Writing faculty can support you in using writing assignments effectively and teaching your students key writing skills. Interested? Please contact us.
Here are some strategies we frequently use to support writing in UTSC courses:
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Description |
Most commonly used to… |
Contact a writing instructor |
We ask course instructors to… |
In-class time required |
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Course Design |
Collaborate with you to embed writing into your course, whether writing to learn activities, formal writing assignments or presentations.
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Develop a new course or revise an existing one |
Previous term or earlier |
Meet with us to discuss the course—depending on your needs this may involve one or more meetings, and we may put you in touch with other specialists Provide us with relevant materials (for existing courses) and learning goals |
N/A |
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Assignment Design |
Collaborate with you to design and troubleshoot a new writing assignment or revise an existing one
|
Develop a new assignment or revise an existing one |
Previous term or earlier |
Meet with us to discuss the assignment Provide us with existing materials and learning goals for your assignment, as well as course syllabus and relevant context |
N/A |
|
In-class workshops |
We partner with you to develop an in-class writing workshop customized to your course/assignments
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Introduce a new genre of writing Teach a skill relevant to your course/assignments Intervene at a particularly challenging stage in the writing process Motivate students |
Previous term or early in the term |
Provide us with your syllabus, writing assignment, and concerns about student writing Meet with us to discuss the writing workshop Attend the class and participate actively in the writing workshop |
20 to 90 minutes (determined in consultation with you)
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Train TAs |
Train your TAs to provide students with appropriate support and feedback around writing |
Help TAs (particularly new ones) develop skills and confidence supporting writing May include grading strategies, giving useful formative feedback, using reading and writing in tutorials |
Previous term |
Meet with us to discuss goals and develop a plan for TA training. |
Customized to course |
|
Writing Rooms |
Arrange a time for students to work independently on your writing assignment and consult with a writing instructor. If you or a course TA can attend, that is also helpful. |
Provide students with time to work on their writing with available support |
Previous term or early in the term |
Provide your syllabus, writing assignment(s), and your concerns about students’ writing Motivate students to attend the clinic by offering a small bonus mark or attending the clinic yourself |
5 to 10 minutes in class to promote clinic Clinics are held outside of class time, ideally right after class. (Generally 1 to 2 hours long.) |
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Post writing guides in Quercus |
Post writing advice files and links in your Quercus course |
Provide students with general reference |
N/A |
Select advice files and links from the Writing website to post or contact us for recommendations |
N/A |
Please note: Like you, we have limited time and resources. Support we’re able to provide may be limited by factors such as when you contact us in the term and other courses we’re already supporting. However, we will provide the best support we can within our limits, and may be able to work towards fuller support in future terms.
