anything blocking the vehicle’s path using sensors. If something’s there, it alerts the driver to shift course or halt, preventing potential accidents. An accelerometer and GPS sensor get the job done. Different machine learning systems are in play here. Through IoT, a reaction is born when signals from the accelerometer and GPS sensor reach the cloud.

Biometric Attendance System

It takes the user’s fingerprint impression and cross-references it with the stored data. It is currently frequently used in many organizations to monitor employee attendance. It features a fingerprint sensor and a Deep Learning algorithm that compares the print as input and, if it cannot find the print, outputs the error. 

Image Encryption System

Since the system uses an encryption algorithm to encode images, unauthorized users are unable to access it. Encryption techniques such as AES must be used when transmitting digital photos in order to conceal the actual image and lower the risk. It then divides the photos into random groups and employs secret keys to establish the order of the encrypted image blocks. 

Face Detector

This system compares the structure of your face with the stored data to identify your face. It analyzes the input using machine learning methods and verifies whether or not the system has the same information in the current database. It then proceeds to take a picture and sends it over an HTTP form-data request to the back end. After that, the API saves the data and compares it with the current database. This can be applied in establishments and locations that require a high level of security. 

Voice Recognition

This method recognizes a voice by analyzing the pattern and tone that a person uses when speaking. For machine translation, it makes use of neural machine translation. Features like speech recognition and classification are possible; voice is used as the input, and “Matched Voice” is the output. Working professionals can enter and quit organizations, whether they are public or private, using this method. 

Wrapping up

All these projects will be excellent additions to your portfolio as they will showcase your real-world skills and hands-on experience to prospective employers. So, which of these will you choose as your final year project?

If you are curious about learning data science to be in the front of fast-paced technological advancements, check out upGrad & IIIT-B’s  PG Diploma in Data Science.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The initial years of graduation are used in gaining theoretical knowledge about the subjects which is then made to implement in practicality in the final year. It is basically like an examination regarding the execution of all the concepts learned up to date. Working on a project enhances the student’s intellectual and empirical proficiency along with providing exposure to substantial work. Applying the knowledge of the different learned subjects will help in unraveling concealed abilities and developing niche skills.

Since the science stream is substantially vast, the projects under it can also be numerous. Therefore choosing one is enigmatic. Interest in the subject and its scope and use in the future should be the main determinant of such a task. Considering the ambit in the future, the project can be related to Python, data science, and machine learning projects. A few examples can be the development of forest fire predictors, fake news detectors, traffic signs recognition, driver’s drowsiness detectors, chatbots, multiple-level image password authentication, accident detection, and alert systems.

Before any kind of interview is held, the preliminary screening of applications is done. The applicant’s educational qualification, past experiences, and research abilities are all jotted down in his/her CV, which is then forwarded to the recruiter. The recruiter, just based on the application, decides whether the person is to be called for further processes. Thus, your submitted application should be made impressive. Also, while applying to the relevant field, your experience plays a major role. For freshers, practicals replace experience. The topic, the research, and the project conclusion, all play a pivotal role not just at the time of screening of the application, but also during the interview. The knowledge gained will also be used at the time of the actual rendition of the job. Rightly said, no knowledge is wasted.

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Black History Month 2024: African Americans and the Arts 

A woman reads a book

The national theme for Black History Month 2024 is “ African Americans and the Arts .”  

Black History Month 2024 is a time to recognize and highlight the achievements of Black artists and creators, and the role they played in U.S. history and in shaping our country today.  

To commemorate this year’s theme, we’ve gathered powerful quotes about learning, culture and equality from five historic Black American authors, teachers and artists who made a significant impact in the Arts, education ― and the nation.  

  Making history  

“Real education means to inspire people to live more abundantly, to learn to begin with life as they find it and make it better.” – Carter G. Woodson, Author, Journalist, Historian and Educator, 1875-1950  

Known as the “Father of Black History,” Carter G. Woodson was primarily self-taught in most subjects. In 1912, he became the second Black person to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard.   

He is the author of more than 30 books, including “T he Mis-Education of the Negro. ”  

Carter G. Woodson dedicated his life to teaching Black History and incorporating the subject of Black History in schools. He co-founded what is now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc. (ASALH) . In February 1926, Woodson launched the first Negro History Week , which has since been expanded into Black History Month.  

Carter G. Woodson

Providing a platform  

“I have created nothing really beautiful, really lasting, but if I can inspire one of these youngsters to develop the talent.” – Augusta Savage, Sculptor, 1892-1962  

An acclaimed and influential sculptor of the Harlem Renaissance, Augusta Savage was a teacher and an activist who fought for African American rights in the Arts. She was one out of only four women, and the only Black woman, commissioned for the 1939 New York World’s Fair. She exhibited one of her most famous works, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which she named after the hymn by James Weldon Johnson, sometimes referred to as the Black National Anthem. Her sculpture is also known as “ The Harp, ” renamed by the fair’s organizers.  

