Core Writing Assignments Core Writing AssignmentsJump to: 098, 101, 102, General Assignments
Assignments are grouped by the instructor's name, even if the instructor is no longer at UNR, in order to keep all assignments from a given class together.
098 Assignments| Instructor | Assignment Name | Description of What Students Do | Keywords |
| Anonymous | Description Essay (New!) | Visit a place they have never been, then write an essay describing and reflecting about the place | Audience, authority, description, detail, purpose, reflection, senses, specificity |
| Group Presentation (New!) | Work in groups to select and present on a piece of writing. | Background information, comparison/contrast, description, discussion, imitation, leadership, narration, summary | |
| Bernard | Autobiography | Write about a significant event or person. | Autobiography, description, narrative |
| Shaped Observation | Write an observational essay. | Description, observation | |
| Evaluation | Write a critical evaluation on a subject of the student's choice. | Persuasion | |
| Final Portfolio | Create an end-of-semester portfolio. | Portfolio | |
| Perrault | Review 1 and Review 2 | In Review 1, students write a review of a place on campus to study, eat, or live. Focus on description and persuasion. In Review 2, students write about a different place on campus, and incorporate the observations made by a peer in Review 1 of that place. |
Description, persuasion, use of sources |
| Stafford | Character Sketch | Write an essay about a person or group of persons (e.g. ethnic group). | Description, detail, dialogue, introductions, leads, narrative, syntax, thematic unity |
| Sweeney | Restaurant Review | Write a restaurant review. | Audience, description, detail, focus, introduction, organization, senses. |
| Identity | Write an essay about an aspect of identity as shaped by factors such as family, social status, race, gender, personal beliefs, sexuality, etc. | Conclusions, description, discovery, exploration, introductions, invention, self-discovery, sentence structure, thesis | |
| Book Club (Updated!) | In small groups, students read, discuss, write about, and present on a book. | Group work, presentations, reading | |
| Werner | Point of View: Looking Through Their Eyes | Write an essay describing the student from the point of view of a familiar object in his or her life. | Description, point of view, voice |
| Description: Seeing Myself Through "Place" | Write about a descriptive essay that explains the student's connection to a particular place. | Description, focus, senses, showing versus telling, thesis | |
| Identity: What's Your Bag? | Write an essay describing a subculture the student belongs or belonged to. | Description, dialogue. | |
| Group Story | In small groups, students write a story with each student writing an individual contribution. | Group work, narrative. | |
| Final Portfolio | Create an end-of-semester portfolio. | Portfolio. |
101 Assignments| Instructor | Assignment Name | Description of What Students Do | Keywords |
| Anonymous | Analysis of Rhetorical Ads & Spoof Ads in American Culture | Analyze and interpret an ad or a spoof ad. | Advertising, analysis, assumptions, complexity, interpretation, rhetorical context |
| Stealing Chewing Tobacco and Trying on Mama’s Clothes: Telling the Truth to Create Memoir | Write a memoir about an experience that involved conflict. | Audience, memoir, narrative, self-awareness | |
| Midterm Reflection | Write a reflection about him/herself as a writer in English 101 | Meta-cognition, reflection, self-awareness | |
| Creative Text for Local Social Change | Write two pieces, one planning the rhetorical strategy to use in the second piece, and the second persuading an audience on an issue. | Audience, creativity, persuasion, purpose, rhetorical analysis, social engagement | |
| Anonymous 2 | Dialogue Essay (New!) | Write a thesis-driven essay that creates a "conversation" with an author. | Analysis, evidence, focus, paraphrase, quotation, specificity, summary, support, thesis |
| Group Presentations (New!) | Work in two different groups to give two presentations, one on a topic and the other on evaluating sources. | Citation, description, discussion, evaluation, examples, groups, group roles, leadership, reflection on participation, sources, specificity, use of visuals |
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| Borrowman | Descriptive Profile | Write a profile about a person or group to show how they people are part of a larger trend/issue/problem in American culture | Coherence, details, objectivity, profile, research, social engagement, subjectivity |
| Film Review/Commentary | Review or write a commentary about a film | Analysis, conclusion, details, focus, introduction, relevance, summary | |
