critical thinking verbs

Center for Teaching

Bloom’s taxonomy.

Background Information | The Original Taxonomy | The Revised Taxonomy | Why Use Bloom’s Taxonomy? | Further Information

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Background Information

In 1956, Benjamin Bloom with collaborators Max Englehart, Edward Furst, Walter Hill, and David Krathwohl published a framework for categorizing educational goals: Taxonomy of Educational Objectives . Familiarly known as Bloom’s Taxonomy , this framework has been applied by generations of K-12 teachers and college instructors in their teaching.

The framework elaborated by Bloom and his collaborators consisted of six major categories: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. The categories after Knowledge were presented as “skills and abilities,” with the understanding that knowledge was the necessary precondition for putting these skills and abilities into practice.

While each category contained subcategories, all lying along a continuum from simple to complex and concrete to abstract, the taxonomy is popularly remembered according to the six main categories.

The Original Taxonomy (1956)

Here are the authors’ brief explanations of these main categories in from the appendix of Taxonomy of Educational Objectives ( Handbook One , pp. 201-207):

• Knowledge “involves the recall of specifics and universals, the recall of methods and processes, or the recall of a pattern, structure, or setting.”
• Comprehension “refers to a type of understanding or apprehension such that the individual knows what is being communicated and can make use of the material or idea being communicated without necessarily relating it to other material or seeing its fullest implications.”
• Application refers to the “use of abstractions in particular and concrete situations.”
• Analysis represents the “breakdown of a communication into its constituent elements or parts such that the relative hierarchy of ideas is made clear and/or the relations between ideas expressed are made explicit.”
• Synthesis involves the “putting together of elements and parts so as to form a whole.”
• Evaluation engenders “judgments about the value of material and methods for given purposes.”

The 1984 edition of Handbook One is available in the CFT Library in Calhoun 116. See its ACORN record for call number and availability.

Barbara Gross Davis, in the “Asking Questions” chapter of Tools for Teaching , also provides examples of questions corresponding to the six categories. This chapter is not available in the online version of the book, but Tools for Teaching is available in the CFT Library. See its ACORN record for call number and availability.

The Revised Taxonomy (2001)

A group of cognitive psychologists, curriculum theorists and instructional researchers, and testing and assessment specialists published in 2001 a revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy with the title A Taxonomy for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment . This title draws attention away from the somewhat static notion of “educational objectives” (in Bloom’s original title) and points to a more dynamic conception of classification.

The authors of the revised taxonomy underscore this dynamism, using verbs and gerunds to label their categories and subcategories (rather than the nouns of the original taxonomy). These “action words” describe the cognitive processes by which thinkers encounter and work with knowledge:

• Recognizing
• Interpreting
• Exemplifying
• Classifying
• Summarizing
• Implementing
• Differentiating
• Attributing

In the revised taxonomy, knowledge is at the basis of these six cognitive processes, but its authors created a separate taxonomy of the types of knowledge used in cognition:

• Knowledge of terminology
• Knowledge of specific details and elements
• Knowledge of classifications and categories
• Knowledge of principles and generalizations
• Knowledge of theories, models, and structures
• Knowledge of subject-specific skills and algorithms
• Knowledge of subject-specific techniques and methods
• Knowledge of criteria for determining when to use appropriate procedures
• Strategic Knowledge
• Knowledge about cognitive tasks, including appropriate contextual and conditional knowledge
• Self-knowledge

Mary Forehand from the University of Georgia provides a guide to the revised version giving a brief summary of the revised taxonomy and a helpful table of the six cognitive processes and four types of knowledge.

Why Use Bloom’s Taxonomy?

The authors of the revised taxonomy suggest a multi-layered answer to this question, to which the author of this teaching guide has added some clarifying points:

• Objectives (learning goals) are important to establish in a pedagogical interchange so that teachers and students alike understand the purpose of that interchange.
• Organizing objectives helps to clarify objectives for themselves and for students.
• “plan and deliver appropriate instruction”;
• “design valid assessment tasks and strategies”;and
• “ensure that instruction and assessment are aligned with the objectives.”

Citations are from A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives .

Further Information

Section III of A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives , entitled “The Taxonomy in Use,” provides over 150 pages of examples of applications of the taxonomy. Although these examples are from the K-12 setting, they are easily adaptable to the university setting.

Section IV, “The Taxonomy in Perspective,” provides information about 19 alternative frameworks to Bloom’s Taxonomy, and discusses the relationship of these alternative frameworks to the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy.

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Bloom’s Taxonomy

Discover Bloom’s Taxonomy and the differences between the original vs. revised levels.

Ivan Andreev

Demand Generation & Capture Strategist, Valamis

January 11, 2024 · updated September 3, 2024

7 minute read

Are you trying to teach people without identifying educational objectives? If you keep doing that, your learners may waste their time succeeding in things that are of no use to them. To avoid that, clarify your instructional goals using Bloom’s Taxonomy.

This article will help you learn:

What is Bloom’s Taxonomy?

Original bloom’s taxonomy, revised bloom’s taxonomy, bloom’s taxonomy levels.

• Why Bloom’s Taxonomy is important?

Bloom’s Taxonomy verbs

Bloom’s Taxonomy attempts to classify learning stages from remembering facts to creating new ideas based on the acquired knowledge.

The idea of Bloom’s Taxonomy is that learning is a consecutive process. Before applying a concept in real life, we must understand it. Before we understand a concept, we must remember the key facts related to it.

Although initially described as a framework, it is now often depicted as a pyramid.

The basis of the pyramid is Knowledge , the first level of learning. Above it lies Comprehension , Application , Analysis , Synthesis and Evaluation . Each level above builds upon the one below, so you can only move up the pyramid one step at a time.

In the context of employee learning and development , Bloom’s Taxonomy guides corporate training by focusing on critical thinking over simple memorization. Created in 1956 and updated in 2001, it helps trainers design programs that teach employees to think deeply and solve problems effectively, matching today’s fast-paced work environments.

Now, we are diving into both versions and see how they apply to our learning strategies.

Training evaluation form

Get a handy printable form for evaluating training and course experiences.

The original taxonomy was first described in 1956 in the book Taxonomy of Educational Objectives by American educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom and his coauthors Max Englehart, Edward Furst, Walter Hill, and David Krathwohl. Their book classifies learning goals into one of the categories mentioned above (from Knowledge to Evaluation).

Their goal was to provide teachers with a common vocabulary to discuss curricular and evaluation problems with greater precision.

The taxonomy of educational objectives aimed to standardize teacher communication to improve sharing and development of curriculum and evaluation methods.

Though it was designed primarily for college professors, it finally became popular among educators, from K-12 teachers to corporate trainers.

Since its publication, the book has been translated into more than twenty languages and is now used for instructional design worldwide. However, it is currently more often applied in its revised version.

Comparison image of the original vs. revised Bloom’s Taxonomies

To provide learners with clearer instructional goals, a group of researchers led by Bloom’s colleague David Krathwohl and one of Bloom’s students, Lorin Anderson, revised the taxonomy in 2001.

In the new variant, nouns were replaced by action verbs. Also, the two highest levels of the taxonomy were swapped. The new learning stages are Remember , Understand , Apply , Analyze , Evaluate and Create . The authors also defined cognitive processes associated with these instructional goals. For example, the ability to remember requires recognizing and recalling .

Let’s take a closer look at each learning stage, based on the book describing the revised framework A Taxonomy For Learning, Teaching and Assessing by Krahtwohl and Anderson. The authors recommend reading the name of each learning category as though preceded by the phrase “The student/employee is able to…” or “The student/employee learns to…”

1. Remember

This stage of learning is about memorizing basic facts, dates, events, persons, places, concepts and patterns.

