Reddit reviews Engaging Ideas: The Professor's Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom

First of all, get this book by John Bean https://www.amazon.com/Engaging-Ideas-Professors-Integrating-Classroom/dp/0470532904
It is a great read for teachers who use writing.

Comp I is the doorkeeper to other classes. You all get blamed when students come to later classes and can't write, even if it isn't your fault, so develop a thick skin. I understand that this is not fair, and you are expected to perform miracles in one semester. But, really try to think about what skills they will need in the future. I am on a committee where we evaluate student writing from various departments. I can't tell you how many Comp essays I read that were along the lines of, "What I did on my summer vacation" or "What I want to choose as my career." Of course, you have to get the students to write something, but these types of essays don't prepare them for what they will have to write in the future. They end up only knowing how to write essays based on their personal experience, and they miss an opportunity to practice analytical thinking.

I agree with what many others have said. Especially:

1. Make your syllabus watertight, and cover every contingency. Don't make exceptions. Build exceptions into your syllabus, like drop the lowest grade, or allow X number of absences. I don't care what people say about "students being adults," if you expect them to show up to class, make attendance part of their grade. If a student complains to my dean, they pull up the syllabus, and that is the end of the argument. I know it is absurd to put all of this self evident crap in there, but you have to. A student who couldn't bother to turn in their work, and failed their tests, will all of a sudden turn into a Supreme Court Justice when it comes time to argue why YOU are responsible for their poor grade.
   
2. You cannot hammer the concept of plagiarism enough. Some students from abroad are allowed and even encouraged to write in ways we would consider plagiarism, and they learn to write patchwork. But, let them know, respectfully, that this is not culturally acceptable in an American college. If you use an online platform, have students regularly use turnitin, so that they can see how easy it is to catch them. Do an activity where they get into pairs and try to assess whether a piece is plagiarized and why. The first offense is a teachable moment. Everything after that should be a zero. If you want, allow them to redo the assignment correctly. Because when they come to my 200 level class, they get a zero. I cover plagiarism and how to avoid it also, in great detail, so there is no excuse. And I do not have time to allow rewrites for cheating. By the time my students turn in their papers, plagiarism is a choice, and not a matter of ignorance. I give them homework assignments, and ding them for plagiarism, so they know better.
   Re: 5 paragraph essays. I find that when students come to me, many think a paragraph just means hitting the tab button to periodically indent so that it looks nice. Even if they are assigned a 2000 word paper, they will still write 5 paragraphs. There is an intro, with a tripartite thesis and a conclusion and then paragraphs that go on for two pages. They object to writing papers, because they do not understand that writing is a way of thinking about a subject deeply over time and of organizing your thoughts. And, to be honest, once they graduate, they will probably never have to write another paper. So, you need to posit writing as a tool to express your thoughts, not just an end in itself. They need to understand that paragraphs are a means of organizing your thoughts for the reader--not hitting the indent button 5 times in every paper.
   From me:
   
3. Pick your battles. Are you more worried about grammar, or having students learn critical thinking? Do you want students to learn skills, or material? If you want them to learn skills, practice those that you most value every day. If you want them to learn material, make them use the material. I once had a fellow professor ask me this. "If you went to Europe for 10 days, would you rather spend 10 days in 10 different cities, or spend 2 days in 5 cities, or 5 days in 2 cities? Which experience would be the most memorable long term?" I think we have the tendency to want to expose students to 10 cities in 10 days. But, I went to Europe and did that, and I remember almost nothing about it. I went again and spent an entire week in one city, and I learned a lot more that stuck with me.
   
4. Have students write every day, so that they can learn the value of writing for its own sake, as a way of learning. You don't have to grade it. Have them spend the last 5 minutes of class writing down the thing that made the greatest impact for that day, and what they didn't understand. The Bean book I linked to has a lot of these activities. You can collect these at the end of the day, and use them for attendance, if you like. It will also help you to see what the students are actually learning.
   
5. Keep them focused and energized with a lot of in class activities. Give a short writing assignment and then have them get into pairs and discuss. Have them edit and rewrite and discuss again. The Bean book also has a lot of these activities. If they seem to be checking out, have them get up and move around. Take them outside to write.
   
6. Make checklists for students to reference for your expectations about assignments. I really dislike rubrics, because they are usually in vague academia speak that mostly serves to make grading easier for the professor. Like, "Student uses a variety of words to convey meaning--exceeds, meets, doesn't meet." What the hell does that mean? The student doesn't know, if I don't even really know. Sometimes, rubrics are so lengthy and detailed, that the student doesn't read them at all. Sometimes, they are too short and don't cover everything. But, I like checklists, because they are black and white. Do you have a thesis statement? Yes/No. Did you plagiarize? Yes/No. Did you spellcheck your paper? Yes/No. Did you cite your sources? Did you follow instructions? Did you understand the assignment? If you didn't, did you ask your professor for help? Whatever the assignment is about, it can mostly be a lot of you either did it, or you didn't. And then you can make a shorter rubric for quality points like--"student uses a variety of words to convey meaning" or "student exhibits critical thinking." Have students fill out their own checklist and turn it in with the paper, so that they are exercising metacognition.
   
7. Make a list of common grammar errors, and provide tools to correct them. Give students a writing packet, or provide them with a website. Even Grammarly is helpful. I find that ESL students have problems with word endings, like when to put an -s or an -ed at the end of the word. Or there are common problems like commas and semicolons. One hour spent on this will be helpful for a lifetime. But, you are not the grammar police. Provide them with the tools, and expect them to learn them. Send them to the writing center.
   
8. Writing and reading go hand in hand. The only way to become a better writer is to become a better reader. Have students look at samples of writing and analyze them. Teach them how to actively read a text.