Photograph of Augusta Savage

Raising a voice  

“My mother said to me ‘My child listen, whatever you do in this world no matter how good it is you will never be able to please everybody. But what one should strive for is to do the very best humanly possible.’” – Marian Anderson, American Contralto, 1897-1993  

Marian Anderson broke barriers in the opera world. In 1939, she performed at the Lincoln Memorial in front of a crowd of 75,000 after the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) denied her access to the DAR Constitution Hall because of her race. And in 1955, Marian Anderson became the first African American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera. She sang the leading role as Ulrica in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera.  

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Influencing the world  

“The artist’s role is to challenge convention, to push boundaries, and to open new doors of perception.” – Henry Ossawa Tanner, Painter, 1859-1937  

Henry Ossawa Tanner is known to be the first Black artist to gain world-wide fame and acclaim. In 1877, he enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts , where he was the only Black student. In 1891, Tanner moved to Paris to escape the racism he was confronted with in America. Here, he painted two of his most recognized works, “ The Banjo Lesson” and “ The Thankful Poor of 1894. ”    

In 1923, Henry O. Tanner was awarded the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the French government, France’s highest honor.  

Henry Ossawa Tanner

Rising up  

“Wisdom is higher than a fool can reach.” – Phillis Wheatley, Poet, 1753-1784  

At about seven years old, Phillis Wheatley was kidnapped from her home in West Africa and sold into slavery in Boston. She started writing poetry around the age of 12 and published her first poem, “ Messrs. Hussey and Coffin ,” in Rhode Island’s Newport Mercury newspaper in 1767.   

While her poetry spread in popularity ― so did the skepticism. Some did not believe an enslaved woman could have authored the poems. She defended her work to a panel of town leaders and became the first African American woman to publish a book of poetry. The panel’s attestation was included in the preface of her book.  

Phillis Wheatley corresponded with many artists, writers and activists, including a well-known 1 774 letter to Reverand Samson Occom about freedom and equality.  

Phillis Wheatley with pen and paper

Honoring Black History Month 2024  

Art plays a powerful role in helping us learn and evolve. Not only does it introduce us to a world of diverse experiences, but it helps us form stronger connections. These are just a few of the many Black creators who shaped U.S. history ― whose expressions opened many doors and minds.  

Black History Month is observed each year in February. To continue your learning, go on a journey with Dr. Jewrell Rivers, as he guides you through Black History in higher education. Read his article, “A Brief History: Black Americans in Higher Education.”  

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Yale vows new actions to address past ties to slavery, issues apology, book.

 Ledger document from 18th century recording transactions of enslaved persons

Yale University’s ongoing work to understand its history and connections to slavery continued today with announcements of new commitments and actions and a formal apology in response to the findings of a scholarly, peer-reviewed book, “Yale and Slavery: A History,” authored by Yale Professor David W. Blight with the Yale and Slavery Research Project.

“ Confronting this history helps us to build a stronger community and realize our aspirations to create a better future,” Peter Salovey, Yale’s president, and Josh Bekenstein, senior trustee of the Yale Corporation, wrote in a message to the university community . “Today, on behalf of Yale University, we recognize our university’s historical role in and associations with slavery, as well as the labor, the experiences, and the contributions of enslaved people to our university’s history, and we apologize for the ways that Yale’s leaders, over the course of our early history, participated in slavery.

“ Acknowledging and apologizing for this history are only part of the path forward. These findings have propelled us toward meaningful action to address the continued effects of slavery in society today.”

The message followed a comprehensive, long-term examination Yale launched in 2020 to better understand the university’s history — specifically its formative ties to slavery and the slave trade.

“ We chose to do this because we have a responsibility to the pursuit of truth and the dissemination of knowledge, both foundational to the mission of our university,” Salovey and Bekenstein said in the message. “Confronting this history helps us to build a stronger community and realize our aspirations to create a better future.”

Since October 2020, the Yale and Slavery Research Project has conducted intensive research to provide a clearer and more comprehensive understanding of the university’s past.

The research project included faculty, staff, students, and New Haven community members, and was led by Blight, Sterling Professor of History in Yale's Faculty of Arts and Sciences and director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale. Members of the group shared their results publicly as they conducted their research, and the university has steadily launched programs and initiatives in response.

The full findings from the project are now published by Yale University Press in a scholarly, peer-reviewed book authored by Blight and members of the Yale and Slavery Research Project. Key findings and the full book are available online for free.

The findings

Through its research, the Yale and Slavery Research Project “has deepened greatly our understanding of our university’s history with slavery and the role of enslaved individuals who participated in the construction of a Yale building or whose labor enriched prominent leaders who made gifts to Yale,” Salovey and Bekenstein said.

Although there are no known records of Yale University owning enslaved people, many of Yale’s Puritan founders owned enslaved people, as did a significant number of Yale’s early leaders and other prominent members of the university community. The research project has identified over 200 of these enslaved people, the message said. The majority of those who were enslaved are identified as Black, but some are identified as Indigenous. Some of those enslaved participated in the construction of Connecticut Hall, the oldest building on campus. Others worked in cotton fields, rum refineries, and other punishing places in Connecticut or elsewhere.

“ Their grueling labor benefited those who contributed funds to Yale,” the message said.

The project’s findings also revealed that prominent members of the Yale community joined with New Haven leaders and citizens to stop a proposal to build a college in New Haven for Black youth in 1831, which would have been America’s first Black college.

