Being able to write in a specific academic subject is a skill that needs to be learned and trained. And when students write in a specific subject, they also get better at learning and processing the academic content. That is why it is a good idea to integrate writing into your teaching in different ways, and, by doing so, to help students prepare for their exams.
Writing and learning are closely related; in other words, when students write both within and about a given subject, they learn both the language and the content of the subject. As a teacher and as an expert in your field, you have a major role to play in helping students learn to write within a specific subject.
Different subjects have different languages and forms of expression, so your students need to learn how to write in a specific academic context – and to train this skill. For example, in history, writers focus heavily on sources because sources are central to how historical arguments are presented. In law, writers rely extensively on the passive voice because it is the actions and not the agents that matter. And in mathematics, every single symbol, comma and colon is essential for the overall meaning. It is also useful for students to consider the different reading strategies and different argumentative strategies used within different subject areas. You can refer students to AU Studypedia for more information on academic argumentation.
Since writing and learning are so closely related, it is beneficial and rewarding to give students writing assignments throughout your course – regardless of whether the course ends with an oral or a written examination. If students will have to take a written exam, it is a good idea to incorporate written exercises into your course planning in order to achieve alignment in your course. You can do this by scaffolding and supporting writing exercises that revolve around product writing (read more about product writing below).
For example, you can let the written exam guide your writing exercises. In other words, you can break down and train the individual parts of the written exam throughout the semester. One way to do this is by asking students to build up a portfolio. You may also wish to consider – as part of the bigger picture – that written exams help to develop students’ writing skills and thereby help them to prepare for their Bachelor and Master’s projects.
Writing can take many different forms and have many different aims. But, in general, you may wish to incorporate the following types of writing into your course:
If you ask students to write a definition, an analysis or a draft of an introduction (for example), you help the students train their product writing. In other words, you help them develop their skills in writing assignments or projects.
Writing exercises can also take the form of process writing. For example, writing exercises that ask the students to reflect, brainstorm our outline.
These tasks help the students to initiate the thinking process or to structure their thoughts, content and process. By engaging in process writing, students get a better overview of their writing skills and their academic knowledge, which they will need for larger exam assignments, Bachelor projects and Master’s theses. You may wish to refer your students to the writing process section on AU Studypedia.
You may wish to set a writing exercise as a collaborative writing task. In other words, to ask the students to write something together – either product writing or process writing.
By setting these types of exercises, you help to further develop the students’ ability to collaborate, and students are given an insight into each other’s writing styles and processes. This enables them to inspire each other and discover that there is not only one correct way to write.
Writing collaboratively also gives the students a sense of security because they have a shared responsibility and can help each other to clarify difficult content or misunderstandings.
Writing tasks can be integrated into your teaching in many different ways – regardless of whether they are product, process or collaborative writing tasks. Students can complete them in the teaching session (in class) or as preparation for the session (out of class).
Both in-class and out-of-class writing activities can also be used to help students practise for written assignments and written exams.
In-class writing tasks | Out-of-class writing tasks |
You can include small writing tasks in the teaching session itself. For example:
| You can ask students to complete writing tasks as part of their preparation. This allows them to spend more time on their writing, and it helps to support their ability to work independently and competently with the subject material. It also results in a specific product, which you can use as a starting point for a discussion in class. |
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This text was written by Simone Brendstrup Søndergård in collaboration with the AU Education editors.