In corporate training, remembering is about memorizing key company facts, product details, compliance rules, or standard operating procedures. For example, learners might be asked to recall:

• The core values of the company.
• Safety protocols for their work environment.
• Key product features and benefits.

This stage involves recognizing (product names, or safety signs from memory) and recalling (memorizing and retrieving important company policies or product information).

2. Understand

Understanding in a corporate setting moves learners beyond rote memorization, encouraging them to explain concepts in their own words or interpret data. Examples include:

• Describing the impact of a new policy on daily operations.
• Interpreting a sales graph to summarize quarterly performance.

Key processes here include:

• interpreting data,
• exemplifying through case studies,
• classifying types of customer feedback,
• summarizing project reports,
• inferring conclusions from meeting discussions,
• comparing different leadership styles,
• and explaining the rationale behind strategic decisions.

Now, it’s time to use learned information in new but related contexts, such as solving problems or executing tasks based on training.

Corporate learners might be tasked with:

• Applying a new sales technique in a role-play scenario.
• Using a software tool to manage customer relationships.

This stage emphasizes executing (following a procedure for a familiar task) and implementing (applying a procedure in a new context).

Analysis in corporate training entails breaking down complex information or processes to understand their components and relationships.

Learners might:

• Analyze sales data to identify trends.
• Examine a project’s failure to pinpoint contributing factors.

Activities focus on differentiating between relevant and irrelevant data, organizing parts of a project to outline its structure, and attributing causes to an outcome, such as determining the factors leading to a successful product launch.

5. Evaluate

Evaluation requires judgment and critical thinking to assess the value or effectiveness of something, based on criteria and standards. In a corporate environment, this could involve:

• Assessing the feasibility of a new market expansion plan.
• Critiquing a proposed project management approach.

Learners engage in checking (evaluating the consistency of an argument) and critiquing (judging a proposal against set criteria).

Creation, the pinnacle of Bloom’s Taxonomy, entails producing something new or original. This stage is vital for innovation within the company. Examples include:

• Designing a marketing strategy for a new product.
• Developing a training program for new hires.

Key cognitive processes are generating (coming up with a new business strategy), planning (outlining a project plan), and producing (creating a new product design).

Why Bloom’s Taxonomy is important

Bloom’s Taxonomy can help educators map learning within a single lesson or even a whole course.

Using the taxonomy as a guide, trainers can identify clear instructional goals corresponding to each taxonomy level and create plans to achieve them.

By setting achievable objectives for learners, instructors make them more active and responsible for their education.

The taxonomy can also be useful for evaluating learners correctly.

For L&D professionals and instructional designers, applying Bloom’s Taxonomy to corporate training programs ensures not just the acquisition of knowledge, but the development of skills that enhance employees’ ability to innovate, solve problems, and make informed decisions, driving business success and personal growth.

When talking about Bloom’s taxonomy, action verbs associated with the categories and cognitive processes are often mentioned. Instructors use these verbs to describe activities required for achieving educational objectives corresponding to each level.

For instance, at the analyzing level, the Azusa Pacific University recommends using verbs like “compare” , “distinguish” , and “simplify” when formulating instructional tasks.

There is a list of Bloom’s taxonomy verbs , created by the University of Arkansas . Using these verbs can help learners explicitly navigate what they must do to demonstrate their mastery of the objective.

However, neither Bloom’s original book nor his followers’ book contains a list of such verbs. The authors of a study of 47 verb lists collected from 35 universities and textbooks note: “There was very little agreement between these lists, most of which were not supported by evidence explaining where the verbs came from.”

Nevertheless, given that such lists of verbs are being created anyway, the authors identified verbs that appeared in more than 50% of the listings. Then they identified verbs for which 50% of their appearances were in one specific tier. Using these verbs, the authors constructed “A Master List of Action Verbs for Learning Outcomes.”

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• Teaching & Learning

Bloom's Taxonomy

The following article discusses the use of Bloom's Taxonomy to support the development of educational objectives.

What is Bloom’s Taxonomy? 

A group of educational researchers led by Dr Benjamin Bloom developed a model for educational objectives in the 1950s to help improve critical thinking in schools. This taxonomy was grouped into three domains;

• The Cognitive Domain : the acquisition of knowledge.
• The Affective Domain : the emotions and attitudes to learning.
• The Psychomotor Domain : the actions and motor skills students need to learn.

The hierarchical ordering of cognitive skills into six levels in the Cognitive Domain became one of the most prominent and influential ideas in education. This framework of lower to higher-order thinking skills has become a foundational approach in the development and writing of learning outcomes .

In the following video John Spencer explains how Blooms Taxonomy has developed, and some of the criticisms and limitations of this educational model.

Alternatives to Bloom's taxonomy

In the 1982 John Biggs and Kevin Collis developed the SOLO taxonomy which incorporates more recent understanding of cognitive development.  You can read more about how the SOLO taxonomy can be used in education in the following web resource: https://pamhook.com/solo-taxonomy/  

Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy  

In 2001 a group of cognitive psychologists, curriculum theorists and instructional researchers, published a revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy with the title  A Taxonomy for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment .   The revised version of Bloom’s Taxonomy  is also commonly referred to simply as Bloom’s Taxonomy even though the two taxonomies do vary to some degree. In the revised model the nouns in the original are replaced with verbs to reflect more dynamic understandings of student learning. A typical illustration that depicts a modern version of Bloom's Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain is shown below.

Why use Bloom’s revised Taxonomy?  

Although some of the ideas behind Bloom's Taxonomy have dated over time, is has remained a useful framework defining learning outcomes and  designing learning activities , assessments , and rubrics to support Constructive Alignment . Because Bloom's revised taxonomy classifies verbs (remember, understand, apply, analyse, evaluate, create, etc.) into a hierarchical structure it can assist in the development of learning outcomes where students can demonstrate their understanding by 'doing' things.

The revised model challenges older education approaches that focused on knowing things and recalling them alone (i.e. teaching to the 'test'). Bloom's verbs instead help to identify what students must be able to do to demonstrate their learning, thereby supporting the development of 'real world' or authentic skills.

Having a set of learning outcomes based on Bloom's revised taxonomy helps teachers to:  

“plan and deliver appropriate instruction”  

“design valid assessment tasks and strategies”  

“ensure that instruction and assessment are aligned with the objectives.”

  (Anderson et al., 2001)  

The Cognitive Dimension & The Knowledge Dimension 

In Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy the cognitive process dimension is distinguished from the knowledge dimension. The cognitive process dimension is what is represented in the typical illustration of the taxonomy above. These “action words” describe the cognitive processes by which thinkers encounter and work with knowledge.

The knowledge dimension is made up of four distinct parts of increasing complexity:

• Factual Knowledge – The basic elements students must know to be acquainted with a discipline or solve problems in it.
• Conceptual Knowledge – The interrelationships among the basic elements within a larger structure that enable them to function together.
• Procedural Knowledge – How to do something, methods of inquiry, and criteria for using skills, algorithms, techniques, and methods.
• Metacognitive Knowledge – Knowledge of cognition in general as well as awareness and knowledge of one’s own cognition.

To get a better understanding of how the knowledge and cognitive process dimension are interrelated see Table I below which provides example learning outcomes.  

Table I:  Cognitive Dimension & The Knowledge Dimension 

Adapted from Iowa State University (n.d.)

