How to Write Writing Assignments

What are you handing me?
Image by James Cohen used with Creative Commons License

Do you shudder  or get a little squeamish when students hand in their papers and dread the inevitable hours upon hours of grading? Writing better assignment sheets means getting back papers that better meet faculty expectations, making your job easier and student success higher.

When writing your assignment sheets, think carefully about the rhetorical situation you want the students to envision, the qualities of the writing that are most important to you, and how examples of the assignment meet your requirements.

The Rhetorical Situation

One of the many ways faculty can ask for and receive better papers from students is to carefully craft assignment sheets that clarify what's called the rhetorical situation. This includes telling students who their intended audience is meant to be (the professor, peers, or professionals in a particular discipline, for example), their purpose for writing, which is linked to one of the four modes of communication, and their focus, which would include the broad topic and examples of more narrowed subtopics.

• Audience - Who's it for, and how does that change the language, use of sources, and depth?
• Purpose - Is the student mostly meant to inform, persuade, describe, or tell a story?
• Focus - What are appropriate topics and subtopics?

These distinctions can mean the difference between getting back papers called "Science Fair: How to Farm Earthworms" and papers called "Benefits of Using Compost Tea for Orchards with Loamy Soil." The first paper example is expository, merely informative, and the intended audience is most likely high school students. The second paper is argumentative, offers an educated opinion about the topic, and is most likely meant for agricultural professionals or serious hobbyists. The information the student gathers for the first paper will be general, not necessarily peer-reviewed or academic: The sources might be blog posts or articles from general interest gardening magazines. The information the student gathers for the second paper will be academic, come from library subscription service databases and Google Scholar, and most likely will be peer-reviewed.

The Rubric

By offering a rubric for the students to see before the paper is due, a professor lets the students know right away what's important. The rubric can even be divided into categories that may mimic what students have learned in composition courses. The qualities of unity (sticking to the topic overall and main ideas within paragraphs), coherence (order and flow), and clarity (grammar and mechanics) are almost always taught in freshman composition, and when combined with the categories of content (accuracy and use of evidence) and formatting (use of an appropriate style guide), just about all aspects of a paper can be covered on the rubric.

• Unity - The thesis, topic sentences, and evidence have alignment and are relevant to one another without being repetitive
• Coherence - The information is presented in a logical order with smooth transitions
• Clarity - Grammar and mechanics are used correctly
• Content - Evidence is interesting, accurate, timely, relevant, credible, authoritative, and on-topic; all claims have evidence in support
• Formatting - The student has followed the rules of an appropriate style guide

Faculty who appreciate detailed titles or who are adamant about APA formatting can address those points on the rubric by assigning, well . . . points. If the professor wants a thesis or enthymeme to appear in the introduction of the paper, that can be listed on the rubric, too, maybe even under the unity category. Students will know right away these particular items are important and can spend time and energy focused on those parts of the paper. The more descriptive the rubric, the better the betters will be, and the easier it will be for the professor to stay focused and on task while grading.

The Example

One of the best ways to explain to students what faculty are looking for in papers is to show students examples of those types of papers. This is exceptionally important for students who are just learning to write in a particular discipline or in a particular mode (exposition, persuasion/argumentation, description, or narration). By carefully pointing out how a particular example meets the assignment requirements and rubric items with proficiency, students can more confidently begin their own writing. If students begin to stray or have questions about the quality of their writing later in the process, the example or a second example can be given again to help demonstrate the qualities.

In addition to the qualities, faculty can even offer an example of the step-by-step process with a schedule or timeline, which can greatly reduce the anxiety of students who are not well-practiced in time management or writing and research.

Satisfaction and Success

When writing your assignment sheets, think carefully about the rhetorical situation you want the students to envision, the qualities of the writing that are most important to you, and how examples of the assignment meet your requirements. Not only will this bring you more personal satisfaction as you grade the papers, but the students will have been more successful in learning how to write in the given discipline.



Copyright Amy Lynn Hess. Please contact the author for permission to republish.