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The Writing Process | 5 Steps with Examples & Tips

Published on April 24, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on December 8, 2023.

The writing process steps

Good academic writing requires effective planning, drafting, and revision.

The writing process looks different for everyone, but there are five basic steps that will help you structure your time when writing any kind of text.

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Table of contents

Step 1: prewriting, step 2: planning and outlining, step 3: writing a first draft, step 4: redrafting and revising, step 5: editing and proofreading, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about the writing process.

Before you start writing, you need to decide exactly what you’ll write about and do the necessary research.

Coming up with a topic

If you have to come up with your own topic for an assignment, think of what you’ve covered in class— is there a particular area that intrigued, interested, or even confused you? Topics that left you with additional questions are perfect, as these are questions you can explore in your writing.

The scope depends on what type of text you’re writing—for example, an essay or a research paper will be less in-depth than a dissertation topic . Don’t pick anything too ambitious to cover within the word count, or too limited for you to find much to say.

Narrow down your idea to a specific argument or question. For example, an appropriate topic for an essay might be narrowed down like this:

Doing the research

Once you know your topic, it’s time to search for relevant sources and gather the information you need. This process varies according to your field of study and the scope of the assignment. It might involve:

  • Searching for primary and secondary sources .
  • Reading the relevant texts closely (e.g. for literary analysis ).
  • Collecting data using relevant research methods (e.g. experiments , interviews or surveys )

From a writing perspective, the important thing is to take plenty of notes while you do the research. Keep track of the titles, authors, publication dates, and relevant quotations from your sources; the data you gathered; and your initial analysis or interpretation of the questions you’re addressing.

Especially in academic writing , it’s important to use a logical structure to convey information effectively. It’s far better to plan this out in advance than to try to work out your structure once you’ve already begun writing.

Creating an essay outline is a useful way to plan out your structure before you start writing. This should help you work out the main ideas you want to focus on and how you’ll organize them. The outline doesn’t have to be final—it’s okay if your structure changes throughout the writing process.

Use bullet points or numbering to make your structure clear at a glance. Even for a short text that won’t use headings, it’s useful to summarize what you’ll discuss in each paragraph.

An outline for a literary analysis essay might look something like this:

  • Describe the theatricality of Austen’s works
  • Outline the role theater plays in Mansfield Park
  • Introduce the research question: How does Austen use theater to express the characters’ morality in Mansfield Park ?
  • Discuss Austen’s depiction of the performance at the end of the first volume
  • Discuss how Sir Bertram reacts to the acting scheme
  • Introduce Austen’s use of stage direction–like details during dialogue
  • Explore how these are deployed to show the characters’ self-absorption
  • Discuss Austen’s description of Maria and Julia’s relationship as polite but affectionless
  • Compare Mrs. Norris’s self-conceit as charitable despite her idleness
  • Summarize the three themes: The acting scheme, stage directions, and the performance of morals
  • Answer the research question
  • Indicate areas for further study

Once you have a clear idea of your structure, it’s time to produce a full first draft.

This process can be quite non-linear. For example, it’s reasonable to begin writing with the main body of the text, saving the introduction for later once you have a clearer idea of the text you’re introducing.

To give structure to your writing, use your outline as a framework. Make sure that each paragraph has a clear central focus that relates to your overall argument.

Hover over the parts of the example, from a literary analysis essay on Mansfield Park , to see how a paragraph is constructed.

The character of Mrs. Norris provides another example of the performance of morals in Mansfield Park . Early in the novel, she is described in scathing terms as one who knows “how to dictate liberality to others: but her love of money was equal to her love of directing” (p. 7). This hypocrisy does not interfere with her self-conceit as “the most liberal-minded sister and aunt in the world” (p. 7). Mrs. Norris is strongly concerned with appearing charitable, but unwilling to make any personal sacrifices to accomplish this. Instead, she stage-manages the charitable actions of others, never acknowledging that her schemes do not put her own time or money on the line. In this way, Austen again shows us a character whose morally upright behavior is fundamentally a performance—for whom the goal of doing good is less important than the goal of seeming good.

When you move onto a different topic, start a new paragraph. Use appropriate transition words and phrases to show the connections between your ideas.

The goal at this stage is to get a draft completed, not to make everything perfect as you go along. Once you have a full draft in front of you, you’ll have a clearer idea of where improvement is needed.

Give yourself a first draft deadline that leaves you a reasonable length of time to revise, edit, and proofread before the final deadline. For a longer text like a dissertation, you and your supervisor might agree on deadlines for individual chapters.

Now it’s time to look critically at your first draft and find potential areas for improvement. Redrafting means substantially adding or removing content, while revising involves making changes to structure and reformulating arguments.

Evaluating the first draft

It can be difficult to look objectively at your own writing. Your perspective might be positively or negatively biased—especially if you try to assess your work shortly after finishing it.

It’s best to leave your work alone for at least a day or two after completing the first draft. Come back after a break to evaluate it with fresh eyes; you’ll spot things you wouldn’t have otherwise.

When evaluating your writing at this stage, you’re mainly looking for larger issues such as changes to your arguments or structure. Starting with bigger concerns saves you time—there’s no point perfecting the grammar of something you end up cutting out anyway.

Right now, you’re looking for:

  • Arguments that are unclear or illogical.
  • Areas where information would be better presented in a different order.
  • Passages where additional information or explanation is needed.
  • Passages that are irrelevant to your overall argument.

For example, in our paper on Mansfield Park , we might realize the argument would be stronger with more direct consideration of the protagonist Fanny Price, and decide to try to find space for this in paragraph IV.

For some assignments, you’ll receive feedback on your first draft from a supervisor or peer. Be sure to pay close attention to what they tell you, as their advice will usually give you a clearer sense of which aspects of your text need improvement.

Redrafting and revising

Once you’ve decided where changes are needed, make the big changes first, as these are likely to have knock-on effects on the rest. Depending on what your text needs, this step might involve:

  • Making changes to your overall argument.
  • Reordering the text.
  • Cutting parts of the text.
  • Adding new text.

You can go back and forth between writing, redrafting and revising several times until you have a final draft that you’re happy with.

Think about what changes you can realistically accomplish in the time you have. If you are running low on time, you don’t want to leave your text in a messy state halfway through redrafting, so make sure to prioritize the most important changes.

Editing focuses on local concerns like clarity and sentence structure. Proofreading involves reading the text closely to remove typos and ensure stylistic consistency. You can check all your drafts and texts in minutes with an AI proofreader .

Editing for grammar and clarity

When editing, you want to ensure your text is clear, concise, and grammatically correct. You’re looking out for:

  • Grammatical errors.
  • Ambiguous phrasings.
  • Redundancy and repetition .

In your initial draft, it’s common to end up with a lot of sentences that are poorly formulated. Look critically at where your meaning could be conveyed in a more effective way or in fewer words, and watch out for common sentence structure mistakes like run-on sentences and sentence fragments:

  • Austen’s style is frequently humorous, her characters are often described as “witty.” Although this is less true of Mansfield Park .
  • Austen’s style is frequently humorous. Her characters are often described as “witty,” although this is less true of Mansfield Park .

To make your sentences run smoothly, you can always use a paraphrasing tool to rewrite them in a clearer way.

Proofreading for small mistakes and typos

When proofreading, first look out for typos in your text:

  • Spelling errors.
  • Missing words.
  • Confused word choices .
  • Punctuation errors .
  • Missing or excess spaces.

