Lindemann, Ch. 13- Deciphering Writing Assignments with Students

 In chapter 13 of the Lindemann text, "Developing Writing Assignments", we are introduced to several variables that a writing teacher should take into account for when assigning a writing task, such as the student's interest/understanding of the subject, the aim of the assignment, the audience, criteria for success, etc.  It's also crucial that the writing teacher anticipate problems, use appropriate language to describe the task, and avoid confusing the students.  

Reading this reminded me of my experiences as a writing tutor.  Sometimes students would bring me a description of their assignment to the appointment and tell me that they were confused by it.  Often times the confusion was the result of the student not understanding what the professor was asking for in the paper/essay.  So, I would read through the writing assignment with them and we would highlight important verbs, such as describe, analyze, compare, and reflect, and further discuss what the assignment was asking for with those words in mind.  Unfortunately, this was something that happened fairly often.  Even with the teachers' pre-planning for the assignment, some students were still confused.  However, I think this was more of an issue of the students not knowing how to decipher/decode what the task was asking for.  I can also imagine this being an issue in an ESL classroom if students are encountering new vocabulary in the description of the assignment.