Informal Writing Assignments (Writing-to-Learn)

Purposes of Informal Writing Assignments

• to help students learn & understand
• to promote
  • critical thinking skills (e.g., analysis, synthesis)
  • reflection
  • integration of new information with students' prior knowledge
  • careful reading
  • class discussion
• to help students discover and formulate problems
• to help students develop problem-solving strategies & skills
• to allow students to raise questions & concerns
• to sharpen student responses to their academic experiences
• to help faculty monitor student progress through the course

Examples of Informal Writing Assignments

• field or laboratory notes
• reading notes (summaries, analyses, outlines, reactions)
• anticipatory reading notes
• reactions to a speaker or film
• class logs
• learning logs or journals
• listing topics for papers, discussion, or research
• explaining a task or assignment
• no-grade (or no-name) quizzes
• writing in preparation for discussion
• exploring concepts
• imaginary dialogue (with a theorist? between opposed theorists?)
• regular process reports
• instructor/student written dialogue
• E-mail & electronic conferences (especially, student to student dialogue)

Methods for Handling Informal Writing Assignments

• students collect in a notebook or folder to be seen by the instructor N times during the semester and/or
• instructor collects during class for immediate feedback
• SOME RESPONSE OPTIONS
  • read & comment
  • read & discard
  • collect & discard
  • selectively read & comment
  • evaluate for engagement & effort
  • check that it has been done
  • ask for an assignment to be read aloud in class
  • ask students to read & comment on each other's work


• Compare with Formal Writing