Chapter 12: What Have I Accomplished? Conclusion and Final Assessment

For the Instructor

It may be useful to pair the discussion of conclusions in this chapter with some readings containing strong conclusions. Give such readings to your students, either online or in-class in the weeks leading up to the final day of class. Pointing to one or two examples of what you consider an excellent

conclusion would be very helpful in demonstrating the skill for the students.

In Class:

It is very likely that this is your last day of class.  Students will be submitting their papers and you may be doing Final Exam preparation, if your class has a final exam. It may be helpful to take time, as a class, to reflect on the progress the students have made throughout the semester and have them think more specifically about their writing and writing process. Beginning in pairs, ask them to answer the questions from earlier in this chapter (feeling free, of course, to add your own):

• In what ways do you think you’ve most improved?
• What do you think is the most important skill to have when writing academically?
• What do you think is the most important skill to have when  reading academically?
• What skills are you most likely to carry into writing in your other courses?
• How much time did you spend writing? In what stage of writing did you spend your most time?
• How much time did you spend editing? In what stage of editing did you spend your most time?
• What would you like to work on with your writing going forward?
• What is the one thing you would recommend to a first year university student about writing academically?

While having the students answer these questions on their own and then again in class may seem on the surface a bit redundant, it is useful for students to hear what other students think and feel about their own writing and about academic writing in general. The goal of the in-class asking and answering of these questions is to build upon the solitary thinking the student does by asking those students to listen to and compare themselves to their peers. After giving time to have the students talk in pairs, come back and ask the questions again as a class and have the students share their own experiences in the larger group setting.