Developing Effective Writing Assignments

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Developing Effective Writing Assignments

• Effective Teaching and Learning Department
• Instructionaltech_at_baker.edu

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Course Outcomes

• Describe writing as a learning element
• Discuss formal vs. informal writing
• Classify writing styles
• Develop effective assignments
• Assess/evaluate writing
• Identify writing resources at Baker

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Discussion

• How do you see yourself as a writer?
• What writing assignments do you use in your
  class?
• Why are these assignments important?
• How many do you give your students per quarter?

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Activity

• What are the five most important elements in good
  student writing?
• What are the top three problems with student
  writing you see in your class?

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Blooms Taxonomy
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Discussion

• Where do your current assignments fall within
  Blooms Taxonomy?
• Which levels are an appropriate target for your
  class?

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Types of Writing

• In class vs. out of class writing
• Formal vs. informal
• Graded vs. not graded

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Activity suggestions

• In class
• Essay exams
• Lecture reaction papers
• Muddiest point papers
• Free writing
• Observation log
• Journal

• Out of class
• Take home essay exams
• Term papers
• Article, book, movie review or summary
• Learning log
• Double-entry journal

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Formal Writing

• Typically, formal writing encompasses these
  elements
• Require citations/bibliographies
• Graded
• Oriented to a specific audience
• Performed both in and out of class

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Ideas for Formal Writing

• Case plans or logs
• Annotated bibliography
• Laboratory reports
• Research paper
• Reaction papers

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Informal Writing

• Typically, informal writing encompasses these
  elements
• Graded credit/no credit or not graded
• Can be a starting point for formal writing
• Helps develop student understanding of concepts

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Ideas for Informal Writing

• Class minutes
• Peer reviews
• Brainstorming
• Post-lecture counterarguments
• Admit ticket
• Exit box
• Free writing
• Journaling

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Graded vs. Not Graded

• Contain components of both formal and informal
  writing
• Can be performed in or out of class
• Determined by instructor and/or class

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Styles of writing

• Expressive
• Exploratory
• Informative
• Scientific
• Persuasive
• Literary

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Expressive Writing

• Focuses on the writers experience and motives
• Examples
• Autobiography
• Reaction/express personal views to lecture
• Journals/logs
• Blooms Taxonomy Comprehension, Application,
  Analysis, and Evaluation

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Exploratory Writing

• Asks questions
• Examples
• Marketing study
• Opinion papers
• Feasibility studies
• Blooms Taxonomy Comprehension, Application, and
  Evaluation

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Informative Writing

• Answers questions
• Examples
• Article and book reviews
• Job proposal
• Web site scripts
• Essay exams
• Blooms Taxonomy Knowledge, Comprehension, and
  Application

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Scientific Writing

• Provides proof for its assertions
• Acknowledges other side of issue
• Examples
• Lab reports
• Grant proposal
• Case logs/notes
• Experiment notes
• Blooms Taxonomy Analysis, Synthesis, and
  Evaluation

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Persuasive Writing

• Attempts to change views or behavior of reader
• Examples
• Advertising campaigns
• Video review
• Position papers/speeches
• Editorials, letters to the Editor
• Blooms Taxonomy Synthesis, Analysis, and
  Evaluation

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Literary Writing

• Invites attention to the message itself
• Includes
• Book reviews
• Plays, TV, or film scripts
• Based on course-related issues
• Blooms Taxonomy Knowledge, Comprehension, and
  Analysis

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Writing the Writing Assignment

• Identify the purpose
• State the topic and audience clearly
• Describe the evaluation criteria
• Explain format requirements
• Length, due date, number of citations
• Check student knowledge and skills
• Are they appropriate to complete the assignment?
• Verify that the topic is relevant
• Have students complete paper prospectus

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Discussion

• What could happen in your class if you allowed
  the following?
• Collaboration
• Revisions
• Time extensions
• Flexibility on requirements

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Assignment Strategies

• Break long assignments into stages or sequence
  small assignments so the end product is one
  cohesive unit
• Provide reality-based, problem-solving activities
• Highlight connections within and between
  disciplines
• Present examples of good writing for student
  review
• Provide all assignments in writing

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Individual Activity

• Using the information you have learned so far,
  create a writing assignment for your class

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Assessments

• Set the goal of continuous improvement
• Allow the student to reflect on his/her past
  performance and areas of concern
• Can be performed by any one of the following
• Instructor and student - collaboratively
• Student and peers
• Student self-assessment

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Methods to Help Students Perform Self-Assessment

• Provide students with a self-assessment
  worksheet, based on your grading criteria
• Require students to peer review other students
  work
• Consider making a self-assessment or reflection
  journal part of the assignment

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Peer Assessment Ideas

• Use both large and small groups
• Incorporate a peer review after a self-assessment
  and rewrite
• Distribute one essay to entire group and have the
  group offer suggestions for improvement
• Have author read essay to group

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Group Activity

• Gather in a group of 3 and trade assignments
• Review the assignments, providing the following
  information to the writer
• Two strengths of the assignment
• Two areas for improvement
• An insight about the assignment

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Discussion

• When could you use peer assessment in your
  current class assignments?
• How could you incorporate regular self-assessment
  into your writing assignments?
• Do you assess your assignments on a quarterly (or
  yearly) basis to validate their worth?

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Assessment vs. Evaluation

• Assessments goal is continuous improvement
• Evaluations goal is to measure performance
  against a standard set of criteria
• Grades are based on evaluations, but are often
  improved by assessments

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Dealing with Plagiarism

• Define the concept of plagiarism, in writing,
  early in the quarter
• Provide passage examples so students can practice
  determining common knowledge from a work that
  should be cited
• Provide citation examples
• Include web citations on list
• Discuss Internet plagiarism

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Questions?