Writing Project Template

Creating the Assignment for Students

1. Define an appropriate assignment for your course (ie., research paper, lab report, case study, abstracts, other reports) English 121 assigns a research-supported argumentative essay. The ability to research and defend a position based from an informed viewpoint is important in academic settings, but is also valuable beyond the academic. Knowing how to correctly acknowledge sources is important in academic and workplace settings.
2. Describe it in detail for the students.
3. Break the projects into steps include dates and points. This timeline tool might be helpful: http://www.lib.umn.edu/help/calculator/
4. Create a rubric. (See the rubric examples and the rubric generator.)
5. If this is a research project, students will need to get a password by email and can use these article databases at this site: http://www.frontrange.edu/pub_index.cfm?cid=10239.
6. Let students know that writing/tutoring services are available through the OWL.
7. You may also decide to have online research conferences by creating private discussion areas.

Additional Activities/Communications:

# Have a plagiarism discussion early in the course, defining what it is, what resources exist to learn correct documentation, and should the learner plagiarize, what the consequences are.

# Use the steps along the way to award points and coach learners on problem areas.

# State in the initial assignment that final papers won't be graded unless the steps along the way have been completed.

# Have the learners post a few topics, then submit some sources + tentative thesis and outline.

# Provide a low-stake exercise (can be done in a discussion thread) where learners have to identify or demonstrate a correct documentation technique.

# Limit the topics-and instructor proposes them or decides them with the class.

# Start having the learners select sources from our library article service.

# Create private conferences and have learners put evidence of their research process in there--an online version of a face to face research conference.