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This section looks at a cornerstone of the Thinking Writing
approach – the use of short, frequent writing tasks. Here are some
reasons why we advocate their use:
Reliance on long and relatively infrequent
writing assignments provides students with little opportunity to practise
and develop their writing ability. The use of a variety of short writing
tasks in learning can provide a bridge between the learner’s exposure
to new knowledge and ideas, and their formulation within a discipline’s
conventional written genres;
Short writing tasks can be designed to meet
precise learning goals: for example, reading a text for argument; applying
a scientific concept to an actual situation; interpreting a set of data
for a purpose. Ideally a task should prompt students to produce ‘a
small amount of writing from a large amount of thinking’.
Writing tasks that are kept short give students
rigour and focus, avoid too great a marking burden and make feedback possible;
Used frequently, short writing tasks enable teachers to monitor students’
progress and make adjustments to what and how they teach;
In-class writing tasks can supplement oral discussion, requiring every
student to engage with ideas or changing the dynamic of a flagging discussion;
Short frequent writing tasks can contribute to a process-oriented approach
in which students take responsibility for their learning and learn to
share and collaborate in their work;
Using short tasks is not to say that students should never write at length;
just that length is not a necessary or sufficient indicator of quality
or level.
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