From Assignment to Revision: How Instruction and Feedback Shape Student Writing

Suzanne Lane, Senior Lecturer, CMS/W and Director of Writing Across the Curriculum

What kind of instruction and feedback will help students understand how to write and revise their assignments, to hone and develop their ideas, or to understand central concepts about effective communication? This workshop will draw on composition research to explore the range of instruction and responding practices, from rubrics to peer review to individual conferences, and when each is effective. By considering feedback in relation to other forms of instruction, participants will learn to provide the kinds of comments and strategies that will help students understand how to improve both their specific texts and their abilities as writers.

Writing Across the Curriculum IAP workshops are open to MIT faculty and teaching assistants who are interested in integrating writing and speaking into their subjects.