Additional aspects of Yale’s history are illuminated in the book’s findings, including the Yale Civil War Memorial that honors those who fought for the North and the South without any mention of slavery or other context, the message said.

Many of the project’s findings have been shared publicly and addressed by Yale on an ongoing basis during the research process.

‘ Our forward-looking commitment’

Based on the Yale and Slavery Research Project’s findings and the university’s history, Yale leaders announced new actions that focus “on systemic issues that echo in our nation’s legacy of slavery.”

The actions focus on increasing educational access; advancing inclusive economic growth; better reflecting history across campus; and creating wide access to Yale’s historical findings. The Yale and Slavery Research Project is part of Yale’s broader Belonging work to enhance diversity, support equity, and promote an environment of welcome, inclusion, and respect.

“ The new work we undertake advances inclusive economic growth in New Haven,” Salovey and Bekenstein said. “Aligned with our core educational mission, we also are ensuring that our history, in its entirety, is better reflected across campus, and we are creating widespread access to Yale’s historical findings.”

The full details of the university’s response are available on the Yale and Slavery Reseearch Project website .

Several of the university’s commitments are highlighted below:

‘ Increasing educational access and excellence in teaching and research’

The lost opportunity to build a college for Black students in New Haven in 1831 has prompted Yale to strengthen its partnerships with the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and to expand educational pathways for New Haven youth.

  • New Haven School Teachers: New Haven, as well as the rest of the country, is dealing with an acute and ongoing teacher shortage; in the city, there were 80 teaching positions that went unfilled during the last academic year. There are many reasons for this shortage, including the high costs of acquiring certification and a master’s in teaching degree, compared to the relatively modest compensation in the profession. “We are partnering with the New Haven Public School system, New Haven Promise, and Southern Connecticut State University to design a new residency fellowship program to provide funding to aspiring teachers, so they can attain a Master’s in Teaching degree in exchange for a commitment of at least three years of service in the New Haven Public School system,” Salovey and Bekenstein said. Once launched, this fellowship program aims to place 100 teachers with master’s degrees into the city’s schools in five years.
  • Yale and Slavery Teachers Institute Program: Yale will also launch a four-year teacher’s institute in summer 2025 to foster innovation in the ways regional history is taught. This program will help K-12 teachers in New England meet new state mandates for incorporating Black and Indigenous history into their curricula. Each year, a cohort of teachers will engage with partners within and outside of the university community to study content and methods related to a particular theme, using the book “Yale and Slavery: A History” as “a springboard.” The first year of the program will focus on Indigenous history, followed by slavery in the north, and Reconstruction and the Black freedom struggle. Led by the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at the Yale MacMillan Center, the program will provide a platform for teachers in New England to co-develop curricular materials, in collaboration with scholars, public historians, Native communities, and other groups. The pedagogical materials and methods created through the program will be disseminated broadly for the benefit of students, educators, and the general public throughout the region.
  • HBCU Research Partnerships : Yale continues to expand its research partnerships with HBCUs across the country with pathways programs for students, opportunities for faculty collaboration, and faculty exchange programs. The university will announce a significant new investment in the coming weeks.
  • New Haven Promise Program : In January 2022, Yale expanded its contribution to New Haven Promise , a college scholarship and career development program that has supported more than 2,800 students from the New Haven Public Schools, by 25% annually, from $4 million to $5 million, and extended its commitment through June 2026.
  • Pennington Fellowships : In December 2022, Yale launched a new scholarship to support New Haven high school graduates to attend one of its partner HBCU institutions (Hampton University, Howard University, Morehouse College, Morgan State University, North Carolina A&T, and Spelman College). The program is designed to help address historical disparities in educational opportunities for students from New Haven and will grow to include 40 to 50 Pennington scholars at any given time, supporting students in their academic, financial, and career entry success.
  • Law School Access Program : Yale Law School’s pipeline program serves first-generation, low-income, and under-represented students from New Haven. The program invests in a class of up to 20 fellows who are “passionate about uplifting their local communities” in New Haven and Connecticut. Yale began centrally co-funding the program with the law school in 2024 to ensure its long-term stability.
  • K-12 Educational Outreach in New Haven : Yale supports many programs for youth in New Haven and surrounding communities, and thousands of public school children take part in Yale-funded academic and social development programs . These include Yale’s Pathways to Science and Yale’s Pathways to Arts and Humanities programs .

‘ Advancing inclusive economic growth in New Haven’

Yale remains committed to partnering with the City of New Haven to create vibrant shared communities with increased economic opportunities. This builds on the university’s ongoing work with the New Haven community, which includes increasing what was already the largest voluntary payment by a university to its host city in the country to approximately $135 million over six years and the creation of a new Center for Inclusive Growth to develop and implement strategies to grow the city economically.

