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

Writing articles requires students to think critically, use effective communication skills and provide arguments and critiques of academic literature. It helps students to improve each of these skills especially their academic writing capabilities.
This form of assessment requires students to use research skills to find reliable and relevant academic literature on the topics of the assessment.
It is a versatile method of assessment as it can be used in many different disciplines, styles, and the guidelines can vary depending on the student cohort’s abilities. e.g. the difficulty level may vary depending on what stage of the programme students are at.
The analysis of articles can enable students to develop their critical thinking skills.

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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