Finding the main idea and paying attention to text features as you read helps youfigure out what you should know. Just as important, however, is being able tofigure out what you do not know and developing a strategy to deal with it

How did my instructor frame the assignment?

CNM offers resources that can help younot only with your studies but also withmanaging your responsibilities as well

Position PaperStates and defends your position on an issue (often acontroversial issue)

SummaryRestates the main points of a longer passageobjectively and in your own words

Personal Response PaperExpresses and explains your response to a readingassignment, a provocative quote, or a specific issue;may be very brief (sometimes a page or less) or morein-depth

College courses emphasize expository writing, writing that explainsor informs

CChapter 3: Common Writing AssignmentsPart 1: Chapter 3ollege writing assignments serve a different purpose than the typical writingassignments you completed in high school.

Time management, not talent, has been the secret to a lot of great writing throughthe ages. Not even a “great” writer can produce a masterpiece the night before it’sdue.

Tips for Emailing Your InstructorAdapted from “Chapter One ” of Successful Writing, 2012, used according tocreative commons 3.0 cc-by-nc-saBe polite: Address your professor formally, using the title “Professor” with theirlast name. Depending on how formal your professor seems, use the salutation“Dear,” or a more informal “Hello” or “Hi.” Don’t drop the salutationaltogether, though.Be concise. Instructors are busy people, and although they are typically morethan happy to help you, do them the favor of getting to your point quickly. Signoff with your first and last name, the course number, and the class time. Thiswill make it easy for your professor to identify you, and although they aretypically more than happy to help you, do them the favor of getting to yourpoint quickly.Do not ever ask, “When will you return our papers?” If you MUST ask, make itspecific and realistic (e.g., “Will we get our papers back by the end of nextweek?”).

Summarize. At the end of each section, pause to summarize the main pointsin a few sentences. If you have trouble doing so, revisit that section.2. Ask and answer questions. When you begin reading a section, try toidentify two to three questions you should be able to answer after you finish it.Write down your questions and use them to test yourself on the reading. If youcannot answer a question, try to determine why. Is the answer buried in thatsection of reading but just not coming across to you? Or do you expect to findthe answer in another part of the reading?3. Do not read in a vacuum. Look for opportunities to discuss the reading withyour classmates. Many instructors set up online discussion forums or blogsspecifically for that purpose. Participating in these discussions can help youdetermine whether your understanding of the main points is the same asyourpeers’.

Your method for breaking up the assignment will depend on the type of reading. Ifthe text is dense and packed with unfamiliar terms and concepts, you may need toread no more than five or ten pages in one sitting so that you can truly understandand process the information.

This section discusses strategies you can use to get the most out of your collegereading assignments. These strategies fall into three broad categories:1. Planning strategies. To help you manage your reading assignments2. Comprehension strategies. To help you understand the material.3. Active reading strategies. To take your understanding to a higher anddeeper level.

In college, academic expectations change from what you may have experienced inhigh school. The quantity of work you are expected to do is increased. Wheninstructors expect you to read pages upon pages or study hours and hours for oneparticular course, managing your workload can be challenging. This chapterincludes strategies for studying efficiently and managing your time.

This textbook will cover ways to communicate effectively as you develop insightinto your own style, writing process, grammatical choices, and rhetoricalsituations. With these skills, you should be able to improve your writing talentregardless of the discipline you enter after completing this course.

In this textbook, we’ll cover theconventions of writing, and we’ll alsocover some of the resources available toyou as a CNM student

In Part One of this textbook, we covered collegewriting at CNM, and reading strategies that will helpyou succeed in different disciplines. As reading andwriting go hand-in-hand, we will now turn to the stepsyou can take toward effective writing, also known asdeveloping a writing process.

Common Types of College Writing Assignments

ollege composition courses will focus on writing for its own sake, helpingyou make the transition to college-level writing assignments.

in high school, teachers generally focus on teaching you to write in avariety of modes and formats, including personal writing, expository writing,research papers, creative writing, and writing short answers and essays for exams.Over time, these assignments help you build a foundation of writing skills. Incollege, many instructors will expect you to already have that foundation

your primarycomprehension goal is to identify the or main point: the most important idea thatthe writer wants to communicate and often states early on. Finding the main pointgives you a framework to organize the details presented in the reading and relatethe reading to concepts you learned in class or through other reading assignments.After identifying the main point, you will find the supporting points, the details,facts, and explanations that develop and clarify the main point

The other key component of planning is setting a purpose. Knowing what you wantto achieve from a reading assignment not only helps you determine how toapproach that task, but it also helps you stay focused

Now comes the challenge: making sure you actually understand all theinformation you are expected to process.

When you are eager to begin the coursework in your major that will prepare youfor your career, getting excited about an introductory college writing course can bedifficult.

Some students might haveearned a GED, some might be returning to school after a decades-long break, andstill other students might either be graduating high school, or be freshly graduated.If the latter is the case, you might enter college with a wealth of experience writingfive-paragraph essays, book reports, and lab reports.

College instructors are familiar with the ups and downs ofwriting, and most universities have support systems in place to help students learnhow to write for an academic audience. The following sections discuss common on-campus writing services, what to expect from them, and how they can help you.

Mostof your writing assignments—from brief response papers to in-depth researchprojects—will depend on your understanding of course reading assignments orrelated readings you do on your own. And it is difficult, if not impossible, to writeeffectively about a text that you do not understand

we will discuss another important strategy:college reading. Two important steps of reading at the college level includeconsidering your writing situation and developing strong reading strategies.