Writing Intensive Course assignments can and should be any type of writing that is appropriate to the course and/or subject. That gives instructors considerable freedom when coming up with writing assignments. The comments below on different types of writing assignments as well as considerations within assignments are not intended to be limiting or prescriptive, but rather as idea generators for W-Course assignments.

Scenarios

While some college students won’t admit it, all of them, like all of us, played “make believe” as children. Scenarios, to some extent, play on the idea of make believe and can be excellent tools to help students better understand not only a writing assignment, but also the role that writing and different types of writing play in their chosen field or profession.

Scenarios provide students with a situation that serves as framework for the writing assignment. Frequently format, audience, and organization of an assignment are also tied to this scenario.

Sample scenarios include:

• Writing a memo (format) to a new colleague (audience) to explain how a new product or procedure is used in their company’s production process.
• Writing a lab report (format) for the state commissioner of agriculture (audience) outlining a newly discovered pest infestation and how the infestation can be controlled.
• Writing a letter (format) to a prospective client (audience) explaining why the client should hire the writer’s company to provide a service.

Detailed examples of scenario assignments from W-Courses in COALS are included in this Web site.