COMPOSING WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

Kevin Eric DePew

Old Dominion University

What are my goals?

Always start with your course goals, then ask…

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• How will writing supplement or facilitate these goals?
• What type of writing will best fulfill these goals?

Start with your goals

Typical goals for academic writing include…

• knowing course content
• applying course content
• learning how to research in the field
• being critical of or scrutinizing material
• demonstrating correct grammar and format

Students’ perception

How should students perceive writing?

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Writing = Assignment = Grade

OR

Writing = Communication = Participating in the Field

Writing to learn & Learning to write

• W2L–Writing helps students’ cognitively process course material
• Examples –summaries, demonstrations of application, reports

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• L2W–Learning the writing conventions of a specific discipline
• Example – explicitly teach students the mechanics and format of the genres in your discipline

Goals determine your tasks

• Use your goals to determine what tasks students should accomplish
• comprehension ⇨ summarize, explain, describe, define, discuss, illustrate, review
• application ⇨ design, demonstrate, develop
• critical ⇨ analyze, evaluate, defend, compare, contrast

Assignment sheets

• Consider the following elements for your assignment sheet…
• Purpose: Student should understand why they are doing the assignment
• Preparation: How should students prepare to write? Where will the information come from?
• Writing: Explains what they are writing
• Assessment: How will you grade the paper?

Format of an assignment

• Use document design principles to make your assignments easier to read
• This is a professional document, not a manuscript
• You can view document design principles at �http://www.odu.edu/~kdepew/pwprinciples.pdf

ESL students

• Be culturally sensitive
• Provide opportunities to write about home issues when appropriate
• Determine how important correctness is to you

Assessing your own assignment

• Assignments clear to you may be confusing to students, especially those new to the university or discipline
• Get students to read assignments in first week; allows you to revise assignments to your student audience
• If students do not meet your expectations, reread your assignment before you assess

Your Turn

Take some time to examine your own assignment

• What are your goals for the course?
• What is the purpose of the writing assignment ?
• How does the assignment help fulfill the course goals?

Peer Review

Give your assignment and responses to a partner; as the partner consider how a student would read this.

• Is the purpose of the assignment clear?
• Are the instructions written clearly?
• What questions do you anticipate the students will ask?
• Is the document easy to read and navigate?