Developing and evaluating writing assignments for technical courses

This panel presentation focuses on designing and evaluating writing assignments for technical courses. Because of influential changes in engineering education, many engineering educators are attempting to incorporate writing assignments into their technical courses. While these writing tasks cover a wide variety of genres and products, they can prove frustrating to the professor because of the time it takes to evaluate writing, the quality of student writing, and the lack of integration between writing and technical content. The session places particular emphasis on writing good assignments, using peer review to develop sound revision practices, and employing efficient and effective evaluation strategies. The session analyzes the common pitfalls experienced when writing enters the technical classroom. As a strategy for avoiding these problems, the session explains the use of peer review as a way to help students develop sound revisions practices. Finally, it offers guidelines for making evaluations that are effective for both student and professor. Samples of successful assignments are used to demonstrate the application of the principles discussed.