Though you might feel overwhelmed when you're in this situation, it's best to take a few minutes and make a plan. You first step should be to review the assignment and rubric, so you spend the most time on the parts of the paper that are worth more. Once you have a plan, create a quick outline, so you don't forget any important parts and you can use it to help you stay on track and use the time you have left wisely.
Understanding what your instructor wants can be tricky, but learning the vocabulary of assignments can help you decipher an assignment and make your instructor's requirements clearer. Go to the Understanding your Assignment section to get some tips for understanding what an instructor wants.
If you don't understand an assignment, you should always ask your instructor for clarification. However, to get an adequate answer from your instructor, you should know what you need to ask. Make sure you can paraphrase what you *think* the assignment is asking. By starting with a paraphrase, your instructor can offer more precise clarification. If you are unable to immediately contact your instructor, you can refer to the Understanding your Assignment page to read some tips on deciphering an assignment.
Outlines do take some time to write, but they save you much more time as you start to draft your paper. Outlines make sure you don't forget to include important information and also help you stay on track and not waste time as you write a paper. To learn some strategies for creating outlines, go to our Outlining section.
A good place to start is our Getting Started tab at the top of this page.
To find some tips on how to overcome writers' block and get started on your paper go to our Getting Started section.
Make an appointment with Learning Services, and a Learning Services instructor can help you see where you can improve your grade.
You can learn how to document and cite your sources using the Sask Polytech Library Citation Support Guide.
You can find this information in the Library's Citation Support guide. Select the citation style your instructor requires: APA, IEEE, or MLA.
Finding a website's author can be tricky because the author might be an organization or might not be listed. Choose your required citation style to find out what to do when you're not sure about the author or you can't find other information: APA, IEEE, or MLA.
To learn what a "good resource" is and where to find them, check out our Researching tab.
Wikipedia can be a great tool to help you find good resources, but because it isn't peer-reviewed, it cannot be considered a trustworthy, "good" resource.
You can make an appointment with a Learning Services instructor using the Contact Us information or you can visit the Learning Technologies's Student Support Resources to find helpful instructions and videos.
APA (American Psychological Association) citation style provides guidelines for how to format and reference information in a research paper. It is used in many healthy science and educational fields. Check out the Library's APA Citation Support Guide for information on how to use APA format.
The APA Citation Support guide explains APA heading requirements and teaches you how to insert headings and running heads.
You can find out how to insert page numbers and other helpful MS Word tips from Microsoft 365 Support.
The Student Support Resources page provides links to help you use Power Point. You can also come to any Learning Services location to get one-on-one help.