Use a grammar checker , but be sure to do another manual check after. Read through your text line by line, watching out for problem areas highlighted by the software but also for any other issues it might have missed.

For example, in the following phrase we notice several errors:

  • Mary Crawfords character is a complicate one and her relationships with Fanny and Edmund undergoes several transformations through out the novel.
  • Mary Crawford’s character is a complicated one, and her relationships with both Fanny and Edmund undergo several transformations throughout the novel.

Proofreading for stylistic consistency

There are several issues in academic writing where you can choose between multiple different standards. For example:

  • Whether you use the serial comma .
  • Whether you use American or British spellings and punctuation (you can use a punctuation checker for this).
  • Where you use numerals vs. words for numbers.
  • How you capitalize your titles and headings.

Unless you’re given specific guidance on these issues, it’s your choice which standards you follow. The important thing is to consistently follow one standard for each issue. For example, don’t use a mixture of American and British spellings in your paper.

Additionally, you will probably be provided with specific guidelines for issues related to format (how your text is presented on the page) and citations (how you acknowledge your sources). Always follow these instructions carefully.

If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

  • Ad hominem fallacy
  • Post hoc fallacy
  • Appeal to authority fallacy
  • False cause fallacy
  • Sunk cost fallacy
  • Deep learning
  • Generative AI
  • Machine learning
  • Reinforcement learning
  • Supervised vs. unsupervised learning

 (AI) Tools

  • Grammar Checker
  • Paraphrasing Tool
  • Text Summarizer
  • AI Detector
  • Plagiarism Checker
  • Citation Generator

Revising, proofreading, and editing are different stages of the writing process .

  • Revising is making structural and logical changes to your text—reformulating arguments and reordering information.
  • Editing refers to making more local changes to things like sentence structure and phrasing to make sure your meaning is conveyed clearly and concisely.
  • Proofreading involves looking at the text closely, line by line, to spot any typos and issues with consistency and correct them.

Whether you’re publishing a blog, submitting a research paper , or even just writing an important email, there are a few techniques you can use to make sure it’s error-free:

  • Take a break : Set your work aside for at least a few hours so that you can look at it with fresh eyes.
  • Proofread a printout : Staring at a screen for too long can cause fatigue – sit down with a pen and paper to check the final version.
  • Use digital shortcuts : Take note of any recurring mistakes (for example, misspelling a particular word, switching between US and UK English , or inconsistently capitalizing a term), and use Find and Replace to fix it throughout the document.

If you want to be confident that an important text is error-free, it might be worth choosing a professional proofreading service instead.

If you’ve gone over the word limit set for your assignment, shorten your sentences and cut repetition and redundancy during the editing process. If you use a lot of long quotes , consider shortening them to just the essentials.

If you need to remove a lot of words, you may have to cut certain passages. Remember that everything in the text should be there to support your argument; look for any information that’s not essential to your point and remove it.

To make this process easier and faster, you can use a paraphrasing tool . With this tool, you can rewrite your text to make it simpler and shorter. If that’s not enough, you can copy-paste your paraphrased text into the summarizer . This tool will distill your text to its core message.

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Study Skills and Classroom Success

Writing strategies.

Two open journals on a table

It ain’t whatcha write, it’s the way atcha write it. —Jack Kerouac, author

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

  • Describe the purpose of writing assignments and what an instructor might expect to see from your writing
  • Identify common types of writing tasks in a college class
  • Understand and utilize writing-process steps for the development of academic writing
  • Differentiate between revision and proofreading, and explain the value of each
  • Identify strategies for ethical use of sources in writing

Why Do Writing Skills Matter?

Obviously you can write. And in the age of Facebook and smartphones, you may be writing all the time—perhaps more often than speaking. Many students today are awash in text like no other generation before.

So why spend yet more time and attention on writing skills? Research shows that deliberate practice —that is, close focus on improving one’s skills—makes all the difference in how one performs. Revisiting the craft of writing—especially early in college—will improve your writing much more than simply producing page after page in the same old way. Becoming an excellent communicator will save you a lot of time and hassle in your studies, advance your career, and promote better relationships and a higher quality of life off the job. Honing your writing is a good use of your scarce time.

Also, consider this: a recent survey of employers conducted by the Association of American Colleges and Universities found that 89 percent of employers say that colleges and universities should place more emphasis on “the ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing.” [1] It was the single-most favored skill in this survey. In addition, several of the other valued skills are grounded in written communication: “Critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills” (81 percent); “The ability to analyze and solve complex problems” (75 percent); and “The ability to locate, organize, and evaluate information from multiple sources” (68 percent). This emphasis on communication probably reflects the changing reality of work in the professions. Employers also reported that employees will have to “take on more responsibilities,” “use a broader set of skills,” “work harder to coordinate with other departments,” face “more complex” challenges, and mobilize “higher levels of learning and knowledge.” [2]

If you want  to be a professional who interacts frequently with others, you have to be someone who can anticipate and solve complex problems and coordinate your work with others, [3] all of which depend on effective communication.

The pay-off from improving your writing comes much sooner than graduation. Suppose you complete about 40 classes for a 120-credit bachelors’ degree, and—averaging across writing-intensive and non-writing-intensive courses—you produce about 2,500 words of formal writing per class. Even with that low estimate, you’ll write 100,000 words during your college career. That’s roughly equivalent to a 330-page book.

Spending a few hours sharpening your writing skills will make those 100,000 words much easier and more rewarding to write. All of your professors care about good writing.

It’s Different from High School

Because most professors have different expectations, it can be tricky knowing what exactly they’re looking for. Pay attention to the comments they leave on your paper, and make sure to use these as a reference for your next assignment. I try to pay attention and adapt to the professor’s style and preferences. —Aly Button, SUNY student

By the end of high school you probably mastered many of the key conventions of standard academic English, such as paragraphing, sentence-level mechanics, and the use of thesis statements. The essay portion of the SAT measures important skills such as organizing evidence within paragraphs that relate to a clear, consistent thesis, and choosing words and sentence structures to effectively convey your meaning. These practices are foundational, and your teachers have given you a wonderful gift in helping you master them. However, college writing assignments require you to apply those skills to new intellectual challenges. Professors assign papers because they want you to think rigorously and deeply about important questions in their fields.

To your instructors, writing is for working out complex ideas, not just explaining them. A paper that would earn a top score on the SAT might only get a C or D in a college class if it doesn’t show original and ambitious thinking.

Professors look at you as independent junior scholars and expect you to write as someone who has a genuine, driving interest in tackling a complex question. They envision you approaching an assignment without a preexisting thesis. They expect you to look deep into the evidence, consider several alternative explanations, and work out an original, insightful argument that you actually care about. 

Activity: Examining Your Writing Assignments

  • what kind of writing task it is (essay, journal, memo, annotated bibliography, online discussion, scientific report, etc.)
  • how much of your course grade it represents
  • how much time you estimate it will take you to complete
  • what the purpose of the assignment seems to be – why it is a graded requirement of the class
  • Compare the list you’ve generated with a small group of your classmates. How do their lists of writing assignments compare to your own? What are some common factors across writing assignments? What are some notable differences?

What to Do With Essay Assignments

Writing assignments can be as varied as the instructors who assign them. Some assignments are explicit about what exactly you’ll need to do, in what order, and how it will be graded. Some assignments are very open-ended, leaving you to determine the best path toward answering the project. Most fall somewhere in the middle, containing details about some aspects but leaving other assumptions unstated. It’s important to remember that your first resource for getting clarification about an assignment is your instructor—she or he will be very willing to talk out ideas with you, to be sure you’re prepared at each step to do well with the writing.

