Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively

E X A M P L E   3.3.

Recommendation 3 

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Sample regular classroom writing tasks for assessment, by genre

Subject

Prompt

Argumen-

tative 

In a U.S. history course, students write arguments based on primary and secondary 

sources provided by the teacher about whether the “Emancipation Proclamation” was 

issued for humanitarian or military reasons. The exercise is meant to allow them 

to practice sourcing historical evidence. The teacher looks at daily exercises in 

which students provide contextual information about their sources that would help 

them evaluate the credibility of the information (e.g., who wrote the source, what 

his or her perspective was, and other contextual information).

Descriptive  In a biology class, students collect water samples as part of a citizen science proj-

ect that tests water quality in a local stream. To provide useful data, students 

describe their water samples using observational and measurement data. The 

teacher reviews students’ descriptions weekly and focuses instruction on improv-

ing descriptive writing over the course of the project.

Narrative 

Students in a creative writing course write short stories. The teacher reviews the 

first drafts for character development, focusing on strengths in the students’ main 

character developments and areas where these characters could use further devel-

opment. Subsequent instruction involves analyzing published and student exem-

plars for character development and then revising the story focusing on qualities 

of the character.

Technical 

In an automotive shop class, students write instructions for repairing parts of a 

car. The teacher reviews students’ drafts and notices that students are having trou-

ble sequencing their instructions. The teacher decides to teach a mini-lesson on 

sequencing.

Persuasive  Students in a U.S. government class write speeches to persuade their peers to 

mobilize about campus issues. The teacher reviews the opening of students’ 

speeches to see what techniques they are using to address their audience and 

notices that they are overusing rhetorical questions. The teacher creates a lesson 

focusing on additional audience engagement techniques, such as personal stories 

and audience participation.

Reflective 

In an exit slip, students in an English class are asked to identify two strengths and 

one area for improvement on a draft essay. Students do this routinely during the 

semester so the teacher can assess their metacognitive understanding about their 

own writing.

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