Lindemann’s Chapter 13 suggests a number of different strategies for creating writing assignments. Some of the advice seems fairly obvious, yet I don't know that I would have figured it out without having seen in written here (color me embarrassed). Lindemann suggests that we don't assign students writing tasks that are overly simplistic or boring. This reminded of one instructor I worked with who essentially asked her students to write an essay where they took a position on the question: Is love better than hate. While the prompt asked students to explain a quote from the reading, it did very little by way of guiding the students through the ins and outs of argumentation, and the lecture likewise did very little to help students structure their thoughts into an essay. When conferencing with students, most of them had the standard formula: three personal examples that revealed some heartwarming story, but most of them ended their paragraphs with sentences like: “that’s when I realized love was better than hate” or “I chose to be nice instead of hating….” I remember feeling frustrated with the assignment because my students were capable of writing a decent essay, but the prompt didn’t ask them to think beyond their personal examples. I like Lindemann’s suggestion of a number of purpose verbs to guide students through the process of an essay—especially as it would help with more complicated assignments. That way students are challenged, but with clear directions.
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