MAX Teaching with Reading and Writing - Ects.org

Writing to Show Off What You KnowIt has been my experience that many students write to the teacher when they write a paragraph oressay. In other words, they assume that the teacher already knows the subject matter, and that they justhave to skirt the topic to let the teacher know that they know the answer. Writing in this way is theopposite of quality writing. A solution that helps students to overcome this assumption is to tell studentsto “...Always write as if you are explaining this idea to a friend of yours who really needs to understandthe concept, but has no prior knowledge about it...Explain each idea fully, and be sure to provide manyclear examples that elaborate on your ideas.” By writing this way, students are asked to analyze what theyhave studied and to synthesize the various components. Thus, writing becomes a tool to enable higherorder thinking skills and to “show off what they know.”©2004 MAX Teaching with Reading & Writing, 6857 TR 215, Findlay, OH 45840, 404-441-7008 http://www.maxteaching.com67