Most writing in college will be a direct response to class materials—an assigned reading, a discussion in class, an experiment in a lab. Generally speaking, these writing tasks can be divided into three broad categories.

Summary Assignments

Being asked to summarize a source is a common task in many types of writing. It can also seem like a straightforward task: simply restate, in shorter form, what the source says. A lot of advanced skills are hidden in this seemingly simple assignment, however.

An effective summary does the following:

  • reflects your accurate understanding of a source’s thesis or purpose
  • differentiates between major and minor ideas in a source
  • demonstrates your ability to identify key phrases to quote
  • demonstrates your ability to effectively paraphrase most of the source’s ideas
  • captures the tone, style, and distinguishing features of a source
  • does not reflect your personal opinion about the source

That last point is often the most challenging: we are opinionated creatures, by nature, and it can be very difficult to keep our opinions from creeping into a summary, which is meant to be completely neutral.

In college-level writing, assignments that are only summary are rare. That said, many types of writing tasks contain at least some element of summary, from a biology report that explains what happened during a chemical process, to an analysis essay that requires you to explain what several prominent positions about gun control are, as a component of comparing them against one another.

Defined-Topic Assignments

Many writing tasks will ask you to address a particular topic or a narrow set of topic options. Even with the topic identified, however, it can sometimes be difficult to determine what aspects of the writing will be most important when it comes to grading.

Often, the handout or other written text explaining the assignment—what professors call the assignment prompt —will explain the purpose of the assignment, the required parameters (length, number and type of sources, referencing style, etc.), and the criteria for evaluation. Sometimes, though—especially when you are new to a field—you will encounter the baffling situation in which you comprehend every single sentence in the prompt but still have absolutely no idea how to approach the assignment. No one is doing anything wrong in a situation like that. It just means that further discussion of the assignment is in order. Below are some tips:

  • Focus on the verbs . Look for verbs like compare, explain, justify, reflect , or the all-purpose analyze . You’re not just producing a paper as an artifact; you’re conveying, in written communication, some intellectual work you have done. So the question is, what kind of thinking are you supposed to do to deepen your learning?
  • Put the assignment in context . Many professors think in terms of assignment sequences. For example, a social science professor may ask you to write about a controversial issue three times: first, arguing for one side of the debate; second, arguing for another; and finally, from a more comprehensive and nuanced perspective, incorporating text produced in the first two assignments. A sequence like that is designed to help you think through a complex issue. If the assignment isn’t part of a sequence, think about where it falls in the span of the course (early, midterm, or toward the end), and how it relates to readings and other assignments. For example, if you see that a paper comes at the end of a three-week unit on the role of the Internet in organizational behavior, then your professor likely wants you to synthesize that material in your own way.
  • Try a free-write . A free-write is when you just write, without stopping, for a set period of time. That doesn’t sound very “free”; it actually sounds kind of coerced, right? The “free” part is what you write—it can be whatever comes to mind. Professional writers use free-writing to get started on a challenging (or distasteful) writing task or to overcome writer’s block or a powerful urge to procrastinate. The idea is that if you just make yourself write, you can’t help but produce some kind of useful nugget. Thus, even if the first eight sentences of your free write are all variations on “I don’t understand this” or “I’d really rather be doing something else,” eventually you’ll write something like “I guess the main point of this is . . . ,” and—booyah!—you’re off and running.
  • Ask for clarification . Even the most carefully crafted assignments may need some verbal clarification, especially if you’re new to a course or field. Try to convey to your instructor that you want to learn and you’re ready to work, and not just looking for advice on how to get an A.

Although the topic may be defined, you can’t just grind out four or five pages of discussion, explanation, or analysis. It may seem strange, but even when you’re asked to “show how” or “illustrate,” you’re still being asked to make an argument. You must shape and focus that discussion or analysis so that it supports a claim that you discovered and formulated and that all of your discussion and explanation develops and supports. 

Defined-topic writing assignments are used primarily to identify your familiarity with the subject matter.

Undefined-Topic Assignments

Another writing assignment you’ll potentially encounter is one in which the topic may be only broadly identified (“water conservation” in an ecology course, for instance, or “the Dust Bowl” in a U.S. History course), or even completely open (“compose an argumentative research essay on a subject of your choice”).

Where defined-topic essays demonstrate your knowledge of the content , undefined-topic assignments are used to demonstrate your skills— your ability to perform academic research, to synthesize ideas, and to apply the various stages of the writing process.

The first hurdle with this type of task is to find a focus that interests you. Don’t just pick something you feel will be “easy to write about”—that almost always turns out to be a false assumption. Instead, you’ll get the most value out of, and find it easier to work on, a topic that intrigues you personally in some way.

The same getting-started ideas described for defined-topic assignments will help with these kinds of projects, too.  You can also try talking with your instructor or a writing tutor (at your college’s writing center) to help brainstorm ideas and make sure you’re on track. You want to feel confident that you’ve got a clear idea of what it means to be successful in the writing and not waste time working in a direction that won’t be fruitful.

The Writing Process

The following video provides an excellent overview of research essays, one of the most common kinds of writing assignments you’re likely to encounter in college.

No writer, not even a professional, composes a perfect draft in her first attempt. Every writer fumbles and has to work through a series of steps to arrive at a high-quality finished project.

You may have encountered these steps as assignments in classes—draft a thesis statement; complete an outline; turn in a rough draft; participate in a peer review. The further you get into higher education, the less often these steps will be completed as part of class.

That’s not to say that you won’t still need to follow these steps on your own time. It helps to recognize that these steps, commonly referred to as the writing process , aren’t rigid and prescribed.  Instead, it can be liberating to see them as flexible, allowing you to adapt them to your own personal habits, preferences, and the topic at hand.  You will probably find that your process changes, depending on the type of writing you’re doing and your comfort level with the subject matter.

Consider the following flowchart of the writing process:

Flowchart illustrated with cartoon figures. Title: Research Paper Writing. First step: Come up with a topic/question. What do you want to answer with your paper? Next, Do your research. Learn research strategies from the UBC Learning Commons Library Research Toolkit. Next, Develop a thesis/outline. Come up with a "working" thesis, an argument that might change but will help you direct your paper. Next, write a draft. Try to set a word count that you want to achieve each day and stick to it! Next, Edit/review. Read your paper out loud to catch mistakes and check to see if your paper makes sense. At the bottom is a logo for University of British Columbia, a place of mind, and learningcommons.ubc.ca@UBCLearn.

The flowchart is a helpful visualization of the steps involved, outside of the classroom, toward completing an essay.  Keep in mind that it isn’t always a linear process, though. It’s okay to loop back to earlier steps again if needed. For instance, after completing a draft, you may realize that a significant aspect of the topic is missing, which sends you back to researching.  Or the process of research may lead you to an unexpected subtopic, which shifts your focus and leads you to revise your thesis. Embrace the circular path that writing often takes!

Revision and Proofreading

These last two stages of the writing process are often confused with each other, but they mean very different things, and serve very different purposes.

Revision is literally “reseeing.” It asks a writer to step away from a piece of work for a significant amount of time and return later to see it with new eyes.  This is why the process of producing multiple drafts of an essay is so important.  It allows some space in between, to let thoughts mature, connections to arise, and gaps in content or an argument to appear. It’s also difficult to do, especially given that most college students face tight time lines to get big writing projects done. Still, there are some tricks to help you “resee” a piece of writing when you’re short on time, such as reading a paper backward, sentence by sentence, and reading your work aloud.  Both are ways of reconceptualizing your own writing so you approach it from a fresh perspective. Whenever possible, though, build in at least a day or two to set a draft aside before returning to work on the final version.