Bloom's Action verbs 

Below is a table of action verbs adapted from Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy, (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001). These progress from lower-order to higher order thinking skills. Using verb lists such as the one below can assist educators to develop meaningful learning outcomes that target different levels of cognitive complexity.

Further Resources

• Integrating Technology with Bloom’s Taxonomy
• Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Write Effective Learning Outcomes
• How Solo Taxonomy Facilitates Higher Education Learning Outcomes?  

References 

Anderson, L., Krathwohl, D., Airasian, P., Cruikshank, K., Mayer, R., Pintrich, P., Raths, J. & Wittrock, M. (2001). A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Allyn & Bacon. Boston, MA (Pearson Education Group)  

Armstrong, P. (2010). Bloom’s Taxonomy. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/ .  

Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy. (n.d.). Iowa State University. https://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/effective-teaching-practices/revised-blooms-taxonomy/    

Higher Order Thinking: Bloom’s Taxonomy

Many students start college using the study strategies they used in high school, which is understandable—the strategies worked in the past, so why wouldn’t they work now? As you may have already figured out, college is different. Classes may be more rigorous (yet may seem less structured), your reading load may be heavier, and your professors may be less accessible. For these reasons and others, you’ll likely find that your old study habits aren’t as effective as they used to be. Part of the reason for this is that you may not be approaching the material in the same way as your professors. In this handout, we provide information on Bloom’s Taxonomy—a way of thinking about your schoolwork that can change the way you study and learn to better align with how your professors think (and how they grade).

Why higher order thinking leads to effective study

Most students report that high school was largely about remembering and understanding large amounts of content and then demonstrating this comprehension periodically on tests and exams. Bloom’s Taxonomy is a framework that starts with these two levels of thinking as important bases for pushing our brains to five other higher order levels of thinking—helping us move beyond remembering and recalling information and move deeper into application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and creation—the levels of thinking that your professors have in mind when they are designing exams and paper assignments. Because it is in these higher levels of thinking that our brains truly and deeply learn information, it’s important that you integrate higher order thinking into your study habits.

The following categories can help you assess your comprehension of readings, lecture notes, and other course materials. By creating and answering questions from a variety of categories, you can better anticipate and prepare for all types of exam questions. As you learn and study, start by asking yourself questions and using study methods from the level of remembering. Then, move progressively through the levels to push your understanding deeper—making your studying more meaningful and improving your long-term retention.

Level 1: Remember

This level helps us recall foundational or factual information: names, dates, formulas, definitions, components, or methods.

Level 2: Understand

Understanding means that we can explain main ideas and concepts and make meaning by interpreting, classifying, summarizing, inferring, comparing, and explaining.

Level 3: Apply

Application allows us to recognize or use concepts in real-world situations and to address when, where, or how to employ methods and ideas.

Level 4: Analyze

Analysis means breaking a topic or idea into components or examining a subject from different perspectives. It helps us see how the “whole” is created from the “parts.” It’s easy to miss the big picture by getting stuck at a lower level of thinking and simply remembering individual facts without seeing how they are connected. Analysis helps reveal the connections between facts.

Level 5: Synthesize

Synthesizing means considering individual elements together for the purpose of drawing conclusions, identifying themes, or determining common elements. Here you want to shift from “parts” to “whole.”

Level 6: Evaluate

Evaluating means making judgments about something based on criteria and standards. This requires checking and critiquing an argument or concept to form an opinion about its value. Often there is not a clear or correct answer to this type of question. Rather, it’s about making a judgment and supporting it with reasons and evidence.

Level 7: Create

Creating involves putting elements together to form a coherent or functional whole. Creating includes reorganizing elements into a new pattern or structure through planning. This is the highest and most advanced level of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Pairing Bloom’s Taxonomy with other effective study strategies

While higher order thinking is an excellent way to approach learning new information and studying, you should pair it with other effective study strategies. Check out some of these links to read up on other tools and strategies you can try:

• Study Smarter, Not Harder
• Simple Study Template
• Using Concept Maps
• Group Study
• Evidence-Based Study Strategies Video
• Memory Tips Video
• All of our resources

Other UNC resources

If you’d like some individual assistance using higher order questions (or with anything regarding your academic success), check out some of your UNC resources:

• Academic Coaching: Make an appointment with an academic coach at the Learning Center to discuss your study habits one-on-one.
• Office Hours : Make an appointment with your professor or TA to discuss course material and how to be successful in the class.

Works consulted

Anderson, L. W., Krathwohl, D.R., Airasian, P.W., Cruikshank, K.A., Mayer, R.E., Pintrich, P.R., Wittrock, M.C (2001). A taxonomy of learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. New York, NY: Longman.

“Bloom’s Taxonomy.” University of Waterloo. Retrieved from https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/planning-courses-and-assignments/course-design/blooms-taxonomy

“Bloom’s Taxonomy.” Retrieved from http://www.bloomstaxonomy.org/Blooms%20Taxonomy%20questions.pdf

Overbaugh, R., and Schultz, L. (n.d.). “Image of two versions of Bloom’s Taxonomy.” Norfolk, VA: Old Dominion University. Retrieved from https://www.odu.edu/content/dam/odu/col-dept/teaching-learning/docs/blooms-taxonomy-handout.pdf

If you enjoy using our handouts, we appreciate contributions of acknowledgement.

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Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

• Critical Thinking and other Higher-Order Thinking Skills

Critical thinking is a higher-order thinking skill. Higher-order thinking skills go beyond basic observation of facts and memorization. They are what we are talking about when we want our students to be evaluative, creative and innovative.

When most people think of critical thinking, they think that their words (or the words of others) are supposed to get “criticized” and torn apart in argument, when in fact all it means is that they are criteria-based. These criteria require that we distinguish fact from fiction; synthesize and evaluate information; and clearly communicate, solve problems and discover truths.

Why is Critical Thinking important in teaching?

According to Paul and Elder (2007), “Much of our thinking, left to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed or down-right prejudiced.  Yet the quality of our life and that of which we produce, make, or build depends precisely on the quality of our thought.”  Critical thinking is therefore the foundation of a strong education.

Using Bloom’s Taxonomy of thinking skills, the goal is to move students from lower- to higher-order thinking:

• from knowledge (information gathering) to comprehension (confirming)
• from application (making use of knowledge) to analysis (taking information apart)
• from evaluation (judging the outcome) to synthesis (putting information together) and creative generation

This provides students with the skills and motivation to become innovative producers of goods, services, and ideas.  This does not have to be a linear process but can move back and forth, and skip steps.

How do I incorporate critical thinking into my course?

The place to begin, and most obvious space to embed critical thinking in a syllabus, is with student-learning objectives/outcomes.  A well-designed course aligns everything else—all the activities, assignments, and assessments—with those core learning outcomes.

Learning outcomes contain an action (verb) and an object (noun), and often start with, “Student’s will....” Bloom’s taxonomy can help you to choose appropriate verbs to clearly state what you want students to exit the course doing, and at what level.

• Students will define the principle components of the water cycle. (This is an example of a lower-order thinking skill.)
• Students will evaluate how increased/decreased global temperatures will affect the components of the water cycle. (This is an example of a higher-order thinking skill.)

Both of the above examples are about the water cycle and both require the foundational knowledge that form the “facts” of what makes up the water cycle, but the second objective goes beyond facts to an actual understanding, application and evaluation of the water cycle.

Using a tool such as Bloom’s Taxonomy to set learning outcomes helps to prevent vague, non-evaluative expectations. It forces us to think about what we mean when we say, “Students will learn…”  What is learning; how do we know they are learning?