  • Dixwell Plaza: Yale recently signed a 10-year letter of intent for space at Dixwell Plaza to support the development of a state-of-the-art mixed-use retail, residential, and cultural hub in Dixwell’s historically Black community center that is rooted in restorative economic development . Yale is working on this initiative with the Connecticut Community Outreach and Revitalization Program (ConnCORP), a local organization whose mission is to provide opportunities to New Haven’s underserved residents.
  • Community Investment Program : Yale’s community investment program works with independently owned retail businesses. Most recently, University Properties has supported a growing number of locally owned brick-and-mortar businesses, including restaurants and retail clothing stores. This program brings jobs to New Haven residents and expands the city’s tax base.

‘ Acknowledging our past’

The Yale and Slavery Research Project’s findings make clear that Yale’s foundations are inextricably bound with the economic and political systems of slavery, Salovey and Bekenstein wrote in the message. “That history is not fully evident on our campus, and we are working to ensure that our physical campus provides members of our community with a more complete view of the university’s history,” they said, noting the following projects:

  • Transforming Connecticut Hall : Connecticut Hall, constructed in the mid-18th century using in part the labor of enslaved people, is being reconstituted as a place of healing and communion as the new home of the Yale Chaplaincy. The Yale Committee on Art Representing Enslavement will make recommendations for how the building’s history with slavery can be acknowledged and made evident through art. The renovated building is currently slated to be reopened in summer 2025.
  • Civil War Memorial : Yale’s Civil War Memorial, located in Memorial Hall and dedicated in 1915, is a “Lost Cause” monument. However, the purpose and meaning of the memorial are largely unknown to most people who walk past it. Recently, an educational display was installed near the memorial to educate visitors on its history and provide additional resources.
  • Committee for Art Recognizing Enslavement : In June 2023, the university launched the Yale Committee for Art Recognizing Enslavement , which includes representatives from both the Yale and New Haven communities. The committee is working with (and soliciting input from) members of the campus and New Haven communities to commission works of art and related programming to address Yale’s historical roles and associations with slavery and the slave trade, as well as the legacy of that history.
  • M.A. Privatim degrees : In April 2023, the Yale board of trustees voted to confer M.A. Privatim degrees on the Rev. James W. C. Pennington (c. 1807-1870) and the Rev. Alexander Crummell (1819-1898). Both men studied theology at Yale, but because they were Black, the university did not allow them to register formally for classes or matriculate for a degree. On Sept. 14, 2023, the university held a ceremony to honor the two men and commemorate the conferral of the degrees.

‘ Creating widespread access to historical findings’

The book “Yale and Slavery: A History” provides a more complete narrative of Yale’s history — as well as that of New Haven, Connecticut, and the nation. Aligned with the university’s core educational mission, Yale will provide opportunities for communities within and beyond Yale’s campus to learn from the findings.

  • New Haven Museum Exhibition : Today, Yale opened a new exhibition at the New Haven Museum, created in collaboration with the Yale University Library, the Yale and Slavery Research Project, and the museum. On view through the summer, the exhibition complements the publication of “Yale and Slavery: A History” and draws from the research project’s key findings in areas such as the economy and trade, Black churches and schools, the 1831 Black college proposal, and memory and memorialization in the 20th century and today. The exhibition places a special focus on stories of Black New Haven, including early Black students and alumni of Yale, from the 1830s to 1940. There is no admission fee for viewing the exhibition.
  • Book Distribution : Yale will provide copies of the book to each public library and high school in New Haven, as well as to local churches and other community organizations. The university has subsidized a free e-book version that is available to everyone.
  • DeVane Lecture in Fall 2024: Blight will teach the next DeVane Lecture — a semester-long lecture series open to the public — during the Fall 2024 semester. Students can take the course for credit, and the lectures are free to attend for New Haven and other local community members. His course will cover the findings of the Yale and Slavery Research Project and related scholarly work. The lectures will be filmed and made available for free online in 2025.
  • App-Guided Tour : A new app includes a map of key sites on campus and in New Haven with narration, offering users the opportunity to take a self-guided tour. The tour’s 16 stops start with the John Pierpont House on Elm Street and end at Eli Whitney’s tomb in the Grove Street Cemetery.
  • Campus Tours : With a more accurate understanding of Yale’s history, the university is updating campus tours so that they include the key findings from the Yale and Slavery Research Project, particularly concerning the Civil War Memorial and Connecticut Hall.

Working together to strengthen the community

The university’s commitments are ongoing, “and there remains more to be accomplished in the years ahead,” Salovey and Bekenstein said.

Yale has established a Committee on Addressing the Legacy of Slavery to seek broad input from faculty, students, staff, alumni, New Haven community members, and external experts and leaders on actions Yale can take to address its history and legacy of slavery and “create a stronger and more inclusive university community that pursues research, teaching, scholarship, practice, and preservation of the highest caliber,” they said. The committee will be chaired by Secretary and Vice President for University Life Kimberly Goff-Crews.

Salovey and Bekenstein also invited members of the Yale and New Haven communities to read the book and share their comments . The Committee on Addressing the Legacy of Slavery will review all input and consider future opportunities — with New Haven, other universities, and other communities — to improve access to education and enhance inclusive economic growth, they said. The committee will report to the president.

In the coming weeks, the committee will host listening sessions for faculty, students, staff, and alumni. The Committee for Art Recognizing Enslavement will also host forums for members of the community.

