• ...is an important factor/concept/idea/ to consider because...
• … will be argued/outlined in this paper.
Once you have finished writing your first draft it is recommended that you spend time revising your work. Proofreading and editing are two different stages of the revision process.
As can be seen in the figure above there are four main areas that you should review during the editing phase of the revision process. The main things to consider when editing include content, structure, style, and sources. It is important to check that all the content relates to the assignment task, the structure is appropriate for the purposes of the assignment, the writing is academic in style, and that sources have been adequately acknowledged. Use the checklist below when editing your work.
Editing checklist
There are also several key things to look out for during the proofreading phase of the revision process. In this stage it is important to check your work for word choice, grammar and spelling, punctuation and referencing errors. It can be easy to mis-type words like ‘from’ and ‘form’ or mix up words like ‘trail’ and ‘trial’ when writing about research, apply American rather than Australian spelling, include unnecessary commas or incorrectly format your references list. The checklist below is a useful guide that you can use when proofreading your work.
Proofreading checklist
This chapter has examined the experience of writing assignments. It began by focusing on how to read and break down an assignment question, then highlighted the key components of essays. Next, it examined some techniques for paraphrasing and summarising, and how to build an argument. It concluded with a discussion on planning and structuring your assignment and giving it that essential polish with editing and proof-reading. Combining these skills and practising them, can greatly improve your success with this very common form of assessment.
Academic Skills Centre. (2013). Writing an introduction and conclusion . University of Canberra, accessed 13 August, 2013, http://www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/writing/conclusions
Balkis, M., & Duru, E. (2016). Procrastination, self-regulation failure, academic life satisfaction, and affective well-being: underregulation or misregulation form. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 31 (3), 439-459.
Custer, N. (2018). Test anxiety and academic procrastination among prelicensure nursing students. Nursing education perspectives, 39 (3), 162-163.
Yerdelen, S., McCaffrey, A., & Klassen, R. M. (2016). Longitudinal examination of procrastination and anxiety, and their relation to self-efficacy for self-regulated learning: Latent growth curve modeling. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 16 (1).
Writing Assignments Copyright © 2021 by Kate Derrington; Cristy Bartlett; and Sarah Irvine is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
This handout will define what an argument is and explain why you need one in most of your academic essays.
You may be surprised to hear that the word “argument” does not have to be written anywhere in your assignment for it to be an important part of your task. In fact, making an argument—expressing a point of view on a subject and supporting it with evidence—is often the aim of academic writing. Your instructors may assume that you know this and thus may not explain the importance of arguments in class.
Most material you learn in college is or has been debated by someone, somewhere, at some time. Even when the material you read or hear is presented as a simple fact, it may actually be one person’s interpretation of a set of information. Instructors may call on you to examine that interpretation and defend it, refute it, or offer some new view of your own. In writing assignments, you will almost always need to do more than just summarize information that you have gathered or regurgitate facts that have been discussed in class. You will need to develop a point of view on or interpretation of that material and provide evidence for your position.
Consider an example. For nearly 2000 years, educated people in many Western cultures believed that bloodletting—deliberately causing a sick person to lose blood—was the most effective treatment for a variety of illnesses. The claim that bloodletting is beneficial to human health was not widely questioned until the 1800s, and some physicians continued to recommend bloodletting as late as the 1920s. Medical practices have now changed because some people began to doubt the effectiveness of bloodletting; these people argued against it and provided convincing evidence. Human knowledge grows out of such differences of opinion, and scholars like your instructors spend their lives engaged in debate over what claims may be counted as accurate in their fields. In their courses, they want you to engage in similar kinds of critical thinking and debate.
Argumentation is not just what your instructors do. We all use argumentation on a daily basis, and you probably already have some skill at crafting an argument. The more you improve your skills in this area, the better you will be at thinking critically, reasoning, making choices, and weighing evidence.
What is an argument? In academic writing, an argument is usually a main idea, often called a “claim” or “thesis statement,” backed up with evidence that supports the idea. In the majority of college papers, you will need to make some sort of claim and use evidence to support it, and your ability to do this well will separate your papers from those of students who see assignments as mere accumulations of fact and detail. In other words, gone are the happy days of being given a “topic” about which you can write anything. It is time to stake out a position and prove why it is a good position for a thinking person to hold. See our handout on thesis statements .
Claims can be as simple as “Protons are positively charged and electrons are negatively charged,” with evidence such as, “In this experiment, protons and electrons acted in such and such a way.” Claims can also be as complex as “Genre is the most important element to the contract of expectations between filmmaker and audience,” using reasoning and evidence such as, “defying genre expectations can create a complete apocalypse of story form and content, leaving us stranded in a sort of genre-less abyss.” In either case, the rest of your paper will detail the reasoning and evidence that have led you to believe that your position is best.
When beginning to write a paper, ask yourself, “What is my point?” For example, the point of this handout is to help you become a better writer, and we are arguing that an important step in the process of writing effective arguments is understanding the concept of argumentation. If your papers do not have a main point, they cannot be arguing for anything. Asking yourself what your point is can help you avoid a mere “information dump.” Consider this: your instructors probably know a lot more than you do about your subject matter. Why, then, would you want to provide them with material they already know? Instructors are usually looking for two things:
This second part can be done in many ways: you can critique the material, apply it to something else, or even just explain it in a different way. In order to succeed at this second step, though, you must have a particular point to argue.
Arguments in academic writing are usually complex and take time to develop. Your argument will need to be more than a simple or obvious statement such as “Frank Lloyd Wright was a great architect.” Such a statement might capture your initial impressions of Wright as you have studied him in class; however, you need to look deeper and express specifically what caused that “greatness.” Your instructor will probably expect something more complicated, such as “Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture combines elements of European modernism, Asian aesthetic form, and locally found materials to create a unique new style,” or “There are many strong similarities between Wright’s building designs and those of his mother, which suggests that he may have borrowed some of her ideas.” To develop your argument, you would then define your terms and prove your claim with evidence from Wright’s drawings and buildings and those of the other architects you mentioned.
Do not stop with having a point. You have to back up your point with evidence. The strength of your evidence, and your use of it, can make or break your argument. See our handout on evidence . You already have the natural inclination for this type of thinking, if not in an academic setting. Think about how you talked your parents into letting you borrow the family car. Did you present them with lots of instances of your past trustworthiness? Did you make them feel guilty because your friends’ parents all let them drive? Did you whine until they just wanted you to shut up? Did you look up statistics on teen driving and use them to show how you didn’t fit the dangerous-driver profile? These are all types of argumentation, and they exist in academia in similar forms.
Every field has slightly different requirements for acceptable evidence, so familiarize yourself with some arguments from within that field instead of just applying whatever evidence you like best. Pay attention to your textbooks and your instructor’s lectures. What types of argument and evidence are they using? The type of evidence that sways an English instructor may not work to convince a sociology instructor. Find out what counts as proof that something is true in that field. Is it statistics, a logical development of points, something from the object being discussed (art work, text, culture, or atom), the way something works, or some combination of more than one of these things?
Be consistent with your evidence. Unlike negotiating for the use of your parents’ car, a college paper is not the place for an all-out blitz of every type of argument. You can often use more than one type of evidence within a paper, but make sure that within each section you are providing the reader with evidence appropriate to each claim. So, if you start a paragraph or section with a statement like “Putting the student seating area closer to the basketball court will raise player performance,” do not follow with your evidence on how much more money the university could raise by letting more students go to games for free. Information about how fan support raises player morale, which then results in better play, would be a better follow-up. Your next section could offer clear reasons why undergraduates have as much or more right to attend an undergraduate event as wealthy alumni—but this information would not go in the same section as the fan support stuff. You cannot convince a confused person, so keep things tidy and ordered.
One way to strengthen your argument and show that you have a deep understanding of the issue you are discussing is to anticipate and address counterarguments or objections. By considering what someone who disagrees with your position might have to say about your argument, you show that you have thought things through, and you dispose of some of the reasons your audience might have for not accepting your argument. Recall our discussion of student seating in the Dean Dome. To make the most effective argument possible, you should consider not only what students would say about seating but also what alumni who have paid a lot to get good seats might say.
You can generate counterarguments by asking yourself how someone who disagrees with you might respond to each of the points you’ve made or your position as a whole. If you can’t immediately imagine another position, here are some strategies to try:
Once you have thought up some counterarguments, consider how you will respond to them—will you concede that your opponent has a point but explain why your audience should nonetheless accept your argument? Will you reject the counterargument and explain why it is mistaken? Either way, you will want to leave your reader with a sense that your argument is stronger than opposing arguments.
When you are summarizing opposing arguments, be charitable. Present each argument fairly and objectively, rather than trying to make it look foolish. You want to show that you have considered the many sides of the issue. If you simply attack or caricature your opponent (also referred to as presenting a “straw man”), you suggest that your argument is only capable of defeating an extremely weak adversary, which may undermine your argument rather than enhance it.
It is usually better to consider one or two serious counterarguments in some depth, rather than to give a long but superficial list of many different counterarguments and replies.
Be sure that your reply is consistent with your original argument. If considering a counterargument changes your position, you will need to go back and revise your original argument accordingly.
