Helping students create better writing

How can instructors help students write better - without having writing instruction take over your class? Here is a list of easy-to-incorporate suggestions for common writing challenges.  

• Students struggling to come up with ideas?
  • Tweak the prompt to make the essay more authentic Links to an external site. - i.e. have a real-world tie-in
  • Assign some low-stakes, reflective writing that becomes the building blocks for the paper (and tell students that's what they are). 
  • Have students submit a pre-writing outline (can be graded as complete/incomplete). 
• Students not following the assignment prompt? First, try using the Transparent Assignment Protocol. Next, try having students annotate the prompt in class, and/or explain the assignment in their own words.
• Major writing assignments coming in disorganized or low-quality? Drafts are a great writing support. Here's some ways to keep a drafts assignment manageable from a faculty point of view:

• Drafts can also be graded as complete/incomplete Links to an external site. - in my class simply meeting a page limit = complete.
• Have students do a draft self-review, writing one summary "headline" sentence per paragraph. Ask them to review their headlines, see what they notice about content and organization, and have them write a note to themselves about what they want to revise. 
• Peer review Links to an external site. in Canvas can be helpful. Pair with a rubric to support more useful feedback from peers. 
• Ask students to write a brief "revision plan" on what they plan to change for the final draft. 
• Some students seriously struggling? Struggles with writing are not uncommon, and do not reflect a student's intelligence. If students need extra support, try the wise feedback method: share your high expectations for the assignment, your faith that they (or any student) can succeed, the supports that will help them get there (including campus student resources), and concrete steps they can take to improve.
• Want students to take ownership for their learning? Try having students set goals for themselves as writers. Then, perhaps when submitting an assignment, or at the end of the semester, have them reflect on these goals. These reflections can be 5-minute activities - in class they can simply write on the back of a paper draft! 

Good luck with your early-semester writing assignments!

Abby Machson-Carter

SSU Instructional Designer

Source/Further Reading:

• Authentic Assessment- short blog post where author Breana Bayraktar explains how authentic assessments engage students' creative and problem-solving capabilities, and "mimic real-life situations." Good "Read more" section as well. 
• How do I use peer review assignments in a course? Links to an external site. - Canvas Instructor Guide
• Wise feedback: helping students persist- Teaching and Tech Tips article on how to use feedback that helps close achievement gaps.
• Helping Students Engage with Texts (in Any Modality) - short article in the SSU professional development portal on how to help students dig into course readings. 

 

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