What Should You Do If You Forget an Assignment?

One of the biggest differences between university and high school is you no longer have anyone reminding you that a due date for an assignment is coming up. If you struggle with organizational skills, there’s always the risk you’ll forget until it’s too late. This is a stressful situation, but there are things you can do to rectify your mistake.

1. Tell Your Professor What Happened

It may be tempting to make up an excuse, but your professor is unlikely to be sympathetic if it’s clear you haven’t even started working on the assignment this close to the deadline. It’s better to be honest and say you forgot. If possible, meet with your professor in person, such as during office hours. Otherwise, send your professor an email.

2. Approach Your Professor the Right Way

No matter whether you’re writing to your professor or meeting in person, you need to be polite, keep your message brief, and show maturity. Explain your situation and make it clear the fact you forgot is no reflection of your attitude toward the class or due to laziness. Make sure you apologize, then ask if there is anything you can do to prevent a failing grade. Your professor may ask you to submit whatever you can for partial credit. If you’re lucky, though, your professor may give you an extension to submit a few days late.

3. Mention Any Valid Reasons for Forgetting

Due dates are important at university because they prepare you for the real world where you’ll face deadlines all the time. However, the occasional slip-up can happen to anyone — and if it’s never happened to you before, your professor may be lenient. You may be able to further strengthen your case by mentioning any valid reasons for forgetting.

For instance, you may have confused the due date with one from another class or written it down incorrectly. Alternatively, you may be overwhelmed by too many commitments, have problems in your personal life that distracted you from your studies, or have missed classes due to illness, leading you to forget about the assignment.

4. Take Steps to Prevent It Happening Again

You’ll definitely encounter challenges if you constantly forget about assignments or miss deadlines for other reasons. To avoid forgetting a future assignment, you need to figure out the underlying issue. If you’re disorganized, the solution may be as simple as investing in a planner and creating a study schedule to work on assignments long before their due dates. Alternatively, you may need to take fewer classes each semester or work fewer shifts at your part-time job to make your schedule more manageable.

To stay organized, focused, and committed to your academics, one thing you definitely need is your own space. Move out of OTU residence and into an apartment at Foundry 1805. You can choose between private and semi-private bedrooms and a range of floor plans to suit your budget. You’ll still be living around other students and be just steps from your classes, but you’ll be much more comfortable in your spacious suite. Book a tour to check out the apartments and amenities for yourself.