Essay Writing Workshop for

Freshman
Training Module Part B
Jenni Yanagihara

Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction..............................................................................................................................3
2.0 Lesson Plan: Literature Searching Workshop......................................................................3
2.1 Objective/ Outcome.............................................................................................................3
2.2 Skill........................................................................................................................................3
2.3 Target Audience...................................................................................................................3
2.4 Material needed...................................................................................................................4
2.5. Program...............................................................................................................................4
3.0 Evaluation/Conclusion............................................................................................................8
4.0 Further Training......................................................................................................................9
5.0 Bibliography.............................................................................................................................9
Appendices....................................................................................................................................10

1.0 Introduction
In Training Module Part A, I examined the information seeking behavior and information needs
of college freshman, particularly the behavior and needs required for freshman to successfully
write college-level essays. My literature review showed that college freshmen are often
disorganized, easily discouraged and hesitant to consult others for help, but are also eager to
learn. Freshman writers have a strong need to learn how to conduct effect research, how to select
a topic, and how to develop a strong thesis. For this assignment, I created a training package that
teaches freshman how to utilize the writing tools available to them to plan an essay.
My training package is in the form of a workshop. This workshop will teach freshman students
how to write a college level essay by using tools and resources available online and through the
library, by walking them through the process of creating a draft of a basic research paper. This
training exercise is framed within the context of a student accessing the services of the
University of Washington, but could easily be re-worked to fit the needs of a different school.

2.0 Lesson Plan: Literature Searching Workshop

2.1 Objective/ Outcome

To assist freshman writers to be able to minimize anxiety and frustration with essay
writing in the brainstorming and drafting stage.

2.2 Skill

Ability to brainstorm essay topics

Ability to create a strong thesis and find valid information to back it up
o Ability to navigate to databases from the University of Washington Libraries
website
o Ability to find and use advanced search options on academic search platforms
Ability to be flexible in use of resources
o Ability to reach out to faculty, librarians, or peers
o Ability to use the library and find various forms of media, not just digital

2.3 Target Audience

The target audience for this project is college freshman. This group is eager to learn, but
inexperienced: most have a significant need to learn about academic research and academic
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writing tools. Freshman often lack knowledge on how to select a topic, develop a thesis
statement, and find appropriate sources to back up their thesis (Samson & Millet 2003).
Additionally, most freshman prefer information sources that are familiar, and are averse to
interpersonal consultations for help (Olsen & Diekama 2012).

2.4 Materials needed

The materials needed for this program are a data projector and access to a campus computer lab,
or computers with stable internet access. This workshop is designed for students already enrolled
in school with a working student login; if participants do not have access to their schools
academic databases, an alternate login should be provided. The instructor will need to have
access to a computer set up with the projector for the lecture portion of the exercise. Handouts
will be provided for students to take before the activity, as well as pens/pencils to take notes
with.

2.5. Program
2.5.1 Introduction
The instructor should open the workshop by thanking the students for coming and making an
effort to put the students at ease. Essay writing is a dry and unpopular topic for many young
students.
The exercise should open with an inviting remark: Some of you may have already been
assigned an essay that was really hard to do, and maybe you got a disappointing grade on it. I
know a lot of you are used to getting As on your papers in high school. Youre all smart students,
youre here in college. But sometimes college freshman find that their old ways of writing papers
isnt working for them anymore, and they feel like when professors give them assignments
theyre being asked to build a house with no tools. This analogy was expressed by Harvard
freshmen, brilliant students who were still frustrated at how to write college papers.
The lecture should lead into discussion and instruction: I want you to think about the process
you used to write essays back in high school. Can anyone give me an example of their basic
writing process? The instructor should have a word document or other note taking program
open to record answers they receive. The results will vary, but should resemble something akin
to: receive topic, do research, write paper, proofread. Set aside these notes for later
comparison.
Begin the lecture: What I plan to do today is to teach you some skills to help you write an essay
painlessly, and to help you transition to writing college level papers. After attending this
workshop you should be familiar with ways to brainstorm and draft your paper, conduct
academic research, and ways to find help if you ever get stuck.

