
Each type of writing is integral to the students' literacy development.Ĭonsider the following general suggestions for planning and creating writing assignments that work well: A variety of informal writing activities can help develop students' critical thinking skills by providing them with a space for asking questions, raising critique, and playing with ideas.įormal writing is more reader-based, with specific considerations for audience and convention. Think of informal writing as short and often impromptu, written primarily for the benefit of the writer as an aid to clarifying purpose and not requiring extensive instructor response.



On this page we will emphasize the difference between informal writing, or writing to learn, and formal writing, or writing to communicate. In a First-Year Seminar or a writing-intensive course, it is best to have several writing assignments and a variety of types of writing, usually integrated with course readings, rather than one long assignment at the end of the course.