Proofreading , on the other hand, is the very last step taken before turning in a project. This is the point where spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting all take center stage.

Learn these rules, and if you hate them, learn to love them. In college, writing stops being about “how well did you understand fill-in-the-blank” and becomes “how professionally and strongly do you argue your point.” Professionalism, I have found, is the key to the real world, and college is, in part, preparing you for it. If you do not learn how to write in a way that projects professionalism (i.e., these rules), then expect to get, at best, Cs on your papers. —Kaethe Leonard, SUNY student

A person can be the best writer in the world and still be a terrible proofreader. It’s okay not to memorize every rule out there, but know where to turn for help. Utilizing the grammar-check feature of your word processor is a good start, but it won’t solve every issue (and may even cause a few itself).

Your campus tutoring or writing center is a good place to turn for support and help.  They will NOT proofread your paper for you, but they will offer you strategies for how to spot issues that are a pattern in your writing.

Finding a trusted person to help you edit is perfectly ethical, as long as that person offers you advice and doesn’t actually do any of the writing for you. Professional writers rely on outside readers for both the revision and editing process, and it’s a good practice for you to do so, too.

Using Sources

College courses offer a few opportunities for writing that won’t require using outside resources.  Creative writing classes, applied lab classes, or field research classes will value what you create entirely from your own mind or from the work completed for the class. For most college writing, however, you will need to consult at least one outside source, and possibly more.

The following video provides a helpful overview of the ways in which sources are used most effectively and responsibly in academic writing.

Note that this video models MLA-style citations. This is one of several different styles you might be asked to practice within your classes.  Your instructors should make it clear which of the major styles they expect you to use in their courses: MLA (Modern Language Association), APA (American Psychological Association), Chicago, or another.

Regardless of the style, the same principles are true any time a source is used: give credit to the source when it is used in the writing itself, as well as in a bibliography (or Works Cited page, or References page) at the end.

Resources for Academic Writing

  • Writing Commons
  • Style for Students
  • Handouts from the Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill
  • Hart Research Associates, Raising the Bar: Employers’ Views on College Learning in the Wake of the Economic Downturn, http://www.aacu.org/leap/documents/2009_EmployerSurvey.pdf , 9. ↵
  • Ibid., 5. ↵
  • Hart Research Associates, It Takes More Than a Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success. http://www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/files/LEAP/2013_EmployerSurvey.pdf . ↵
  • Writing Strategies. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
  • Image of journals. Authored by : Eli Juicy Jones. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/7NBXo4 . License : CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial
  • Writing in College: From Competence to Excellence. Authored by : Amy Guptill. Provided by : SUNY Open Textbooks. Located at : http://textbooks.opensuny.org/writing-in-college-from-competence-to-excellence/ . License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
  • Writing. Authored by : UBC LEAP. Located at : https://youtu.be/6Jgwc3sXLCc . License : CC BY: Attribution
  • Image of Research Paper Writing. Provided by : University of British Columbia, Vancouver Campus. Located at : http://learningcommons.ubc.ca/student-toolkits-2/writing/ . License : CC BY: Attribution
  • Using Sources. Authored by : Katrina Kimbril. Located at : https://youtu.be/u6Pxx5q2u5g . License : All Rights Reserved . License Terms : Standard YouTube License

Free tools to make your students better writers and readers .

Quill.org, a non-profit, provides free literacy activities that build reading comprehension, writing, and language skills for elementary, middle, and high school students.

Writing Across the Curriculum: Quill's nonprofit mission is to now build both reading and writing skills through free, OER content across the curriculum. Over the coming years, we will be building a library of free ELA, social studies, and science activities that engage students in deeper thinking through writing prompts that provide immediate feedback.

9 million students have written 2 billion sentences on Quill.

Quill Reading for Evidence

Provide your students with nonfiction texts paired with AI-powered writing prompts, instead of multiple-choice questions, to enable deeper thinking.

Students read a nonfiction text and build their comprehension through writing prompts, supporting a series of claims with evidence sourced from the text. Quill challenges students to write responses that are precise, logical, and based on textual evidence, with Quill coaching the student through custom, targeted feedback on each revision so that students strengthen their reading comprehension and hone their writing skills.

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"Should Schools Have Grade Requirements for Student Athletes?"

Science Topics

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"How Does Eating Meat Impact Global Warming?"

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Quill Connect

Help your students advance from fragmented and run-on sentences to complex and well structured ones.

Using the evidence-based strategy of sentence combining, students combine multiple ideas into a single sentence. They then receive instant feedback designed to help them improve their clarity and precision.

Quill Lessons

The Quill Lessons tool enables teachers to lead whole-class and small-group writing instruction.

Teachers control interactive slides that contain writing prompts, and the entire class responds to each prompt. Each Quill Lessons activity provides a lesson plan, writing prompts, discussion topics, and a follow up independent practice activity.

Quill Diagnostic

Quickly determine which skills your students need to work on with our diagnostics.

The diagnostics cover vital sentence construction skills and generate personalized learning plans based on the student’s performance.

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Quill Proofreader

Proofreader teaches your students editing skills by having them proofread passages.

Students edit passages and receive personalized exercises based on their results. With over 100 expository passages, Proofreader gives students the practice they need to spot common grammatical errors.

Quill Grammar

Students practice basic grammar skills, from comma placement to parallel structure.

Quill Grammar has over 150 sentence writing activities to help your students. Our activities are designed to be completed in 10 minutes so you have the freedom to use them in the way that works best for your classroom.

How Quill Works

Set up your classroom, without it.

You can quickly and easily set up your classroom in Quill by inputting student names or providing students with a unique code. If you use Google Classroom or Clever, you can automatically set up your classroom with one click.

Choose activities

Decide if you want your students to proofread passages, combine sentences, or complete a diagnostic. Use our ten minute activities as building blocks during your classroom instruction.

Use easy-to-consume reporting

Use our reporting to spot trends and identify growth opportunities. Monitor comprehension on specific writing standards.

Get immediate feedback for your students

Save time grading and watch your students correct their mistakes instantly.

Intervene where students struggle

See exactly where your students need intervention with our comprehensive reports.

Differentiate learning to meet the needs of all students

Assign specific activities for ELLs and students with learning differences.

Engage students with adaptive activities

Challenge students with questions that automatically adapt based on their previous responses.

Align with the Common Core Standards

Easily meet Common Core language standards with our aligned activities.

Easily sign up with Google Classroom

With one click all of your students and classes will be imported.

Over 100 concepts totaling 50 hours of quality curriculum.

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Writing Center

Located in Room 304, the Writing Center provides student with the space, technology, and atmosphere necessary to assist you in process of composition and revision. Each instructor is equipped with the knowledge and tools to help you learn the process of writing successful college-level essays.

The writing experience is unique for every individual. Thus, the Mountwest Writing Center promotes the development of writing by engaging students in all aspects of the writing process through the use of individualized instructional sessions. These sessions allow students to acquire the strategies, techniques, and confidence necessary to engage effectively with a variety of writing topics and assignments.

The Writing Center supports the growth and development of staff through the use of best practice teaching and writing methods rooted in the appropriate pedagogical research. The Writing Center serves staff and Mountwest faculty in all disciplines through a variety of workshops, presentations, conferences and other collaborative concerning writing and we are prepared to collaborate with faculty across campus about writing.

