The best tip I can give you is to listen to what you instructor tells you. That's his/her job and that's what you're paying him/her to do.
Don't piss him/her off by telling them about a whole lot of stuff you heard about on PPRUNE.
A couple of observations from your photo. It would appear you have had no formal training on flight planning/navigation.
Why all the scale calculations to work your leg distances? One nm is one minute of one degree of latitude, so distance is easy to measure by placing your measured distance along the lines of longitude and counting the number of minutes of latitude. Or you could use a nm ruler for the scale of chart you are using. Perhaps you will be shown this as part of your preparation for the flight.
I see you have drawn the track on the chart, have you made up a navigation log with tracks and distances? Your instructor will probably advise on how he/she wants this done.
Also I would use a soft lead pencil, nicely sharpened to mark your track. It allows for you to draw track line that's not too thick and is easy to rub out when you need to use the chart again. Take advice from your instructor on this too.
Edit: A second look at you photo shows that you may have a plastic coating on your chart, if that's the case ignore my pencil comment. Also use a square protractor, it's much easier to align with the lines of latitude, longitude and your track and it gives a full 360 degrees to measure from.
Last edited by 27/09; 18th Jan 2015 at 19:30.