These assignments and assignment templates are meant to offer new Writing Program instructors an easily adaptable overview of the WR 120 assignment sequence. They refer to sources using the BEAM/BEAT framework, which we recommend but do not require you to introduce to your students in WR 120. Opportunities to specify your course material and alternative possible language are noted on the actual syllabi templates (linked Google docs below) in blue, and you are welcome to otherwise adapt and tailor freely.
You are not required to use these templates, but we do ask that you refer to the Writing Program’s common vocabulary and Essential Lessons when you write your assignments as these offer coherence to our diverse topic-based classes. You may also find the WR 120 Course Planning Guide useful.
All major assignments should include scaffolding exercises, drafts and other process work, peer review, instructor feedback at both formative and summative stages, and metacognitive/reflective work.
Note that in addition to the three major assignments, all students will be participating in the Writing Program cumulative portfolios; some students will have already created their portfolios in WR 111 or WR 112, while others will be beginning it in WR 120.
Module I: Academic Argument 1
Be sure to also assign the program’s common Portfolio and Literacy Narrative in the first week of class.
Academic Argument 1: Entering the Conversation about [Your Topic]
The purpose of this first paper assignment, near the beginning of the course, is for students to enter a conversation about a text important to your course topic; to practice using another text’s claim to raise a question; and to engage and convince an academic audience that is interested in but unfamiliar with the material.
Copy this Google Doc into a document of your own in order to begin creating your own assignment sheet.
Course Foundations Module learning goals:
- Summarize and analyze sources
- Enter an academic conversation
- Create an introduction
- Use evidence responsibly
- Acknowledge and respond to an alternative viewpoint
- Plan and draft effectively
Teaching resources for Course Foundations module:
Module II (or III): Academic Argument 2
Academic Argument 2: Raising a Question, Contributing to the Conversation
The purpose of this second and final academic paper assignment, which can be placed in either the middle (Module 2) or end (Module 3) of the course, is for students to practice generating a central question to motivate an argument that is significant to them and their readers; to practice using a range of sources to explore a question in a balanced and responsible way; and to offer classmates and other scholars a new direction in the conversation about the course topic.
Copy this Google Doc into a document of your own in order to begin creating your own assignment sheet.
Writing an Academic Essay Module learning goals:
- Devise and refine a central question to guide writing and motivate readers
- Evaluate and responsibly draw on different kinds of sources
- Explain the significance of your argument
- Acknowledge and respond to alternative viewpoints
- Apply principles of style to improve prose clarity
- Respond to peer work productively and use peer feedback to revise effectively
- Reflect on how you can apply the lessons of this unit to future writing assignments
Teaching resources for Academic Argument module:
Oral presentations (option to assign with Genre and Audience module instead):
Module III (or II): Alternate Genre Project
Alternate Genre Project: Communicating through [Your Genre] to [a New Audience]
The purpose of this assignment is for students to transition to a new genre for a new audience, writing (or composing, or creating) a genre of your choice while using the knowledge and experience they have gained so far in the course. Working in this new genre will offer insight into how new contexts call for different kinds of argument, evidence, citation, and/or prose style.
Note that the alternative genre assignment may take a number of different forms depending on the course topic: a newspaper article, public intellectual essay, imitation, short story, picture book, poem, grant proposal, etc. The oral presentation may be part of this module instead of being part of the Writing an Academic Essay module. The oral presentation can be process-oriented (delivered during the drafting process) or product-oriented (delivered after the final draft is due).
Copy this Google Doc into a document of your own in order to begin creating your own assignment sheet.
In this unit, you will transition to a new genre for a new audience, highlighting how new contexts call for different kinds of argument, evidence, and/or prose style.
Genre and Audience Module learning goals:
- Engage a range of sources in a new genre
- Identify the distinguishing features, audience, and purpose of a new genre
- Use different media and modes of expression as appropriate
- Craft prose in a style appropriate to the new genre, audience, and purpose
- Respond to peer work productively and use peer feedback to revise effectively
- Reflect on how you can apply the lessons of this unit to writing an academic essay
Teaching resources for Genre and Audience module:
Oral presentations (option to assign with Writing an Academic Essay module instead):
Assignments & Assignment Templates