In their message, Salovey and Bekenstein noted that the Yale and Slavery Research Project “has helped gain a more complete understanding of our university’s history.” They said the steps and initiatives Yale has established in response to the historical findings build on the university’s continued commitments to the New Haven community and its ongoing Belonging at Yale work to enhance diversity, support equity, and promote an environment of welcome, inclusion, and respect.

Several community and higher education leaders shared their thoughts about Yale’s announcement and plans.

“ I applaud Yale for studying its history more fully and responding to its historical ties to slavery by building on the partnerships it has with the New Haven community,” said Madeline Negrόn, superintendent of the New Haven Public Schools. “I welcome the possibility of Yale supporting the Teacher Residency Program for New Haven. Teacher recruitment and retention is one of New Haven Public Schools’ priorities.

“ We are eager to partner with Yale to finalize the design and implementation of a fellowship program aimed to support developing high quality and diverse teachers to stay long term in New Haven Public Schools.”

Yale’s police chief, Anthony Campbell, said:

“ Yale University’s leadership acknowledges the institution’s role in the travesty of slavery in the United States, recognizing that as a place of higher learning and research, it must confront and acknowledge this history. While Yale itself did not own slaves, the acknowledgment that some of its founders were slaveholders and that the oldest building on campus was constructed with slave labor underscores the university’s commitment to transparency and healing.

“ Furthermore, Yale’s support for the New Haven community, evidenced by its partnership with the New Haven Promise Program and the establishment of the Reverend Pennington Scholarships, signifies its dedication to the healing process.”

Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Darrell K. Williams, the 13th president of Hampton University, said:

“ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was correct — the moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice. I also firmly believe that truth is essential to justice, and thus, with more truth comes more justice. I applaud the Yale community’s courage to publicly acknowledge Yale’s role in such a painful and consequential chapter of America’s story.”

In their message to the Yale community, Salovey and Bekenstein wrote:

“ Today, we mark one milestone in our journey to creating a stronger and more inclusive Yale and to confronting deeply rooted challenges in society to do our part in building ‘the beloved community’ envisioned by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“ Our work continues, and we welcome your thoughts and hope you will engage with our history .”

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Karen N. Peart: [email protected] , 203-432-1345

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  • Public health takes on gun violence crisis

Brandon Wolf

‘The Exchange’ brings together experts to discuss solutions to national epidemic

February 15, 2024

ANN ARBOR—Preventing gun violence is a democracy project. That’s the message Brandon Wolf delivered during the “Public Health Approaches to Ending Gun Violence” seminar Feb. 13, 2024, in the Rogel Ballroom at the Michigan Union.  

It was the second event of The Exchange: Critical Conversations with Michigan Public Health , an academic seminar series launched by the University of Michigan School of Public Health in fall 2023. This event was planned in collaboration with the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention (IFIP) at the University of Michigan.

Wolf is a survivor of the 2016 shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and has become a leader in the movement to end gun violence in the United States, as well as a nationally recognized LGBTQ civil rights advocate. After narrowly escaping that night, during what was the deadliest mass shooting in the nation’s history at the time, he has channeled his life into fighting for a safer world for future generations and honoring victims of injustice with action.

Wolf shared his personal experience from that tragic night, when 49 people, including his two best friends, were killed and 53 more were injured. He highlighted the need for intersectional approaches to address these important issues and create a more inclusive society. 

I promise to never stop fighting for a world that we can be proud of. A world where we send kids to school to learn math and reading and science, not which closet closes the tightest to save them from an active shooter. A world where we send grandma to the grocery store not being afraid that she’ll come face-to-face with the barrel of an AR-15 in the produce aisle. A world we can all be proud of if the world is finally free of gun violence, a world where we decide a better and safer future.”

—Brandon Wolf

“Preventing gun violence is a democracy project,” Wolf said. “It’s a project about changing the way our country works to keep people safer, and that’s why we have so much more work to do. The social work majors have work to do to care for communities to help address the root causes of violence. Folks in public health, we have work to do to keep delivering the research and data we need to help us target our solutions to saving lives. And, yes, even music majors, you have work to do too. It takes all of us to drive solutions—all of us. I have one common goal: to make our world better.”

Wolf is the National Press Secretary for the Human Rights Campaign. His memoir, “A Place for Us,” was released in July 2023 and became a bestseller. He recently served as press secretary for Equality Florida, the state’s LGBTQ civil rights organization.

Wolf urged public involvement in the democratic process by knowing and holding accountable lawmakers at all levels of government—and also said that playing the “long game” is necessary. In the short term, he suggested that advocacy starts in one’s own circles: He advised attendees to act as a “trusted messenger” with friends and family to change hearts and minds. 

Wolf expressed confidence that a safer, gun-violence-free world is possible thanks to the work of dedicated individuals and communities.

“I promise to never stop fighting for a world that we can be proud of,” he said. “A world where we send kids to school to learn math and reading and science, not which closet closes the tightest to save them from an active shooter. A world where we send grandma to the grocery store not being afraid that she’ll come face-to-face with the barrel of an AR-15 in the produce aisle. A world we can all be proud of if the world is finally free of gun violence, a world where we decide a better and safer future.