| Memoir | Write a memoir about a person, place, or thing | Description, dominant impression, focus, making meaning, organization, self-awareness, thesis statement, transitions | |
| Public Document Analysis | Analyze how a particular group defines itself and its values in its public documents | Analysis, description, organization, quoting, summary, transitions | |
| Perrault | Reader/Writer Profile | Write a profile of her/himself as a writer | Details, meta-cognition, reflection, self-awareness |
| Essay 1: Narrative | Tell a story about an event. | Detail, description, relevance, revision, sensory detail | |
| Essay 2: Body of Fact | Inform the reader about some body of fact in a way that is both informative and interesting | Audience, clarity, detail, exposition, information, invention, voice | |
| Essay 3: Analysis of a Cultural Icon | Analyze the significance of a cultural icon | Analysis, awareness of one's own position, clarity, critical thinking, details, revision, sources, voice | |
| Reading Response | Respond to a reading in four ways: literally, emotionally, intellectually, and as a writer | Analysis, craft, critical reading, reading, responding, summarizing |
102 Assignments| Instructor | Assignment Name | Description of What Students Do | Keywords |
| Anonymous | Guidelines for Writing Research Annotations | Write annotations | Annotating, citation, sources |
| Visual Rhetoric Analysis & Investigation: Extra Paper Options | Write a paper that relates to the research project relating to visual analysis. Three prompts and an open prompt given.. | Analysis, interpretation, visual rhetoric | |
| Borrowman | Essay 1: American Education | Describe and relate to an issue in American education | Citations, documentation, narrative, personal experience, quoting, research, sources, story |
| Essay 2: Work | Write about work, using research and personal experience. | Citations, details, documentation, narrative, personal experience, quoting, research | |
| Essay 4: American Cultural Commentary | Analyze and/or interpret a trend or idea in American society | Analysis, citations, documentation, interpretation, personal experience, profile, research, sources | |
| Butler | Documented Essay | Write an argumentative essay; five topics given | Citations, documentation, evidence, MLA, paraphrasing, quotation, sources, summary, thesis statement |
| Perrault | Semester Overview and Essay 1 | Semester Overview: Write a series of pieces on the same issue. Essay 1: Explain the background information necessary to understand the issue. Include an annotated bibliography. |
Annotations, bibliography, citations, documentation, evidence, library research, objectivity. |
| Essay 2 | Present three points of view on the issue, without arguing or showing bias for any of the three. Add to your annotated bibliography. | Annotations, bibliography, citations, documentation, evidence, library research, objectivity. | |
| Presentation Guidelines | Present an argument on the issue. | Argument, counter-arguments, evidence, public speaking, support, visual aids. | |
| Article | Write an article on the issue, targeted for a specific publication. | Argument, audience, counter-arguments, evidence, publishing, support. | |
| Turner | Interview: Essay & Presentation | Conduct an interview and write up and present results | Evaluation, inquiry, interview, MLA, presentation, research, synthesis |
| Conduct a survey and write up and present results | Evaluation, inquiry, MLA, presentation, research, survey, synthesis | ||
| Research Project | Do a research project on some aspect of science and/or technology that affects their daily life | Analysis, APA, bias, citation, documentation, evaluation, evidence, examples, inquiry, MLA, research, self-awareness, sources |
General Assignments| Instructor | Assignment Name | Description of What Students Do | Keywords |
| Farnsworth | Memoir | Write a creative memoir. | Detail, imagination, memoir, memory, narrative |
| Persuasive Essay | Write a persuasive essay that represents at least three points of view. | Audience, citations, documentation, evidence, persuasion, point of view, sources | |
| Persuasive/Argumentative Essay | Argue for a specific view, position, opinion, or solution | Argumentation, citation, documentation, persuasion, sources, thesis | |
| Profile and Analysis Essay | Write a profile and analysis | Analysis, description, detail, facts, interpretation, opinion, profile | |
| Review or Best/Worst of… | Write a review, or a "Best/Worst of..." list, with support for the ranking. | Audience, evidence, opinion, persuasion, support, tone | |
| Padilla | Writing Notebook | Keep a reading, writing, thinking journal. | Journal, notebook, reading, self-awareness, writing |
| Sweeney | Reader Response Journal (New!) | Keep a journal on a novel they are reading. | Active reading, description, journal, reading, responding |