The Best Resources For Helping Teachers Use Bloom’s Taxonomy In The Classroom by Larry Ferlazzo

Consider designing class activities, assignments, and assessments—as well as student-learning outcomes—using Bloom’s Taxonomy as a guide.

The Socratic style of questioning encourages critical thinking.  Socratic questioning  “is systematic method of disciplined questioning that can be used to explore complex ideas, to get to the truth of things, to open up issues and problems, to uncover assumptions, to analyze concepts, to distinguish what we know from what we don’t know, and to follow out logical implications of thought” (Paul and Elder 2007).

Socratic questioning is most frequently employed in the form of scheduled discussions about assigned material, but it can be used on a daily basis by incorporating the questioning process into your daily interactions with students.

In teaching, Paul and Elder (2007) give at least two fundamental purposes to Socratic questioning:

• To deeply explore student thinking, helping students begin to distinguish what they do and do not know or understand, and to develop intellectual humility in the process
• To foster students’ abilities to ask probing questions, helping students acquire the powerful tools of dialog, so that they can use these tools in everyday life (in questioning themselves and others)

How do I assess the development of critical thinking in my students?

If the course is carefully designed around student-learning outcomes, and some of those outcomes have a strong critical-thinking component, then final assessment of your students’ success at achieving the outcomes will be evidence of their ability to think critically.  Thus, a multiple-choice exam might suffice to assess lower-order levels of “knowing,” while a project or demonstration might be required to evaluate synthesis of knowledge or creation of new understanding.

Critical thinking is not an “add on,” but an integral part of a course.

• Make critical thinking deliberate and intentional in your courses—have it in mind as you design or redesign all facets of the course
• Many students are unfamiliar with this approach and are more comfortable with a simple quest for correct answers, so take some class time to talk with students about the need to think critically and creatively in your course; identify what critical thinking entail, what it looks like, and how it will be assessed.

Additional Resources

• Barell, John. Teaching for Thoughtfulness: Classroom Strategies to Enhance Intellectual Development . Longman, 1991.
• Brookfield, Stephen D. Teaching for Critical Thinking: Tools and Techniques to Help Students Question Their Assumptions . Jossey-Bass, 2012.
• Elder, Linda and Richard Paul. 30 Days to Better Thinking and Better Living through Critical Thinking . FT Press, 2012.
• Fasko, Jr., Daniel, ed. Critical Thinking and Reasoning: Current Research, Theory, and Practice . Hampton Press, 2003.
• Fisher, Alec. Critical Thinking: An Introduction . Cambridge University Press, 2011.
• Paul, Richard and Linda Elder. Critical Thinking: Learn the Tools the Best Thinkers Use . Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006.
• Faculty Focus article, A Syllabus Tip: Embed Big Questions
• The Critical Thinking Community
• The Critical Thinking Community’s The Thinker’s Guides Series and The Art of Socratic Questioning

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Composing Effective Writing Assignments

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Resources for Teaching Writing

Course & assignment design, examples of effective writing assignments.

• Scaffolding Writing to Support Student Learning
• Creating Assignments for Miami Plan Capstone Courses
• Teaching Literature Reviews
• Using Threshold Concepts to Design Assignments and Courses
• Teaching Grammar Rhetorically 
• Structuring Purposeful Group & Team Work
• Mentoring Graduate Writers

Feedback & Assessment

• Using ePortfolio Assignments 
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Teaching Online and with AI

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Writing is a valuable educational tool for learning. In the classroom, writing can help students grapple with and understand content more deeply and help students learn disciplinary ways of knowing and communicating. For instructors, writing can help evaluate students’ understanding of course content, and help assess students’ prior knowledge and gauge how well they’re understanding current material.

In this resource, we provide some recommendations based on best practices in writing studies research to help you compose meaningful writing assignments that promote deep learning. You can also view our companion resource “ Scaffolding Writing to Support Student Learning ” to see more ideas on how to scaffold and teach writing day-to-day in your courses.

Before we get started , we encourage you to pull up the writing assignment you are reworking, or to open a new document as you plan a brand new assignment. Take some notes as you read through each step and engage with our questions. Planning course assignments is a learning activity just like any other that benefits from writing about it.

Recommendations for Composing Effective Writing Assignments

• Identify your learning goals for the course. We often assign writing because we think we should, or because that’s how we were taught in school, or for some other reason unrelated to the purpose of the course. But sometimes writing, or more likely the type of writing we assign, isn’t the best way for students to learn, achieve, and demonstrate learning of course goals. Therefore, we suggest you start at the end by first identifying your course goals; then consider how you could use writing to achieve and assess those goals. Defining your goals and then aligning assignments to those goals leads to assignments that are targeted and cohesive within your course. (In this process, you may also find that writing isn’t the best way to assess your learning goals; yet read on, because writing has many other uses.)
• Explicitly articulate the audience for an assignment. Oftentimes students will write assignments with their teacher in mind as the audience, even as they will write for a broad array of audiences in the workplace. To encourage your students to explore the real power and impact of the writing they will do in the world, consider more explicitly identifying audiences in each of your assignments. Will a CEO be reading this business memo? Concerned parents in a school district? Eligible voters across an entire county with various interests? A important first section in an assignment prompt can be articulating audience, even if that’s asking students to identify and describe audiences themselves. 
• Differentiate between declarative and procedural knowledge in your course. When determining course goals, remember that there are two types of knowledge: declarative knowledge (knowing “about” something, such as what the various parts of a microscope are) and procedural knowledge (knowing “how to” do something, such as actually using the microscope during a lab). Procedural knowledge tends to lag behind declarative knowledge. Knowing about something doesn’t necessarily mean that you know how to do something with that knowledge. Declarative knowledge is often learned through reading and lecture. Procedural knowledge requires practice, and if complex, requires practice of the component parts while building to the whole, with ongoing feedback and additional practice of those parts. It can be helpful to determine which kind of knowledge you want students to learn in your course, and then which assignments can teach which specific knowledge. Consider using this declarative and procedural knowledge worksheet as a place to get started.
• problem-focused activities
• critical thinking skills
• case studies
• synthesized reviews of literature
• assigned positions 
• real world applications

Consider reframing your writing assignments to more closely appear as one of these tasks.

• Name assignments to illustrate the goals and genre. In line with the above, research also indicates that giving your assignments relevant, descriptive names (rather than “Paper 1”) can improve students’ disciplinary knowledge and knowledge transfer. For example, “Company Stakeholder Analysis” or “Marketing Change Plan” to get at some of the more specifics of what the assignment entails and is about.
• Think about how many assignments you have in the course, and how long students will need to complete this writing assignment. A lot of faculty organize their courses into units or modules, with a set number of weeks for each. Keeping in mind the kinds of declarative and procedural knowledge you wish students to learn, take stock of how many units and assignments you have overall, and think about how long students will need to complete your desired writing assignment. To do so, also consider what component skills students will need to require each task, and how much class time you might need to devote to those skills. Check out this backwards planning worksheet to help keep track of skills, tasks, and assignments in your course as you plan.
• Explain expectations clearly. Research shows that providing clear expectations can improve student engagement and the quality of their final product (Anderson et al 2016). Clear expectations can include identifying the purpose of the assignment, how it relates to other assignments/other courses, audiences for the assignment, grading criteria, and more. Try to include clear expectations in every assignment for improved clarity and to help students meet your expectations. You can even ask students to help write and codify instructions with you, helping provide them with agency in the process. 

Explore the following examples to see effective writing assignments from various areas of study at Miami. These examples include the instructor’s rationale to help you reflect on your own writing assignments. Note that these assignments expand beyond the typical “research paper” assignment and engage students with important critical thinking and problem-solving.