Audience is a very important consideration in argument. Take a look at our handout on audience . A lifetime of dealing with your family members has helped you figure out which arguments work best to persuade each of them. Maybe whining works with one parent, but the other will only accept cold, hard statistics. Your kid brother may listen only to the sound of money in his palm. It’s usually wise to think of your audience in an academic setting as someone who is perfectly smart but who doesn’t necessarily agree with you. You are not just expressing your opinion in an argument (“It’s true because I said so”), and in most cases your audience will know something about the subject at hand—so you will need sturdy proof. At the same time, do not think of your audience as capable of reading your mind. You have to come out and state both your claim and your evidence clearly. Do not assume that because the instructor knows the material, he or she understands what part of it you are using, what you think about it, and why you have taken the position you’ve chosen.
Critical reading is a big part of understanding argument. Although some of the material you read will be very persuasive, do not fall under the spell of the printed word as authority. Very few of your instructors think of the texts they assign as the last word on the subject. Remember that the author of every text has an agenda, something that he or she wants you to believe. This is OK—everything is written from someone’s perspective—but it’s a good thing to be aware of. For more information on objectivity and bias and on reading sources carefully, read our handouts on evaluating print sources and reading to write .
Take notes either in the margins of your source (if you are using a photocopy or your own book) or on a separate sheet as you read. Put away that highlighter! Simply highlighting a text is good for memorizing the main ideas in that text—it does not encourage critical reading. Part of your goal as a reader should be to put the author’s ideas in your own words. Then you can stop thinking of these ideas as facts and start thinking of them as arguments.
When you read, ask yourself questions like “What is the author trying to prove?” and “What is the author assuming I will agree with?” Do you agree with the author? Does the author adequately defend her argument? What kind of proof does she use? Is there something she leaves out that you would put in? Does putting it in hurt her argument? As you get used to reading critically, you will start to see the sometimes hidden agendas of other writers, and you can use this skill to improve your own ability to craft effective arguments.
We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.
Anson, Chris M., and Robert A. Schwegler. 2010. The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers , 6th ed. New York: Longman.
Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, Joseph Bizup, and William T. FitzGerald. 2016. The Craft of Research , 4th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Ede, Lisa. 2004. Work in Progress: A Guide to Academic Writing and Revising , 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.
Gage, John T. 2005. The Shape of Reason: Argumentative Writing in College , 4th ed. New York: Longman.
Lunsford, Andrea A., and John J. Ruszkiewicz. 2016. Everything’s an Argument , 7th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.
Rosen, Leonard J., and Laurence Behrens. 2003. The Allyn & Bacon Handbook , 5th ed. New York: Longman.
You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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Getting Started
Why include writing in my courses?
What is writing to learn?
WTL Activities
What is writing to engage?
What is writing in the disciplines?
WID Assignments
Useful Knowledge
What should I know about rhetorical situations?
Do I have to be an expert in grammar to assign writing?
What should I know about genre and design?
What should I know about second-language writing?
What teaching resources are available?
What should I know about WAC and graduate education?
Assigning Writing
What makes a good writing assignment?
How can I avoid getting lousy student writing?
What benefits might reflective writing have for my students?
Using Peer Review
Why consider collaborative writing assignments?
Do writing and peer review take up too much class time?
How can I get the most out of peer review?
Responding to Writing
How can I handle responding to student writing?
Sample Grading Sheets
How can writing centers support writing in my courses?
What writing resources are available for my students?
Using Technology
How can computer technologies support writing in my classes?
Designing and Assessing WAC Programs
What is a WAC program?
What designs are typical for WAC programs?
How can WAC programs be assessed?
More on WAC
Where can I learn more about WAC?
Surprisingly, teachers have been known to assign writing tasks without articulating to themselves what the task is supposed to do for students. Good writing assignments always start with a clear goal that the teacher can express, usually on the assignment sheet so that students understand the goal as well.
Good writing assignments also often take shape by thinking backwards. In effect, teachers ask themselves, "What do I want to read at the end of this assignment?" By working from what they anticipate the final product to look like, teachers can give students detailed guidelines about both the writing task and the final written product.
As you think about making up writing assignments, use these five principles:
Asking questions like these about your assignment will help guarantee that writing tasks tie directly to your teaching goals in the class:
Although it might seem awkward at first, working backwards from what you hope the final drafts will look like often produces the best assignment sheets. We recommend jotting down several points that will help you with this step in writing your assignments:
Writing tasks fill many different roles for students, so defining good writing assignments begins with the specific instructional context. For that reason, the first key to writing a good assignment is tying the task to the specific course goals. After taking your class and its goals into account, though, several other principles can improve the writing tasks you assign and the writing you get from students.
Perhaps most important, as noted in the five principles section, is to consider the rhetorical situation. By this, writing experts mean that you should think carefully about the audience you want students to write to as well as the particular genre or format for the final document and the larger context for the document.
Setting up your writing assignment so that the target reader is someone other than you, the teacher, might result in the most improvement in student writing. Students, after all, have had extensive experience writing to teachers, and students know that teachers are a "captive" audience. Your job mandates that you read carefully and respond to their texts. Chinn & Hilgers (2000) explain this role for the teachers as often limited to "corrector." However, instructors can move beyond the corrector role into a "collaborator" role by varying writing tasks, encouraging peer collaboration, and emphasizing professional contexts for writing. So for students, the teacher is not necessarily a reader or audience that will motivate the best possible work on a writing task. Indeed, Hilgers et al . (1999) report that their interview research with 33 upper-division students yielded an intriguing statistic: "56% of the interviewees also described one or more nonteacher audiences" (328) for their academic tasks. In many instances, the assignment called for a hypothetical audience other than the teacher, but even when the assignment didn't prompt students to write for readers other than the teacher, students directed their work toward "an individual they believed has specific content knowledge such as a CEO, coworker, or technician" (328).
Although some experts (Freedman et al ., 1994) argue that setting up a fictitious scenario with a specified audience does not motivate students any more highly than simply writing for the teacher, other practitioners across the disciplines have seen improvement in student writing when they use cases with embedded audiences for students' documents. (See, for instance, Brumberger, 2004; Cass & Fernandez, 2008; Stevens, 2005; Sulewski, 2003.)
A further extension of this move toward providing rich writing contexts beyond the teacher involves writing tasks that actually target real readers. Many senior design projects and management projects in engineering and natural resources involve pairing students with actual clients so that students must take into account the particular needs of their readers. Across many disciplines, teachers are investigating alternative methods to connect undergraduate writers with real audiences, including client-based partnerships (Kiefer & Leff, 2008; Kreth, 2005; Planken & Kreps, 2006;) and service-learning opportunities (Addams et al ., 2010; Bourelle, 2012), among other options.
But even if your particular class doesn't allow you to pair students with actual clients or other readers, consider ways in which you can create a meaningful context with readers beyond the teacher in the classroom (see, for example, Ward, 2009). Chamely-Wiik et al . (2012), for instance, describe in detail how, drawing on materials from The Council of Writing Program Administrators and The Foundation for Critical Thinking, they developed a case study writing context for first-year general chemistry students. As they explain,
Our initial case-study assignment, used for the first two years of the course, required students to explore the scientific principles involved in the Bhopal disaster where thousands of people died in an industrial chemical accident.... The second assignment, used in the third year, required students to formulate and defend an argument whether research in the field of cold fusion should continue to be supported. (504)
Students write with a local audience of classmates and a larger institutional context of the university community in mind. Students responded positively on affective surveys, a typical reaction to carefully designed writing tasks. More significantly, "students in this chemistry course outperformed the majority of students across all undergraduate levels at the university" (506). (For other examples of science students writing to lay audiences, see Martin, 2010; McDermott& Kuhn, 2011; Moni et al ., 2007; Sivey & Lee, 2008).
In addition to audience concerns, students also benefit from understanding how and why a particular format or genre helps them communicate with a target audience (especially when we think of genres as those recurring rhetorical reactions to typical communicative situations). From YouTube videos in organic chemistry (Franz, 2012) to position papers in public relations (Powell, 2012) to posters in physiology (Mulnix, 2003), teachers are helping students to write in genres that immediately connect them with the real readers of their future professional settings. (See also Blakeslee, 2001; Guilford, 2001; Jebb, 2005; LeBigot & Rouet, 2007; Mizrahi, 2003; Motavalli et al ., 2007; Schwartz et al ., 2004; Wald et al ., 2009.)
Why does this attention to audience and genre seem to matter so much to student writing? In recent years, several studies (Adam, 2000; Beaufort, 2004; Belfiore et al ., 2004; Freedman & Adam, 2000; Spinuzzi, 2010) have explored the reasons why writers attentive to specific contexts are more successful. In particular, workplace literacy and socio-cognitive apprenticeship theory (among related theoretical perspectives) both emphasize the role that knowledgeable mentors within a workplace play as they initiate newcomers to the communicative context. (See especially Beaufort, 2000, and Ding, 2008, for social apprenticeship studies and Paretti, 2008, on situated learning and activity theory.) As Dias et al . (1999) explain, writing is not a fixed set of skills that we learn once and then simply plug into as we need to communicate. Rather,
Written discourse... is regularized but not fixed; fluid, flexible, and dynamic; emerging and evolving in exigency and action; reflecting and incorporating social needs, demands, and structures, and responsive to social interpretations and reinterpretations of necessarily shifting, complex experiences. (23)
And, as a result of the fluidity of discourse in varied workplace settings, writers themselves should be prepared for major development of their communication skills when they enter new workplaces. MacKinnon's qualitative study (2000) of new analysts and economists at the Bank of Canada showed that
Overall, the writing-related changes were considerable, consequential, and a shock for some participants: "It's like going to China," said one. For most of the ten participants, the complex totality of the writing-related changes they experienced added up to a "sea change": a major shift in their understanding of what writing is an does in an organization, a revised understanding of the roles they saw for themselves as writing workers and as working writers, and often major changes in various aspects of the macro writing process. (50)
When students have opportunities as undergraduates or graduate/professional students to anticipate these major shifts, then the transitions to workplaces of all sorts become easier. For the most part, moreover, students recognize that apprenticeship learning in academic settings provides both more structured scaffolding of writing tasks and lower-stakes learning. They thus embrace the learning opportunities when offered to them in academic classes.
