Many students I work with get overwhelmed when they are assigned an essay or a project. They imagine themselves staying up all night before it’s due racing to finish, or being unable to finish at all. They remember past assignments that have gone this way; they start to stress before they have even begun, which in the past has led them to put off starting in the first place.
I have seen these three strategies totally transform my students’ experiences with big assignments. Anytime I see a student go from feeling stressed and discouraged, to confident and accomplished, I consider it a big win! Hopefully sharing these strategies with your students can help you see the same result.
Strategy #1: Break Down the Assignment
I have students write out each step of their assignments as a task list. For example, for a five-paragraph essay, the task list might start like this:
- Brainstorm a topic
- Select quotes
- Write a thesis
- Make an outline
- etc.
Each task should be something they can complete in an hour or less!
Strategy #2: Backwards Plan
For this strategy, students need to identify the due date and then plan when they will complete each step in reverse. This looks like planning to complete whatever the last step of the assignment is a day or two before the due date and scheduling out when they will complete each step backwards from that point. For the essay example, this would mean planning to complete their edits the day before it’s due and to complete their conclusion paragraph the day before that, and so on and so forth. Here is what this looks like as a visual:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Write body paragraph 2 | Write body paragraph 3 | Write conclusion | Finish edits | DUE DATE |
Strategy #3: Time Blocking
In order to make sure their plan is realistic, students need to consider their other commitments and block out a time in the day where they will be able to get the task done. While there are always surprises that come up in a long-term plan, it is important to identify the known time constraints ahead of time to ensure the plan is reasonable! Using the example above, investigate how a student might block out time to get this essay done:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Write body paragraph 2 & 3 4-6 |
Study for math test |
Write conclusion 4-5 Math tutoring 6-7 |
Soccer Practice till 5 Finish edits 5:30-6:30 |
DUE DATE |
With this kind of structure and practice applying it, many students are able to move through previously ennui-inducing assignments with relative ease and even, dare I say, joy.
