The assignment planner is a tool to help you plan and complete assignments. Fill in your details below to receive a customized guide to working on every stage of an assignment. Choose your assignment type, enter the start and due dates, and download your step-by-step plan!
To begin, select an assignment type below:
Research Essay
A research paper is an essay driven by an argument and supported by sources. The key is to make it more than a summary of studies by providing something more—your own analysis.Research Essay
Literature Review
A well-written literature review both summarizes and synthesizes the available literature. It is not enough to list and describe sources.Literature Review
Standard Lab Report
A standard lab report is one in which you describe how you developed and tested a hypothesis. A lab report involves both documenting the experimental findings and communicating what they mean.Standard Lab Report
Annotated Bibliography
An annotated bibliography is an organized list of sources containing both the citation and the annotation. The content of the annotation is key: it is both descriptive and evaluative.Annotated Bibliography
Critical Review
Being critical involves an evaluation of both strengths and weaknesses. You get to decide what’s good, what’s bad, and why.Critical Review
Business/Case Report
A business/case report is a type of term project in Commerce. It is an opportunity for students to engage in team- and problem-based learning.Business/Case Report
Philosophy Essay
A philosophy paper generally involves the consideration of some thesis or argument, often one that has been presented by another philosopher.Philosophy Essay
Keep in mind
The assignment planner is a guide, not a set of hard and fast rules. Be flexible and don't forget you can always seek our support at appointments and events if your assignment or approach falls out of the box!
The steps and timing provided by the calculator are only a starting point.
Each step in the assignment planner comes with a time estimate, but some steps might take you longer, depending on how challenging the material is, how well you know the topic or process, and your other commitments.
How long any assignment may take to complete will vary.
If you’re wondering how long you’ll need to spend on an assignment, take a guess based on your past experience—then add a little more time, just in case.
Although the planner’s output is straightforward, your process might be more messy.
The step-by-step output of the calculator will make it seem like you can follow the steps one by one until you finish and submit your assignment. But research can be a messy process. Don't be afraid to move back and forth between stages.
More support is available.
If you have any questions or challenges along the way, ask for help. Check with your prof or TA about their expectations. Meet with a librarian for help with research. You can also make an appointment with one of our writing or academic skills specialists.
While SASS developed the Assignment Planner just for Queen's students, we were inspired by a similar tool developed by the University of Minnesota.