We’ll keep adding assignments here to provide a truly representative sample of writing across the curriculum at Miami.

Economics 344: Country Report Project

Created by: Dr. Ling Shao , Assistant Teaching Professor

Context from Faculty

ECO 344 is a general elective for economics major, but it is a required course for International Studies major and International Business minor. Therefore, students enrolled in the course come from a variety of majors besides economics. They have varied levels of preparedness in math and economics training. For this reason, the course is not heavy in math. Instead, it focuses on presenting essential international trade and international macroeconomic theories in a relatively simple way. The Country Report Project (CRP) is created so that students can apply their learning of these theories to real world data and policy discussions.

The CRP is a series of assignments closely tied to the weekly content of the course. I chose this format over a single big project after learning about the merits of scaffolding. Students will have a country to work on. Depending on the number of students, it can be done individually or as a group. The country will either be assigned by the instructor or be decided by students themselves. It works well in both face-to-face and online classes. I used the CRP in Fall 2019, Spring 2020, and Summer 2020.

Sample Assignment for Economics 344

Module 1 | discussion.

For this discussion, please decide on a country that you are interested in and use the World Trade Organization (WTO) database to look at actual data on your country’s exports and imports.

Discuss the following questions based on your country’s data:

• Does your country run a surplus or deficit in total merchandise trade? How about the balances on certain smaller categories of merchandise trade such as agriculture and manufactures?
• Please include a data table in your discussion with exports and imports side by side to support your responses.

Module 2 | Discussion

For this discussion, please continue to use your country’s trade data that you have obtained. You will discuss winners and losers from trade based on your country’s top exports and top imports. Relate it to the specific-factors model. In addition, you can share any knowledge of your country’s attitude toward trade and comment if it makes sense from an economic perspective. Any trade protests you have witnessed or read about you can share as well.

This discussion will be completed through a video recording:

• 2 - 3 minutes
• Must show yourself
• You can use a few powerpoint slides if it helps make your discussion easier to follow, but it is not required.

Please respond to at least two videos from your classmates. Comment on the substance of the discussion with a critique, a question, a suggestion, or anything you see fit.

Module 3 | Discussion

For this discussion, you will discuss your country’s tariff policy. Please visit the World Trade Organization’s website. From the homepage, click “WTO membership” box in the upper middle. Find and click on the country of your interest. On the country page, please click on the pdf link under “Tariff profile” on the lower left side. Please respond to the following questions and include a screen capture of the pdf in your discussion:

• In the summary box at the top of the pdf, what is the country’s average MFN tariff rate in the most recent year?
• How does the MFN tariff compare to other summary tariff stats (e.g., final bound, trade weighted average)?
• In part A.2 of the pdf, find the product group that has the highest MFN tariff. What is that product group’s share of imports? Who do you think benefits from the tariff on the product? Who do you think is hurt by the tariff?

You must also respond to at least two posts from your classmates. Comment on your impression of their country’s tariff policy and whether their response to the winners and losers of tariff makes sense or not.

Module 4 | Discussion

Below are a few tariff case studies:

• History of U.S. Steel Protectionism
• Welfare Cost of U.S.-China Trade War

Module 5 | Discussion

For this discussion, please decide on a country (excluding the U.S.) that you are curious about and explore the history of its exchange rate policy using this paper. Click on the red PDF icon to access the paper. Please discuss the following questions:

• How many different exchange rate regimes does your country have over time?
• Select one regime change and provide some historical background on this change.
• What is the current exchange rate policy in your country?
• How has your country’s currency been performing against the U.S. dollar in the past year?

You must also comment on at least two posts from your classmates.

Module 6 | Discussion

In this discussion, you will select a country (other than the U.S.) and get exchange rates and inflation data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Then you will use the data to rest if relative PPP holds between your country and the U.S. Then discuss the following questions using the data:

• Compare your country’s inflation rates to the U.S.
• Briefly summarize how your country’s currency has been performing against the dollar over time.
• Test to see how well relative PPP holds up using the data from your country and the US.

You must also respond to at least one post from your classmates. Comment on whether the data looks right or not, and whether their understanding of relative PPP is correct or not.

Module 7 | Discussion

For this discussion, imagine you are an advisor from the International Monetary Fund and you are assigned to advise the central bank of an emerging economy on macroeconomic policy issues. Some research beyond the textbook may be necessary. Please discuss the following in a video (must show yourself; dress properly; use of PPT and visuals allowed; 3 - 4 minutes):

• What data would you collect about this economy to help you make recommendations?
• What exchange rate policy would you suggest, fixed or floating? Why?
• Would you recommend the country open up its capital market (e.g., stock market) to foreign investors or not? Why?
• If the central bank wants to know whether or not it can use monetary policy to influence domestic economics, what would you say?

Please vote for your favorite advisor (other than yourself) by posting a reply. Explain briefly what made you decide to vote for him/her.

Module 8 | Discussion

For this discussion, you will select a country (other than the U.S.) to explore its current account.

Current Account Data:

• Go to IMF BOP data site
• Click on the table titled “1. Balance of Payments Analytic Presentation by Country”
• In the country drop-down menu, select your country
• Is the current account in surplus or deficit in recent years? Any trends?
• Out of TB, NFIA, and NUT, what seems to be the determining factor of your country’s CA outcome? Is this consistent with your country’s development and income status? Why?

You must also respond to at least one post from your classmates. Please comment on whether their data analysis is correct or not and the explanation provided makes sense or not.

Economics 347: Economics of Developing Countries Analysis

Created by: Dr. Janice Kinghorn , Teaching Professor & Assessment Director

Context from the HCWE

This assignment breaks down a complex semester-long analysis into more manageable parts, by having students focus on one or two concepts they are learning each week as they build to the full analysis. The assignment explains the purpose/objectives of the assignment, specifies an audience and genre, provides detailed instructions, and describes explicitly how economists think and write so that students can practice and model those disciplinary ways of knowing.

Sample Assignment for Economics 347

The objective of this project is to allow you to apply ideas and concepts we discuss in class to a specific context - a developing country. Through completing the steps in the project you should gain a better understanding of:

• The usefulness of standard development indicators for understanding the economy of a country
• The difficulties in finding and using standard development indicators in low income countries
• The process of generating hypothesis about development by examining data
• How economists use theory to better understand development experiences
• How economists use evidence to make arguments
• How to communicate like an economist

Students will choose a developing country to work on during the semester and complete a series of assignments, mostly memos, applying what we talk about in class to that country. Through that process I expect students to become experts on their particular country and thus be able to develop a thesis about economic development and write a strong argumentative essay using economic theory to make an argument supported by evidence by the end of the term.

The implied audience for the memos and the final paper is the U.S. ambassador to that country. Remember that the ambassador is busy so it is your job to provide just enough, and never too much information. The communication should be concise, easy to read, and clearly convey your point. More detail on how to write a business memo is at http://www.fsb.miamioh.edu/fsb/content/programs/howe-writing-initiative/HWI-handout-memo.html . Another source on how to write a business memo is here.

General Notes: In the assignments I often ask you to describe. Economists tend to describe by using graphs and tables. As you are learning the field of economics, I want you to follow this convention. Of course your graphs and tables must be correct, clearly labeled, your source data must be cited in a way the reader can easily find it, and they must be original. Excellent graphs and tables will clearly communicate to the reader without making the reader work too hard to understand your point. The objective is not to demonstrate to the instructor that you found the requested data - I’m assuming you did that - rather to make a clear point with that data.