The fifth principle noted in the general section on "what makes a good writing assignment?" is to break down the task into manageable steps. Many teachers approach this element of good assignment design by thinking carefully about assignment sequence. One particularly thorough explanation of this process appears in Leydens & Santi (2006). This writing specialist and geoscientist take up the details of designing assignments with an eye to course goals. They also consider the importance of not overwhelming teachers and students (the Less is More approach) as they explain their specific process of questioning their assignments (pp. 493-497). (See also Lord, 2009, and Greasley & Cassidy, 2010.)
Scaffolded assignments, such as the agricultural economics assignment noted in the Additional Resources section, help students reach a larger goal by asking them to collect resources in stages. A final stage requires that students transform each of the earlier stages in a final document. Sequenced assignments, on the other hand, each stand independently, but each task builds on particular skills and challenges to enable students to meet a larger set of goals. Herrington (1997) describes a scaffolded assignment (71-72) with a preliminary plan for a major project followed by an annotated bibliography, early draft (with cover note focused on successes and challenges thus far) and final draft (with cover note). Mulnix & Mulnix (2010) also describe a similar argumentative assignment that uses sequenced tasks to repeat and reinforce critical thinking skills. See also Sin et al . (2007) for a sequence in accounting, Howell (2007) in materials science, Fencl (2010) on a sequence in physics, Zlatic et al . (2000) on pharmaceutical education, and Harding (2005) on freshman mechanical engineering. Coe (2011), on the other hand, describes a series of scaffolded writing tasks to help students build argument skills in philosophy, Alaimo et al . (2009) explain their project for sophomore organic chemistry students, and Lillig (2008) looks at upper-division chemistry.
A well-designed assignment will make the elements of the task clear to students. This includes identifying relevant intermediate assignments and activities, such as topic proposals or literature reviews for longer assignments, as well as providing information about relevant writing, research, and collaboration processes. In general, it is also advisable to list grading criteria on the assignment sheet. Making the assignment clear to students will help them better understand the scope and challenge of the assignment. It also is likely to produce better learning and performance.
Good analytical writing is a rigorous and difficult task. It involves a process of editing and rewriting, and it is common to do a half dozen or more drafts. Because of the difficulty of analytical writing and the need for drafting, we will be completing the assignment in four stages. A draft of each of the sections described below is due when we finish the class unit related to that topic (see due dates on syllabus). I will read the drafts of each section and provide comments; these drafts will not be graded but failure to pass in a complete version of a section will result in a deduction in your final assignment grade. Because of the time both you and I are investing in the project, it will constitute one-half of your semester grade.
Content, Concepts and Substance
Papers will focus on the peoples and policies related to population, food, and the environment of your chosen country. As well as exploring each of these subsets, papers need to highlight the interrelations among them. These interrelations should form part of your revision focus for the final draft. Important concepts relevant to the papers will be covered in class; therefore, your research should be focused on the collection of information on your chosen country or region to substantiate your themes. Specifically, the paper needs to address the following questions.
1. Population
Developing countries have undergone large changes in population. Explain the dynamic nature of this continuing change in your country or region and the forces underlying the changes. Better papers will go beyond description and analyze the situation at hand. That is, go behind the numbers to explain what is happening in your country with respect to the underlying population dynamics: structure of growth, population momentum, rural/urban migration, age structure of population, unanticipated populations shocks, etc. DUE: WEEK 4.
What is the nature of food consumption in your country or region? Is the average daily consumption below recommended levels? Is food consumption increasing with economic growth? What is the income elasticity of demand? Use Engel's law to discuss this behavior. Is production able to stay abreast with demand given these trends? What is the nature of agricultural production: traditional agriculture or green revolution technology? Is the trend in food production towards self-sufficiency? If not, can comparative advantage explain this? Does the country import or export food? Is the politico-economic regime supportive of a progressive agricultural sector? DUE: WEEK 8.
3. Environment
This is the third issue to be covered in class. It is crucial to show in your paper the environmental impact of agricultural production techniques as well as any direct impacts from population changes. This is especially true in countries that have evolved from traditional agriculture to green revolution techniques in the wake of population pressures. While there are private benefits to increased production, the use of petroleum-based inputs leads to environmental and human health related social costs which are exacerbated by poorly defined property rights. Use the concepts of technological externalities, assimilative capacity, property rights, etc., to explain the nature of this situation in your country or region. What other environmental problems are evident? Discuss the problems and methods for economically measuring environmental degradation. DUE: WEEK 12.
4. Final Draft
The final draft of the project should consider the economic situation of agriculture in your specified country or region from the three perspectives outlined above. Key to such an analysis are the interrelationships of the three perspectives. How does each factor contribute to an overall analysis of the successes and problems in agricultural policy and production of your chosen country or region? The paper may conclude with recommendations, but, at the very least, it should provide a clear summary statement about the challenges facing your country or region. DUE: WEEK15.
Adam, C. (2000). "What do we learn from the readers? Factors in determining successful transitions between academic and workplace writing." In P. Dias and A. Paré (Eds.), Transitions: Writing in Academic and Workplace Settings ; pp. 167-182. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
Addams, L.H., Woodbury, D., Allred, T., & Addams, J. (2010). Developing Student Communication Skills while Assisting Nonprofit Organizations. Business Communication Quarterly, 73 (3), 282-290.
Alaimo, P.J., Bean, J.C., Langenhan, J.M., & Nichols, L. (2009). Eliminating Lab Reports: A Rhetorical Approach for Teaching the Scientific Paper in Sophomore Organic Chemistry. The WAC Journal, 20 , 17-32.
Beaufort, A. (2004). Developmental gains of a history major: A case for building a theory of disciplinary writing expertise. Research in the Teaching of English, 39 (2), 136-185.
Beaufort, A. (2000). Learning the trade: A social apprenticeship model for gaining writing expertise. Written Communication, 17 (2), 185-224.
Belfiore, M.E., Defoe, T.A., Folinsbee, S., Hunter, J., & Jackson, N.S. (2004). Reading Work: Literacies in the New Workplace. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Blakeslee, A.M. (2001). Bridging the workplace and the academy: Teaching professional genres through classroom-workplace collaborations. Technical Communication Quarterly, 10 (2), 169-192.
Bourelle, T. (2012). Bridging the Gap between the Technical Communication Classroom and the Internship: Teaching Social Consciousness and Real-World Writing. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 42 (2), 183-197.
Brumberger, E.R. (2004). The "Corporate Correspondence Project": Fostering Audience Awareness and Extended Collaboration. Business Communication Quarterly, 67 (3), 349-58.
Cass, A.G., & Fernandes, C.S.T. (2008). Simulated conference submissions: A technique to improve student attitudes about writing. 2008 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, Vols. 1-3 ; pp. 1535-1540.
Chamely,Wiik, D.M., Kaky, J.E., & Galin, J. (2012). From Bhopal to cold fusion: A case-study approach to writing assignments in honors general chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education, 89 (4), 502-508.
Chinn, P.W.U., & Hilgers. T.L. (2000). From corrector to collaborator: The range of instructor roles in writing-based natural and applied science classes. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 37 (1), 3-25.
Coe, C.D. (2011). Scaffolded writing as a tool for critical thinking: Teaching beginning students how to write arguments. Teaching Philosophy, 34 (1), 33-50.
Dias, P., Freedman, A., Medway, P., & Paré. (1999). "Introduction: Researching Writing at School and at Work." Worlds Apart: Acting and Writing in Academic and Workplace Contexts; pp. 3-13. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Dias, P., Freedman, A., Medway, P., & Paré. (1999). "Situating Writing." Worlds Apart: Acting and Writing in Academic and Workplace Contexts; pp. 17-41. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Ding, H. (2008). The use of cognitive and social apprenticeship to teach a disciplinary genre: Initiation of graduate students into NIH grant writing. Written Communication, 25 (1), 3-52.
Fencl, H.S. (2010). Development of Students' Critical-Reasoning Skills through Content-Focused Activities in a General Education Course. Journal of College Science Teaching, 39 (5), 56-62.
Franz, A.K. (2012). Organic chemistry YouTube writing assignment for large lecture classes. Journal of Chemical Education, 89 (4), 497-501.
Freedman, A., & Adam, C. (2000). "Write where you are: Situating learning to write in university and workplace settings." In P. Dias and A. Paré (Eds.), Transitions: Writing in Academic and Workplace Settings ; pp. 31-60. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
Freedman, A., Adam, C., & Smart, G. (1994). Wearing suits to class: Simulating genres and simulations as genre. Written Communication, 11 (2), 193-226.
