Writing Assignments and Their Pedagogical Benefits
 
Types of writing Method As a mode of learning for students  As a tool for the instructor
In-class Writing 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 		 10 minutes at the beginning of class in response to a question 
or topic.

5-10 minutes at the end of class to summarize discussion.

Individual or group brainstorming.
 

 Helps the students to see writing as a way to get back into the material and focus on the topic for the day. 

Beginning with activities requiring thinking and interaction helps to make students active learners (and note-takers). 
 

 Allows instructor to assess what the students have learned in class, and repeat material if necessary or make larger revisions to the syllabus.

Indicates who was confused by specific material, allowing the instructor to go over that material out of class.
Dialogue Journals
 
 		 Student pairs write responses to reading and to each other's responses, exchanging journals in class.  Helps students develop an interactive relationship with course material and with other class members. Allows instructor to assess how the students have reacted to readings, and how they are interacting to class mates. 
Response Writing

See Handbook 202-203.

 Brief (1-2 page) responses to readings or class discussion.
 		 Helps students develop an interactive relationship with course material.
 		 Allows instructor to assess how the students have reacted to readings, etc. 
 
E-mail/"Forum" discussion (messages sent to the whole class)
 
 
 

See Handbook, 57-61.
 

 Require a certain number of messages throughout the semester and refer to them in class. 

Questions for class discussion may be e-mailed by students or instructor in advance of class.

 Allows participation and response from students who are too shy to speak in class.

Encourages students to discuss class material out of class and helps them learn to "think-in-writing."
 
 

 Provides an indication of what is catching student interest (and why).

Instructors can send questions, answers to questions, or comments after class and refer to issues raised but not fully discussed.
 
Writer's Journals.
 
 

See Handbook, 45-57 (Critical Reasoning)

 At least 3-5 entries a week.

Journals graded for quantity and depth of thought rather than for the quality of the thoughts.

 Ungraded entries help students develop the habit of recording their reactions, responses, and thoughts. Journal writing helps students learn to "think in writing." 
 		 The instructor can evaluate how much each student has been thinking outside of the class (especially valuable in the case of students who do not participate in class discussion). 
Summaries of reading & Annotated Bibliographies.
 
 
 
 
 
 

See Handbook 283-4, 266. See also "Summary Writing"
 

 1-2 page summaries in which the students summarize the thesis/ point argument/ of the piece and the issues or evidence discussed.

Can cover all of the readings for the course and/or additional readings on the topic they have researched (allows research without the research paper).

 Students can't effectively summarize material they do not understand, so teaching them to write summaries provides them with a way to evaluate their comprehension.

In order to write these, students must be able to ascertain the thesis of the piece and identify the main points. Learning to do this also makes them better and faster readers.

 Allows the instructor to ascertain whether the students have read and understood the assigned material, and provides valuable feedback about the degree of difficulty appropriate for the specific group of students.

Instructors can also use these writing forms to evaluate how well students can identify the thesis and main ideas in a text.
Critical Synthesis & Analytical synthesis 
 
 

See Handbook 285-286, 287-9.  See also "Synthesis Writing"

 Generally 1-3 pages long, these assignments ask students to synthesize material from two or more sources to either explain/ describe the response to a topic or set up the arguments (best done with three sources that share some agreement and some disagreement).  In addition to providing students with practice in ascertaining the thesis, identifying the main points, and writing summaries and paraphrases, these assignments call on them to learn to combine ideas to explain a topic or show the points of conflict within a topic.
 		 Allow the instructor to ascertain whether the students have read and understood the assigned material, and provide valuable feedback about the degree of difficulty appropriate for the specific group of students.

Reveal students' ability to identify the thesis and main ideas in a text.
Critiques, analyses, position papers, and reviews of the
literature or websites.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

See Handbook 283-289, 395-411, 289-292

 Generally 2-5 pages long. If possible these assignments should require students to formulate a thesis and support it during the critique, analysis, position paper, or review. Some discussion of the difference between a thesis and a topic might help prepare students (See the Handbook, pp. 14-20)
 
 		 In addition to practice in finding the thesis, identifying main points, and writing summaries and paraphrases, these assignments call on students to learn to use writing as a way of processing material.

They encourage students to enter into a dialog with the texts and learn what we expect of them in college. These assignments encourage critical reading and thinking skills.

 Allow instructors to gauge how well students can process material. Those who are unable to critique definitions, methods, premises, or arguments are at best passive learners; at worst they are may have trouble producing effective college-level papers. 

Students who cannot critique/analyze (i.e.: cannot take distance from what they read) are more likely to unintentionally plagiarize. 
 
Comparisons
 

See Handbook 37-38, & "Comparison Writing"

 Generally 2-4 pages long. Such assignments can invite students to compare texts from the course, outside material, or web resources. Comparisons invite students to critique, evaluate, and classify information and see connections between facts, ideas, and concepts. Students who cannot compare sources tend not to fully understand them, or to lack critical reading skills or the ability to organize ideas.
 

Sandra Jamieson
May 2001