Contact:  Katherine Reed  at  [email protected]

Hours of Operation:

  • Monday: 10:00am to 4:00pm
  • Tuesday: 10:00am-4:30pm
  • Wednesday: 10:00am-2:00pm; 3:00pm-4:00pm
  • Thursday: 10:00am-4:340pm
  • Friday: 10:30am-2:30pm

Additional Resources

Online – Blackboard

If you are currently enrolled in a Mountwest Community & Technical College program, you can access the Mountwest Online Writing Center to submit a digital copy of your draft for evaluation or request a video conference with a Writing Center tutor. Just click the Online Writing Center link in the Student Resources navigation pane on your Blackboard landing page and follow the steps to self-enroll.

Writing Resources

Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)

The Purdue OWL is an invaluable resource for quick reference on up-to-date formatting guidelines in a variety of styles (APA, MLA, CMS). It also includes exercises for students to improve their grammar usage, paraphrasing skills, and general writing abilities.

Found in Blackboard, Brainfuse allows students to submit a paper for informal evaluation before turning it in. Use the Brainfuse response in conjunction with a visit to the Writing Center to get the most out of both resources.

Chomp-Chomp

Chomp-Chomp offers exercises, slideshows and all things grammar on this cheesy, but fun, Web site geared toward helping students improve their writing skills.

Quizlet is a user-generated online flashcard quiz site that enhances study skills for any class you may have.

Academic Services

Appointments, to sign up in advance for a single or weekly session in the writing center, simply submit a request to the writing center in person (room 304) or complete the form. (304) 710-3477.

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Educators Technology

Innovative EdTech for teachers, educators, parents, and students

What is Quizlet and How to Use it to Create Interactive Flashcards and Quizzes?

By Med Kharbach, PhD | Last Update: December 11, 2023

Quizlet is a web tool and a mobile app that boosts students learning through a number of study tools that include flashcards and game-based quizzes. As a teacher, you can create your own class on Quizlet and share study sets with your students. You can either design your study sets from scratch or search for pre-made sets to customize and use in your teaching. 

If you have not already tried it, Quizlet is definitely a great game-based learning tool with huge educational potential. However, most of the really great stuff in Quizlet is provided in the premium plan including the ability to track students progress and create unlimited classes.

[Disclosure: Just to give you the full picture, I’ve recently teamed up with Quizlet as an affiliate. However, it’s important to note that this post was crafted well before that partnership took shape. So rest assured, the opinions and insights you’ll read here are completely my own, derived from my years of classroom teaching and educational research. I stand by the authenticity of this review.]

The purpose of this post is to introduce you to Quizlet and show you how it works. In doing so, you will get to learn the following:

Table of Contents

Quizlet guide for teachers

Quizlet: Teaching activities 

There are several ways to use Quizlet in your teaching. For instance, you can use it to conduct formative assessment in your class.  You can create polls, surveys, or game based quizzes to test students comprehension of a concept you taught them. You can then analyze their responses to identify areas where learning problems happen and where individualized intervention is needed. 

Also, based on your analysis of students feedback, you can modify your teaching strategies, customize your lesson plans in order to address students learning problems in a more effective way. Other similar tools to use for game-based formative assessment include   Kahoot , Blooket ,  Quizizz , and Quizalize .

You can also use Quizlet in language learning to foster students vocabulary and enhance their overall grasp of the target language. Create interactive flashcards focused on specific language terms and invite students to work on them individually or in groups. Or, delegate this task to students and let them create and share flashcards with each other while you monitor the whole process. 

Another key area to target using Quizlet is the learning of grammar. Create tests where students are required to use their grammatical knowledge of the target language to answer questions correctly. In this way, students will get to practice their grammar and hone in their writing skills.

Quizlet can be used across different school subjects. For instance, math and chemistry teachers can draw on the gaming principles of Quizlet to facilitate the learning of abstract and complex scientific concepts. Quizlet editor includes a wide variety of mathematical symbols, signs, and calculations which can be easily integrated into study sets. 

Science teachers can use Diagram sets to create labelled images and illustrative visuals to  explain hard to grasp science processes. Similarly, social studies teachers can create flashcards and game-based quizzes to test students geographical and historical knowledge, etc. 

Quizlet login

To be able to make the best of Quizlet you need to open an account. You have different sign-up options to choose from. You can sign up using your Facebook, your Google account, or your custom email and password (personally, I do not like to tie my social media accounts to other platforms).  Once you sign up, log in to start creating and sharing study sets.

How to set up a class on Quizlet?

You can easily create classes on Quizlet and add students to them. To create a class:

  • Log in to your Quizlet account
  • Click on Classes and select Create a class
  • Type in a name for your class and a description
  • Check whether you want to allow students to add study sets and new members (you probably do not need to enable this feature)
  • Select a school and click on Create a class.

Once your class is created, you can start sharing study sets with your students. You can either add an existing study set or create a new one. When you add study sets to your class you can choose whether you want to enable students to edit them or not by clicking on Allow class to edit.

What are study sets?

There are two types of study sets: a list of terms paired with their matching definitions, and a set of questions with their corresponding answers. A study set can include the following elements: text, images, diagrams, and recorded audio.  Diagram sets are interactive images that you create by adding terms and optional definitions. You can only add one diagram image per set. Also, diagrams are only available for premium subscribers.

How to create a study set?

To create a study set, login to your Quizlet account, and click on Create. Type in a title and a description then enter your terms-definition pairs. Often times, when you start typing your terms Quizlet provides suggestions based on study sets provided by other users. If the suggestion matches your term click on it to add it. 

The same with adding definitions. You can also add images to your study sets by clicking on the Image button at the right hand side. Quizlet provides suggestions for images to include or you can simply upload your own.There is also the possibility to  import  terms-definition pairs using Word, Excel, or Google Docs. 

How to search for study sets

You can search for pre-made study sets that are publicly available in Quizlet library. Simply go to Quizlet homepage, select Search and type in your query and press Enter. Use filters (e.g., diagram sets, classes, textbooks, courses,  or users) to narrow down your search. When you find the study set you are interested in click on its title to make a copy to edit and share with your students. 

How to share Quizlet study sets?

Once your study set is ready you have access to different sharing options including: sending it directly to someone using their email address, sharing it through generated link, sharing it directly on Google Classroom, sharing on Remind, among others.

Quizlet student login

Here is how students can join your class. From within your Class click on Members from the top bar. Next, copy the generated link and share it with students. Anyone that clicks on that link can sign up and join your class automatically.

The second way students can join your class is by asking to join. To do that, students go to your (teacher) Quizlet profile, select the class they want to join and click on Request to join this class. You will get a notification when they do and you can grant them access to your class.

How can students study on Quizlet?

When you share study sets with students, they (students) have  8 ways to work on them: five study modes and three activities/games. 

The study modes are:

The five study modes provided by Quizlet are:

  • Flashcards mode: Students review terms and questions using flashcards the same way they would do using a standard flashcard tool such as Easy Notecards .
  • Learn mode: “Answer questions that get progressively harder. This study mode creates a personalized study sequence based on your familiarity with the content and helps you master everything you need to know.”
  • Write mode: Students answer questions through writing.
  • Spell mode: Students type the words and definitions they hear. This is especially useful for studying spelling or practicing a new language.
  • Test mode: Students answer different types of questions. 