Greasley, P., & Cassidy, A. (2010). When it comes round to marking assignments: how to impress and how to 'distress' lecturers. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 35 (2), 173-189.
Guildford, W.H. (2001). Teaching peer review and the process of scientific writing. Advances in Physiology Education, 25 (3), 167-175.
Harding, B.A. (2005). "A simple mechanism to teach a complex practitioner knowledge set." Innovations in Engineering Education 2005 ; pp. 479-486. ASME.
Herrington, A. (1997). "Developing and responding to major writing projects ." In M.D. Sorcinelli & P. Elbow (Eds.), Writing to learn: Strategies for assigning and responding to writing across the disciplines , pp. 67-75. New directions for teaching the learning, No. 69 . San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Hilgers, T.L., Hussey, E.L., & Stitt-Bergh, M. (1999). "As you're writing, you have these epiphanies": What college students say about writing and learning in their majors. Written Communication, 16 (3), 317-353.
Howell, P.R. (2007). "Writing to specification: An approach to teaching scientific literacy, and a prelude to writing 'The World of Materials' essays." In J.E.E. Baglin (Ed.), Proceedings of the Symposium and Forum Education in Materials Science, Engineering and Technology ; pp. 247-289.
Kiefer, K., & Leff, A. (2008). "Client-based writing about science: Immersing science students in real writing contexts." Across the Disciplines , vol. 5 .
Kreth, M.L. (2005). A Small-Scale Client Project for Business Writing Students: Developing a Guide for First-Time Home Buyers. Business Communication Quarterly, 68 (1), 52-59.
LeBigot, L., & Rouet, J.F. (2007). The impact of presentation format, task assignment, and prior knowledge on students' comprehension of multiple online documents. Journal of Literacy Research, 39 (4), 445-470.
Leydens, J., & Santi, P. (2006). Optimizing faculty use of writing as a learning tool in geoscience education. Journal of Geoscience Education , 54 (4), 491-502.
Lillig, J.W. (2008). Writing across the semester: A non-standard term paper that encourages critical data analysis in the upper-division chemistry classroom. Journal of Chemical Education, 85 (10), 1392-1394.
Lord, S.M. (2009). Integrating effective "writing to communicate" experiences in engineering courses: Guidelines and examples. International Journal of Engineering Education, 25 (1), 196-204.
MacKinnon, J. (1993). "Becoming a rhetor: Developing writing ability in a mature, writing-intensive organization." In R. Spilka (Ed.), Writing in the Workplace: New Research Perspectives ; pp. 41-55. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP.
Martin, A.M. (2010). "Astronomy and writing: A first-year cosmology course for nonmajors." In J. Barnes, D.A. Smith, M.G. Gibbs, and J.G. Manning (Eds.), Science Education and Outreach: Forging a Path to the Future . Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series, Vol. 431; pp. 368-371. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
McDermott, M., & Kuhn, M. (2011). Using writing for alternative audiences in a college integrated science course. Journal of College Science Teaching, 41 (1), 40-45.
Mizrahi, J. (2003). Teaching technical writing to university students using the medical report. STC's 50 th Annual Conference Proceedings ; 190-193.
Moni, R.W., Hryciw, D.H., Poronnik, P., & Moni, K.B. (2007). Using explicit teaching to improve how bioscience students write to the lay public. Advances in Physiology Education, 31 (2), 167-75.
Motavalli, P.P., Patton, M.D., & Miles, R.J. (2007). Use of web-based student extension publications to improve undergraduate student writing skills. Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education, 36 : 95-102.
Mulnix, A.B. (2003). Investigations of Protein Structure and Function Using the Scientific Literature: An Assignment for an Undergraduate Cell Physiology Course. Cell Biology Education, 2 (4), 248-255.
Mulnix, J.W., & Mulnix, M.J. (2010). Using a writing portfolio project to teach critical thinking skills. Teaching Philosophy, 33 (1), 27-54.
Paretti, M.C. (2008). Teaching communication in capstone design: The role of the instructor in situated learning. Journal of Engineering Education, 97 (4), 491-503.
Planken, B., & Kreps, A.J. Raising Students' Awareness of the Implications of Multimodality for Content Design and Usability: The Web Site Project. Business Communication Quarterly, 69 (4), 421-425.
Powell, V. (2012). Revival of the Position Paper: Aligning Curricula and Professional Competencies. Communication Teacher, 26 (2), 96-103.
Schwartz, R.S., Lederman, N.G., & Crawford, B.A. (2004). Developing view of nature of science in an authentic context: An explicit approach to bridging the gap between nature of science and scientific inquiry. Science Education, 88 (4), 610-645.
Sin, S., Jones, A., & Petocz, P. (2007). Evaluating a method of integrating generic skills with accounting content based on a functional theory of meaning. Accounting and Finance, 47 (1), 143-163.
Sivey, J.D., & Lee, C.M. (2008). Using popular magazine articles to teach the art of writing for nontechnical audiences. Journal of Chemical Education, 85 (1), 55-58.
Spinuzzi, C. (2010). Secret sauce and snake oil: Writing monthly reports in a highly contingent environment. Written Communication, 27 (4), 363-409.
Stevens, B. (2005). The Car Accident: An Exercise in Persuasive Writing. Communication Teacher, 19 (2), 62-67.
Sulewski, R. (2003). Integrating communication and technical material int eh first-year engineering curriculum: The role of the laboratory. STC's 50 th Annual Conference Proceedings ; 176-178.
Wald, H.S., Davis, S.W., Reis, S.P., Monroe, A.D., & Borkan, J.M. (2009). Reflecting on reflections: Enhancement of medical education curriculum with structured field notes and guided feedback. Academic Medicine, 84 (7), 830-837.
Ward, M., Sr. (2009). Squaring the learning circle: Cross-classroom collaborations and the impact of audience on student outcomes in professional writing. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 23 (1), 61-82.
Zlatic, T.D., Nowak, D.M., & Sylvester, D. (2000). Integrating general and professional education through a study of herbal products: An intercollegiate collaboration. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 64 (1), 83-94.
WAC@NIU ( http://www.engl.niu.edu/wac/ ) has two useful items in their archives under "Ccomputer-intensive assignments" in the first Key Web Sites section of links:
(If the questions under rhetorical situation confuse you, call our Writing Center for a quick explanation.)
Writing@CSU includes a much more detailed explanation of how and why to design writing assignments at http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/teaching/fys/assignmentwriting.cfm .
Prepared by allison boye, ph.d. teaching, learning, and professional development center.
Assessment is a necessary part of the teaching and learning process, helping us measure whether our students have really learned what we want them to learn. While exams and quizzes are certainly favorite and useful methods of assessment, out of class assignments (written or otherwise) can offer similar insights into our students' learning. And just as creating a reliable test takes thoughtfulness and skill, so does creating meaningful and effective assignments. Undoubtedly, many instructors have been on the receiving end of disappointing student work, left wondering what went wrong… and often, those problems can be remedied in the future by some simple fine-tuning of the original assignment. This paper will take a look at some important elements to consider when developing assignments, and offer some easy approaches to creating a valuable assessment experience for all involved.
First Things First…
Before assigning any major tasks to students, it is imperative that you first define a few things for yourself as the instructor:
In his book Engaging Ideas (1996), John Bean provides a great list of questions to help instructors focus on their main teaching goals when creating an assignment (p.78):
1. What are the main units/modules in my course?
2. What are my main learning objectives for each module and for the course?
3. What thinking skills am I trying to develop within each unit and throughout the course?
4. What are the most difficult aspects of my course for students?
5. If I could change my students' study habits, what would I most like to change?
6. What difference do I want my course to make in my students' lives?
What your students need to know
Once you have determined your own goals for the assignment and the levels of your students, you can begin creating your assignment. However, when introducing your assignment to your students, there are several things you will need to clearly outline for them in order to ensure the most successful assignments possible.
A great way to get students engaged with an assignment and build buy-in is to encourage their collaboration on its design and/or on the grading criteria (Hudd, 2003). In his article “Conducting Writing Assignments,” Richard Leahy (2002) offers a few ideas for building in said collaboration:
• Ask the students to develop the grading scale themselves from scratch, starting with choosing the categories.
• Set the grading categories yourself, but ask the students to help write the descriptions.
• Draft the complete grading scale yourself, then give it to your students for review and suggestions.
A Few Do's and Don'ts…
Determining your goals for the assignment and its essential logistics is a good start to creating an effective assignment. However, there are a few more simple factors to consider in your final design. First, here are a few things you should do :
Next are a few elements to avoid in your assignments:
The assignments we give to students don't simply have to be research papers or reports. There are many options for effective yet creative ways to assess your students' learning! Here are just a few:
Journals, Posters, Portfolios, Letters, Brochures, Management plans, Editorials, Instruction Manuals, Imitations of a text, Case studies, Debates, News release, Dialogues, Videos, Collages, Plays, Power Point presentations
Ultimately, the success of student responses to an assignment often rests on the instructor's deliberate design of the assignment. By being purposeful and thoughtful from the beginning, you can ensure that your assignments will not only serve as effective assessment methods, but also engage and delight your students. If you would like further help in constructing or revising an assignment, the Teaching, Learning, and Professional Development Center is glad to offer individual consultations. In addition, look into some of the resources provided below.
