Suggestion 174. Require frequent short assignments

IF YOU WANT TO:

• Give interesting and stimulating assignments

• Motivate students to do their best work

• Develop students analytic and communication skills

Requiring frequent short assignments.

One professor of English requires students to write a short (500-700 word) paper each week. "Each assignment poses a specific problem about a novel they are reading and asks the student to develop a theory of what the author was trying to do," he explains. "For example, `Why is such and such character crippled?' or `What is the function of the narrator?'"

Variations for paper topics in other disciplines might pose questions about research design, alternative models, implications for society or further research, etc. based on readings of original research papers.

Frequent short assignments give students a chance to demonstrate what they know and to develop and show improvement in their writing and thinking.

Limitations on Use of Suggestion

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