The activity is designed to give students agency through exploring common writing conventions that are part of the learning outcomes for ENG 2100. The activity allows students to draw on knowledge and skills they already have as they enter ENG 2100, but that they need to continue to develop (some more so than others).

The activity takes 20-30 minutes of class time and is highly student-centered: It is led by one or more students, depending on the size of the class, allowing the instructor to “disappear” for that amount of time while also gaining an understanding of what students know and don’t know about the writing conventions in focus.

Student voices are heard more in the classroom and ideally exclusively for the time of the activity (if possible, no instructor intervention until a debriefing after the activity is completed) while engaging with writing conventions that are central to developing the students’ writing knowledge and skills.

In italics: Notes for instructor and areas to be filled in by the instructor

For this assignment (5% of your final grade), you provide two resources about the language/writing convention(s) that you signed up for with one or more partners and then lead/ facilitate a discussion about the convention(s). The discussion will take place during class and should take 20-30 minutes. The goal is th+at you will learn a bit more about the particular language/writing convention(s) yourself and then share it with your classmates, allowing them to develop their skills in understanding and using the particular convention(s). Rather than just describing the convention(s) you should also discuss and make your classmates engage with the question of what happens when these conventions, for whatever reason (not knowing them, not fully understanding them, not being able to adjust them to a new writing situation, intentionally breaking them, etc.) are not followed.

List of writing conventions you can choose from:

1.      Using “I”/ subjectivity in writing

2.      Style

3.      Word choice & tone

4.      Document design/formatting

5.      Features of college writing

6.      Organization

7.      Writing a (strong) thesis

8.      Writing (strong) topic sentences and transitions

9.      Citation styles & intellectual copyright

10.   Characteristics of peer-reviewed scholarly papers

11.   Integrating information from sources

12.   Syntax/sentence structure

Note that these language/writing conventions are based on the fifth learning outcome for ENG 2100 as found here. The topic of “grammar” (which is part of the fifth learning outcome), being so broad and complex (and arguably syntax and sentence structure should be grouped under it), I recommend addressing separately. For example, in my T-sections I ask students to present on specific grammatical conventions/structures in addition to the writing convention discussions.

Sign up for a topic/date here:

INSERT ELECTRONIC SIGN-UP SHEET LINK HERE (or use a hard copy) and think about a fair way to determine the order in which students are allowed to sign up. For example, I have used a lottery in the past: Each student writes their name on a piece of paper and then I draw the names from a bowl/hat/etc. It takes some class time, but students perceive it as “fair.”

Guidelines for leading the discussion:

• Try to generate active engagement with the conventions, whether in pairs/small groups or with the whole class
• You should use technological support (or printed materials) to facilitate interaction between your classmates
• Being creative is encouraged!

Guidelines for the resources:

• They should take at least 5 minutes to read/watch, but not more than 1 hour.
• They should focus on or be an example for the convention that you are discussing
• You have to submit the resources to me on the day of your presentation (they will be made available to all classmates via INSERT ELECTRONIC PLATFORM, such as Blackboard)

Assessment:

• The assignment will be graded based on the following criteria:
• Did you address the convention(s) clearly?
• Did you address possible consequences of not following the convention(s)?
• Did you provide one or more activities that allowed your classmates to actively engage with the convention(s)?
• Did you stay within the time limit?