Online Resources
“Creating Effective Assignments” http://www.unh.edu/teaching-excellence/resources/Assignments.htm This site, from the University of New Hampshire's Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, provides a brief overview of effective assignment design, with a focus on determining and communicating goals and expectations.
Gardner, T. (2005, June 12). Ten Tips for Designing Writing Assignments. Traci's Lists of Ten. http://www.tengrrl.com/tens/034.shtml This is a brief yet useful list of tips for assignment design, prepared by a writing teacher and curriculum developer for the National Council of Teachers of English . The website will also link you to several other lists of “ten tips” related to literacy pedagogy.
“How to Create Effective Assignments for College Students.” http:// tilt.colostate.edu/retreat/2011/zimmerman.pdf This PDF is a simplified bulleted list, prepared by Dr. Toni Zimmerman from Colorado State University, offering some helpful ideas for coming up with creative assignments.
“Learner-Centered Assessment” http://cte.uwaterloo.ca/teaching_resources/tips/learner_centered_assessment.html From the Centre for Teaching Excellence at the University of Waterloo, this is a short list of suggestions for the process of designing an assessment with your students' interests in mind. “Matching Learning Goals to Assignment Types.” http://teachingcommons.depaul.edu/How_to/design_assignments/assignments_learning_goals.html This is a great page from DePaul University's Teaching Commons, providing a chart that helps instructors match assignments with learning goals.
Additional References Bean, J.C. (1996). Engaging ideas: The professor's guide to integrating writing, critical thinking, and active learning in the classroom . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Fitzpatrick, R. (1989). Research and writing assignments that reduce fear lead to better papers and more confident students. Writing Across the Curriculum , 3.2, pp. 15 – 24.
Flaxman, R. (2005). Creating meaningful writing assignments. The Teaching Exchange . Retrieved Jan. 9, 2008 from http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Sheridan_Center/pubs/teachingExchange/jan2005/01_flaxman.pdf
Hass, M. & Osborn, J. (2007, August 13). An emic view of student writing and the writing process. Across the Disciplines, 4.
Hedengren, B.F. (2004). A TA's guide to teaching writing in all disciplines . Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.
Hudd, S. S. (2003, April). Syllabus under construction: Involving students in the creation of class assignments. Teaching Sociology , 31, pp. 195 – 202.
Leahy, R. (2002). Conducting writing assignments. College Teaching , 50.2, pp. 50 – 54.
Miller, H. (2007). Designing effective writing assignments. Teaching with writing . University of Minnesota Center for Writing. Retrieved Jan. 9, 2008, from http://writing.umn.edu/tww/assignments/designing.html
MIT Online Writing and Communication Center (1999). Creating Writing Assignments. Retrieved January 9, 2008 from http://web.mit.edu/writing/Faculty/createeffective.html .
Library Services
Assignments.
In academic work of any kind, effective referencing of your sources will ensure that you:
In order to cite sources correctly in your assignments, you need to understand the essentials of how to reference and follow guidelines for the referencing style you are required to use.
Citing your sources can help you avoid plagiarism. You may need to submit your assignments through Turnitin, plagiarism detection software. Find out more about Turnitin and how you can use it to check your work before submitting it:
Karen Gravett & Ian M. Kinchin (2020) Referencing and empowerment: exploring barriers to agency in the higher education student experience, Teaching in Higher Education, 25:1, 84-97
J D Armstrong, 2nd (1993) Plagiarism: what is it, whom does it offend, and how does one deal with it?, American Journal of Roentgenology, 161:3, 479-484
Monica Hendricks & Lynn Quinn (2000) Teaching Referencing as an Introduction to Epistemological Empowerment, Teaching in Higher Education, 5:4, 447-457
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Project Coconut is hitting all gears for the presidential campaign of Vice President and potential Democratic candidate Kamala Harris . The newest trend established by her supporters features a series of posts with the catchphrase I Understand The Assignment' with the hopes of getting the endorsement from the Gen X and Boomers .
Although the phrase shares the same chorus as the 2021 music The Assignment (seen below) by Tay Money, which inspired a viral TikTok trend that amplified the use of the mantra online, they are not related. In this case, is all about understanding Kamala supporters' assignment of getting her elected in the 2024 Presidential Election.
Here's everything you need to know about the 'I Understand The Assignment" catchphrase and other memes related to the Kamala Harris 2024 campaign .
The phrase "I understand the assignment" is often used by someone indicating their intentions to go above and beyond to do a good job. That's the general strategy behind the organic campaign in support of Vice President Kamala Harris being spread on social that made the catchphrase resurface in late July 2024. Her endorsers are expressing that they're ready to help her win the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election following President Joe Biden dropping out of the race .
For example, on July 22nd, 2024, X [7] user @libradunn tweeted, "We understand the assignment!" in response to friends in the media asking, "What's next for Democrats?"
The trend is also part of a budding mantra among Harris voters and supporters in which they showcase their "differences" as a strength while indicating their respective duties to elect her. For instance, on July 22nd. 2024, X user @libbage55 tweeted "I’m a 69 year old white woman, and I understand the assignment." (seen below)
On the same day, X user @CGTheGeek posted a GIF showing their reaction to seeing all the "I understand the assignment" tweets. (seen below)
White folks on Twitter posting "… I understand the assignment!" #KamalaHarris2024 pic.twitter.com/WwSul0NvKA — ThereWillBeTypos 🤷🏾♀️ (@CGTheGeek) July 23, 2024
"Understood the assignment" is a phrase well-known online and offline for decades but in August 2021 singer Tay Money helped the phrase to achieve mainstream usage by posting her song's hook, having multiple commenters asking when the full song will eventually drop (shown below). The audio from her video has been made into over 530,000 videos in three years.
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6997231444502367493
For the full history of I Understand The Assignment , be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
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Teaching excellence & educational innovation, creating assignments.
Here are some general suggestions and questions to consider when creating assignments. There are also many other resources in print and on the web that provide examples of interesting, discipline-specific assignment ideas.
What do you want students to learn in your course? What could they do that would show you that they have learned it? To determine assignments that truly serve your course objectives, it is useful to write out your objectives in this form: I want my students to be able to ____. Use active, measurable verbs as you complete that sentence (e.g., compare theories, discuss ramifications, recommend strategies), and your learning objectives will point you towards suitable assignments.
This is the fun side of assignment design. Consider how to focus students’ thinking in ways that are creative, challenging, and motivating. Think beyond the conventional assignment type! For example, one American historian requires students to write diary entries for a hypothetical Nebraska farmwoman in the 1890s. By specifying that students’ diary entries must demonstrate the breadth of their historical knowledge (e.g., gender, economics, technology, diet, family structure), the instructor gets students to exercise their imaginations while also accomplishing the learning objectives of the course (Walvoord & Anderson, 1989, p. 25).
After creating your assignments, go back to your learning objectives and make sure there is still a good match between what you want students to learn and what you are asking them to do. If you find a mismatch, you will need to adjust either the assignments or the learning objectives. For instance, if your goal is for students to be able to analyze and evaluate texts, but your assignments only ask them to summarize texts, you would need to add an analytical and evaluative dimension to some assignments or rethink your learning objectives.
Students can be misled by assignments that are named inappropriately. For example, if you want students to analyze a product’s strengths and weaknesses but you call the assignment a “product description,” students may focus all their energies on the descriptive, not the critical, elements of the task. Thus, it is important to ensure that the titles of your assignments communicate their intention accurately to students.
Think about how to order your assignments so that they build skills in a logical sequence. Ideally, assignments that require the most synthesis of skills and knowledge should come later in the semester, preceded by smaller assignments that build these skills incrementally. For example, if an instructor’s final assignment is a research project that requires students to evaluate a technological solution to an environmental problem, earlier assignments should reinforce component skills, including the ability to identify and discuss key environmental issues, apply evaluative criteria, and find appropriate research sources.
Consider your intended assignments in relation to the academic calendar and decide how they can be reasonably spaced throughout the semester, taking into account holidays and key campus events. Consider how long it will take students to complete all parts of the assignment (e.g., planning, library research, reading, coordinating groups, writing, integrating the contributions of team members, developing a presentation), and be sure to allow sufficient time between assignments.
Is the workload you have in mind reasonable for your students? Is the grading burden manageable for you? Sometimes there are ways to reduce workload (whether for you or for students) without compromising learning objectives. For example, if a primary objective in assigning a project is for students to identify an interesting engineering problem and do some preliminary research on it, it might be reasonable to require students to submit a project proposal and annotated bibliography rather than a fully developed report. If your learning objectives are clear, you will see where corners can be cut without sacrificing educational quality.
If an assignment is vague, students may interpret it any number of ways – and not necessarily how you intended. Thus, it is critical to clearly and unambiguously identify the task students are to do (e.g., design a website to help high school students locate environmental resources, create an annotated bibliography of readings on apartheid). It can be helpful to differentiate the central task (what students are supposed to produce) from other advice and information you provide in your assignment description.
Different instructors apply different criteria when grading student work, so it’s important that you clearly articulate to students what your criteria are. To do so, think about the best student work you have seen on similar tasks and try to identify the specific characteristics that made it excellent, such as clarity of thought, originality, logical organization, or use of a wide range of sources. Then identify the characteristics of the worst student work you have seen, such as shaky evidence, weak organizational structure, or lack of focus. Identifying these characteristics can help you consciously articulate the criteria you already apply. It is important to communicate these criteria to students, whether in your assignment description or as a separate rubric or scoring guide . Clearly articulated performance criteria can prevent unnecessary confusion about your expectations while also setting a high standard for students to meet.
