One of the best (and easiest!) ways to guide the development of your students' writing is to create assignment sheets that ensure their complete understanding of your expectations. This way, they will know exactly what you require and what kinds of thought, time, and consideration they should give to their paper's development. For your perusal, we've created a brief checklist to help you create an assignment sheet as cohesive as you wish your students' papers to be.
- 1. Have you given precise command words in your instruction? For example, "evaluate," "critique," or "define" are more explicit than "explore" or "discuss."
2. What sorts/how many resources do you require for the assignment? What sort of documenation should be used?
3. Does the assignment clearly inform the student about your goals for the assignment? Are you asking for a review of knowledge already learned, additional knowledge, or for evidence of synthesis and understanding, et cetera?
4. If the class/discipline has not already made it apparent, have you specified what sort of audience your students should address and what sorts of things they should avoid? For instance, how much knowledge can they assume on the part of their reader? Should they avoid contractions or the use of first person perspective?
5. Is there anything specifically different about this assignment than most others? Do you require anything that students may not have previously encountered? If so, do they know exactly how to go about meeting those expectations?