Examining your first timed writing assignment of the semester

1. Learning from the
Timed Writing Assignment
Examining your first timed writing
assignment of the semester

2. Assignment Summary
O 25 minutes at the end of 9/4 class
O Topic: write about an important event
O Hand in
O Brainstorm
O Outline
O (hook if time)
O Not graded
O I received four papers to examine

3. Context
O This was your first writing assignment of
this semester.
O For most of you, it was your first formal
process writing, and maybe your first five-paragraph
essay, too.
O I see it as a starting point. I hope you do
too!

4. Paper #1
O Clear brainstorm
O Clear thesis
O Outline very organized
O Outline very general – little actual information
O No hook
O Good start! Unfortunately, there was not
much there for me to examine.

5. Paper #2
O Good brainstorm
O No outline
O First draft (Step 4, not assigned)
O No thesis
O Not organized as a five-paragraph essay
O This draft is mostly not usable because it is
not correctly organized
O Student has to go back to steps 2.5 and 3:
Thesis and Outline

6. Paper #3
O Clear brainstorm
O Clear thesis
O Clear outline… but it added the ideas of +
and – that were not mentioned in the
thesis
O Hook suggested, interesting and can be
linked easily to thesis
O Overall: strong. However, must make
sure that thesis and outline match.

7. Paper #4
O Brainstorm
O Thesis connected to brainstorm
O No outline
O Draft (Step #4, not assigned)
O No thesis included (it was separate)
O Not organized as 5 paragraph essay
O Not directly connected to the brainstorm
and thesis the student had written
O Was it drift or just a long introduction?
O Student has to go back to Step #3:
Outline

8. Three Tips
O Make sure you understand what to hand
in (i.e. An outline? A draft?)
O No outline  poorly organized
O Don’t skip the outline!
O It is work to connect the different steps in
the process. Use the thesis to create the
outline. Use the outline to update the
thesis.

9. Moving Forward
O Don’t focus on “good” or “bad”
O Really. I’m not, and you shouldn’t either!
O Don’t focus on if it would have gotten an A
O Focus on how to improve this essay
O Focus on how to improve future essays’
brainstorms, thesis statements, and
outlines.