Students make assumptions about the audience they are addressing in papers and presentations, which influences how they pitch their message. For example, students may assume that, since the instructor is their primary audience, they do not need to define discipline-specific terms or concepts. These assumptions may not match the instructor’s expectations. Thus, it is important on assignments to specify the intended audience http://wac.colostate.edu/intro/pop10e.cfm (e.g., undergraduates with no biology background, a potential funder who does not know engineering).
If students are unclear about the goals or purpose of the assignment, they may make unnecessary mistakes. For example, if students believe an assignment is focused on summarizing research as opposed to evaluating it, they may seriously miscalculate the task and put their energies in the wrong place. The same is true they think the goal of an economics problem set is to find the correct answer, rather than demonstrate a clear chain of economic reasoning. Consequently, it is important to make your objectives for the assignment clear to students.
If you have specific parameters in mind for the assignment (e.g., length, size, formatting, citation conventions) you should be sure to specify them in your assignment description. Otherwise, students may misapply conventions and formats they learned in other courses that are not appropriate for yours.
Here is a set of questions you can ask yourself when creating an assignment.
Adapted from the WAC Clearinghouse at http://wac.colostate.edu/intro/pop10e.cfm .
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Commemorating the International Day of Action for Academic Integrity: Championing academic integrity in the age of AI
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We chose to write this blog post about proper use of AI writing tools with student needs in mind, because so many of the resources out there for students are published by AI companies themselves. We can’t overlook students, because you are the most important part of the discussion around academic integrity. In fact, academic integrity requires student understanding and participation; for example, the International Day of Action for Academic Integrity on October 18, 2023 purposely includes student involvement.
Understanding academic integrity and proper AI writing tool use helps you avoid plagiarism and misconduct. Participation in discussions around academic integrity and proper AI writing tool use makes it so you have a say in your own learning goals and create a good culture around learning at your school.
We’re going to divide this blog post up into several sections; we’ll begin with the definition of academic integrity, then getting more specific about AI and its relationship to academic integrity, and finally providing some information about proper AI writing tool use (and misuse). In doing so, the intent is to help you understand the ways in which students can use AI properly and avoid academic dishonesty.
First, what is academic integrity?
Oftentimes, folks define academic integrity as what it is not (i.e., not plagiarizing, not contract cheating, not engaging in AI writing misconduct, and not cheating in general), but then students miss out on what it is supposed to be.
The word “academic integrity” focuses on a commitment to honesty , trust , fairness , respect , responsibility , and courage .
An authoritative definition of academic integrity can be found at the International Center of Academic Integrity (ICAI) , which was founded in 1992 by leading researchers. (Did you know there is an entire cohort of academics whose focus is primarily about academic integrity)? Don McCabe is credited as the person who popularized the term “academic integrity.” In 1999, the Center identified and described the “ fundamental values of academic integrity ” as honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility, and in 2014 added the sixth value of courage. Academic integrity, per the ICAI, is a commitment to these values ( Turnitin, 2023 ).
The values of academic integrity can be described in the following ways:
The above values, when put into action, display academic integrity.
What do AI writing tools have to do with academic integrity?
AI writing tools and their relationship to academic integrity is a top subject of discussion these days, spurred by the release of ChatGPT in late 2022 by a company called OpenAI. ChatGPT was a huge advancement in Artificial Intelligence, producing responses very, very close to human speech. It can generate replies to short answer questions, and provide essay-length responses.
These advances in AI caused a lot of alarm in the education community (and elsewhere; for instance, the writer and actor unions (WGA and SAG-AFTRA) went on strike in Hollywood, with one of their main concerns being AI-generated work ). While educators (academic leaders and faculty) have broadened their discussions around AI writing tools like ChatGPT and accepted that AI is here to stay, the initial (and ongoing) fear is that students will use these tools and represent their output as their own original work. In other words, teachers are afraid that students will use ChatGPT to cheat.
How do you use generative AI tools with academic integrity? Let’s roll it back up to those values of academic integrity as it pertains to AI writing tools.
AI and the value of honesty
Honesty is about being truthful, fact-based, and giving credit to the person who came up with the ideas. If you disclose your use of AI writing tools by citing AI, then you’re using AI writing tools with integrity. However, if you do not attribute work written by AI writing tools and instead claim the work as your own, then you are violating academic integrity.
AI and the value of trust
Are you providing transparency in your work? This means that if you’re using AI writing tools to brainstorm or help with writing structure, you should be clear about your actions. Doing so builds trust with your instructor. Hiding any work you’ve done with the help of AI violates trust.
AI and the value of fairness
Fairness means that everyone is working with the same resources and consistency, and that we take responsibility for our own actions. When you submit work to your instructor, you are taking responsibility for the content and claiming it as your own original work. Is an AI writing tool giving you an unfair advantage over others? For instance, if you’re working on an assignment and the rules are not to use AI, and you might be one of a few (or the only one) using AI to complete an assignment; this is a shortcut solution that disregards fairness.
AI and the value of respect
Receiving feedback and recognizing the impact of your words and actions on other folks are ways to show respect. Improper use of AI (e.g., when it’s not allowed on an assignment) flouts learning, which disrespects the instructor and your cohort’s efforts. While generative AI tools can be useful to help you understand a topic or structure your thoughts, using them to write extensive parts of work for you, especially when it’s not allowed or required for part of the assignment, is academic misconduct.
AI and the value of responsibility
This value is pretty clear, as responsibility is about following codes of conduct and modeling good behavior. If you’re using AI writing tools with the blessing of your instructor, then you’re following instructions. If you’re using AI writing tools secretly and in defiance of rules, then you’re not only breaking rules, you’re not modeling good behavior.
AI and the value of courage
Courage is about standing up for what’s right, defending integrity, and in some cases, enduring discomfort for what you believe in. Learning isn’t always easy, but the end result is valuable. Resisting the temptation to use AI writing tools when they’re not allowed or making sure to always attribute AI-generated text is simply an act of courage. Maybe that line is a bit cringey, but you’ll find that standing your ground and staying the course on learning is brave.
How can I use AI properly?
Responsible AI use follows the tenets of academic integrity. (Additionally, you may want to refer to your school or university policy on proper AI use, if one exists. The following are some general suggestions to supplement your school’s code of conduct).
AI is a toolkit for solving problems, like calculators for math calculations. When used correctly, it can be an aid for learning and fostering thinking skills. But when we become dependent on technology, it’s easy to skip steps in learning and end up in a place where you aren’t able to do things on your own. Additionally, ChatGPT doesn’t always provide accurate information; you will need to double check everything, including sources, that ChatGPT offers. In some ways, they are calculators; in other ways, they are inaccurate calculators, so you need to understand the basics of what you are trying to say. The following are ways to make sure you are using AI properly in your work.
Acknowledge the use of AI in your work
Any writing that generative AI provides has to be cited. The current guidelines for citing AI are still being developed. For most referencing styles, there are no specific directions for citing ChatGPT or other generative AI ( University of Queensland ). This makes things a bit more complicated.
However, there are interim guidelines for citing AI in different citation formats. The University of Queensland provides some information on citing AI in APA, AGLC, Chicago, and MLA formats.
For instance, in APA format, you might want to cite AI in the following way:
In-text citation :
Author of generative AI model, Year of version used
(OpenAI, 2022)
Reference list or works cited :
Author of AI model used. (Year of AI model used). Name of AI model used (Version of AI model used) [Type or description of AI model used]. Web address of AI model used
OpenAI. (2022). ChatGPT (December 20 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/
The full transcript of a response can be included in an appendix or other supplementary materials.
For MLA, AI citations may look like this:
(Short form Title of source)
(“Compare and contrast the setting”)
Reference list or work cited :
“Title of source” prompt. Name of AI Tool, version, Company, Date content was generated, General web address of tool.
“Compare and contrast the settings of Italy and Britain in A Room With a View by E.M. Forster” prompt. ChatGPT, 1 Jan version, OpenAI, 14 September, 2023, chat.openai.com/chat .
Chicago style
The Chicago Manual of Style also provides guidance on how to cite ChatGPT or any other generative AI. Again, however, these guidelines are evolving and may change, but for now, these are some examples of how to cite AI in Chicago style:
Numbered footnote or endnote :
1. Text generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI, September 14, 2023, https://chat.openai.com/chat.
If the prompt hasn’t been included in the text, it can be included in the note :
1. ChatGPT, response to “Why are hydrocarbons thought of as scaffolds for functional groups?” OpenAI, September 14, 2023.
Acknowledging the use of AI when there are no referencing guidelines or if you’ve used AI at all:
Even if there are no referencing guidelines for a citation format or if you used AI writing tools at any point in your writing process, you should still acknowledge any use of AI that you’ve used to help complete your assignment. According to Latrobe University, one example of an acknowledgment looks like the following: Whilst/While the writing is my own and I take responsibility for all errors, ChatGPT was used to create the initial section structure for this essay.
Furthermore, AI writing tools can’t accurately cite their own sources (and thus, often plagiarize material, so it may show up in similarity detection like Turnitin Feedback Studio). So you also need to double check ChatGPT’s sources, as they may be wrong or completely made up. Those sources, too, need to be cited.
