Creative writing assignments for college students

Creative writing assignments for college students

How to Teach Creative Writing to High School Students Creative Writing Activities for High School from younger elementary-school writers through college-age students. When you teach writing, o Use a memoir or biography-based assignment that gets students excited about writing How To Use These Creative Writing Prompts. At the end of every article on The Write Practice, we include a writing prompt so you can put what you just learned to use blogger.com we invite you to share your writing with our community so you can get feedback on your work Essays have their function, but they’re certainly not the only academically rigorous form of writing, nor are they the sole way students can demonstrate their learning, thinking, or writing skills. Shake things up for your students and try something new with these five writing assignments. Learning to Write. Students need to learn how to blogger.comted Reading Time: 7 mins

+ Unique Essay Topics for College Students [ Update]

Creative writing is creative writing assignments for college students art of constructing original ideas by synthesizing literary elements and techniques to communicate an overarching theme about life.

Oftentimes in our English classes, we spend more time on the deconstruction process, analyzing works of art by taking them apart. Standardized testing has brought some of this on as well as the struggle to prepare students for college-level writing. But one of the most important things we can do as English teachers is allow our students the time and the room to be creative, and in turn, this freedom of expression will inspire students to contribute in a meaningful way to the writing community within the classroom.

Our students need to exercise their construction skills as well as their deconstruction skills. It is only through the creative process that anyone can truly be able to fully understand how to take art apart and analyze it. Going both directions gives students the full spectrum of how art functions. Here is a list of creative writing assignments that you can give students at the beginning of the school year to spark their imaginations.

The Assignment: Create the store of your life. What does this mean? Consider this! If your life and your personality could be represented by a store, what would it look like? What would you sell in your store? Who would be your customers? Where would your store be located, and what would it be called?

What would the inside and outside of your store look like? What would you do in your store? Use the "store" as a metaphor for your character and personality. The Assignment: Have you ever seen a ransom note in a movie or TV show? A stereotypical ransom note is a message made up of cutout letters, words, and pictures that is supposed to disguise the handwriting of the criminal. Share your "ransom" poem with the class or a small group to get to know your classmates.

The Assignment: Do you know what it means to RAMBLE? Has a teacher ever asked you to STOP rambling in your writing? What does that mean?

Rambling means that the writer jumps around from one idea to the next while also including random, seemingly disconnected ideas. Write a brief autobiography of your life that begins with "I was born in Let your subconscious mind take control and write about whatever memories "pop" into your mind. Don't edit, critique, or revise your writing. Let it ramble. Share your Creative writing assignments for college students Autobiography with the class or a small group.

The Assignment: A Mandala is a spiritual symbol found in world religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. It is a symbol of the universe and is used as a means of meditation to focus thoughts. Monks sometimes create elaborate mandalas out of sand that later blow away with the wind. Research mandalas online and then create your own mandala that represents your identity.

On the back of your mandala, explain what it shows about you. Put these on display in the classroom to celebrate individual identity. The Assignment: Select a well-known piece of literature that you have studied in English class, and rewrite the ending! Try to make the ending ironic or humorous, and share your new story ending with the creative writing assignments for college students You can also leave out character names and see if the class can guess the title of the story you altered!

The Assignment: Working with a small group, create a "community" poem. To do this, everyone in the group takes out a piece of paper and writes one line and then passes the paper to the person on the right. The next person reads the first line, adds creative writing assignments for college students line to it, and then passes the paper again. Keep doing this until each "community poem" has a total of ten lines. Then, take turns reading these silly "community poems" to your group!

The Assignment : Make a list of activities that you make you happy. These should be things you enjoy doing. Is there a particular song or album that lifts your spirit? Is there a special place you like to go for a walk? Is there a family recipe that you love? Add these items to your "happy list. Come back to this list for ideas of things you can do to renew your spirit throughout the school year when you need a break, creative writing assignments for college students.

The Assignment : Make a list of impossible and fantastical "what if" scenarios such as: "What if I had a clockwork TV and had to wind it up before I could use it? After you make a list of "what if" questions, creative writing assignments for college students, select one and write a list of at least three consequences or effects of this scenario.

Use your imagination! The Assignment: Do you know why new words are added to the dictionary every single year? New words come from our culture and from life events-- and people LIKE YOU! Just last year, the Oxford English Dictionary added the word "clickbait," which is a word that comes from Internet advertising. They also added the word "Yoda-like" from Star Wars fandom. For this creative assignment, invent a brand new word, and write the definition for your word. Share your new vocabulary with the class, and see if you can start a new word trend!

The Assignment: A simile is a type of comparison that uses "like" or "as" to connect two things i order to illustrate a point. Write a brief story in which you use as many similes as you possibly can. Consider the following example:. The air conditioner had broken like my sister's doll when I stepped on it, crumbling into tiny bits like a peach cobbler in a pan. I didn't know how I would make it through the day-- just like I didn't how I would pass Algebra, a class as difficult as scraping molasses out of a jar.

Meredith is the founder and creator of TeachWriting, creative writing assignments for college students. org and Bespoke ELA, creative writing assignments for college students.

in Literature from Northwestern University. She has always had a connection to the written word-- through songwriting, screenplay writing, and essay writing-- and she enjoys the process of teaching students how to express their ideas. Meredith enjoys life with her husband, daughter, and sweet pups. Best Practices. Book Club. Characterization Lessons. Close Reading.

End of the Year. Essay Writing. Holiday Assignments. Lesson Planning. Literature Articles. Reflections on Pedagogy. Teacher Tips. Technology Tips. TpT Tips. Writer's Notebook. Common Core. Teacherpreneur September 1, Best PracticesEssay WritingListsWriter's NotebookWriting Workshop. Life Store The Assignment: Create the store of your life. Ransom Poetry, creative writing assignments for college students. Email Address. Sign Up. Rambling Autobiography The Assignment: Do you know what it means to RAMBLE?

Alternate Ending The Assignment: Select a well-known piece of literature that you have studied in English class, and rewrite the ending! Community Poem The Assignment: Working with a small group, create a "community" poem, creative writing assignments for college students. Happy List The Assignment : Make a list of activities that you make you happy. The "What if" Game. Other fantastical "what if" questions include: "What if you could eat a computer?

Invent a New Word The Assignment: Do you know why new words are added to the dictionary every single year? The Simile Challenge The Assignment: A simile is a type of comparison that uses "like" or "as" to connect two things i order to illustrate a point.

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7 Fun Writing Activities for Reluctant Writers

How to Teach Creative Writing to High School Students Creative Writing Activities for High School from younger elementary-school writers through college-age students. When you teach writing, o Use a memoir or biography-based assignment that gets students excited about writing  · Standardized testing has brought some of this on as well as the struggle to prepare students for college-level writing. But one of the most important things we can do as English teachers is allow our students the time and the room to be creative, and in turn, this freedom of expression will inspire students to contribute in a meaningful way to the writing community within the classroom The Purpose: Writing is often thought of as a solitary pursuit, and for this reason alone it can be seen as a particularly unattractive activity by many of our more gregarious students. This fun activity not only exercises students’ understanding of writing structures but engages them in some fun, creative collaboration too