In chapter 3 of The Six Academic Writing Assignments, Jim Burke discusses the topic of Writing on Demand (WOD) and why it is important for students to be assigned it and what it is exactly. Jim Burke categorizes writing on demand as writing situation where students are given a prompt and are given a specific and set time limit to complete it. Burke states that this writing is important because it allows students to be more creative and it also prepares students for standardized testing writing due to the fact that students will not know the prompt prior to going into the exam.
Burke explains the use of WOD and how teachers can implicate it within the classroom. He encourages teachers to give the students options of free choice writing which allows them to kind of gets the creative juices flowing so they are used to an assignment that is similar to a WOD assignment. Burke highlights that this kind of writing is important due to the fact that it will prepare students in their careers, other classes and other tests.
Another helpful tip is allowing students to prepare for these assignments by planning them. Planning helps students focus their thoughts and organize their on-demand writing piece. This is taught by a step-by-step strategic way, the goal is that through repetition, students will start to plan automatically whenever a writing assignment is given, whether it is a long writing piece or a shorter on-demand piece.
Burke also continues to talk about conferencing with students boosts their self esteem and confidence, which is needed for on-demand writing. Helping each student identify their personalized goals by using a rubric, editing checklist, or revising checklist, and by asking your student to reflect on their writing. I’ve found this helps students find their errors when they’re writing an on-demand piece for which they will have no time for peer editing and revising.
Lastly Burke discusses Self-assessment and reflection help a student to know themselves as a writer, which is beneficial for on-demand writing. In class we talked about how a teacher/student rubric is appropriate and helpful for students and it allows them to fully understand the assignment as well as building relationships with their students. This may be a useful tool in helping students with their self-abasement skills. Students score their own writing and use the document to set goals for their writing improvement. Not only do students fill out the rubric, but they answer a short questionnaire that asks them to identify their strengths, weaknesses, goals, and areas for which they would like teacher assistance. This type of self reflection helps students prepare and improve from one writing piece to the next, regardless of length and time frame given.
The on-demand type of writing is becoming more prevalent in social media, standards based testing, and in preparing students for college and career readiness. One of the four ways teachers can increase students’ aptitude for writing on-demand is by including both longer duration writing with all steps of the writing process, as well as shorter on-demand writing.
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