Here is the agenda for our session. First, you will learn basic strategies for brainstorming a topic
and thesis for your essay. Second, you will learn how to conduct academic research using the
University of Washington Library website. Third, you will re-familiarize yourself with how to
put everything together to make a strong paper. Last, you will learn how to reach out for help if
you get stuck anywhere in the writing process, or if your paper came out less than satisfactory.
Write down the agenda and compare it to the writing process students discussed previously,
noting differences and emphasizing that having a clear and strong strategy for writing an essay
will make a big difference.
Motivate your students to follow your agenda: Taking the time now to develop your essay
writing skills will make your future assignments much less stressful, and will allow you to
mature as a writer and an academic.
Discussion
I address the Attention and Relevance concepts of Kellers ARCS model in my introduction to
this workshop by gaining the attention of the participants with discussion questions about their
high school writing strategies. I explain how learning the content of this workshop will be
relevant to the students by explaining how they will use these skills and how it will benefit them.
2.5.2 Body of the Lesson
Skill 1: Learn Essay Brainstorming Techniques
Step
1. Lecture Introduction to Brainstorming Techniques
Task
1. Lecture Introduction to Brainstorming Techniques
Instructor will provide an overview of different brainstorming techniques students can
use to formulate an essay topic. Topics covered:
Freewriting, idea list, idea map
Use pencil and paper instead of computer if necessary
Do browsing research to find topics that are interesting
Skill 2: Create Thesis and Back it up
Steps
1.
2.
3.
4.

Class activity Review how to write a thesis

Lecturehow to conduct academic research
Class activityconducting academic research
LectureReview how to make outline, structure essay

Tasks
1. Class activityReview how to write a thesis statement

Instructor will lead a class discussion about writing a strong thesis statement
Ask for a volunteer to share what they already know about writing a thesis
Give the others ample opportunity to contribute
Supplement any deficiencies
2. LectureHow to conduct academic research
Instructor will give overview of how to access the University of Washington Libraries
website to conduct research
Navigating to the UW Libraries Website
Learn how to use the UW WorldCat search to find both print and digital sources
Learn about the academic databases and search platforms available,
demonstrating popularly used ones such as JSTOR, EBSCO, and ProQuest.
Learn about the help guides available on the UW Libraries website
3. Class ActivityConducting academic research
Give the students 5-10 minutes to explore the UW WorldCat search function and the
articles and research databases. Have the class agree on a search topic to play with, or
select one, such as freshman writing. Encourage the students to ask each other and the
instructor any questions.
4. LectureHow to make outlines and structure an essay
Instructor will give overview of how to make outlines and use the research to construct
an essay. Briefly review the fundamentals of paragraph construction, and different
strategies for writing the introduction and conclusion. Remind the students to give
themselves time to proofread and revise.
Skill 3: Learn How and Where to Get Help
Steps
1. Class activityWhat do you know?
2. LectureWhat help is available
Tasks
1. Class activityWhat do you know?
Ask the students to share what resources they know about to get help during the writing
process. Record the answers you receive so students can write it down. Make sure to talk
about each answer you receive, to inform students who may not know about it, e.g. if a
student mentions the Writing Center, make sure to explain fully what the Writing Center is.
2. LectureWhat help is available
Add to the list what resources were not mentioned, paying particular attention to faculty and
librarians who can help. Encourage students strongly to reach out to instructors during their
office hours, visit a reference librarian, consult a writing center, or even ask their peers for
help. Reinforce the idea that writing blocks are okay, but students should never have to feel
lost and alone in their struggles to write a paper.
Discussion

