University Writing

Designing Assignments

General Education Writing
- First-Year Writing Courses
- Advanced Writing and Oral Communication
- Program Description
- How to Propose a Course
Honors Writing
- Honors 150
- Honors 300R
  - Peer Handbook
- Honors 301R
  - Peer Handbook
  - Insight
- Honrs 300R
- Purpose
Writing Across the Curriculum
- Consultation
- Definition/Purpose
- Departmental Writing Helps
  - College of Religion
- Helps for Faculty
- TA Training
  - TA Training
  - TA Training: Registration Form
- Writing Matters
Writing Fellows
- General Information
- For Students
- For Faculty
- I Want To Be A Writing Fellow
- For Writing Fellows Alumni
  - For Alumni: Alumni Roster
- Contact Us
  - Coordinator

Creating an Effective Assignment Sheet

Plan Carefully. Think about the purpose for the assignment, specifically what you hope the students will learn through doing it, and how you will evaluate that learning.

Decide on distribution details. Although you will likely include the due dates for major assignments in the course syllabus, it is probably best to give the students detailed instructions for an important writing assignment on a separate one-page handout at the time they should begin work on the paper. Take a few minutes to discuss the assignment in class.

Include all important information. Include enough guidance to help students produce a strong paper, while still allowing for originality in their final drafts. Generally, you will want to include some discussion of the following: purpose; audience; genre-specific tips (i.e. how to write a book review); ideas for content; suggestions for research, if appropriate; and guidance on manuscript formatting. Be sure to include the due dates and an explanation of your grading criteria.

Format for ease of access. Use headings and white space to emphasize important points. Use an easy-to-read font.

Proofread for grammar errors and typos. Obviously, proofread the document carefully.