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What should I include in my essay instructions?

Updated

Your assignment instructions can be as open-ended or as prescriptive as you’d like, but note that Khanmigo will use what you put in the instructions to coach your students, evaluate their progress, and provide feedback along the way. 

Therefore, any parameters, requirements, tips, or evaluation criteria that you want to encourage students to meet should be stated in the instructions. In other words: make the implicit explicit! 

Below are two examples of the same assignment with different degrees of specificity in the instructions. The first version is more open-ended: the teacher does not specify expectations, so Khanmigo will be flexible when coaching the students. This may be more appropriate for upper grade levels and honors students who are ready to “break free” of rigid structural requirements. The second version is more prescriptive, which may be more appropriate for students who are still learning structure and need more scaffolding. Many assignments fall somewhere in between.  

Open-ended:

Who is responsible for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet? Friar Laurence? The two lovers themselves? Their parents? Do a number of people share the blame? To what extent can these people be held responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet? Write an essay that makes a claim about which character(s) are responsible for the lovers’ deaths. Build your argument by analyzing how the actions or behaviors of your chosen character(s) ultimately lead to the tragedy.

Specific and prescriptive:

Who is responsible for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet? Friar Laurence? The two lovers themselves? Their parents? Do a number of people share the blame? To what extent can these people be held responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet? Write an essay that makes an argument about which character(s) are responsible for the lovers’ deaths.

REQUIREMENTS:

  • Your introduction should “set the stage” for your reader by introducing the play and the specific topic above, building to a clear thesis statement that makes a claim answering the question(s) posed above. 
  • In the body of your essay, use *at least* three specific incidents from the play (one per body paragraph) as support. Make sure to:
    • Introduce each incident with enough context for your reader.
    • Explain how the incident supports your claim.
    • Incorporate *at least* one properly cited quotation from the text. Your quotations should clearly support your argument / explanation of the incident. Note that you may need more than one quotation from the scene you’re discussing to fully support your argument!
      • Remember, skillful essay writers incorporate quotations into their essays in a variety of ways. Try to take advantage of this variety by integrating shorter quotations seamlessly into your prose, rather than introducing every quotation with a colon!
  • Do not simply summarize the plot: your body paragraphs must analyze how the actions or behaviors of your chosen character(s) ultimately lead to the tragedy.
  • Your conclusion should restate your thesis, summarize your argument, and leave your reader with some more “food for thought.”
  • Write in third person, and use literary present tense.


Bottom line:


Put any and all requirements and expectations in the assignment instructions, to ensure that the system “knows” to encourage your students to meet them.