But don't worry, your Librarians are here to help! Follow the steps below to get started on your assignment.
What is the project?
Is it a written essay or a presentation or something else?
What type of paper are you writing?
How long does it have to be?
There are different types of writing styles as well.
What are the guidelines?
Check your syllabus or rubric for the following:
Read the syllabus thoroughly!
Ask your professor if you have any questions about the project or rubric.
Define the key concepts.
Read the prompt for your assignment, and check to see if there are any words or concepts that you don't understand.
If there are, you'll need to define them before you begin your research.
Find the focus of the task at hand and then begin your outline.
Here is an example of a prompt for an American History essay:
"Explain the role of the Peace Democrats in the split that occurred in the Democratic party in the years leading up to the Civil War."
In order to correctly respond to this prompt, you need to understand who the Peace Democrats were, what the Democratic party was like, and what year the Civil War began.
Gather your sources.
Do you have hand-outs or readings from class?
A PowerPoint presentation available on Canvas?
Notes from your class discussions?
Something that piqued your interest?
All of these are good places to start thinking about how to approach your assignment. It is difficult to research and write about something that doesn't hold your attention so, if you can, be creative and use an angle that will stimulate your curiosity.
Once you understand the assignment you are ready to start your research.
Not knowing exactly what you are looking for is fine, its part of the fun.
Sometimes you need to start broad and look at the big picture.
Sometimes you need to narrow your focus on thing and stick to that angle. (The length of your paper is often a good indicator on what you should do here. Also look again at the assignment prompt: what does your professor expect? Who is the audience?)
Always remember to stay focused.
Give yourself plenty of time to explore, but don't do so much exploring that you forgot what you were looking for in the first place (very easy to do on the internet!!)
