How to Write an Essay Assignment

Students are often very intimidated by writing, especially essay assignments. It is important to set out your expectations and make your instructions easy to read and helpful.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Include Pertinent Information at the Top: Put the most important information at the top of the page. Students will often read only the heading of your assignment more than once and their most important questions should be answered here. Include information such as: points possible, due dates, page number requirement, teacher name, assignment title, and type of assignment.

2. Explain Your Overall Expectations: Tell your students what type of essay you expect and be specific. If you are asking them to write an argumentative essay, make sure to explain briefly what that is and how they can best satisfy the assignment. Make sure to include the specific elements you want to see. For example, make sure students know that you want to see a thesis statement and a concession.

3. Break Down Your Expectations by Paragraph: Take your students step by step through the paper’s organization. You might write a few brief sentences on some or all of the following topics: introduction, body paragraphs and topic sentences, conclusion, bibliography.

4. Make Your Layout User-Friendly: Use italics, bold, boxes, and other formatting tools to call your students’ attention to the information you want them to remember most. Separate out your instructions into short paragraphs with headings so that students can reference information quickly.

5. Get Creative: Try to give students a new brainstorming tool to use with each essay assignment. You might give them a simple handout that asks them to answer questions about their essay to get their thinking started. Or, give them a blank outline or cluster chart to fill in as they start planning their draft. Another strategy that few students utilize is a schedule. Give them a sample schedule that includes things like: outline draft on Monday, write pages one and two on Tuesday, complete page three on Wednesday, organize bibliography on Thursday, revise for errors on Friday. Then, allow them to make up their own schedule that takes into account their individual activities and responsibilities.

6. Revise: Make sure to revise your essay assignment for errors. Students will be unlikely to work hard at correcting their own grammar, punctuation, and spelling if their assignment isn't up to par.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure to go over your assignment in class to answer questions and gauge how well students understand your instructions.