Description-Writing Exercises

Scope

• A plain version suitable for classroom use as is, and
  
• An annotated version that:
  
  • spells out the goal of each exercise and the writing issues that it addresses,
    
  • compares the exercise with others in this set,
    
  • suggests effective, relevant teaching strategies, as well as extended activities, and
    
  • notes the specific 1998 California English-Language Arts content standard(s) that the exercise most strongly supports.

Besides finding these exercises by name (in the table below), you can also use any of three indexes to look up specific exercises by the thematic task(s) or the California content standard(s) to which they are most relevant.

Background

These exercises respond to the unmet need that I found for a realistic, work-relevant way to learn technical writing by students who are not facile writers already. The examples present practical description-writing techniques using familiar, gender-neutral topics that nevertheless involve solving genuine, real-world writing problems. They are ordered, paced, and scaffolded to gradually build basic writing skills while promoting general cognitive maturity at the same time.

I began developing these exercises during 2001-2002 while presenting description-writing workshops to grade 10 English students at the Media Academy, located at Oakland's Fremont High School (California). See the teacher annotations on the description-writing guidelines and on each specific exercise for more design details on the approach that I chose. After the specific exercises are three more general cases that suggest how to apply these same principles and guidelines to taking notes, giving technical talks, and comparing web sites for audience appropriateness (these descriptive cases have their own additional background note). Also, suggestions for linking these description-writing exercises with current student interest in "crime scene investigation" (CSI) or forensic science (FS) appear in a separate overview.

In June, 2005, the STC Board of Directors recognized the value of this material with an international Pacesetter Award "for delivering excellent education." In 2007 this effort was further recognized as one of STC's top 1% of service projects with a Distinguished Service Award.

Policy and Permission

The East Bay STC chapter's Technical Literacy Project shares these examples because intellectually sound, grade-appropriate materials for teaching technical writing in high school are scarce. Finding or developing your own exercises may take more time than you have, so we invite you to borrow or adapt some or all of these for your classes. Refining and extending them is an ongoing project, of course. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome (to trgirill@acm.org).

Permission to download and reproduce these exercises for nonprofit educational use is granted without fee. All other copying or reproduction, especially for commercial use or resale in any manner, form, or medium, requires explicit, prior, written permission from:

T. R. Girill
Chair, Technical Literacy Project
East Bay Chapter, Society for Technical Communication
trgirill@acm.org

Summary of Shared Exercises

Exercise 3: Rebuild from large parts