Designing Writing Assignments from A to Z

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Designing Writing Assignments from A to Z

• Dr. Rory Donnelly
• Fulbright Senior Lecturer, University of Costa
  Rica
• Professor, Northeastern Illinois University,
  Chicago

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Outline

• What makes a writing assignment hard or easy?
• Scaffolding
• A look at two writing assignments
• Writing a complete writing assignment

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What makes a writing assignment hard?

• The purpose isnt clear
• Theres no clear audience
• Students dont know the vocabulary or the
  structures they need for the writing assignment
• The genre is new
• Students dont know how to start (or what to do
  next)
• Students dont know grading criteria

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What makes a writing assignment hard?

• The assignment is long
• Theres no feedback during the process
• Everything is language-based
• Students work alone at home
• Students dont know how to go about writing the
  assignment

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Scaffolding
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How do you structure an assignment to provide
scaffolding?

• Provide a purpose
• Provide an audience
• Activate vocabulary and structures
• Use familiar genres
• Provide models
• Write out the steps in the process
• Give grading criteria ahead of time

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How else do you provide scaffolding?

• Keep it short
• Provide formative feedback
• Integrate the arts and visual aids
• Move writing into the classroom
• Work in groups
• Build the writing process into the assignment

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An assignment for beginners (no scaffolding)

• Write 5 sentences about your bedroom. Use the
  prepositions you studied in class.

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An assignment for beginners (with scaffolding)

1. Draw a picture of your bedroom.
2. Look at the vocabulary page
3. Look at the prepositions chart.
4. Write 5 sentences about your bedroom.

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Grading Criteria

• Sentences describe the picture
• Prepositions are used accurately
• Sentences start with capital and end with period
• Each sentence contains a subject and a verb.

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An assignment for low-intermediates (no
scaffolding)

• Write a paragraph on the topic My Favorite
  Beach. Include a title and a topic sentence

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An assignment for intermediates (with scaffolding)

• Your friend is going to visit your country for
  the first time. He (she) wants to go to a beach.
  Write a letter to your friend describing your
  favorite beach. Include details.

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An assignment for intermediates (with scaffolding)

• Process
• Make a list of beaches and pick one.
• Make a brainstorming map to plan what you will
  say
• Study the model letter for ideas and for form
• Write the letter.
• Read it to a classmate
• Your classmate will ask you questions. Respond
  to the questions.
• You may want to add more information. Add it in
  your second draft.

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Example of Brainstorming Map
usually hot and humid
not very busy
Punto Uva
around 5 hours from San Jose
some tourists, but not many
swimming
many activities
snorkelling
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Grading Criteria

• Your letter is about a favorite beach
• It follows the letter format in the model
• You describe details about the beach
• Your brainstorming map is attached to your letter
• Sentences have subjects, verbs, capitals, and
  periods
• Your letter is proofread for use of is/are and
  have/has

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Parts of a writing assignment

• purpose
• audience
• genre
• vocabulary and structures
• process steps
• grading criteria

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Summary

• Include purpose, audience, genre, and process in
  each writing assignment.
• Give grading criteria with the assignment

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Summary

• Activate vocabulary and target structures.
• Provide additional scaffolding by
• keeping assignments short
• giving formative feedback
• using the arts
• using group work, and
• building in the writing process