Game activities provided by Quizlet are:

  • Match: In this game, students ‘Race against the clock to match terms and definitions as quickly as they can.’
  • Gravity: Students type “answers quickly to stop asteroids from hitting your planet. As you progress through the levels, asteroids start falling faster. This game is currently available on the website only.” 

What is Quizlet Checkpoint

Checkpoint is an interesting way for teachers to conduct quick formative assessments in class.”These quick activities provide rich feedback to inform future lesson plans and offer a quick way to engage students in material in real time.”

What is Quizlet Live

Quizlet Live is a collaborative classroom game to use with students to boost their learning. Quizlet Live supports two game modes: a Teams mode (students play in randomly assigned groups) and an Individual mode (students play against each other). Check out  Quizlet Live guide to learn more about how to use it with your students.

Is there a Quizlet app?

Yes, Quizlet has a mobile app that that is available in both Google Play Store and Apple Store . 

Is Quizlet free?

Quizlet offers both  free and premium plans. The free plan is limited in terms of the features it provides. The premium version offers more features including the ability to track students progress, create unlimited number of classes, scan documents to create study sets, access to solutions from over 10.000 textbooks and many more. 

Sources and video tutorials

  • Quizlet Help Center
  • How teachers can get started with Quizlet part 1 and part 2 (Quizlet)
  • How to create Quizlet flashcards in 2 minutes (Education Solutions Online)
  • Quizlet Live – Formative Assessment Game (Technology for Teachers and Students)

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Meet Med Kharbach, PhD

Dr. Med Kharbach is an influential voice in the global educational technology landscape, with an extensive background in educational studies and a decade-long experience as a K-12 teacher. Holding a Ph.D. from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Canada, he brings a unique perspective to the educational world by integrating his profound academic knowledge with his hands-on teaching experience. Dr. Kharbach's academic pursuits encompass curriculum studies, discourse analysis, language learning/teaching, language and identity, emerging literacies, educational technology, and research methodologies. His work has been presented at numerous national and international conferences and published in various esteemed academic journals.

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ESL Quizzes

Writing Quizzes

How to Design an Effective Writing Skills Assessment Test

Juste Semetaite

A writing skills assessment test comes in handy when hiring for various roles – from the more obvious ones like content writers or marketers to more nuanced business roles like product managers.

Poor business writing can cost an organization an unhappy customer, at best, and missed business goals or a lawsuit at worst.

Testing candidates’ writing skills can ensure they have the proficiency to write, work smoothly with other colleagues and have a positive impact on customers, partners and other external stakeholders.

We’ll share a few pointers to help you design a writing skills assessment that surfaces applicants with great written communication skills. Here we go.

TL;DR – Key Takeaways

  • A writing skills test is an assessment of candidates’ writing skills. It evaluates their core writing skills like grammar and syntax as well as their overall writing process for conciseness and a logical flow of information.
  • A writing skills assessment can determine a job seeker’s writing proficiency , and filter out candidates that may ultimately cost the company a lot of time and money with poor-quality writing and communication errors among colleagues or even customers.
  • To assess writing skills effectively, hiring teams should focus their testing on core capabilities like grammar, vocabulary, and clarity shown in their writing tasks.
  • To design a good writing skills assessment , focus on making the test relevant for the role and ensure it evaluates all the writing skills the role requires.
  • Follow best practices when administering a writing skills test , such as clearly defining the test objectives and evaluating the results fairly.
  • Avoid common pitfalls like bias towards a particular writing style or disregarding cultural differences.
  • Quickly build a custom writing skills assessment or use one of our ready-made templates to evaluate job-relevant writing skills and hire top-quality candidates.

how to design a writing skills test

What is a writing skills assessment test?

A writing skills test provides a way to measure candidates’ written communication skills and their overall writing process. A typical writing skills assessment will test a person’s grammar and sentence structure , spelling and punctuation , and the clarity of their business communication.

Depending on the role, the test taker may also need to demonstrate more advanced writing skills .

For example, an email marketer must be able to write in an engaging, persuasive way to get the reader to click on their email links – that’s conversion copywriting at play. A product manager must demonstrate a capacity to eloquently express their ideas, explain the business logic of a new feature and align cross-functional teams via written communication.

Today, not only copywriters and content team members need good writing skills. It’s also essential for all customer-facing roles like sales, customer service , and customer success. If employees lack basic writing skills they risk:

  • Causing confusion in teams
  • Slowing down or blocking workflows
  • Upsetting colleagues
  • Chasing away customers or partners

Infographic 1 Cost Breakdown 800x424

Why use writing skills assessment tests in hiring?

Hiring teams that select talent with good writing skills can save the business time and revenue , and boost productivity .

According to the 2023 State of Business Communication report by The Harris Poll and Grammarly, miscommunication costs US businesses approximately $1.2 trillion annually.

The report also highlights that employees typically spend half of their work week on written communication , such as writing emails, documenting processes, preparing presentations or communicating via a text-based chat. And that teams can lose up to one entire workday per week, resolving poor team communication issues!

Testing writing proficiency in candidates saves businesses time and revenue in the long run.

Writing tests can help talent acquisition teams recruit quality candidates. But here’s an even better hack — job-specific writing skills assessments . The benefits of this form of written assessment recruiting tool include:

  • Role-specific competency : Writing tests tailored to the specific tasks candidates will perform will test how they will actually manage in the role and can help the hiring team make more informed hiring decisions .
  • Scenario-level proficiency : These tests allow you to gauge a candidate’s ability to write for specific audiences, scenarios, or industries and give managers a better idea of whether the candidate actually has the experience they list on the CV.
  • Identifying training needs : Job-specific writing tasks can also help identify areas where successful candidates need training or development to streamline onboarding and upskilling efforts.

Communication Skills Assessment: 5 Tips to Get it Right

7 Core candidate writing skills to test

The fundamental skills a writing assessment should test for in a suitable candidate include:

  • Grammar : Test takers are expected to understand the basics of a language, like how to structure sentences, so their written words don’t cause any confusion or misunderstandings.
  • Vocabulary : Good vocabulary is a must-have skill in some roles, such as copywriting, or for those in exec or decision-making positions. Interestingly, knowing how to simplify language can be equally important to ensure your target audience gets your message clearly.
  • Conciseness and clarity : Concise written communication is important in business to ensure your message makes sense and it doesn’t take others ages to decipher what you’re trying to say.
  • Tone and style : Adapting the tone and style to a particular industry or brand style is an essential skill for a writer that enables them to speak from the ‘voice’ of the company and in a way that their industry expects.
  • Persuasiveness: Persuasive writing skills are vital for people in marketing and sales roles. Today, most roles need to be able to communicate or provide an explanation in a persuasive way, such as a data scientist communicating insights to stakeholders.
  • Research skills: Copywriters need independent research skills to create helpful, relevant content their audience can use to learn about new topics and support their buying decisions.
  • Attention to detail: Attention to detail is an asset for internal and external communications. Receiving clear, professional communication is something that everyone appreciates.

A writing skills assessment test can help you evaluate applicants' core business writing skills

Types of assessment tests to evaluate a candidate’s writing skills

Wondering what type of job-specific writing assessment test to choose? Well, many testing platforms offer customizable test types, such as:

  • Multiple choice questions
  • Essay-based
  • Portfolio assessments
  • Homework assignments

Choosing the right one will depend on the job requirements .

For example, a task-based test, such as asking a shortlisted candidate to suggest new ad copy, is a great writing test for a copywriter.

If you’re hiring for a team lead or a more senior position in people operations, for example, a homework assignment based on communicating new benefits policy to employees will be key to assessing their writing skills in the HR context.