“I believe that a world that we all can be proud of is not just possible; it’s inevitable. It’s inevitable because of the people in this room and the work you are doing—this is where the work happens. I think that the possibilities of the future are endless.”

  • Read 5 Takeaways from The Exchange: Public Health Approaches to Ending Gun Violence.

Evidence-based, public health solutions

More than 326 people are killed or injured by a firearm every day, with 39,000 premature deaths annually across the United States, according to the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention. Firearm injuries are now the leading cause of death for children and teens. At the state level, 1,382 people on average die by firearms each year in Michigan, and 56% of gun deaths, or about 780, are in the state are suicides according to Everytown for Gun Safety and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, respectively.

Public Health IDEAS for Preventing Firearm Injuries ,  IFIP and scholars at the University of Michigan are leading efforts to prevent gun violence.

Dean F. DuBois Bowman and Brandon Wolf

“I think all of us here today understand how critically important the issue of gun violence is in the United States,” said F. DuBois Bowman said, dean of Michigan Public Health. “It’s an issue that has unfortunately touched many of us. We’ve felt the impacts within our own communities here in Michigan in the aftermath of the Oxford High School shooting and the Michigan State University shooting, which happened one year ago today. 

“Firearms are the leading cause of death among children and teens, both in Michigan and nationwide. While the issue of gun violence may seem insurmountable at times, we’re here today because gun violence is preventable. Gun violence is a public health issue, and there are evidence-based, public health solutions that we know can prevent injury and death.

“I'm proud that we have a group of faculty, staff, students and postdocs at the University of Michigan who are actively working in this space and who are desperately seeking to make changes.”

The event coincided with n ew pieces of gun safety legislation being introduced in Michigan that aim to address safe storage, background checks, red flag laws and gun bans for domestic violence offenders.

Firearms are the leading cause of death among children and teens, both in Michigan and nationwide. While the issue of gun violence may seem insurmountable at times, we’re here today because gun violence is preventable. Gun violence is a public health issue, and there are evidence-based, public health solutions that we know can prevent injury and death. ”

—Dean F. DuBois Bowman

Rebecca Cunningham , vice president for research and innovation at the University of Michigan, concurred with Bowman. She is the former director of the University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center, and established a national consortium to improve firearms safety. 

Reflecting on her experience as an emergency medicine physician, Cunningham emphasized the critical challenge firearm violence poses and the need for comprehensive, interdisciplinary solutions that encompass health, social sciences, engineering, policy and the arts.

“As someone who’s worked in this area for more than two decades, I know at times this topic can feel deeply painful,” she said. “But I also see so much hope in the progress and the work that you all have created and the momentum that we have so far that will create a path forward.”

After Wolf’s keynote speech and a Q&A with Bowman, two expert panels offered additional  expertise to the discussion from a variety of viewpoints.

Policy solutions to gun violence

The first panel, “The Legislation Tightrope: Policy Solutions to Gun Violence,” featured April Zeoli, associate professor of Health Management and Policy at Michigan Public Health and the director of Policy Core at IFIP; Douglas Wiebe , professor of Epidemiology and co-director of Data and Methods Core at IFIP; Adaora Ezike, fund development officer for the City of Detroit; and Celeste Kanpurwala, Michigan chapter leader for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. The panel was moderated by Patrick Carter , associate professor of Health Behavior Health Education at Michigan Public Health, associate professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and co-director of IFIP.

From left to right, Adaora Ezike, Celeste Kanpurwala, Douglas Wiebe, April Zeoli and moderator Patrick Carter

Zeoli’s extensive research and expertise on policy were instrumental in getting key pieces of gun legislation signed into Michigan law last year. The Extreme risk protection order (ERPO), or red flag law, is one of the new laws that mandates a person purchasing a handgun or a long gun, whether from a licensed dealer or a private seller, needs to undergo a background check to obtain a license for the purchase.

This new regulation aims to prevent individuals who shouldn’t have access to firearms for reasons such as a history of violence, certain mental health conditions or criminal backgrounds from easily acquiring them. By ensuring background checks for all firearm purchases, policymakers and advocates hope to close loopholes that have previously allowed individuals to bypass background checks, thus enhancing public safety and reducing firearm-related injuries and deaths.

Zeoli pointed out the next step is federal legislation.

“Today, if someone is under extreme protection here in Michigan, or otherwise prevented from purchasing a gun here, they can drive a half hour to Ohio and buy from private sellers without a background check because we don’t have a federal policy,” she said. “If we had that federal policy, we would be better able to prevent people who we decided as a society are too dangerous, at this moment, to have a gun.”

Wiebe, who studies interactions between people and the environment and health risks that result with a focus on injuries and violence, cited a reason for optimism by drawing a parallel to auto safety.

“One of the greatest public health success stories of the 20th century was the dramatic reduction in deaths in motor vehicle crashes that occurred over the last century,” he said. “And I know that didn’t just happen; it was very deliberate. There was certainly no one-size-fits-all solution, as will be the case for firearm injury prevention.”

