Effective vs. Ineffective Writing Prompts/Some Examples

Some Examples

The following examples show examples of “ineffective” instructions before revised versions that provide “effective” instructions. These provide examples of how you can improve existing writing prompts.

“Ineffective” writing prompts:

• Should conservation organizations run campaigns for popular animals, such as polar bears, even though current climate predictions suggest their habitat will continue to shrink in the next 50 years?
• Use a literature search tool to help write a review of recent progress in the field of immunology.

Now we will take a look at some improvements made to the above instructions. Compare these ineffective writing prompts to those below.

“Effective” writing prompts:

• Should conservation organizations run campaigns for popular animals, such as polar bears, even though current climate predictions suggest their habitat will continue to shrink in the next 50 years?

Be sure to assess both sides of this argument, and use primary sources to provide some evidence to the reasons you use. Make sure you conclude by taking a stance, and providing a logical explanation for that stance. You will be graded on content (60%), logical development (20%) and organization and grammar (20%).

• Use a literature search tool to help write a review of recent progress in the field of immunology.

Try to incorporate at least five recent primary sources that you have found using Google Scholar or Web of Science, and at the end, include the search terms and any advanced settings that you used to find these sources. Explain how you decided to focus on one specific area of immunology research. Try to write this review with a non-specific audience in mind (minimize your use of jargon and highlight why such research is important for society).

The writing prompts above clearly address a desired goal and specifically outline the knowledge that students will need to demonstrate. It is easy to see where students are led with these assignments.