Concise Communication through Flash Fiction

High Impact Practices (HIPs) Categories

(Review definitions for each category(link is external))

• Collaborative Assignments and Projects
• Writing-Intensive Courses

• Develop concise communication skills by distilling complex ideas into short and simple explanations
• Enhance critical thinking skills by identifying the key takeaways from the reading material
• Foster creative interpretation of the reading material through artistic expression

Distilling their ideas into a few concise but impactful sentences is often a challenge for students. I use flash fiction as a tool to address this by asking students to work in pairs/small groups to transform the day’s reading into a micro-narrative. I split up the activity into two steps. First, each group creates a haiku and then shares them with the whole class along with a brief explanation of their thought process. Second, the same groups transform the day’s reading into an even shorter six-word story, sharing their stories and thoughts with the class again.

Writing flash fiction about the reading material is a playful and creative way to help students practice the concise organization of their thoughts. These engaging activities help students evaluate the importance of each word and/or punctuation to convey their ideas while also maintaining clarity.