DEVELOPING WRITING ASSIGNMENTS FOR FIRST YEAR COLLEGE WRITERS Dawn Abt-Perkins Director of Writing Programs For First Year Studies Faculty March 27, 2010

Quotes from Research on First Year Writers  “Right from the beginning, I knew my first draft was going to be my last…”  “Well, what I have down is basically what I want to put in.”  “I hold it off…You just want to get it over with…”  “Since the majority of my writing is for professors…strangers…I am very insecure about my writing ability…Thus I feel…intelligently composed…”

Why Do They Sound So Smart and Write So Dumb? The Transition from High School to College Writing  Why are you writing? “Because I have a paper due tomorrow.”  Authorship or “voice” becomes a problem. No sense of ownership.  No sense of the necessary time commitment for the stages of a writing project; treat most writing projects as “homework.”  Accountability for ideas—new and intimidating.  Success=turning in the paper. Progress is measured by number of pages completed.  Fluency/ confidence issues  Writing =me talking/telling what I know  A First year student’s view of a writing process:  Figure out what I want to say (with or without an outline)  Write the paper  Fix it up  Turn it in

What can you do in assignment design:  Present yourself as a reader/coach  Be clear about your expectations  Leave room for students to put their “signatures” on writing assignments by pointing out the choices they will make, the contributions they are making to the course  Control the challenge of any one writing assignment  Consider the sequence of your writing assignments as building confidence through practice  Build in other assignments (presentations, debates, discussion questions, in-class writing) to support or supplement, as “pre- writing,” for the writing assignments

Which do you think FY writers will find more helpful?  Write a 3-5 page essay discussing one aspect of Obama’s Race to the Top plan  Write a 3-5 page critique of one key aspect of Obama’s Race to the Top plan. Your goal is to convince Duncan’s team to consider changes or improve its rationale/argument. Use facts presented in the text, class lectures, and your personal experience as evidence for your argument. Refute counter- arguments and alternative positions. You should assume an editorial style: a personal (use of “I” and “We” are acceptable) but not use of an informal tone. Remember, in a critique, you need not fully agree or disagree; nuanced positions are acceptable and alternatives need to be explored.

Clarity/Explicitness  Include the following in writing, the goal of the writer or the purpose of the assignment and the form of the response (essay, annotated bibliography, summary, paragraph, outline).  Be sure you choose the right phrasing. Consider how many different ways students can interpret the word “discuss.”  Are you comfortable with all of the possible ways your question or assignment could be interpreted?  Reveal all of your expectations. Have an honest discussion with yourself about what you hope to see in these papers.  Does the form match the purpose? Consider page length carefully to match form and content expectations.  Do students know what resources to use? Where to start?  Are there potential pitfalls? What can you say to help students start/stay on the right track?

Manage the Challenges  Students are challenged by writing assignment expectations in terms of form, content, and audience.  Try to limit the type of challenge you want students to take on by your assignment design.  And be wary of creative writing assignments that end up challenging students on all three fronts at once.

Consider the challenges of the following two assignments  Write a 3-5 page commentary critiquing) one key aspect of Obama’s Race to the Top plan. Your goal is to convince Obama’s team to consider changes or improve the rationale/argument for this part of the plan. Use facts presented in the text, class lectures, and your personal experience as evidence for your argument. Refute counter-arguments and alternative positions. You should assume an editorial style: a personal (use of “I” and “We” are acceptable) but not use of an informal tone. Remember, in a critique, you need not fully agree or disagree; nuanced positions are acceptable and alternatives need to be explored.  Write a response to X’s education blog at the Washington Post presenting your position on one key aspect of Obama’s RTTT plan. Use facts presented in class and your…(See earlier rendition).

Allow for Familiar (vs. Distant/academic) Voice When Possible to Build Confidence  In a 3-5 page essay, portray how teachers’ work has changed under the new No Child Left Behind law. How have teacher responsibilities changed? What new concerns/challenges do they face?  Imagine that you are an experienced teacher in a school that has not met NCLB criteria for success. You have tenure and are respected by your colleagues, parents, and students for your creativity and responsiveness. Write a 3-5 page letter to a teacher friend at a private school (a school not impacted by NCLB) describing how your job has changed and your feelings about these changes in your work life.

Sequencing Assignments  Build a frame of reference so that students can join a conversation of ideas rather than spout opinions  Build from the personal to the theoretical  Build to a culminating writing task that has students apply all the skills you have taught  Build from simple (yet serious) assignments to argument (very complex)

Example: Writing Assignment Sequence  Where do you see personal to theoretical?  Simple to complex?  Building a frame of reference?  Practice with sub-skills of writing an argument?

One Key Sequencing Principle: Build from Simple to Complex  Summaries  Definitions  Observations/description

Simple Yet Serious Writing Assignments: The summary  The summary  Sequential gloss or plot summary  An account of the author’s central argument and evidence  Identification of underlying assumptions in an argument  Description of the structure or organization of a text

Simple yet Serious Assignment: Definitions of Key Concepts  Providing examples and counter examples  Arguing for a particular definition over another definition for some particular purpose or consequence  Exploring various definitions and their uses and limitations Example: Educational equity is defined in the research literature in many ways. In three separate 1-2 page papers, describe three different definitions of educational equity and describe why each is considered worthy of educational research dollars and effort. In class, we will debate which of our definitions is most worthy of limited research resources.

Simple Yet Serious Assignments: Observation/Description  Field and lab notes  Art critiques  Vary the description or observation for different audiences or purposes Example: Observe X documentary for its references to the “testing culture,” what some claim is a result of NCLB. When and where do you see “tests” influencing the educational experiences, values, and perspectives of teachers and students?

Helping them Write and Sound Smart through Assignment Design  Design of writing assignments can improve student confidence  With increased confidence, comes increased time commitment. Students won’t “run away” or “hide” from your assignments  By moving from the simple to the complex, students will have a better understanding of what it takes to write well  Considering how form supports purpose will help you guide writers and promote critical thinking simultaneously