Today, if someone is under extreme protection here in Michigan, or otherwise prevented from purchasing a gun here, they can drive a half hour to Ohio and buy from private sellers without a background check because we don’t have a federal policy. If we had that federal policy, we would be better able to prevent people who we decided as a society are too dangerous, at this moment, to have a gun.”

—April Zeoli

Public health was charged with coming up with safety standards for more vehicles, he said, as well as for roadways and the whole transportation infrastructure. Public health practitioners were challenged to be more scientific and strategic about injury prevention.

Weibe said the same approach needs to be undertaken for firearm injury prevention, involving primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention methods, addressing individuals, objects, environments, and social factors to mitigate injury and promote survival.

Community engagement solutions to gun violence

The second panel, “Build the Big Tent: Community Engagement Solutions to Gun Violence,” showcased Charles Branas, chair of the Department of Epidemiology at Columbia University; Derrick Jackson, director of Community Engagement in the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office; Hsing-Fang Hsieh , MPH '06, PhD '12, research assistant professor at IFIP and evaluation director for the National Center for School Safety at the University of Michigan; and Rebeccah Sokol , assistant professor in the School of Social Work and co-director of Training and Education Core at IFIP. It was moderated by Justin Heinze , associate professor of Health Behavior and Health Education at Michigan Public Health, and director of the School Safety Section and co-director of Research and Scholarship Core for IFIP.

From left to right, Charles Branas, Hsing-Fang Hsieh, Derrick Jackson, Rebeccah Sokol and moderator Justin Heinze

Heinze said that Michigan Public Health is galvanizing efforts to address firearm violence, identified as a critical issue by faculty through Public Health IDEAS. This initiative, led by Heinze, recently marked its second anniversary since launching, seeks to move the needle in four strategic areas, particularly in research.

“This necessitates interdisciplinary collaboration across various departments and extends beyond academic research to include community engagement and educational program development” he said. “The goal is to translate findings into actionable solutions for affected communities and to train the next generation of public health professionals, ensuring that gun violence prevention is integrated into their broader work.”

Throughout the panel, the experts explored gun violence and social inequities and relationship building with a public health lens, emphasizing the need for education, research, workforce development, community engagement and multifaceted approaches.

Engaging with the community requires a sustained effort that may be unfamiliar to many researchers, Hsieh said, but that shouldn’t be a deterrent. She encouraged researchers to consider how they can maintain an ongoing dialogue because it is crucial not to neglect this crisis.

I don't think community engagement is a program; it’s not a feel-good thing you do once or twice. Community engagement is a way you think about the world.”

—Derrick Jackson

“Community members often contribute insightful perspectives, and with the resources available, we must collaborate to achieve our goals and guarantee enduring success, which is indeed the challenging part,” Hsieh said.

A recurring theme was the need to have as many diverse voices at the table as possible, and particularly those who have been impacted by gun violence. Jackson emphasized the need for community engagement to be baked into everything.  

“I don't think community engagement is a program; it’s not a feel-good thing you do once or twice,” he said. "Community engagement is a way you think about the world.”

Branas said he’s encouraged by events like The Exchange because the term “firearm” used to be a nonstarter in health research.

“This seminar is a positive move toward including diverse perspectives in conversations about sensitive issues,” he said. “Sometimes, we talk so much about the problem that it can generate a sense of hopelessness. My hope is that we turn that around and not simply talk about the problem but rather what solutions can be created in communities that can generate long-term excitement about the possibility of a different future.”

So, now what? Advice on making your voice heard

Wolf said the power of personal influence cannot be overstated in the battle against gun violence. Each individual has the potential to be a catalyst for change, starting within their own networks and relationships, citing his family as an example. While someone like his father—a gun owner—might not watch a particular television station or read a certain article that includes differing viewpoints than his own, he will take his son’s phone call. 

“We can have conversations that he would not have with absolutely anybody else,” Wolf said. “They don't come with judgment. Just a dad and a son talking about the world.”

He also called on those in the audience to become trusted messengers within their own networks as one way to harness their passion for solving this problem. Through these personal connections and conversations, as trusted messengers in our community, individuals can create ripples of impact through their conversations, shifting public opinion and bringing about lasting change.

“Gun safety measures across the country are very popular, and they’re mobilizing people to the polls. Candidates who say they want to do something about gun safety are winning over and over again. The absolute most important thing is to run for office if elected officials refuse to serve. It’s time to run and defeat them. It’s time to put somebody else in that seat who wants a better, safer, more inclusive future.”

Wolf also advised attendees to engage with their lawmakers to effect policy change on gun violence, stressing patience because change doesn’t happen overnight. 

Understanding the personal motivations of lawmakers is key, knowing that personal stories—such as his—can impact their views, he said. With changing public opinion, gun safety is playing a significant role in elections, with candidates around the country winning on gun reform platforms in recent elections.

If lawmakers are unresponsive due to entrenched interests, particularly from the gun lobby, Wolf emphasized the importance of running for office to replace them.

“Gun safety measures across the country are very popular, and they’re mobilizing people to the polls,” he said. “Candidates who say they want to do something about gun safety are winning over and over again. The absolute most important thing is to run for office if elected officials refuse to serve. It’s time to run and defeat them. It’s time to put somebody else in that seat who wants a better, safer, more inclusive future.”