I will assume that you mean everything you write. Be careful that you don’t use generalizations for stylistic reasons that you can not back up. Be careful of using vague words that you can not define. For example, “country X’s growth rate was huge” would be more appropriately written as “country X’s growth rate averaged 6% over the past ten years”.

I expect all data and claims to be sourced (APA style). Remember that I am trying to teach you to write like an economist, so in this project I’m not only concerned that you know things, but that you can appropriately write about them.

General Grading Criteria : Most assignments, unless otherwise specified, will be graded based on:

• Is the memo on time, complete, and conforming to requirements?
• Is the memo professional - free of errors, easy to read, shows evidence of thoughtful tailoring to the audience
• Is the work properly cited?
• Do the claims demonstrate that the student can accurately apply the course concepts?
• Does the application go beyond formulaic to add to an understanding of the country’s experience?

Assignment 1: Millennium Development Goals

Choose a country, which must be approved by your instructor. You must choose a low or middle income country, NOT a high income country. See http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-and-lending-groups#High_income (Links to an external site.). to check and see if your country is high income. You must choose a country with a population of greater than five million. You may not choose a country in which you have lived. You may not choose a country in which war, political instability, or other political factors make the economic situation highly atypical (your instructor will make the judgement about which countries to exclude for this reason). No more than 3 people may choose the same country, and you may benefit from discussing your country with others who are also doing research, but your assignments must be entirely your own. See the shared Google doc linked under the assignment to “sign up” for a country.

Once you have received approval for your country, investigate how well that country achieved the Millenium Development Goals. 1. Choose two goals that you would argue were a success for that country. a. Describe why you can claim they were successful (with evidence) and b. how they were successful (find at least one credible, high quality source). 2. Describe two that they still need to work on, and give evidence for your claim. You might find it helpful to consult http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Host.aspx?Content=Data/snapshots.htm .

Assignment 2: Income

• Describe the income, over time, and in context of your country. In class we discuss ways to measure income, so in this assignment I will not specify which you are to use, but you must justify why you chose the measure you did. You must use a professional looking graph that you have created (not copied from the internet) to communicate. You will need to choose what is meant by over time and in context. We will talk about this in class, but in general I want you to make your description meaningful by the inclusion of time and context.
• Describe the HDI for your country, and comment on the individual components. Pick one other indicator of development that is interest to you, not income or the components of HDI, and describe it for your country. The United Nations publishes data on the HDI at http://hdr.undp.org/en/data .

Assignment 3: Models of Development

We discussed models of development in chapters 3 and 4. Choose two of the models and discuss why they might be applicable to the development experience of your country. This is different from the other assignments because it asks you to apply models to the situation of the country that you have been learning about. To make your argument about applicability you will likely want to use historical experiences, as you are discussing change over time or historical conditions that have an effect on the country today. This assignment may require more library research than the others. In your final paper you will need to use theory to make an argument, so this is an opportunity to try that out. You do not need to stick with what you write for this assignment in your final paper, but you may do so.

Be sure your argument does not rely on “economist x writing in journal y thinks this model is applicable”, rather I want you to make the arguments and provide the evidence yourself. Note that the argument and evidence does not need to be complex - but it does need to be specific, and evidence does need to back up the argument. Because this assignment may be difficult, please discuss with with me if you are having difficulty. This is a great time to come to office hours to brainstorm ideas. You may also want to reach out to the business librarian at this point to help you find high quality resources for background research. You can find more information at https://libguides.lib.miamioh.edu/ECO347 .

Assignment 4: Poverty and Inequality

Describe the level of poverty and inequality in your country using standard measures of income and multidimensional poverty (UNDP has this data) that we discussed in class. Do you see any indication that there is a kuznets curve? What are the characteristics of those living in poverty (gender, ethnic origin, age, etc.)?

Assignment 5: Demographic Situation

a. Create a population pyramid for your country. The U.S. Census has this data at https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/idb/informationGateway.php. If your excel skills are a bit rusty you can find tutorials on the web. One is at https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/idb/informationGateway.php. b. How may the demographic situation in your country affect development? I have not specified what I mean by “demographic situation” so you have some latitude to choose which concept/measure from our class discussion is relevant for your country. You will need to be sure and describe (see the notes above for hints on how economists describe) the situation and make an argument connecting it to development. Note that I have also not specified how you must define “development”, so you will have to make that decision thinking about our discussion at the beginning of the term, but be sure you are intentional both in your work and in your communication.

Assignment 6: Thesis Statement

Develop a thesis about economic development in your country. Unlike the other assignments, the product is not a memo, but a one-sentence thesis. In the prior assignments you were asked to explain something that is straightforward once you did the research to find the “facts”. This assignment is different in that it asks you to take your understanding of “facts” and develop an argument by using what you know about the country and what you know about the theory of development. The following examples may get your thinking started:: country x can improve development indicator y by taking z action, country x is underdeveloped because of action y, X is a binding constraint on development of country y. A thesis is a statement of an argument. A good thesis:

• Tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.
• Serves as a road map for the paper; tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.
• Is usually a single sentence that presents your argument to the reader in a nutshell (for this assignment you are required to submit a single sentence).

For more help with writing a good thesis see this handout from the Howe center http://miamioh.edu/hcwe/handouts/thesis-statements/index.html . You are also encouraged to take advantage of the consultations available at the center. More information is at Howe Writing Center . Note that all students in this class may use the Howe Center for Business Writing, even if you are not an FSB student. If you have not looked at the resources our business librarian has put together when you were doing assignment 3 you may want to do so now. See https://libguides.lib.miamioh.edu/ECO347 . Assignment 6 will be graded based on how many times it takes you to get it right. If you submit an excellent thesis on the first try, you will get full credit. If you are asked to revise your thesis you must submit the first thesis and the revision. The more time it takes for you to get it right, the lower the grade, however you may not write the paper until you get this right.

Assignment 7: Draft

Submit a complete draft of your paper. A complete draft will 1. Have all parts complete (bibliography, footnotes, etc.) 2. Be well proofread (it should not by any means be your first draft). Details of the paper are below. For information about how to properly cite an idea or a direct quote see here. You must make sure you are fully aware of Miami’s policy on plagiarism  and take steps to prevent it. Please also review the FSB’s interpretation of the Miami policy.

Assignment 8: Peer Review

Peer review at least two students’ papers. The peer review will happen in class and you will receive instructions about what I want you to do. This assignment asks you to report on your learnings from that exercise. Write a memo describing 1. two pieces of feedback you received on your paper and how you will respond to them. Note that you do not have to accept the feedback, but if you choose not to make changes based on feedback please note your reasoning. Also describe 2. Two pieces of feedback you gave to each of two classmates and why you think this feedback would make their paper more effective.

Assignment 9: Final Paper

Your final paper should be no more than 1500 words (strictly enforced) not including bibliography (APA style) and good papers are often less. I will not specify a minimum number of sources but your sources should be sufficiently diverse so that you are confident you have an understanding of multiple perspectives and your arguments and evidence are properly sourced. I will check your sources - that is, I will find them and evaluate their quality, so be sure your citations provides enough information that I can easily find them, and make sure you are comfortable with their quality (do you know who the author is? Is the author qualified? Is the argument/evidence subject to peer review or editorial review?)

The format of the paper should be an argumentative essay - you will make an argument, supported by evidence, to substantiate your thesis. More information about this type of writing can be found  here .

Because this paper is the culmination of your semester-long effort to apply class material to your country it should be grounded in theories and concepts we used in this class. A paper which may be otherwise excellent but does not reflect the learning in this class this term will not be accepted.

