The week’s homework tip is all about prioritizing. It’s about facing a challenging homework assignment and breaking it into sections, managing your time and completing your assignment with ease.

While I can't say this tip will help you get straight A’s on all your homework assignments, I can tell you that it will make getting through your assignment easier. So without further ado, let’s begin.

To prioritize your homework means to look at the overall assignment and decide which problems are the most challenging or time consuming. Often – in the case of a math assignment – you want to start by solving the easiest problems first. This will help you get off to a good start and give you a mental warm-up.

For harder problems, don’t spend more than five minutes on them. If you can’t solve the problem, put a star by it and move on to the next one. You can save your most difficult problems for the end. This way, by the time you have completed the remainder of the assignment, you may have remembered how to solve the more difficult problems, or you have provided yourself with a nice outline to go over with a tutor.

If you are working on a writing assignment – maybe a research paper or long essay – break it into smaller chunks so that you can easily focus on one thing at a time. Start with your main idea and make a list of all the important concepts or ideas you want to cover. Start building an outline and work from there.

Here is an easy to follow list of ways to break down your homework assignment, saving you time and frustration.

1. Assess the assignment

2. Clear your work space and remove all distractions

3. Get in a good warm up - Start with the simple problems

4. Don’t spend more than 5 minutes on challenging problems – come back to them later

5. Save the most challenging problems for the end

6. Review your assignment and seek help if you are unable to solve a problem

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hunceltic

04-02-2009 9:46 AM

Great job!Well done!

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