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 Activities Idea Generation: Non-Stop Writing

Idea Generation: Non-stop Writing

Brief description

This is a quick writing activity which helps students to find a topic for an assignment or reduce writer’s block.

The activity teaches students to write more effectively by focusing on one thing at a time: first they produce a text, then they edit it.

Motivation for the activity and required outcome

The use of this activity in your teaching or between teaching sessions enables you to set a framework within which the students can work more effectively and improve their writing skills. The activity can be used to generate ideas and find topics for assignments, and to overcome writer’s block.

Performing the activity

1. Non-stop writing activity on AU Studypedia:

  • The students do an individual non-stop writing activity using "Tool: Free Writing" on AU Studypedia.
  • During the activity a green bar indicates whether the student is writing fast enough, while a red bar indicates whether the student is stopping too often to think about what they are writing.
  • The goal is that the students should not take breaks but should write non-stop for the entire time allocated – including things which they have not thought carefully about.

2. The students read, edit and adjust their texts:

  • After the activity, the students are given the opportunity to read and edit their texts so they can be used in an assignment or elsewhere.

3. Optional steps:

  • You can choose to set aside extra time after the activity to give the students the chance to think about the activity, for example by talking to the person next to them about what they have learned and whether they had any new or unexpected ideas for further work.
  • You can vary the activity in several ways. For instance, the activity can be based on the students’ own topics, or on topics which you have chosen in connection with a specific course or specific teaching.
  • You might consider letting the students use chatbots as part of the process. Both as part of the initial idea development, the actual writing phase or to subsequently refine their text.

Activities

    Examples of Practice

      You will need:

      Useful tips:

      • Which topic should the students base the activity on?
      • How much time should be set aside for the activity?
      • How much time should be set aside for any editing of the students’ texts?
      Revised 04.03.2025
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      AU Educate