The Research Assignment Calculator (TRAC)

You can place the link anywhere in your online classroom: in your syllabus, in Course Content, etc. You can use this or similar language, and of course include the link to TRAC:

Direct your students to TRAC when you have assigned a large research project, such as a term paper. TRAC assists students with their time management by breaking down a project into the following steps, providing a due date for each step, and linking to helpful resources:

1. Understand your assignment
2. Select and focus topic
3. Write working thesis
4. Design research strategy
5. Find, review, and evaluate journal/magazine/newspaper articles
6. Find, review, and evaluate websites
7. Find, review, and evaluate books
8. Outline or describe overall structure
9. Write first draft
10. Conduct additional research as necessary
11. Revise and rewrite
12. Put paper in final form

If your research assignment is already staged (that is, divided into steps, with a due date for each), then you have already structured the assignment for your students, and TRAC will not be needed.

If you want to convert a large assignment into a staged one, you can take the steps and scheduling used in TRAC and adapt them to your class’s needs. When designing an assignment, please feel free to consult a UMGC librarian on any aspect of the assignment that involves library research. You can contact us via Ask a Librarian.