If you’re hiring a graphic designer , a portfolio assessment or review will be key to assessing their design skills. Or, for a marketing executive, a multiple-choice test on core marketing principles will work well.

The anatomy of an effective job-specific writing test

To test applicants’ writing skills effectively, use a job-specific writing test . This type of test should incorporate different components that test all the facets of a candidate’s writing skills. Your test should take into consideration best practices, such as:

Being relevant to the role

The tasks and questions that you include should simulate the real-world tasks that the successful candidate will actually perform on the job. For instance, for a freelance content writer for an HR SaaS tool, you could ask them to write a short article that explains a complex HR concept to a non-technical audience.

Comprehensive testing

Make sure the writing skills test covers the full range of writing skills , including grammar, punctuation, style, tone, vocabulary, and structure. Plus, it should also assess the candidate’s ability to understand and explain complex concepts simply and concisely .

Scenario-based tasks

This is a goodie!

Incorporate tasks that are based on real-life scenarios . For example, writing emails is a core skill for sales managers and customer success professionals, so why not simulate the experience of reaching out to a customer via email? Instead of trusting applicants’ self-assessment, see their core skills in action and decide for yourself!

Plus, in this instance, you get two-for-one — not only assessing their writing abilities but also evaluating their understanding of your product and target audience.

Reasonable requirements

If a candidate is applying for a new role, they are often still working full time and don’t have much spare time. So make sure your test is short, user-friendly , and accessible when it suits them to complete it.

Example of a scenario-based writing skills assessment (also known as a take-home task)

5 Examples of Take-Home Tasks for Different Roles

6 Top tips for incorporating writing skills assessment tests

A writing skills assessment is one component in the hiring process and forms part of the pre-employment assessments .

To ensure the candidate experience is a good one, the writing skills test should be an intuitive and easy step for applicants.

A writing skills assessment test is a vital component in the candidate screening process.

Here are a few things you can do to ensure the writing skills test is a positive candidate experience :

  • Define the test objectives so you’re assessing the right capabilities for the role and the recruitment stage, and candidates are aware of what the parameters are.
  • Make it easy for the test taker to access the test through an easily accessible link in an email or on the job ad .
  • Provide adequate time for them to complete the test and respect their time with reasonable assessment expectations based on the test type (a basic skills test vs. paid homework assignment ).
  • Ensure the test setup doesn’t exclude any candidates like requiring candidates to be online throughout a lengthy paid test.
  • Once you’ve got the results, ensure the team evaluates their answers fairly and objectively, avoiding any personal bias, for instance.
  • Provide feedback to candidates whenever possible as this supports a better candidate experience.

Common pitfalls in results interpretation and how to avoid them

After applicants have completed their writing test, the hiring team will need to evaluate the results and select the most suitable candidate.

Get a jumpstart on your selection process with easy-to-use homework assignment templates.

7 common mistakes to avoid

  • Overemphasis on grammar : While correct spelling and being grammatically correct are important, they shouldn’t be the sole criteria for evaluating job seekers . It’s important to consider other aspects like creativity, clarity of ideas, and persuasiveness. Don’t let a few misspelled words hurt your chances of hiring a superstar (remember, there’s Grammarly!). Tip : Create a balanced candidate scorecard rubric that includes all the factors you’re looking for, not grammar and punctuation alone.
  • Neglecting the task’s objective : Has the candidate achieved the primary objective of each task or deviated with their writing? Tip : Clearly define the objectives of each test task and measure the applicant’s writing against that.
  • Bias towards particular writing styles : Evaluators might have a bias for certain writing styles, like a witty writing style, which could introduce personal bias. Tip : Make a point of remaining objective. Decide whether the style is actually appropriate for the specific task and audience rather than simply aligning with your personal preferences.
  • Take into account cultural differences : When hiring globally, cultural and linguistic differences may affect a candidate’s writing style and word choice. For instance, the target language may not be their native or home language. Tip : Ensure evaluators are trained to recognize and accommodate these differences, keeping the focus on effective communication.
  • Ignoring the importance of structure : The organization and flow of ideas within a piece of writing are crucial to effective communication. Tip : Include ‘structure and organization’ as a distinct component in your evaluation criteria .
  • Over-reliance on automated tools : While automated tools can provide valuable initial assessments, they cannot fully assess elements like coherence, creativity, and communication effectiveness. Tip : Use automated tools, such as a skills assessment platform , as a first step, but always follow up with a comprehensive human-to-human evaluation.
  • Inconsistent evaluation criteria : Changing evaluation criteria midway, or not having set evaluation criteria, can lead to the misinterpretation of results. Tip : Develop a standard grading rubric before administering the test and ensure every evaluator understands how to use it and uses it consistently for each answer they’re assessing.

Example of a grading rubric for a writing test

5 Tips for Designing a Candidate Scorecard for Interviews

See your candidates’ skills in action with Toggl Hire

The best way to ‘try before you buy’ in hiring is to test candidates’ skills.

With job-specific assessments, your team can better predict how they’ll perform and improve the chances of hooking quality talent that adds value to your organization and business immediately.

Get started quickly with our collection of over 200 test templates or string together custom tests quickly in our user-friendly test library. Your next written communication guru is a few clicks away .

Choose the specific criteria for your skills assessment that match the roles you need to fill.

Juste loves investigating through writing. A copywriter by trade, she spent the last ten years in startups, telling stories and building marketing teams. She works at Toggl Hire and writes about how businesses can recruit really great people.

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Past Tense and Past Perfect Tense

33.1k plays, picture comprehension, subject pronouns, kg -  1st  , subordinating conjunctions.

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READING & WRITING SKILLS

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30 questions

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  • 1. Multiple Choice 5 minutes 1 pt Which of these statements best describes the purpose of transitional words? They create a clear connection between a reason and its supporting evidence. They add more descriptive detail to the claim’s supporting evidence. They clarify how the writer feels about the claim being made in the essay. They identify the reasons being used to support the writer's claim.
  • 2. Multiple Choice 5 minutes 1 pt Read this excerpt from an argumentative essay: One explanation for why the national parks are so important is that they provide many Americans with the opportunity to experience wildlife in its natural habitat. Every major city in the United States has a zoo, which is great, but how much more significant is the sight of a brown bear in its natural setting rather than in a cage? A trip to a park like Yellowstone National Park may be the only chance a youngster from a place like New York City or Chicago will have to behold such a sight. If we, the American people, were to lose places like Yellowstone, it would be a travesty. Where in an argumentative essay does this excerpt belong? in the opening in the body, as a reason in the body, addressing a counterclaim in the closing
  • 3. Multiple Choice 5 minutes 1 pt While revising the draft for an argumentative essay, the writer should check for a strong claim, good reasons, and evidence from credible sources. a strong claim, one good supporting reason, and a credible source. a strong claim, credible reasons, and one good piece of evidence. a strong claim, strong reasons, and evidence from one credible source.

Is Coca-Cola or Pepsi better? Choose the STRONGEST claim:

Coke is better than Pepsi because more people in the world like it.

I believe Pepsi is better because it tastes better than Coke.

Coca-Cola is better a drink than Pepsi.

Coca-Cola has more sales and flavor options, and therefore, is better than Pepsi.

