Create Effective Writing Assignments

The first page of "Create Effective Writing Assignments" asks a question that I think about before every semester: "How would you sequence these assignments?" I know my assignments will end with a research paper, but I have spoken to a few teachers would make their research papers the third out of four writing assignments (or fourth out of five). I always assumed the research paper was the culmination of everything the class has discussed during the semester, but maybe I am wrong. In rethinking the placement/scheduling of the research paper, I have started to rethink the scheduling and placement of all my assignments. If the research paper is my third assignment (instead of my fourth), what changes can I make to the entire schedule to facilitate this shift? Does changing the research paper schedule also change the emphasis placed on the assignment? Would moving the assignment earlier provide less stress to students because the longest paper of the semester would not be due during finals week? These are questions I am asking myself because I want to make the sequence as logical and easy as possible for my students.

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