Resource

Article Writing or Analysis

Author: ATU Galway

What is it?

Students are asked to write on a particular topic(s) to an agreed length in a specific style writing in the style such as a journal, newspaper. or magazine. This form of assessment allows students to engage with research as academics do and produce a piece of writing on a specific topic. Alternatively, students could be asked to review articles using a review criterion set out by the lecturer. This could include quality of writing, clarity, relevance of the information to the topic, gaps in the research etc.

Advantages & Challenges

Advantages

Challenges

Advantages

Challenges

Tips for Use

Create a clear assessment brief which outline style of article you want the students to produce, topic of the article, word count and referencing style.
Ask students to conduct thorough research and analyse scholarly literature to inform their articles.
Provide examples to students of the type of article you want them to write – journal article, newspaper, or magazine. You could give an information session to students and share these examples to ensure they understand the assessment.
Consider adding a draft submission as part of the assessment that will either be reviewed by the lecturer or for peer review, to give students the opportunity to receive feedback on their work.

Resources

Sambell, K., & Brown, S (2023). Choosing and using fit-for-purpose assessment methods. Heriot Watt University. Link: https://sally-brown.net/download/3496/ (2023). (page 2)
Charles Sturt University: Newspaper article/editorial – Division of Learning and Teaching (csu.edu.au)

Sample Rubrics

Syracuse University: https://effectiveness.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Martin_Group-Research-Project_LargeLecture.pdf (page 3)

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