Using AI to help you study
Another proper use for AI is to study; AI tools can be used to:
That said, The New York Times says there’s “One warning to keep in mind: When studying, it’s paramount that the information is correct, and to get the most accurate results, you should direct A.I. tools to focus on information from trusted sources rather than pull data from across the web” ( Chen, 2023 ).
If you’re in doubt, Turnitin has an Ethical AI use checklist for students for your use.
Brainstorming ideas
For instance, using AI to brainstorm ideas or find a way to structure an essay can be useful and further learning, particularly when teachers give permission to use AI for this purpose. One particularly effective use for AI is to ask it to generate counter-arguments to identify points you may have overlooked in your argument. Using those brainstormed ideas to write something in your own words with your own research can qualify as proper use, especially when the final work states that you used AI in the initial stages.
AI is also useful to figure out how to structure your argument; but your argument, too, must be your own and in your own words. If you use AI for this function, be sure to state that you’ve used AI in the initial stages of your work.
The gray area of AI use, also known as The Fine Print
All of the ways students can use generative AI is subject to the code of conduct at your school. That is, if your school bans any use of AI in completing assignments, including brainstorming, then you should not use AI; in the case that AI is explicitly banned, any use would then be misuse.
Conclusion: What you need to know about proper AI writing tool use as students
Here’s the thing: the process of writing is how you learn to think and express your ideas. While AI tools can help you study, and can help you get started with framing your thoughts, your thoughts must be your own, and reflected in the work you submit for evaluation.
Think of it this way: it’s okay to ask someone to proofread your work and make sure you don’t have spelling or grammar errors. But it’s not okay to ask someone to rewrite your work.
It’s also okay to ask someone to help you brainstorm, but it’s not okay to ask someone to write your essay for you.
AI is here to stay, and students need to understand what constitutes proper and improper use of AI writing tools. This is important because not only do you want to avoid misconduct and discipline, you want to make sure that you come out of school prepared for the future. This preparation includes a deep understanding of academic integrity as well as a firm footing in the subject matter you’ve studied.
Comment by literallyuser.
Aw man can't wait to open 3rd chest in tier1 delve
I have never seen so many bugs in a release. Bloody hell, this is a joke...
I have never seen so many bugs in a release. Bloody hell, this is a joke... So many? That's nothing really.
I had to complete 3 world quests before it unlocked - racing course world quest, the climbing gear world quest and then the Beetle Minded quest and it then unlocked
I don't have that special assignment. I have "Bombs from Behind." Unfortunately, it seems bugged. I can start in the skiff, but it immediately returns me to town after it starts.
I have never seen so many bugs in a release. Bloody hell, this is a joke... Either this is recency bias or you've not being in a lot of launch
completed 4 world quests, didn't show. Had to relog after and now it's up!
I had to complete 3 world quests before it unlocked - racing course world quest, the climbing gear world quest and then the Beetle Minded quest and it then unlocked Took me 3 as well, on two characters.
"they were locked behind forming a Pact with the Severed Threads, which was unavailable" How do I do this?
Aw man can't wait to open 3rd chest in tier1 delve .... you could just save them til Tier 4 and higher delves unlock.
I had to complete 3 world quests before it unlocked - racing course world quest, the climbing gear world quest and then the Beetle Minded quest and it then unlocked Took me 3 as well, on two characters. Depends on if you did the special assignment in the other zone. If you did, you only need 2 WQ.
I have never seen so many bugs in a release. Bloody hell, this is a joke... So many? That's nothing really. Have a look at all the bugs Wowhead is posting. It's a lot.
Comment by yina.
Can't even see WQ's in that zone, not sure what to do to unlock those first.
Can't even see WQ's in that zone, not sure what to do to unlock those first. Compete Of Pacts and Patrons and choose a pact. Once selected the WQs show up.
I have never seen so many bugs in a release. Bloody hell, this is a joke... someone hasn't played Legion and BfA launch and it shows...lol
I can't get ANY "Special Assignments" to show up in any zone even if I did the world quests! I've relogged so many times in the area where the cache is and outside nothing works. I see the quest in my log that says 3/3 world quests complete but there is no abandon or ability to TURN it in! When I first log in I hear the "failed" sound and I see a yellow chat that says the quest has failed and I don't understand lol.. so I just submitted a ticket that I have to wait for 3 days apparently to get a response. I'm hanging in there but I'm a little annoyed. I've tried to fix it and I'm just stuck, it sucks.
I have never seen so many bugs in a release. Bloody hell, this is a joke... I don't think you understand what any of those words mean.
Took me three.
I have never seen so many bugs in a release. Bloody hell, this is a joke... So many? That's nothing really. Have a look at all the bugs Wowhead is posting. It's a lot. You're lucky you weren't playing when warlords of draenor or legion were released, the last two expanction are perfect compared to past.
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The Minnesota Twins sent veteran outfielder Byron Buxton on a rehab assignment to Triple-A St. Paul on Monday.
Buxton, 30, last played in a major league game Aug. 12 and has been out with right hip inflammation. He was batting .275 with 16 home runs and 49 RBIs in 90 games this season.
The oft-injured Buxton has played more than 92 games just once in his 10 seasons, all with the Twins. The second overall selection in the 2012 draft is a career .243 hitter with 131 home runs and 346 RBIs in 760 games.
Buxton has played 82 games in center field this season after all 80 of his starts last season came as the designated hitter. He was an All-Star for the only time in 2022 and won a Gold Glove in 2017.
Published February 21, 2024
Ensuring your students uphold Academic Integrity Standards is an important part of being an instructor. As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more prominent in everyday use, we need to be more vigilant in how our students are incorporating generative AI into their assignments.
UB Learns has a third party plagiarism tool called Turnitin (TII). This tool allows instructors to choose whether to run student submissions through a program that checks for plagiarism, checks for AI-generated work and can be used to provide feedback to students.
The following information can be used to enable TII and use it to enhance your grading experience.
If the concern is about plagiarism and AI for an assignment, it is important to first enable Turnitin through the “Manage Turnitin” setting. Instructors must enable Turnitin for each assignment separately. It is not possible to enable Turnitin for an entire course.
1. choose the assignment you wish to add tii to, select edit assignment.
Click on the chevron next to the assignment you wish to enable Turnitin on, then select Edit Assignment.
When in the Assignments tool in UB Learns, click on the chevron next to the assignment you wish to enable Turnitin on. Next, click Edit Assignment from the pop-up menu.
Under Evaluation and Feedback, click on Manage Turnitin.
In the Edit Assignment window, expand Evaluation & Feedback . At the bottom, click the Manage Turnitin hyperlink.
Select the Turnitin features you would like to enable for the assignment.
In the Turnitin Integration menu, select the integrations you would like to enable for the assignment. Options include:
Once you have made your selections, click Save .
Once back in the Edit Assignment window, in the Evaluation & Feedback, you will see verification of which Turnitin features are enabled.
In the Edit Assignment window, under Evaluation & Feedback, you will now see which Turnitin integrations enabled for the assignment.
Once all integrations have been enabled for your assignment, click Save and Close in the Edit Assignment window.
If the assignment has guidance or verbiage that is included with the submission, there is an option to create a template so that those words won’t count as part of the plagiarism detector.
1. in the turnitin integrations window, select more options.
Click on More Options button in the Turnitin Integrations menu.
To exclude verbiage or guidance from being labelled as plagiarized in Turnitin, naviage to the Turnitin Integration menu for the assignment (see above). Once in the Turnitin Integration menu, click More Options .
Under Exclude Assignment Template, you can choose to upload an existing template or create a new template.
Once done, click Submit . Next, click Save in the Turnitin Integrations window. Finally, click Save and Close in the Assignment window.
When your students submit an assignment with TII enabled, it is important to review the submissions. The similarity report will not only show you any plagiarism it has detected, but it can also provide an estimate of how much AI-generated text a student has used in place of their writing. When a student submits the assignment, they will only receive a plagiarism report if it was enabled, but will not be given a suspected AI use score. Even if Turnitin shows a score of “0%” for similarity, the AI-use score might be different.
An example submission with Turnitin Similarity Report Enabled. The score is 14%, which may seem low and neglible, but it does not show the AI use in the score. Click on the percentage to show the AI detection feature.
This score of 14% may seem to be low, leading some instructors to not click on the Similarity Report. However, if you go into the report by clicking on the percentage, you will see a more in-depth analysis of the student’s work.
Here we see that even though the report had a low similarity, the AI Detector, located at the bottom of the list, indicates that 2% of the student writing could be AI generated.
The AI Detection is at the bottom of the list. It indicates that 2% of the student writing could be AI generated.
Do not be quick to assume the AI check is accurate. TurnItIn acknowledges that low AI scores could indicate a false positive. We recommend reaching out to a student and initiating Academic Integrity protocols if the AI Writing Score is at least 35 - 45%. If the score is lower than this threshold, it is still important to reach out to the student and see if they utilized AI in creating their assignment.
This is the disclaimer for the Turnitin AI Detector. It specifically mentions that low scores have a higher likelihood of false positives.
If you have any questions about how TII is integrated into UB Learns, please reach out to our UB Learns Support Team . You can learn more about Turnitin at their website.
