Prompted to Write: A Guide for Using Walden Assignment Prompts to Your Advantage
Monday, June 12, 2017
Expert Advice
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Learning Styles
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Organization
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Paragraphs
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Prewriting
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Revising
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Writer's Workshop
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Writing Process
26 comments
As a student at Walden, you’re often likely provided with
lengthy and descriptive prompts for your discussion board, application, and
capstone assignments. These prompts are there to guide you to think and write
about specific and complex topics. However, since the prompts are complex, it’s
not uncommon for students to write papers that don’t fully adhere to the
prompt. So, in this blog post, I’m going to offer some tips for how to ensure
that your assignments adhere to the prompt as you prewrite and also as you
revise.
Adhering to the Prompt as you Prewrite
The best way to ensure that your paper adheres to the prompt
is to start off strong with prewriting.
Prewriting includes brainstorming, taking notes, and outlining to prepare as
you write your paper. Here are some strategies you can use as you prewrite to prepare
yourself to write a paper that adheres to the prompt:
1. Identify the main questions or topics that the prompt is
asking you to address. Many Walden assignment prompts come in 3 parts: (1)
Introductory information, (2) Steps to accomplish as you prepare to write, and
(3) Directives for the paper. The first two parts are helpful and let you know
what to do to prepare, but it’s this third part that tells you what to do in
your paper. The questions or requests posed there are the directives of the
prompt that tell you what to do in your paper.
2. Read through the prompt closely and highlight important
information. This likely means that you’ll read the prompt a few times and take
notes. Highlight important information such as page length requirements,
sources you need to use, directives (like analyze, explore, argue, describe,
summarize), and the questions you should address. You can make a checklist for
yourself with this important information.
3. Reframe the directives in the prompt as topic sentences for paragraphs. For example, if the prompt states the following,
“Explain which Writing Center resources you used,” you could reframe this
directive as a topic sentence in this way: “In the pursuit of improving my
writing skills, I used Writing Center resources including webinars, paper
reviews, and website content.”
4. Outline
your paper using language from the writing prompt. Once you have identified all
of the directives in the assignment prompt and composed topic sentences for
paragraphs, you can craft an outline. Organize these topics in a way that makes
sense to you, and then plan for an introduction paragraph with a thesis statement, a conclusion paragraph, and any section headings that might be relevant. From there, start writing the essay. Using
the outline which was crafted from the prompt will help keep you in line with
the prompt.
Adhering to the Prompt as you Revise
Another way to ensure that your paper adheres to the prompt
is through revision.
Revision means re-seeing the paper and it requires looking back at ideas to
make sure that everything fits the purpose of the paper. Here are some revision
strategies which you can employ to ensure your paper adheres to the assignment
prompt.
5. Create a reverse outline of your paper and compare the outline to the prompt. Take notes and
ask yourself with each paragraph: What is this paragraph doing, and how does it
relate to the prompt and advance my ideas? If you see discrepancy between your
reverse outline and the prompt, then revise your content to more clearly
address the prompt. This might include creating a new outline, revising a topic
sentence, cutting length, or adding content.
6. Use the prompt as a checklist and compare highlighted
important information in the prompt with the content of your draft. If you see
a discrepancy between the important information in the prompt and your content,
revise to adhere to that important information. This might include expanding a
whole section of your paper, cutting content or adding content to meet length
requirements, integrating more sources, or developing some ideas.
7. Re-read the prompt and remind yourself of the audience and
purpose for the assignment. Then, re-read your paper draft and ask yourself:
Does this meet the needs of the audience and adhere to the purpose for the
assignment? If you find places where your content does not meet the needs of
the assignment and adhere to the purpose, then go back to pre-writing and do
some outlining and planning to revise your content to meet the needs of the
audience and purpose.
8. Talk to your faculty. If you’ve gone through these steps and
still aren’t sure if your paper addresses the prompt, ask your faculty!
One thing you’ll notice in all of these tips is that the
prompt is part of every step. It’s easiest to write a paper that adheres to the
prompt if referring to the prompt is an integral part of your writing process.
I hope that these tips provide you with some strategies to approach your next
assignment.
If you’d like to learn more strategies for interpreting and
addressing Walden assignment prompts, you can watch our Strategies for Demystifying Walden Assignment Prompts webinar recording or listen to
our WriteCast Episode 11: "Doesn’t Meet Requirements"—Strategies for Following Your Assignment Instructions podcast.
Jes Philbrook is a Writing Instructor and the Coordinator of Doctoral Writing Assessment in the Walden University Writing Center. Jes has been a writing tutor for over a decade, and in all those years of tutoring, one of her favorite things to do with students is to help them decipher their writing assignments and then plan or revise their paper to address the prompt. This post has been percolating in her brain all those years. In her free time, you can find Jes walking her neighbor’s dogs, tending to her basil garden, or playing games with her family and friends.
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Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Vincent! We’re glad you enjoyed our post.
DeleteThis was really an eye opener for me it help keep me on track.
ReplyDeleteGlad you found this helpful! Thanks for the comment!
DeleteHi Jes!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your insight! It is amazing what a good refresher does for a writer such as myself.
Glad you found it helpful, Leana! Thanks for commenting!
DeleteHi this is my first semester at Walden trying to see how everything is being used. New to the online process hope everyone get acquainted
ReplyDeleteGreat post...really helpful!!
ReplyDeleteGood morning. Can you please qualify the statement "ask your faculty." Does this mean your piece can be sent for review before final selection?
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling I will be using the writing center resourse often. Improving my writing skills is something I want to do since I have a tendancy to use too many unnecessary words.
ReplyDeleteThis is great to read! I know you are not alone in this writing concern. Thanks for your kind comment!
Deletethanks its helpful tips
ReplyDeleteSo glad you found this helpful!
DeleteI have being to any class yet,i am loving it.
ReplyDeleteThat's great to hear!
Deletevery helpful
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteHi. I know I am going to need it. My goal is to devise a check list to use to evaluate my writing .
ReplyDeleteI most definitely will be using the Writing Center throughout my journey at Walden. The information given was helpful.
ReplyDeleteWe're here to support you any way we can! Thanks for reading!
DeleteThat's our goal! :) Thanks for your kind comment!
ReplyDeleteI have been out of school for about a year and this prompt really made me think about the importance of taking your time and planning your writing! Thanks for this information!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you found it helpful! Thanks for your kind comment!
Deletegreat and very useful information moving forward!
ReplyDeleteBeing out of school for so many years now caused me to be so lost, especially when everything is online and being old school, i struggle with all things technology. After reading the information above, it gave me somewhat of a sense of direction. Love it! Go Walden!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the kind comment! Glad you found this post helpful. We hope you'll check out some more posts on the blog! :)
Delete