To write a good academic assignment is much more complicated than just accumulating facts and inserting them into a number of paragraphs. A good assignment is the one that has a clearly defined position, backs that up with credible sources and takes the reader along a systematic argument. The search for how to do my assignment is often dominated by haste while the main objective should be to learn how to write an argument convincingly, concisely and academically.

The same is true with students seeking help with my assignment because they cannot work out how to interpret research into a logical structure. Academic writing is so much simpler when the writer has clarity about what each paragraph seeks to achieve. Instead of describing the topic, good assignment writing poses questions, assesses evidence, reflects on opposing arguments and draws conclusions supported by the research.

What Is an Academic Argument?

An academic argument is a reasoned position in relation to a question or problem. An argument is not merely an opinion, even one you feel strongly about. A good argument, a powerful one, makes a claim and provides reasons, evidence and explanation with coherence and cohesion.

For instance, if the writer was to state that social media has a harmful influence on students is a wide generalization of an argument. An improved position would be that too much social media use can potentially harm a student's ability to concentrate and study habits by being too much of a distraction. This statement is precise and provides the writer with a specific area to research and prove with evidence.

Academic arguments need to be balanced as well. A persuasive assignment does not ignore the fact that there are other views; it considers on its own merits, the strength of alternative arguments and reasons for favoring the writer's position.

Start With a Clear Assignment Question

Clarifying exactly what you have been asked to do the assignment question-should always come first. Students often start looking for information before understanding exactly what it is they are expected to discuss, compare, evaluate, analyse or argue.

In order to carry out research, first subdivide the question into its constituent parts. Notice words like analyse, evaluate, discuss, compare, assess, critically examine and explain, Each command word is a different instruction.

If you have to "assess" a theory you are asked for judgement and evidence; if you have to "compare" two approaches you are asked to examine similarities and differences.

Also, Clarification on the question is useful in defining the boundaries.

The topic itself may be wide-ranging, while the assignment itself will have a finite word count. Narrowing down your definition of the topic will enable you to pinpoint the central issues and keep your paper from being dominated by irrelevant material.

Develop a Strong Thesis Statement

The thesis statement is the main point of the paper. It defines for the reader what you are trying to prove, argue, or to some extent, show in the paper. Without a thesis the paper can seem to be a bunch of disjointed comments.

A good thesis needs to be narrow enough to direct the whole paper. It also needs to present a valuable claim rather than just state the topic. 

Build Your Argument Before You Start Writing

Effective advice from the university is to have an argument plan ready before writing the full paragraph. This does not have to be complicated; simply using a list to state the thesis, the key points, evidence, other points of view, and conclusion.

Planning avoids the usual problem of finding out the argument part way through the assignment. When writers have no plan they tend to repeat the same point in various parts of the writing and (important evidence) comes in too late.

Use Evidence to Support Your Claims

Evidence supports the credibility of an academic argument. The type of evidence presented varies according to the topic; it can be research findings from peer reviewed articles, statistics, models or theories, historical documentation, case studies, reports or analysis.

However, merely quoting a source in a paragraph does not necessarily strengthen an argument. The evidence presented must relate directly to the individual point. A source may be accurate yet not help support the point you are trying to make.

Good formal academic writing also makes a clear distinction between evidence and interpretation. The evidence will give the reader the findings of the research but your analysis will tell the reader why those findings are significant in terms of your argument. This is crucial as students are evaluated on not only what they discover but also how they make use of and interpret what they discover.

Explain the Evidence Instead of Just Listing It

Here is a typical weakness seen in student work: the writer keeps listing sources with little regard for explaining their import. In doing so, the work becomes descriptive, rather than analytical.

Having shown evidence, justify its importance. Think about what the finding implies, why the finding is relevant, how the finding is related to the research question and if the finding supports or weakens the thesis.

For instance, instead of simply listing studies that found more productive workers have flexible schedules, an analytical paragraph would analyze what about flexible schedules promotes increased productivity and if this depends on factors such as the nature of the job or the workers' or managers' expectations.

Much of the college-level reasoning occurs in this form of explanation. This is where the source offers information, but the writer makes the link from this to the broader argument.

Final Thoughts on Building Strong Academic Arguments

Assignment writing is an exercise in reasoning. Good academic arguments are developed by the combination of: interpreting the question, thorough research, credible evidence, proper analysis and logical structuring.

Outstanding assignments don’t just indicate that a student has done a lot of reading. However, after a while, academic writing comes to seem less like an attempt to impress, and more like a attempt to communicate knowledge. As students learn to view their thesis, evidence, analysis and structure as all elements of a single argument, the quality of their assignments improves greatly.