Collaborative Writing Activities
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Fostering Equity through Teamwork in a Diverse Composition Classroom
Welcome UC Berkeley instructors!
The goal of this project is to present instructors with a user-friendly platform of writing-focused active learning exercises to provide students with a better understanding of some of the main components of an essay as well as how they work together.
Each of the modules below is dedicated to a specific element of an essay—i) crafting a thesis statement, ii) writing an introduction, iii) selecting strong evidence, iv) analyzing evidence, and v) writing a conclusion, with 3-5 exercises for each topic. Since students usually feel more comfortable with voicing their opinions and/or questions in group settings, these collaborative writing activities are conducive to peer interaction and are inclusive of different learning styles.
These exercises are not intended to be exhaustive in terms of guiding students through the writing process from the initial brainstorming step to the complete finished product but are meant to assist instructors with teaching a few of the challenging elements of the essay interactively. Since the writing process is complex, the activities provided here work better when complemented with brainstorming sessions, essay outlines, 1-1 conferences between the instructor and students, and revision exercises.
Click on the colorful images (or the links on the left) below to see the relevant exercises!
Crafting a Thesis Statement
Crafting a Thesis Statement
3 Active Learning Exercises
Introduction
Introduction
4 Active Learning Exercises
Selecting Strong Evidence
Selecting Strong Evidence
5 Active Learning Exercises
Analyzing Evidence
Analyzing Evidence
4 Active Learning Exercises
Conclusion
Conclusion
4 Active Learning Exercises
Questions?
Questions?
Contact Srijani Ghosh at srijani@berkeley.edu for more information
Srijani Ghosh is a Continuing Lecturer in the Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies. She has been teaching Reading and Composition classes at UC Berkeley since 2015 and enjoys showing students how a strong grasp of reading and writing skills can be applied across disciplines and are always useful in the “real world.”
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