In their first major writing assignment of the semester, I’d like my students to analyze connections between the ways they learn and the ways they write. My goals in assigning such a paper are mainly to encourage students to think critically (and express those thoughts in writing) and to help them become more confident, competent writers. Because this assignment doesn’t require students to write a typical, thesis-driven paper, I’m hoping they’ll feel freer to concentrate on their ideas and will make some discoveries about their writing processes that will help them with future writing assignments.
To help students prepare for this paper, I’d like to talk with them both about their previous writing experiences and about what multiple intelligences are. As part of our discussions, I intend to have them answer the Interest and Writing Questions I reference in the assignment sheet. After they discuss their answers to these questions in class, possibly in groups, we’ll go over the writing assignment itself, making sure everyone understands what I’m asking of them.
Though I’m a bit concerned that my open-form assignment will frustrate students who’re looking for an exact description of how they should construct their paper, the hardest part is (as others have said) the grading. I’m afraid the criteria I’ve listed may be too vague and unhelpful, but I’m still undecided about my grading philosophy, so it’s hard to be more specific; I tend to lean toward rubrics, but am uncertain how to construct one for this assignment.
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