by Amy Nickerson
10 Time-Saving Strategies for Enriching Writing Instruction
1) Collaborate Across Courses
a. Use same text/vocab/content
2) Assign Reasonable Writing Tasks
a. Short paper vs long paper and expectations
b. Manageable number of sources
c. Sequence assignments
d. Activate background knowledge
3) Provide Clear Assignment Guidelines
a. Overview, length, due date, purpose
b. Structure–format, etc.
c. Rubric explanations
4) Modeling
a. Sample papers written by students/teachers
b. Cognitive model–”How would I do it?”
c. Social model–peer review
5) Maximize Available Resources
a. Tutor, writing center, librarian
b. Collaborate with other teachers
c. Assess L2 needs and seek out online resources
6) Assign in-class Writing
a. Observe writing process, strategies, typing, time management
b. Assess issues and give immediate feedback
c. Compare in-class and out-of-class work
7) Use known Text for Source-based Writing
a. Theme-based approach
b. Research Papers
c. Ss submit outside texts and highlight parts used
8) Optimize Feedback by Priority Concerns
a. What is your focus?
b. Limit number of issues
c. Align feedback with class lessons
d. Ss journal about what they want to focus on
9) Self-timing Strategies
a. Set a goal for feedback
b. Set a max time limit and reward yourself
10) Ss Self Submission
a. Build a rubric for the Ss to fill out to self-check: It’s like a dialog and gives Ss autonomy for their work