The primary goal of the Developmental Writing program is to assist students in achieving a level of competence as academic writers that will allow them to work successfully in college-level courses. Specific objectives are described in the NTE Essay Scoring Guide. Before this can be accomplished, instructors typically review basic grammatical competencies and rhetorical strategies. Some instructors assign work from the text or from outside works such as full-length prose or plays and poems. Journals are also assigned by many instructors.
Instructors create syllabi and otherwise plan for the smooth execution of the class.
A paragraph or essay is assigned, which will typically take the students two weeks to complete. The process includes prewriting, rough and final drafts as well as a full revision of the marked and corrected final draft. Instructors also must see students in their offices to insure good progress is being made, or assign them to attend the Writing Lab and check on their progress there. Classes must reflect the growing concern for a variety of learning styles and a burgeoning plethora of information delivery systems. Instructors lecture, use group work, hold rough draft and pre-writing workshops, show films, give written quizzes and timed writing assignments, and present material on transparencies, Elmo presenters, and big screens via computers.