  • Interested in public health? Learn more here.
  • Learn more about Public Health IDEAS for Preventing Firearm Injuries.
  • Read more about April Zeoli's research.
  • Support research and engaged learning at the School of Public Health.

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university assignment ideas

UNC-Chapel Hill chancellor search committee formed

UNC System President Peter Hans announced the 13-member search advisory committee that will identify candidates to lead the University.

Exterior of South Building on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill with Carolina Blue and Navy Blue banners.

University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans announced Feb. 12 the formation of the 13-member committee that will search for the next chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Cristy Page, executive dean of the UNC School of Medicine and chief academic officer of UNC Health, will chair the search advisory committee. She is also a tenured professor in the medical school’s family medicine department.

“A dean, faculty member and three-time Tar Heel graduate, Dr. Page brings a unique perspective to her leadership of this distinguished group,” Hans said. “I’m confident our nation’s first public university will draw a field of excellent candidates. As a proud alumnus, I am eager to get to work with a committee that represents Carolina’s vibrant and diverse campus community.”

“I am honored to lead this talented group of individuals who all have a deep love and respect for Carolina,” Page said. “Every day, I see the life-changing impact of this great university, from the education in our classrooms to the health care we provide to North Carolinians. This is an important role for the state, and we’re excited to find a leader who values our service to North Carolina.”

The search follows the departure of Kevin Guskiewicz, who will become president of Michigan State University next month after five years leading UNC-Chapel Hill. Lee Roberts began serving as interim chancellor in January.

Under UNC System policy, the search advisory committee is composed of up to 13 voting members, including representatives of the trustees, faculty, staff, students and alumni. The policy also calls for a current or former chancellor of a UNC System institution to serve, as well as members of the Board of Governors and the president or his designee.

Anita Brown-Graham, the Gladys Hall Coates Distinguished Professor of Public Law and Government and associate dean for strategic initiatives at the UNC School of Government, will serve as a special adviser to the committee. In her role as lead coordinator for the Carolina Across 100 initiative, Brown-Graham has worked with faculty, staff and students across campus to support community projects across the state. She will provide strategic guidance to the president and the committee chair throughout the search process and serve as the committee’s primary liaison to campus stakeholders.

The committee will offer a number of opportunities for public input, including an online survey, on-campus listening forums and focus group interviews with key campus constituents. Representatives of faculty, staff, students, alumni and other campus stakeholders will be able to engage directly with candidate finalists.

Information about the search process is available at chancellorsearch.unc.edu .

The members of the committee are:

  • Cristy Page (’96, ’02 MPH and MD), professor and executive dean, UNC School of Medicine and chief academic officer of UNC Health, chair of the search advisory committee.
  • Kellie Hunt Blue, member of the UNC Board of Governors, county manager for Robeson County, UNC School of Government Foundation Board of Directors.
  • Jennifer Evans (‘94), member of the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, senior executive in medical technology companies and co-chair of the Campaign for Carolina.
  • Christopher Everett, student body president and public policy major from Clayton, North Carolina.
  • Veronica Mora Flaspoehler (’08), president of the UNC General Alumni Association.
  • Frank Gilliam, chancellor of UNC Greensboro and former dean of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.
  • Peter Hans (‘91), president of the UNC System.
  • Beth Moracco (’92 MPH, ’99 PhD), chair of the faculty and professor in the Gillings School of Global Public Health.
  • Katie Musgrove (’15), chair of the Employee Forum, business officer for clinical programs at the UNC School of Law.
  • Jim Phillips Jr. (’79), partner at Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard.
  • John Preyer (’90), chair of the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees and co-founder and president of Restoration Systems, an environmental company.
  • Randy Ramsey, chair of the UNC Board of Governors and founder of Jarrett Bay Boatworks.
  • Malcolm Turner (‘93), vice chair of the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, head of strategy and corporate development at DraftKings, former vice chancellor and athletics director at Vanderbilt University.

Through Feb. 21, online voters can pick one of four alumnae names for the Goldendoodle puppy.

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Carolina is Fulbright ‘top producer’

U.S. State Department has awarded the designation to the university for 14 of the last 15 years.

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Symposium addresses global health

Health care delivery and elimination of malaria are recurring themes for these scholars.

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Learn from this ‘border walker’

Rick West Jr., former museum director and lawyer who protected American Indian heritage, will be elder-in-residence.

Angela Kashuba

Eshelman dean to co-chair Walgreens council

The national Walgreens Deans Advisory Council will collaborate on issues such as staffing and how to better utilize pharmacists to improve patient care.

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One-man show spotlights Black veterans

In “The Ongoing Fight for Freedom,” actor Sonny Kelly embodies 25 hidden figures from North Carolina history.

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In a partnership with Meta, Carolina’s computer science department is transforming artificial intelligence.

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Their software and augmented reality headsets allow clinicians to analyze patient movement and guide physical therapy.

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    University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans announced Feb. 12 the formation of the 13-member committee that will search for the next chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.. Dr. Cristy Page, executive dean of the UNC School of Medicine and chief academic officer of UNC Health, will chair the search advisory committee.