Written Communication Toolkit

Structuring the writing task

Setting the topic:

Do you set it? or

Do the students negotiate what they want to write about?

Narrowing it down:

Ask students to express in one sentence what their assignment is about (thesis statement);

And then another sentence on what they are going to say about the topic.

Gathering the evidence:

Suggest some useful sources;

Encourage students to follow leads in the lists of references they contain;

Show them how to evaluate resources on the basis of relevance and currency.

Writing:

Stress the importance of drafting, and re-drafting to clarify thinking;

Encourage peer review (it's what happens in scholarly journals);

Use drafts to monitor logical flow of ideas and arguments.

Refining:

Give constructive feedback on drafts - it helps students refine their ideas and saves you time in the long run!

A good writing assignment:

Is set for a clear purpose that students understand; it has meaning for them; it's relevant to their course or program; it has clearly defined criteria; it is focused on achieving a particular aim; it's manageable in the time available; it lends itself to peer review before final submission; and it allows for incremental development of writing skills.

 

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