Rubric for Assignment 9 Final Paper

Assignment 10: Class presentation

The audience for the presentation is your classmates. Your objective is to teach them something about development by showing them how a concept we discussed is class applies to your country. Parts of the presentation are:

• Background: give the class enough information about your country so that they can understand the argument you will make, but they do not necessarily need to know everything about the country that you have learned - be strategic in what you want to share.
• Problem/thesis: Share with the class what your thesis is, and also why it is important (what is the larger development issue that is at stake)
• Argument: Clearly make your argument in a way your classmates will easily follow
• Evidence: Convince your classmates that you are correct

Your presentation should be no longer than ten minutes, and you should expect to answer questions. You are expected not only to give a professional presentation but also be professional during your classmates’ presentations. That means your demeanor should indicate to the speaker that you are interested, you should not come in late while someone is speaking, you should occasionally raise your hand to ask questions.

Rubric for Assignment 10 Class Presentation

Due Dates: Fall 2019

A late assignment is an inferior assignment, thus you will receive a 20% reduction per day for an assignment submitted past the due date. Please see Canvas for updated due dates.

History: Dear Reader Memo

Created by: Dr. Erik Jensen , Associate Professor of History

The Dear Reader memo, sometimes called a Writer’s Note, is an assignment developed by Nancy Sommers, Harvard Writing Project , that establishes communication between the writer and the instructor and/or peers (whoever will read the draft) about the state of the draft and the writer’s perceptions of it, both positive and negative, and provides an opportunity for the writer to ask the reader for specific advice. A Dear Reader memo gives the writer an opportunity to reflect on their writing process and in later drafts often includes information about what was revised and why. Instructors should provide a prompt explaining what they want students to include in their memo and should also assign some points or other incentive for completing it.

Sample Assignment

Submit a “Dear Reader” memo (maximum 250 words) at the same time as the draft and a new “Dear Reader” memo at the same time as the final version, but always as a separate document to its own location on Canvas.

The memo for the draft is your opportunity to tell me and your peer reviewer the three aspects of your draft that you are most concerned about, so that we can focus our attention and comments on those three things in particular. (For instance, you might wonder if your organization makes sense, or you might wonder about some particular pieces of evidence that you use.) Your peer reviewer and I will comment on other areas, too, if we see problems and issues in your draft, but your memo should highlight three areas, in particular.

The memo for the final version is your opportunity to tell me how you’ve incorporated my feedback and that of your peer reviewer into this final version. You should highlight specific revisions that you’ve made. You can also use this memo to justify your reasons for not making certain changes that I or your peer reviewer may have recommended, but with which you disagreed.

• Due with your peer-reviewable draft on Tuesday, November 17, by class. Submitted either entirely via Canvas, or by hard copy in class and via Canvas (if we are face to face).
• Due with your polished final draft by Tuesday, December 8, at 5:00pm. Submitted electronically, via Canvas.

History 111: Primary Source Analysis Essay

Created by: Dr. Lindsay Schakenbach Regele , Robert H. and Nancy J. Blayney Assistant Professor of History

This is a scaffolded writing assignment for the class HST111 Survey of American History I. It's intended to introduce students (usually students who are new to history as a discipline) to primary source analysis and thesis-writing in the historical discipline. I created several pre-paper assignment deadlines to get students thinking about their document ahead of time and enable me to help students work through any interpretive issues they were having. Also, I allow students to select their own document to hopefully spark feelings of curiosity and ownership.

Sample Assignment for History 111

*Please read through the assignment description, guidelines and rubric. Following this information, there is a timeline for completing the assignment.

Primary sources form the base that supports historians’ reconstructions of the past. Historians are always trying to discover both the meaning and the significance of a piece of historical evidence. By meaning, we are trying to reconstitute what that document might have meant (or how it might have been understood) by the historical actors in that era. By significance, we attempt to relate how that evidence contributes to a particular interpretation of the past.

This assignment will give you practice in interpreting historical evidence . A good document analysis will focus upon both the text itself (with attention to the specifics and nuances of language used) and the context (the broader picture of the history of that period that informs the document. Never will simply describing what happened be sufficient as an historical interpretation of a document. No outside research is needed for this, just a familiarity with the material in your textbook.

Choose ONE primary source document from your Voices of Freedom book.

In 3-5 double-spaced pages, address the following sets of questions:

• Who wrote the document, and for whom was it written? What does this suggest about the point of view reflected in the document and any potential biases?
• Why was the document written, and how does the style/structure help or hinder its purpose?
• What do the document's author, audience, and style tell us about the historical context in which this document was produced?
• What other kinds of sources would you want to examine to corroborate the document’s claims and understand its context?

Begin your essay with a sentence or two about the author, the date and title of the text, the occasion for which the text was written, and the general subject of the document. If the author's identity is unknown, try to determine as much as you can about the type of person who was responsible for the production of the document. If the document was written after the events it describes, explain what impact that might have had on its construction.

In your introductory paragraph, present a brief summary of your interpretation of the author’s perspective, method, and purpose in writing the text. Your introduction should include a thesis statement that makes an argument about the document’s significance for understanding that period of American history (a good thesis statement requires evidence to support, and could be argued against).

In the body of your essay, you may find that the most efficient and effective way to discuss and analyze the text is to move step by step through the text. After all, that is how the author intended the text to be read or heard. As you present the points that the author makes (offer quotations from the text as evidence for your discussion), you will construct your own analysis, building and developing your interpretation as your essay progresses. Give yourself time to revise your essay, so that you can go back through the essay and refine your interpretation.

In your essay, use the simple past tense to describe what the author wrote: this serves to remind both you and your readers that the author wrote for an audience of his/her contemporaries. Whenever possible, use sentence constructions with the active voice rather than passive voice. Active verbs reiterate the author’s active role in creating the text and the argument, and they encourage you to make connections and draw conclusions about the author and the text.

The essay will be graded according to the following rubric*:

• Builds on the preparatory work you’ve done /100
• Makes a cogent thesis statement /50
• Demonstrates an understanding of the document's main points by successfully answering the questions /200 (50 points for each question)
• Supports the thesis statement with clearly written and well-organized evidence from the documents /200
• Total /500 *Please see the sample essays for what a “cogent thesis statement” and “well-organized evidence,” etc., look like.

In order to help you prepare your essay, I’m asking you to do some work ahead of time. This will help ensure that you understand both the assignment and the document you’ve chosen. It will also allow me to intervene if there are major questions or misunderstandings about the documents. (I expect you to struggle with them a little bit—Primary sources are difficult!)

• Before September 11 , select your document and read through the examples of successful essays that I’ve posted
• On the Canvas discussion board, post your selection and answer the questions that follow the document., DUE Friday, Sept. 11
• Look through other students’ posts, and post 5-7 sentences reflecting on your thoughts after reading other students’ choices and if you would like to change the document you have selected (which you are permitted to do) DUE Friday, Sept. 18
• Upload your answers to the assignment questions (Word document; these can be in draft note form), DUE Friday, October 16
• Upload final primary source analysis essay (Word document), DUE Friday, November 6

History 198: Continuity/Change Essay

I focused extensively in this course on creating a writing-feedback-rewriting framework. HST 198 (“World History since 1500”) engaged students at all levels of the curriculum, both majors and non-majors. I developed a scaffolded approach to the writing assignments that followed this template:

• A best-effort draft
• “Dear Reader” memo for the draft
• Peer review memo about your partner’s draft
• Polished final draft with “Dear Reader” memo for the polished, final draft in which the writer addresses instructor comments on the draft as well as peer reviewer’s comments

Note: I used this framework for all three courses I taught during the same semester—HST 198 (“World History since 1500”), HST 331 (“Nineteenth-century Europe”), and HST 410 (“Twentieth-century Germany”). Each of these classes, which I taught all in one semester, has two or three writing assignments. I’ve provided one sample for HST 198 below.

