This handout summarizes the main points of the presentation “13 Things You Can Do to Help Students Improve Their Writing” (see http://www.slideshare.net/laurieputnam/13-things-you-can-do-to-help-students-improve-their-writing) and lists additional online resources. From the San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science Faculty Institute, May 2010.

1. Helping students improve their writing
Debbie Hansen, Laurie Putnam, Debbie Faires, and Kristen Rebmann
2010 SJSU SLIS Faculty Institute
TIPS
1. Don’t expect miracles. Writing skills are 8. Try using an evaluation tool. Create a system
developed over a lifetime, and you won’t be able that helps you review for the elements you told
to take a student from 0 to 60 in one semester. students were important. This can be a simple
checklist or a detailed rubric. For sample rubrics,
2. Do expect progress. You can help most see SLIS Writing Resources.
students improve—especially those who are
highly motivated, whatever their skill levels. 9. Read each paper twice. Skim through once for
an overall impression of the argument and the
3. Design clear assignments. Good tips from paper’s general strengths and weaknesses. Then
Harvard’s A Brief Guide to Designing Essay go back and read carefully.
Assignments (see SLIS Writing Resources): (1)
Name what you want and imagine students 10. Give summary comments. Good tips from
doing it. (2) Take class time to prepare students Harvard’s A Brief Guide to Responding to Student
to succeed at the paper. (3) Build in process. Writing (see SLIS Writing Resources): (1) Restate
the paper’s main point. (2) Discuss the paper’s
4. Set checkpoints. For major papers, try having strengths. (3) Discuss primary weaknesses, in
students turn in a thesis statement, outline, and order of importance.
source list before they begin their drafts. This is a
good time to identify and help students who are 11. Encourage. Question. Consider. Here’s
struggling or off‐track. another strategy: First find a strength to praise.
Then ask questions and suggest potential
5. Try group work or peer reviews. Small groups improvements. See Brian Slusher’s Praising,
of students or partners can provide peer support Questioning, Wishing: An Approach to
by reviewing drafts. Give reviewers a few guiding Responding to Writing at http://www.nwp
questions (i.e., Is the thesis clear and strong?) so .org/cs/public/print/resource/2868.
they know what to focus on and don’t feel
overwhelmed. 12. Review others’ work as you would have
others review your work. Be kind. Be clear.
6. Know what’s important to you. Classic criteria And stay focused. Don’t try to comment on
for essay evaluation include both content (the everything; focus your comments on the most
research, ideas, and analysis) and writing quality important issues.
(the expression of ideas through organization,
style, and mechanics). 13. Remember the goals. The purpose of your
feedback is (1) to let students know where they
7. Set expectations. Once you’ve decided what’s stand and (2) to help students improve their
most important in a paper, communicate your work. You are also teaching students how to
expectations. Let students know what you’ll be assess their future writing as it’s in progress.
looking for and how you’ll weigh the importance
of different elements.
RESOURCES
SLIS Writing Resources
http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/resources/writing/
Provides links to resources for faculty and students, including information about opportunities for online
tutoring through the SJSU Writing Center.
LISSTEN Distributed Research & Writing Group
Meets on Elluminate once a week and maintains a Google group site. Open to all SLIS students; alumni
and faculty are also welcome to participate. For more information or to join, contact Kristen Rebmann at
kclark@slis.sjsu.edu.