Informal written assignments can also enrich discussion and debate. Once students have had the time to think and write about a subject, they are much more willing to speak about it in class. Students can freewrite in sentences, or can use listing or clustering techniques. Writing is not edited. Writing may be read aloud by some or all students.
Unfocussed Students freewrite at the beginning of the class about any topic that comes to mind.
This writing is usually kept private. Focussed Students freewrite on a particular topic or in answer to a particular question. Having students read aloud allows all student voices to contribute to a discussion and helps to legitimize all responses. Students freewrite about the thought process they went through to solve a problem or to come to a conclusion. If the problem has not yet been solved or a satisfactory conclusion reached, they can write about their thinking process in an attempt to identify the source of their confusion and to suggest and evaluate possible solutions or alternatives.