University of Houston-Clear Lake Writing Center Established in 1993

Creating Effective Writing Assignments Questions to consider:  What do you want your students to learn?  Will the writing be formal?  What audience will your students address?  How will you use class time to support the writing assignment?  How will you teach the skills required for successful completion of the assignment?  How will you respond to your students’ writing?  What information do your students need?

What do you want your students to learn?  How to research and present data?  How to articulate an argument?  How to write with authority?  How to format according to a specific style?  How to publish in an academic discipline?  To explore the ideas you have presented in a lecture?  To reflect on educational experiences provided in or outside of class?  To use writing to learn about assigned texts?

Will the writing be formal?  Research Report  Accounting Report  Researched Argument  Historical Analysis Or Informal?  Personal Letter  Teaching Observation  Reader’s notebook  Class response  Literary Analysis  Business Proposal  Lab Report  Journal Entry  WebCT Post  Blog Post

What audience will your students address?  Will this writing be addressed solely to you, as instructor?  Will you ask your students to identify and address a professional audience?  Will students write to/for themselves?  Will students write to/for classmates? Regardless of audience, writers must always think about what audiences think, know, and feel about a topic. Help your students explore and understand their formal audiences.

How will you use class time to support the writing assignment?  Initial classroom discussion?  Planning/brainstorming groups?  In-class modeling?  Support material?  Peer response groups for drafts?  Whole class workshops on selected drafts?  Other classroom activities?

How will you teach the required skills?  Put it in writing! Make sure you distribute a well-written assignment that specifies what you require from your students.  Provide model essays.  Write up specialized formatting instructions.  Require the purchase and use of formatting guides like APA and MLA.  Recommend that your students use the Writing Center.  Participate in the Writing Center’s Writing Advisors program.

How will you respond to your students’ writing?  Collect proposals to be sure students are on the right track.  Ask for annotated bibliographies so students begin research early in the semester.  Respond to an early draft.  Plan for in-class workshops or peer response groups.  Encourage students to visit the Writing Center by providing incentives for coming.  Participate in the Writing Center’s Writing Advisors program.

What information do your students need?  Due dates  Purpose and/or background  Audience  Specific instructions  Reading/research requirements  Constraints  Evaluation criteria

Writing Center Staff Director -Dr. Chloé Diepenbrock Associate Professor of Writing Ph.D. in Rhetoric, Linguistics, and Literature University of Southern California Business Assistant -Ms. Katie Hart B.A. in Graphic Design University of Houston-Clear Lake And... The Tutors and Receptionists Ann, Amy, Celia, Charley, Corey, Daniel, James, Jo Lynn, Katherine, Krasi, Matt B., Matt R., Alicia, Petra, & Rohan

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