California State Universities Expository Reading and Writing Course Assignment Template

Because reading can be so unexpectedly complicated, the strategies put forward by this template will be very helpful to recall in a (hopefully successful) attempt to help students understand the substance of what they've read. One of the suggestions that most appeals to me is having each student write down the thing that was most confusing to them. Especially if the students know this question is coming and that the answer must be filled in, they will be constantly assessing the efficacy of their own reading consistently, checking in every few paragraphs so that they can identify a detail that is unclear. In my own high-school experience, I remember that one of my greatest faults was my inability to know when I was not grasping something. I succeeded rather well by assuming that anything I had not retained would be easily remedied later, and this was often the case. However, a few clear examples stand out of the times when some concept continuously eluded me and I couldn't understand why. Even a student who understands everything reasonably well, if he or she thinks about it, will find something that could be elaborated upon for added benefit.
Reflection about one's own writing is another crucial element for the student. This happens, in some small measure, when we go back and correct our spelling mistakes. Sadly, the otherwise good advent of automatic spellcheck technology has encouraged many students to neglect even the slightest moment of proofreading. But students who do read over what they've written can always find that the first draft of anything is not good enough. As we write and revise, our thinking becomes clearer. As we think about how to appeal to our audience, we may realize that they have a foreseeable counterpoint that we would find it difficult to answer. This kind of self-criticism is best-learned, I believe, by being paired with a healthy criticism of the readings we are given. The ability to ask pointed questions and argue with the text is extremely important in this day and age. Many people assume any eloquent writer is a trusted authority on the matter at hand, when this is often far from the case. Therefore it is extremely helpful to introduce students to the two readings strategy, one the "believing" reading and the other the "doubting" reading.
The template also included some helpful hints about teachers grading that will be very practically helpful. My mentor teacher has mentioned more than once that at the beginning of every year he tries to read journal entries carefully, but a few months in he can easily get through multiple entries in a single minute. A teacher will have to choose deliberately where the grading process can be optimized without losing credibility, otherwise there would be no time for the grading that must take place. Staggering the due dates of essays is also a great suggestion. However, sometimes the overload is somewhat unavoidable. At the end of a semester it will be expected that everything will be complete and a good teacher must be prepared to put in serious time and effort to give the students the grades that are merited.