I address the Confidence and Satisfaction aspects of Kellers ARCS model in this lesson plan. I
address the Confidence aspect by allowing students to conduct a discussion about what they
already know about writing an essay. Students develop confidence in their learning when they
can build upon what they already know. The exercise was designed to build upon and
supplement their existing knowledge to strengthen their confidence instead of discouraging them.
Participants confidence in conducting research and writing essays are also strengthened by being
familiarized with the process, instead of trying to learn it on their own without guidance. I
address the Satisfaction aspect of the ARCS model by providing positive reinforcement to the
class. I increase their sense of satisfaction while learning this lessons material with affirmation
of their discussion contributions and activities.
I will evaluate the skills of the class by monitoring their level of engagement and confusion
during discussion and class activities. Students will be highly encouraged to ask questions, but I
will be ready to offer help to anyone who seems to need it.
This lesson plan also addresses the four learning styles of why, what, how, and what if. Why
learners should be satisfied by receiving information on why this exercise is important, to help
them with essay construction for their current and future classes. What learners should be
content with the lectures about new skills they can develop. How? learners will benefit from
the class activities I have set up after the lectures, for students to test out the new skills covered
during the lectures. What if learners will be happy to go beyond what is covered in the
exercise, sharing ideas with their classmates, and exploring further possibilities with the new
knowledge and skills imparted to them.

3.0 Evaluation/Conclusion
Following is a script for the evaluation/conclusion section of this workshop:
Lets summarize what we learned today. First, you learned the basic strategies for brainstorming
a topic and thesis for your essay. Second, you learned how to conduct academic research using
the University of Washington Library website. Third, you will re-familiarized yourselves with
how to put everything together to make a strong paper. Last, you learned to reach out for help if
you get stuck anywhere in the writing process, and to never think that youre stuck and alone.
Id like to review a couple of the concepts that we talked about today. Can some of you share
some brainstorming techniques you can use? Can some of you share some new academic
databases you learned about and plan to use in the future? Lastly, can some of you share a way to
get help that you didnt know about before? Show the students the points you wrote down at the
beginning of the exercise about their high school methods of writing an essay, and ask the
students to share anything different they notice.
Today you received an introduction to writing college papers. We covered a lot of information
in a little time, and Im not expecting you to remember everything.
I provided handouts in the beginning of the exercise to refer to whenever you need to write an
essay next. Please take one before you leave if you dont have one yet. (See Appendix A: Essay
Writing Quick Reference Sheet)
The library staff wants to make sure that these workshops provide a useful learning experience
for you. Before you leave, please take a minute to fill out this questionnaire (see Appendix B:
Workshop Evaluation). Your answers are confidential.
Discussion
The question and answer portion of the discussion assesses the level of class learning in this
exercise. I will be able to gauge how much participants learned from how many responses I
receive during the question and answer portion. The evaluation forms will also be a valuable way
to measure class learning.
The closing remarks to this portion satisfies the Satisfaction portion of Kellers ARCS model by
reassuring them that I do not expect them to remember everything from the exercise. If the
students left feeling that they were expected to remember everything, they would likely feel
discouraged and dissatisfied.

4.0 Further Training

My literature review revealed that freshman writers have a strong need to learn about building
effective search strategies to conduct effective research. Such a need requires too much
instruction to incorporate into this learning exercise, so I would love to help fulfill this
information need in a future activity.

5.0 Bibliography
Olsen, M., & Diekama, A. (2012). "I just Wikipedia it": Information behavior of first-year
writing students. Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and
Technology, 49(1). doi:10.1002/meet.14504901176
Samson, S., & Millet, M. S. (2003). The learning environment: First-year students, teaching
assistants, and information literacy. Research Strategies, 19, 84-98.
doi:10.1016/j.resstr.2004.02.001

Appendix A: Brainstorming Handout

Retrieved from
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/engagementprint/2/

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Appendix B: How to find Articles on UW WorldCat

Retrieved from: http://guides.lib.washington.edu/content.php?
pid=517342&sid=4282849

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Appendix C: How to find books on UW WorldCat

Retrieved from: http://guides.lib.washington.edu/content.php?
pid=517342&sid=4282826

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Appendix D: Writing and Research Help

Retrieved from: http://guides.lib.washington.edu/content.php?
pid=529582&sid=4411788

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Appendix E: Workshop Evaluation

Directions: Please answer as fully as you can. Do not put your name on this
evaluation.
1. What did you learn from this workshop that you think will help you the most?

2. What aspects of this workshop did you think were least helpful?

3. Was there any topics covered in this workshop that you would have liked more
time or coverage on?

4. Are there any topics that you would have liked to learn about in this workshop
that werent covered?

5. Please share any advice you have to improve this workshop. Thank you!

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