In many college courses, writing is a common form of expression and scholarship. Students from fields as varied as computer science, biology, psychology, art history, and accounting are expected to write essays, term papers, reflections, discussion board posts, theses, and more.
Writing assignments in college vary in length and purpose. Some require students to gather information and write a report based on their findings; some ask for a comparison between expert opinions on a subject. Others require students to state a position and defend it with evidence or to answer a question; yet others require a mix of two or more of these tasks.
When the syllabus of a course mentions a writing assignment, it is imperative that students understand the assignment before they start working on it. They should note the words used in assignment descriptions and thoroughly understand the actions they suggest or require. Understandings about or expectations of writing assignments should ideally be discussed with peers or instructors. In fact, instructors are accustomed to students approaching them with questions regarding writing assignments in the event of confusion about expectations or queries that need to be resolved before beginning.
This article provides a brief overview of 5 types of writing assignments that students are likely to encounter in college.
1. Reflective Papers
These assignments typically require students to think about their own experiences that demonstrate a specific concept and/or principle. For instance, a student might write about their own struggle with self-harm at a young age and reflect on the circumstances that contributed to this. Alternatively, a reflective paper may also expect students to write about a work studied in class, an article they have read, or a lecture they have attended that changed their thinking or challenged their assumptions.
Reflective papers have an academic tone but are personal and subjective in nature. They draw upon the student’s feelings, reactions, and experiences in order to show change or progression in their thought or perception.
2. Research Papers
These writing assignments typically require students to choose a topic, form a hypothesis, and support it with evidence. Students are expected to survey the research (facts, opinions, interviews, information) as well as current debates about the topic and demonstrate an understanding of both. The paper must cite findings that both support and counter the hypothesis.
A research paper is generally a lengthy writing assignment that involves answering a question, supporting an argument or a position taken on an issue, or proposing a solution to a problem. It is based on research as well as the student’s own ideas. Depending on the topic, the student may need to use either primary or secondary sources or a combination of both.
3. Literature Reviews
These writing assignments require students to survey existing scholarship on a specific topic and construct an overview of current knowledge. Students should then be able to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in existing research. Writing a literature review involves identifying relevant articles and books, critically analyzing them, and offering an explanation of the findings.
A literature review can be divided into 5 steps:
- Searching for relevant literature (books, journal articles, etc.)
- Evaluating sources
- Identifying themes, debates, and gaps in scholarship
- Outlining the structure
- Writing the literature review
A good literature review is also more than a summary of available sources – it analyzes, synthesizes, and critically evaluates materials to provide a snapshot of the available knowledge on the topic. It is often critical in nature and argues a case or position.
4. Summary
Writing a summary involves identifying what is most important in a text and restating it in one’s own words. Since a summary excludes all minor information, it will always be shorter than the original text.
A summary begins with an introduction that states the title, author, and thesis of the text. The thesis or main part of the text is restated in the student’s own words and contains few or no quotes. A paper or article may be summarized in a few sentences or a couple of paragraphs at the most. A book, on the other hand, calls for an article or short paper.
A good summary contains all the important points of the original text – key names, dates, places, events, ideas, numbers, and words – but omits finer details such as examples, explanations, or illustrations.
5. Book Review
The main purpose of an academic book review is to evaluate and convey:
- What the book is all about
- How well it covers its topic and whether it breaks new ground
- The perspective, methodology, and expertise of the author
- The intended audience of the book
- The appropriateness of the book’s arguments and evidence to its topical scope
- The arrangement of the book in chapters and illustrations
- The quality of its notes and bibliographies
Academic book reviews can be classified into two types: short summary reviews and essay-length critical reviews.
A short, descriptive review should include the bibliographic citation for the book, the book’s purpose, a summary of its main points, and, space permitting, a brief description of its relationship with other books on the same or related topics. The review should also note the author’s affiliation as well as the physical contents of the book (photographs, illustrations, graphs, table of contents, index, bibliography, footnotes, endnotes, etc.)
A critical, essay-length book review, on the other hand, should include:
- The bibliographic citation for the book
- An opening statement
- A statement of the author’s intention
- A critical interpretation of the author’s ideas and the book’s thesis within a larger scholarly discourse
- A discussion of major errors (if any) in the book
- A clear idea of the book’s place in the scholarly discourse around the topic and its importance within the discipline
Much like a short, descriptive review, a critical, essay-length review should also note the author’s affiliation as well as the physical contents of the book (photographs, illustrations, graphs, table of contents, index, bibliography, footnotes, endnotes, etc.) The review should also indicate the intended audience of the book and whether the author is engaging it appropriately. The student must remember to keep track of sources and choose the appropriate citation style for such an assignment.
