LibGuides: Assignment Calculating Tools: Resources to support and structure your work

Assignment Calculators

An assignment calculator is a tool for breaking down large projects into more manageable steps and potential deadlines. This tool can be especially helpful for people who struggle with executive functioning skills.

Benefits to using an assignment calculator:

Develops a plan with due dates and time considerations.
Includes recommendations for resources to help with different steps in the process.

Considerations for using an assignment calculator:

It can only propose the structure of a plan, it's up to you to follow through.
Different assignments and fields may be structured in different ways, you may want to consider how and if the generic plan works for you or what changes you should consider making.

Assignment Calculators:

University of Minnesota Libraries Assignment Calculator
University of Toronto Scarborough: Assignment Planner
This assignment planner is an alternative to the University of Minnesota Resource. It includes more options for assignment types including personal statements, podcasts, and graduate school applications.

How-to Resources for Assignment Calculators:

Text and Images: How to Use an Assignment Calculator

Campus Resources

Often times, Assignment Calculators (or similarly structured AI responses) will point to or allude to support services and offices on your campus that you might want to take advantage of to make the most of your process and work.

Below are a list of some of the academic support services at UR:

Librarians: Schedule an Appointment
Make an appointment with a librarian to help select and develop your topic and find and cite relevant sources.
You can also chat with people at the library for help with quick questions as you are searching.
Writing Tutors: Schedule an Appointment
The Writing and Speaking Center has undergraduate and graduate tutors who can help you at any stage of the writing process, from brainstorming ideas to polishing a final draft.
Asynchronous Writing Feedback
If your paper is shorter (<8 pages) and if you have specific and defined questions for a tutor, you can upload your work to get feedback within 48 hours. This can be a helpful alternative to in-person meetings in some cases!
Academic Success Coaching
Confidential academic coaching offers you individual discussions with a coach who will help you improve your academic performance and efficiency. Your coach will meet with you, discuss your concerns, and help you discover learning techniques that will enable you to enhance your overall academic performance.
Subject Tutors: The Learning Center
For support in subject-specific content and work strategies, you can meet with a tutor through the Learning Center. This page shows you how to sign up to meet with a tutor.
*Note, most tutoring services are related to 100-level STEM classes. If you are looking for a tutor for another field or class, you can reach out to your professor or email learning@rochester.edu
Cite & Keep Track of Sources: Zotero
For larger projects, consider using a reference manager like Zotero to store your sources and create citations and bibliographies.
You can also meet with a librarian to get set up and see Zotero in action.