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CSTW Center for the Study and Teaching of Writing

College of Humanities

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General Advice for Creating Effective Writing Assignments

The Second-Level Writing Handbook // Creating and Implementing Effective Writing Assignments // Responding to Student Writing // In-Class Writing Activities // Peer Response // Preventing Plagiarism // OSU Resources.

Download General Advice for Creating Effective Writing Assignments as a Microsoft Word file.

I. Benefits of Effective Assignments
  • They help students produce more successful written texts
  • They help the instructor explain and present the project, anticipate questions, plan course activities, and develop criteria for responding to and evaluating the completed assignment
  • They are important first steps that set the tone for the writing project and related class activities
II. Key Elements of User-Friendly Assignments for Teachers and Students
  • A plausible rhetorical situation: Specify a reader and a purpose for the written text that students are being asked to produce. Identify the type of text (e.g. memo, report, proposal, etc.) that should be written. Designate a role for students in the scenario created by specifying the reader, purpose, and type of text to be written (e.g. "you are the president of the local historical society;" "you are the principal investigator on a large biomedical research project").
  • Clarity and Focus: Make sure that the primary goal of the assignment is clear, both in terms of the language you use to describe it and the format in which you present it. For example, keep the main instructions succinct and specific. When presenting this information, highlight key ideas by using bold or italics. Often "less is more" when composing writing assignments; extra information that is intended to be helpful can actually distract or confuse readers. Identifying which information is crucial and which is supplementary will decrease the chance that students become confused and frustrated or that they stray from the assignment.
  • Process: Whether the assignment is to be completed in one sitting or is part of a larger project, it is often helpful to break the assignment into manageable pieces. This helps students to digest the information and prioritize steps for their work. It also aids instructors in explaining the assignment and planning related course activities. The concept of process is extremely important for writing assignments since students may need to move through the various activities of invention, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading for a single assignment. An effective writing process helps to create an effective written product. Finally, indicate due dates for process steps and final submission.
  • Conditions and Criteria: Make sure your objectives and expectations for the assignment are clear, both in terms of content and form. First, focus on the question or topic that students are supposed to address. If the topic is student-selected, offer some sample ideas of topics or approaches. Discuss appropriate content for the paper including audience, method (argumentation, comparison/contrast, etc.), scope, relevant class texts or materials, outside sources and research, and so on. Provide guidelines for the style and format as well, such as font size, page length, citation style, number of sources, discipline-specific writing requirements, and any other stipulations. Finally, provide information about the evaluation process. For example, how much weight is given to the various criteria for the assignment? Confirm the priorities for grading so that students where to direct their efforts.