How to do ignou assignment? Procedure, steps, tricks and tips to score well, giving examples for content structure,.
IGNOU ASSIGNMENT – BASIC GUIDELINES
What is IGNOU?
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is the name of a Central Open Learning University, established in 1985. The purpose of the Institution is to cater to the distance and open education needs of the students and to offer higher quality educational opportunities to all segments of society. It is a good opportunity for the students who want to secure a degree while continuing their jobs.
What are IGNOU ASSIGNMENTs?
Assignments play a very integral role in IGNOU. They are as important as TEE (Term End Exam). Both are mandatory for every student and they have to pass in both of these separately, with a minimum of 40% marks. For the final 100%, the assignments carry 30% importance. Thus, these assignments help the students to score better, overall. The purpose of the assignment is to evaluate these students’ academic performance.
The question paper for the assignment can be downloaded from the website, as will be mentioned by the authorities of the university.
What steps should be followed?
White coloured A4 size sheets of paper are to be used for writing the assignment. The quality of the paper should be, preferably, better than absolutely thin sheets.
As for the pens, ball point, dot or Gel pens – anything can be used. However, the handwriting of the student must be complemented by the pen, so they should choose wisely as this choice would affect the overall presentation of the assignment. Questions can be written with a particular coloured pen (black) and answers with a different coloured pen (blue). This would make it more attractive.
Margins of around 4 cm (minimum) should be maintained and proper spacing should be maintained between 2 answers. This would enhance the neatness of the file. Also, it will leave some space for the teacher to add notes if they want to.
It is compulsory to handwrite the assignment. Print out of the answers is strictly advised to be avoided.
The details on the front page, whatever is needed and asked for, should be mentioned correctly.
On the second page, the student should paste a Xerox copy of their respective IGNOU ID card.
On the third page, the student has to paste the question paper of the assignment, on which they worked (the answers of which are contained in the assignment).
The Word limit of the answers depends on Marks for the question and subject that is concerned. In a Humanities subject, if there’s a question of 20 marks, the minimum number of words that are needed would be 500.
The question number and answer number has to be mentioned for every question. This would help the avoidance of any confusion. Also, this shows meticulousness of the students.
It is better to avoid copying answers from elsewhere because if such an act is caught by the professors, the assignment can get rejected. There is even a risk of disciplinary action against such conduct.
The assignment has to be submitted in the study centre and not the regional centre and the students should keep the receipt given to them carefully. This is considered to be a proof of the submission of the assignment.
Also Read: How to avoid Plagiarism in your paper
How to write the IGNOU ASSIGNMENT ?
The appearance of the file, neatness, and handwriting, is extremely significant.
The answers should be written by students on their own. References can be sought for help but these must be written in the student’s own words.
A very basic yet significant step is to write an introduction in every answer before coming to the main part. The introduction should be brief, crisp, and compact.
The answer has to be written in points, using bullets preferably. Also, headings have to be mentioned for each point and the elaboration should be done in the latter part of the answer. The answer should contain solid examples. At the end, a conclusion should be given, containing around 3 to 4 lines.
Tips to score Better!
The guidelines will be given in the question paper and the student should carefully read these in order to understand better what is wanted. Many students make the mistake of misinterpreting the question. Such a problem can be avoided only if one reads the question paper properly.
The cover page has to be attractive and the required details should be filled in properly. The cover has to be attractive but not clumsy. Students should keep in mind that they are submitting an assignment to their educational institution and not giving a greeting’s card to their friend.
Handwriting should be neat and legible. The assignment should be written very patiently and with care. Students should start writing their assignments on time so that they would not have to rush through the process of writing assignments.
The word limit has to be maintained by the students. When the limit is 500, a student cannot write 600 words for an answer.
Plagiarism has to avoided. It is a criminal offense and also plagiarized answers would not enable the examiner to assess the student’s merit. Subsequently, the student will suffer as well.
The answer should be represented in a good and organized way.
The last date has to be mentioned. Missing the last date is never an option.
Also Read: How to write a Summary – Explained with Examples
Example:
Let us suppose that there is a question on Plato’s theory of communism. The structure of the Answer is given below.
Introduction:
Here the student should write a few words on Plato (on his birth and education under Socrates).
- Difference between Plato’s Communism and Marxian Communism. (Here the student should elaborate on how Plato’s theory of Communism is different from Marxian theory of communism. Few lines of elaboration should also be mentioned, on what is Plato’s Communism.) [50 words]
- Plato’s Education System. (Under this heading, the education system that was suggested by Plato has to be elaborated –
- From childhood i.e, early stage of education, till 10 years of age (physical training)
- From age of 11 to that of 15 (music, Mathematics, History, Science)
- From the age of 16 to that of 20, they will receive moral education
- At level of 20, students will appear for their first high-level education. (In this section, the consequences of failing the exam should be also be mentioned.)
- From age of 21 to 30, the students (who pass the exam) will receive advanced physical, mental and moral training.
- At the age of 30, they have to appear for the second grand examination. (This section should also contain the consequences that would be faced by the failures)
- The few students who pass this exam would be taught philosophy from the age of 31 to that of 35.
- From the age of 36, they would come back to normal life and deal with problems of life.
- At the age of 50, there will be the final examination. The ones who pass this exam would become rulers and the rest would become auxiliaries.
(After this one or 2 follow up lines should be added.) [Note – This entire section should be completed within 100 words)
- Communism on Property
(The gist of Plato’s communism on property should be added here like how he thinks private property corrupts the mind and are aspects of low faculty, how collective ownership of property is needed etc. It should also be mentioned that this Communism is for the ruling class only and not for the producing masses.) [100 words]
- Commission of Wives
(The gist of Communism of wives should be written under this heading – abolition of family for guardian classes as it is corruptive and distractive. Plato’s arguments against family of guardians, apart from wastage of Female social potential, should be written.) [100 words]
- Distinction between Plato’s Communism and Modern Communism
(Few points on the difference between Plato’s Communism and contemporary Communism should be written] [100 words]
- Conclusion
(Few lines of conclusion should be written where either self analysis can be included or a few lines of criticisms and relevance can be added.) [50 words]
Also Read: How to Write Sociology Assignment
Reference
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indira_Gandhi_National_Open_University
World Political Theory, O.P. Gauba
I am a student pursuing Masters in Political Science from the University of Calcutta and I graduated from the same university (Scottish Church College). I have participated and won various creative writing contests, held online. I have also worked as a journalist in an E newspaper. My works have been published in various anthologies available on Flipkart and Amazon. I am an aspiring writer.