  • 5. Multiple Choice 1 minute 1 pt Textual evidence is ______________________________. a clue. facts, figures, details, quotations, or other sources of data and information that provide support for claims or an analysis and that can be evaluated by others. not necessary when making a claim. what proves guilt or innocence.
  • 6. Multiple Choice 1 minute 1 pt What is a claim?  A false statement  A true statement  A reasonable statement  An arguable statement 
  • 7. Multiple Choice 1 minute 1 pt What is evidence?  Information that ties your claim to your warrant. Information that disproves your claim.  Information that supports your claim. Information that supports your warrant. 
  • 8. Multiple Choice 1 minute 1 pt What is the purpose of a counterclaim?  It supports the original claim.  It proves the original claim.  It disproves the original claim.  It agrees with the original claim. 
  • 9. Multiple Choice 1 minute 1 pt __________proves the validity and authenticity of an idea, or point of view  Expository Writing  Descriptive Writing  Argumentative Writing  Narrative Writing 
  • 10. Multiple Choice 2 minutes 1 pt Choose the best example of a good counterclaim to the claim below. Claim: People should not eat red meat because it causes the suffering of innocent animals.  People should eat red meat because it tastes delicious.  People should not eat red meat because it is bad for them. People should eat red meat because human beings are naturally carnivores. People should eat red meat because it is high in protein. 

Julie Henderson

123 Main Street

Lenexa, KS 66222

is an example of what part of the business letter?

Signature Line

Recipients Address

Dear Mrs. Collins, (comma)

is a proper Salutation for a business letter.

  • 13. Multiple Choice 45 seconds 1 pt Dear Mr. Zuck: is an example of a... Subject Line Salutation Greeting Complimentary Closing
  • 14. Multiple Choice 1 minute 1 pt Sincerely,  is an example of a... Closing Line Signature Line Complimentary Closing Complimentary Line
  • 15. Multiple Choice 1 minute 1 pt There are 4 enters after the _____________ and __________. Heading and Salutation Complimentary Closing and Recipients Address Complimentary Closing and Salutation Body and Recipients Address
  • 16. Multiple Choice 1 minute 1 pt Why are there 4 enters after the complimentary closing? To make room for the letterhead To make room for the body To make room for your signature  To maker room for your address
  • 17. Multiple Choice 1 minute 1 pt The heading includes... Your Address and Date Recipients Address and Date Your Address Your Address and Time

The correct punctuation to use after a salutation is

A comma only

A colon only

A comma or colon

A colon or exclamation mark

  • 19. Multiple Choice 1 minute 1 pt The last part of a business letter is the Complimentary Closing Salutation Signature Line Signed Signature 

A quantitiy discount is granted on orders for 10 or more computers.

Acknowledgement of order

Many thanks for the above-mentioned order.

So far we have not been given for the delay.

Acknowledgment of order

We enclose photographs of these items for your information so you can verify them. But it seems all our efforts are in vain.

  • 24. Multiple Choice 45 seconds 1 pt We decided to climb the tall tree. declarative interrogative exclamatory imperative
  • 25. Multiple Choice 20 seconds 1 pt Are you sure that you want to spend your money on a remote control car? declarative imperative interrogative exclamatory
  • 26. Multiple Choice 45 seconds 1 pt Put on your boots before you go in the rain. declarative imperative interrogative exclamatory
  • 27. Multiple Choice 20 seconds 1 pt This is ridiculous! declarative imperative interrogative exclamatory

Please choose the correct reference for this resource:

"Adapting Historical Citations to APA Style" is a journal article by Donald Godfrey that was published in 2005 in the Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media . The journal's volume number is 49, the issue number is 4, and the article appears on pages 544-547. The DOI for the article is 01.1207/s15506878jobem4904_15.

Godfrey, D. (2005). Adapting historical citations to APA Style. Journal of broadcasting & electronic media , 49(4), 544-547. DOI: 01.1207/s15506878jobem4904_15.

Godfrey, D. (2005). Adapting historical citations to APA Style. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media , 49 (4), 544-547. https://doi.org/ 01.1207/s15506878jobem4904_15

Godfrey, D. (2005). Adapting Historical Citations to APA Style . Journal of broadcasting & electronic media, 49( 4 ), 544-547. DOI: 01.1207/s15506878jobem4904_15.

"Leadership giftedness: Is it innate or can it be developed?" is a chapter written by Karen Rogers. The chapter was published in 2009 in International Handbook on Giftedness , which is an edited book. The chapter appeared on pages 633-645, the editor of the book was Larisa Shavinina, and the DOI for the chapter is 10.1007/978-1-4020-6162-2_31. The book's publisher was Springer Netherlands, and the publisher's location is Houten, Netherlands.

Rogers, K. (2009). "Leadership giftedness: Is it innate or can it be developed?". In Shavinina, L. (Ed.), International Handbook on Giftedness (pp. 633-645). Houten, NL: Springer Netherlands.

Rogers, K. (2009). Leadership giftedness: Is it innate or can it be developed?. In L. Shavinina (Ed.), International handbook on giftedness (pp. 633-645). https://doi.org/ 10.1007/978-1-4020-6162-2_31

Rogers, Karen. (2009). Leadership Giftedness: Is It Innate or Can It Be Developed? . In L. Shavinina (Editor), International handbook on giftedness (pp. 633-645). DOI:10.1007/978-1-4020-6162-2_31

Et al. should be used after the first author's last name after a source with three to five authors is introduced in the text. For example: "Lastname et al. (year) argued that...".

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Writing Skills MCQs Quiz With Answers

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Get ready for a challenging multiple-choice quiz on writing skills. Writing plays an essential role in communication and expressing your thoughts to the masses. Whether you are a poet, writer, journalist, teacher, student, or almost anything, writing skills are a necessary tool for sharing views and thoughts. This quiz has been made to test your knowledge of grammar, punctuation, and writing techniques. Good luck!

Which of the following is best for academic writing?

"Dr. Einstein wrote the 'Theory of Relativity'"

"The 'Theory of Relativity' was written by Dr. Einstein."

Rate this question:

"The group of three were inspired to do their grammar project together." What is wrong with this sentence?

Verb/ Subject Agreement

Punctuation

The following sentence is a fragment: True or False? "Because there were many storms last season."

You have just been placed on academic probation. it is required that you write a letter of reinstatement. which of the following is inappropriate to include in the letter.

"Because I have not gotten along with my professors..."

"I wish to be reinstated because..."

"Upon reinstatement, I intend on..."

None of the above

You're the editor of the school newspaper and just received the advice column from one of the journalists. The title of the column is Writing the PERFECT Paper. You begin reading the column and come across these baffling sentences in the first paragraph: “The worst thing you can do in an academic paper is insult your professor. Be sure to make corrections to your paper, and always tip your waiter!” What is the problem with these sentences?

Continuity, the journalist's sentences are not related to one another.

The sentence has a good thesis. It captures the reader's attention.

The journalist's statement is a generalization. It cannot be proven true.

The thesis is inconsistent with the subject of the column.

There is a grammar quiz coming up, so you decide to use a study sheet distributed by your professor. You come to the last question on the sheet: What is the following referred to as: "And she never saw it again." and you cannot seem to figure out the answer. Which one should you choose?

A Run-On Sentence

"Give me an 'A' now!" This is an example of :

Interrogative Sentence

Imperative Sentence

Declarative Sentence

"I'll go out with you if you take me to 'Tavern on the Green.'" What is "I'll" considered in this sentence?

A Contraction

All of the above

A Gerund is...

A verb which expresses possibility, objective or need.

A verb that ends in -ing that acts as a noun.

A word or phrase that disrupts the flow of a sentence

A person, place, thing, or idea

Which word should be preceded by ‘an’?

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