Assessment for Strategies and Conditions for Development (SCD) is based on the most demanding exam essays in the IDS Program. To help you pass this course and to develop good study and writing habits, a supplementary Exam Writing Practice service is offered to FASID-GRIPS students in the IDS Program.
Participation is voluntary unless you have been otherwise directed.
Exam Writing Practice Pages
Study and Writing Practice Process
Using MS Word to View Corrections
Useful Links
Objectives
The immediate objective of this service is to enable you to write clear, concise essays for the mid-term and final exams, and to develop your skills in self-editing. A long term objective is to make you a competent writer, able to prepare professional reports quickly and accurately. Exam Writing Practice will do this by helping you to develop:
• Self-editing skills and awareness of your writing strengths and weaknesses
• Clear structure in your writing
• Appropriate vocabulary/grammar selection and use
• Conceptual and factual understanding of development theory.
Method
This service follows research-based best-practice as outlined in, for example, Treatment of Error, by Dana R. Ferris (2002, the University of Michigan Press). The underlying principle is that learning to write is achieved through a developmental process, not by "having your mistakes fixed." Therefore:
• Your essays are not "corrected" by the instructor, rather
• The instructor makes indirect corrections (i.e. comments) to raise your awareness of your specific weaknesses, and to develop your ability to edit your own writing.
• Consultations are necessary to check your comprehension of the instructor's comments, and to discuss "untreatable" (context specific, non-systematic) errors.
• Essays should be submitted consistently (ideally every week), reviewed, then discussed at consultations throughout the term.
• Submitting several essays the week before exams is not beneficial, and will not be accepted.
Technology
• Submit your practice exam essays by email and they will be returned by email. When essays are returned, they will contain many corrections and suggestions, not only at the end of the text, but also CODED THROUGHOUT THE TEXT. To learn to read these coded comments, click Using MS Word to View Corrections
• Many of these comments include URL hotlinks direct to specific pages of the Essay Editing Home which contains explanations on essay structure, grammar, and vocabulary, together with examples and exercises to help you correct your own errors. Please familiarize yourself with those pages.
Tasks
• Predict ONE exam question each week. The question should not try to summarize both lectures. Rather, you should identify ONE main issue from among many covered in one week's readings and both lectures.
• Write a 250-300 word answer.
• Attend a feedback tutorial to review and discuss your exam essays.
Basic Procedure (Also see the detailed process)
• View the Exam Writing Practice Pages on the left of this page. Pay special attention to Exam Essay Structure
• Before lectures, skim the textbook quickly
• After lectures, read and discuss important text book sections and lecture notes carefully with your colleagues
• Predict a relevant exam question and write a practice exam essay
• Email your practice essay to Colin
• Print and make corrections to your returned practice essay
• Bring the printed and corrected essay to a tutorial with Colin and other students (time/room to be advised)
Submission
• By email attachment to [email protected] .
• Submission deadline: 10:00 am Monday of the following week.
• Late submissions without a reason/prior arrangement will not be checked.
• Format: double-spaced, as an MS Word attachment, and under 300 words.
• Email subject: “your name + lecture week”, e.g. “Lucy wk1”
• Attachment file name: the same as the email subject., e.g. “Lucy wk1”
Corrections and Consultations
• Check/Return: Colin will return essays before the next weeks' lectures and tutorial.
• Comments and corrections will be added using MS Word Editing facilities
• You MUST learn how to use these facilities and read all comments before the tutorial. Learn how
at: Using MS Word to View Corrections
• One or two tutorials aimed at improving exam essay writing and understanding will be held each week starting in October.
Student Feedback on this Service (March 2008)
Students who understand the developmental approach employed in this service make comments like:
"I think Exam Writing Practice really improved my English ability ... It helped me think and write logically and with precision".
Students who want the instructor to "fix their writing," not teach them to write, make comments like:
"The instructor is not helpful at all. Every time I make grammatical mistakes, he will throw few 'punches' to me, before finally correcting them, without giving much explanation after that".
For urgent requests, contact: [email protected]
Updated 26 February 2009