Save for the occasional foreign word, the English language doesn't have accents.  Italian on the other hand, is littered with these tiny marks that change the pronunciation, and even the meaning of certain words.  Fortunately, if you keep the following things in mind, placing accents in Italian is easy.  Here is a beginners lesson to placing accents in Italian.
- In Italian, a word can only have one accent.  This is very unlike other languages like French.

- Vowels, a, i, o and u can only have grave accents(`).
- The letter 'e' is the only one that can also have a grave accent(è) or an acute accent(é).
- The accent helps you to pronounce the word.  The stress is where the accent is.
- Leaving the accent out is considered a mistake and misspelling.
- Native speakers put them as soon as they place the letter.  Get in the habit of doing this too. Don't wait until the end of the sentence/word to place it.

 
è - e grave
The most popular accent.è(verbo essere), c’è, tè(bevanda), caffè, qual è, cioè
Ex: Lui è bravo.Laura non c’è.
Cosa c’è?

à - a grave (sempre alla fine della parola)
This one always goes at the end of the word. This is primarily to identify the stress at the end of the word.
già, metà, papà(padre), arriverà(verbi futuri), sarà, là, identità,
Lei mi dà un bacio.(3a persona verbo dare)

ì - i grave
At the end of the word too.  Note that all the days of the week end with this accent, except sabato and domenica)
sì(affermazione), così, pipì, lì, lunedì, martedì, mercoledì, giovedì, venerdì(i 5 gg)

é - e acuto
This one is less common, and its just a matter of remembering these few words.  The passato remoto conjugations use it too.
perché, poiché,, giacché, finché, nonché, benché, affinché, né uno né l’altro(negazione), poté(passato remoto potere)

ò - o grave
A few words that you should memorize.  In addition, the futuro tense and passato remoto tense use it too.
può, ciò, perciò, però,
arriverò(tutti i futuri)
mangiò(passato remoto)

ù - u grave(si trova principalmente nelle parole di origine francese)
Once again at the end of the word, and not that common. The most popular ones are below.
più, giù, Gesù, cucù, tutù

NON ACCENTATI:
The following are not exceptions, they can confuse learners as they are seen both with and without the accent.  Here is when it shows up without it.
da(preposizione semplice)
IT: Siamo aperti da lunedì a venerdì.
EN: We are open from Monday to Friday.
IT: Mario e Luigi sono fratelli. (e is used as a congiunzione, and)
EN: Mario and Luigi are brothers.
IT: L'acqua si sta riscaldando(si pronome riflessivo)
EN: The water is heating up.
qua, qui (The demonstative pronouns)
IT: Ho un po’ di fame (Use the apostrophe to shorten poco to po')
EN: I'm a bit hungry
IT: Ce ne sono abbastanza libri sulla scaffa. (demonstative pronoun 'ce')
EN: There are enough books on the shelf.

Just remember, accents aren't that tough, but for the anglosaxon they can easily be overlooked.  Here's a tip.  Print out this paper, and put it next to you when doing your homework or writing your next essay.  This is not an extensive list, but it should put you off to a good start. With a little bit of practice, you can master this part of Italian with little stress.  In bocca al lupo!