Senior Learning Designer and LMS Support Specialist Office of Curriculum, Assessment and Teaching Transformation
Associate Director Office of Curriculum, Assessment and Teaching Transformation
Project Manager for Communications and Outreach Office of Curriculum, Assessment and Teaching Transformation
Office of Curriculum, Assessment and Teaching Transformation 716-645-7700 [email protected]
Toronto Blue Jays' John Schneider says Bo Bichette will travel with the team to Atlanta, and Daulton Varsho will return to the lineup tonight vs. the Phillies.
Melanie Martinez-Lopez
This story was excerpted from the Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here . And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
WASHINGTON -- Shawn Armstrong 's last few days of August were full of big moments.
He was designated for assignment by the Cardinals on Aug. 27, and the next day he accompanied his wife, who's pregnant with their second child, to an ultrasound appointment. On Saturday, Armstrong received more news: he had been claimed off waivers by the Cubs. Then he was activated the next day.
“[It’s been a] journey, that’s for sure, but everything works out in a perfect perspective,” said Armstrong. “I think everything happens for a reason.”
His path brought him to a club on a hot streak and looking to make one final push for the playoffs. The Cubs are currently three games behind the Braves in the National League Wild Card race . Knowing what's at stake, Armstrong immediately thought about how he could contribute to reaching that goal.
“They have a really good blend of guys here,” Armstrong, a 10-year MLB veteran, said. “They have a really good rotation, good bullpen. The guys are playing really good defense and they're hitting the baseball well. So whatever I can do to play a part here -- and the goal here is to win and get to October -- nothing else really matters. I'm here to pitch and do whatever I can to help this team win.”
Armstrong joined his teammates in Washington, D.C., for the series finale against the Nationals. He was called from the bullpen in the eighth inning of a 14-1 win. In his first appearance with the North Siders, Armstrong dealt 11 pitches (five strikes) with one walk allowed in one scoreless frame.
The Cubs are the third team Armstrong has joined this season, as he started the year with the Rays before being traded to St. Louis at the Deadline.
“I got picked up by these guys with some familiarity with the coaches and Carter Hawkins as a GM, who actually drafted me out of college,” Armstrong said. “So I'm excited to be here. These guys are playing unreal baseball, and I'm here to do what I can to help do my part and get the W every day.”
Having that familiarity has helped Armstrong adapt to his new environment quickly. He has also been observant of the bullpen to learn from his fellow relievers.
“I've only been here for one day, but seeing how [the Cubs relievers] go about their routines, they're all in the weight room right now, preparing,” Armstrong said. “The guys are in the training room getting ready to throw again today. That's what it takes. You're a big leaguer, you're here to pitch every day. And looking at the numbers, I think they speak for themselves with the guys in this bullpen, and they've done one heck of a job all year.”
One person who might be happier than Armstrong with how the week unfolded is his son, Declan Cutter Armstrong (yes, he is named after the pitch that got his dad into the big leagues).
“I was FaceTiming him this morning. … He’s a little confused at 3 years old going from three different teams,” Armstrong said. “He’s an avid baseball fan and always says, ‘I want to go there, I want to go there.’ He loves baseball and is just excited to see Daddy play.”
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What this handout is about. The first step in any successful college writing venture is reading the assignment. While this sounds like a simple task, it can be a tough one. This handout will help you unravel your assignment and begin to craft an effective response. Much of the following advice will involve translating typical assignment terms ...
Table of contents. Step 1: Prewriting. Step 2: Planning and outlining. Step 3: Writing a first draft. Step 4: Redrafting and revising. Step 5: Editing and proofreading. Other interesting articles. Frequently asked questions about the writing process.
Many instructors write their assignment prompts differently. By following a few steps, you can better understand the requirements for the assignment. The best way, as always, is to ask the instructor about anything confusing. Read the prompt the entire way through once. This gives you an overall view of what is going on.
Here are five tips to help you get ahead. 1. Use available sources of information. Beyond instructions and deadlines, lecturers make available an increasing number of resources. But students often ...
If your assignment requires an argument with a thesis statement and supporting evidence—as many academic writing assignments do—then you should limit the amount of summary in your paper. You might use summary to provide background, set the stage, or illustrate supporting evidence, but keep it very brief: a few sentences should do the trick.
Here are some practical tips that will keep your work focused and effective: - Critical thinking - Academic writing has to be characterized by critical thinking, not only to provide the work with the needed level, but also because it takes part in the final mark. - Continuity of ideas - When you get to the middle of assignment, things ...
3. Identify the Action Words. Next, underline or highlight all the action words in the assignment directions. Action words tell you what you need to do in your assignment. The number of action words will often tell you how many steps or parts you need to complete for that assignment. For Example.
Keep your assignment instructions next to you as you work on informal prewriting exercises and planning so you avoid getting off track. RELY ON SUPPORT When in doubt, ask your professor. Your professors want you to succeed and welcome any remaining questions about assignment expectations. Finding Purpose and Meaning ...
Sometimes your assignment will be open-ended ("write a paper about anything in the course that interests you"). But more often, the instructor will be asking you to do something specific that allows you to make sense of what you've been learning in the course. You may be asked to put new ideas in context, to analyze course texts, or to do
How to Read an Assignment. Assignments usually ask you to demonstrate that you have immersed yourself in the course material and that you've done some thinking on your own; questions not treated at length in class often serve as assignments. Fortunately, if you've put the time into getting to know the material, then you've almost certainly ...
The basic structure of an assignment includes an introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction should present the topic and establish the purpose of your assignment. The body should delve into the topic in detail, backed by your research. The conclusion should summarize your findings or arguments without introducing new ideas.
Introduction. Assignments are a common method of assessment at university and require careful planning and good quality research. Developing critical thinking and writing skills are also necessary to demonstrate your ability to understand and apply information about your topic. It is not uncommon to be unsure about the processes of writing ...
This handout will define what an argument is and explain why you need one in most of your academic essays. Arguments are everywhere. You may be surprised to hear that the word "argument" does not have to be written anywhere in your assignment for it to be an important part of your task. In fact, making an argument—expressing a point of ...
Understanding Your Assignment. Every assignment poses a challenge and presents an opportunity to show that you can think clearly and concisely, and on your own, about the course material. Writing assignments do more than give you a topic to discuss in vague terms—they invite you to. formulate an idea. about your topic.
For that reason, the first key to writing a good assignment is tying the task to the specific course goals. After taking your class and its goals into account, though, several other principles can improve the writing tasks you assign and the writing you get from students. Principle 2. Consider the Rhetorical Situation.
If your assignment is substantial or long, do consider sequencing it. Far too often, assignments are given as one-shot final products that receive grades at the end of the semester, eternally abandoned by the student. By sequencing a large assignment, or essentially breaking it down into a systematic approach consisting of interconnected ...
Referencing in your assignments. In academic work of any kind, effective referencing of your sources will ensure that you: show that you are writing from a position of understanding of your topic. demonstrate that you have read widely and deeply. enable the reader to locate the source of each quote, idea or work/evidence (that was not your own).
Work assignments are most common in creative and technical fields of work. For example, writers may need to complete a trial piece before being hired, and marketing professionals may have to create a campaign pitch and outline as part of their interview process. For more technical work, like information technology or computer science, the ...
Easily distribute, analyze, and grade student work with Assignments for your LMS. Assignments is an application for your learning management system (LMS). It helps educators save time grading and guides students to turn in their best work with originality reports — all through the collaborative power of Google Workspace for Education. Get ...
Project Coconut is hitting all gears for the presidential campaign of Vice President and potential Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.The newest trend established by her supporters features a series of posts with the catchphrase I Understand The Assignment' with the hopes of getting the endorsement from the Gen X and Boomers.. Although the phrase shares the same chorus as the 2021 music The ...
Think about how to order your assignments so that they build skills in a logical sequence. Ideally, assignments that require the most synthesis of skills and knowledge should come later in the semester, preceded by smaller assignments that build these skills incrementally. For example, if an instructor's final assignment is a research project ...
To view assignments across all your classes, select Assignments from your app bar. Select an assignment to open it or turn in work. Select Upcoming to see any upcoming assignment across all of your classes. Select Past Due to see any past due assignment across all of your classes. Select Completed to see work that you have completed across your ...
AI is also useful to figure out how to structure your argument; but your argument, too, must be your own and in your own words. If you use AI for this function, be sure to state that you've used AI in the initial stages of your work. Check out the original thinking throughout the writing process poster.
However, with the launch on Monday night, players noticed the Special Assignment continued not to show up. <br /><br />This happened due to a bug, but we figured out a fix! To see the Special Assignment quest, you must fulfill the requirement to unlock it, which is completing two World Quests in Azj-Kahet.
The Minnesota Twins sent veteran outfielder Byron Buxton on a rehab assignment to Triple-A St. Paul on Monday. Buxton, 30, last played in a major league game Aug. 12 and has been out with right ...
When your students submit an assignment with TII enabled, it is important to review the submissions. The similarity report will not only show you any plagiarism it has detected, but it can also provide an estimate of how much AI-generated text a student has used in place of their writing. When a student submits the assignment, they will only ...
Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette continues to progress in his recovery from a calf strain that has kept him out of the lineup since mid-July, including ramping up baseball activities to ...
This story was excerpted from the Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox. WASHINGTON -- Shawn Armstrong's last few days of August were full of big moments. He was designated for assignment by the Cardinals on Aug. 27,