Sample Assignment for History 198

• Due as a peer-reviewable draft on Tuesday, November 17, by class. Submitted either entirely via Canvas, or by hard copy in class and via Canvas (if we are face to face).
• Due as a polished final draft by Tuesday, December 8, at 5:00pm. Submitted electronically, via Canvas.

Why am I having you write this Essay?

This assignment hones your ability to present a clear argument that is supported by evidence and written in a manner that is accessible to people who may have a limited background in the subject matter. This is a job skill. Whether submitting grant proposals for a non-profit organization or assessing business models for a consulting firm, an ability to write thoughtfully and persuasively will serve you well.

By prompting you to examine the explicit, implicit, and perhaps even unconscious arguments, assumptions, and experiences represented in the five texts for our course, this essay also encourages you to do the historian’s work of interpreting and presenting a vision of the past. This is an unavoidably subjective enterprise, and it makes your engaged and critical reading of these texts so important.

Other than in its expanding size and power, the general nature and purpose of the state has not changed that much over the past five hundred years. Based on your readings and comparison of The Death of Woman Wang, The History of Mary Prince, Abina and the Important Men, Spider Eaters, and The Origins of the Modern World, do you agree or disagree? Why?

The Process

In a well-organized essay of around 2,000 words (roughly 7 pages, double-spaced), answer the question based on your reading of the five assigned texts from this course. You must include at least fourteen (14) direct quotations from the texts, with at least four (4) coming from Spider Eaters; at least four (4) coming from The Origins of the Modern World; and at least two (2) coming from each of the three remaining texts. Explain each quotation’s relevance to your larger argument.

Since this is an historical essay, use dates in order to provide the necessary context for a given quotation, event, or trend. You should cite the source of the quotation in a footnote or an endnote. Here’s an example:

In Chapter 5, Robert Marks argues that transformations in economic production led to the emergence of new forms of identity, noting that "industrialization created new social classes, especially the urban working class and the capitalist class."[1] (This example also highlights the fact that you should introduce every quotation.) For subsequent quotations that come from the same source as the preceding quotation, do this.[2]

Focus on the prompt. Your answer to it constitutes your thesis, which your entire essay should then seek to support. If a piece of information does not advance your thesis, do not include it. You can just as easily write an "A" paper that disagrees with the prompt as one that agrees with it. The skill, clarity, and integrity with which you craft your argument determines your grade.

• No quotation should be longer than 40 words (i.e. NO block quotations).
• Introduce each quotation so that the reader knows who has written the words that appear within the quotation marks and can put those words in context.
• Always underline the title of a book, like this, or place it in italics, like this.

The Audience

Provide enough background information so that a person will understand the logic of your argument and the relevance of your examples even without having read any of the five texts in question.

Academic Integrity

If you are strapped for time before the final version is due, *request an extension,* which in this case might mean asking for an Incomplete for the semester. An “I” is far preferable to a conviction for academic dishonesty. Know the policies stated in the student handbook regarding academic integrity. For this assignment, you should not use any source other than the assigned text (in paper or e-book format) and the in-class discussions. If you have any questions at all about what is appropriate to use, please see me.

Grading (and Peer-Review) Rubric

• Is the thesis clear, and does it address the prompt?
• Does the introductory section provide a “roadmap” that succinctly summarizes the author’s main points and organization of the essay?
• If the essay acknowledges the opposing argument, is that acknowledgment brief and concluded with a reiteration of the thesis?
• What pieces of evidence support the argument?
• What types of evidence might be missing?
• Does the author include at least the minimum number of quotations, and does the author effectively frame each one to show how it supports the argument?
• Does the essay stay focused on its thesis and adhere to its organizational roadmap?
• Are transitions between the paragraphs smooth, and does each paragraph have a topic sentence and clear focus?
• Does the essay have a forceful conclusion?
• Are the quotations, dates, and historical context accurate? Are words and names spelled correctly? Peer reviewers: Circle anything that looks suspicious, so that the author knows to double check it.
• Has the author written clearly – avoiding repetition, using comfortable vocabulary, and employing passive voice only where it makes sense to do so?

History 331: Power Essay

I focused extensively in all three courses [taught during one semester] on creating a writing-feedback-rewriting framework. I developed two or three writing assignments in each class. The three courses—HST 198 (“World History since 1500”), HST 331 (“Nineteenth-century Europe”), and HST 410 (“Twentieth-century Germany”)—engaged students at all levels of the curriculum, both majors and non-majors. For all three classes, I developed a scaffolded approach to the writing assignments that followed the same template:

Sample Assignment for History 331

By prompting you to make an argument about which sets of forces you think had the greatest impact on people’s lives during a particular period of time, this essay also emboldens you to “do history,” which entails interpreting, presenting, and supporting with evidence your vision of the past.

The state (governments, judicial systems, laws, national and local bureaucracies) shaped people's lives in the 19th century more profoundly than did broader cultural, social, economic, or environmental forces or non-state institutions. Based on do you agree or disagree? Why?

In a well-organized essay of around 3,000 words (roughly 10-11 pages, double-spaced), answer the question based on your reading of The Transformation of the World, The Communist Manifesto, and A Doll’s House. You must include at least fourteen (14) direct quotations from The Transformation of the World, at least eight (8) of which must come from the last nine chapters (Chapter XI through the Conclusion), and from five different ones among those last nine. In addition, you must include at least three (3) direct quotations from The Communist Manifesto and three (3) from A Doll’s House. Explain each quotation’s relevance to your larger argument.

In Chapter VII, on "Frontiers," Osterhammel seems to downplay the pervasiveness of territorial acquisitions, when he writes, "In nineteenth-century Europe, especially outside Russia, colonial landgrabs on a large scale became a rarity."[1] (This example also highlights the fact that you should introduce every quotation.) For subsequent quotations that come from the same source as the preceding quotation, do this.[2]

Provide enough background information so that a person will understand the logic of your argument and the relevance of your examples even without having read The Communist Manifesto, A Doll’s House, or The Transformation of the World.

• What pieces evidence support the argument?
• Are they the strongest pieces of evidence

References: 1. Jürgen Osterhammel, The Transformation of the World: A Global History of the Nineteenth Century, trans. Patrick Camiller (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2014), 323. 2. Ibid.,115.

HST 410: Dictatorship Essay

Sample assignment for history 410.

• Due as a peer-reviewable draft on Tuesday, November 19, by class. Submitted either entirely via Canvas, or by hard copy in class and via Canvas (if we are face to face).

The individual motivations for cooperating with, opposing, or simply tolerating the Nazi and East German regimes were broadly similar. Based on your reading of Kershaw and Funder, do you agree or disagree? Why?

When you are looking at cooperation, opposition, or toleration/submission, you will want to consider an array of motivations, including patriotism, peer pressure, familial ties, material desire, longing for greater rights, obedience, and so on. Our class discussions will play a central role in helping us to think through these motivations.

In a well-organized essay of around 3,000 words (roughly 10-11 pages, double-spaced), answer the question based on your reading of The End and Stasiland. You must include at least sixteen (16) direct quotations, eight (8) of which must come from Kershaw and eight (8) of which must come from Funder. Draw these quotations from different chapters throughout both works, rather than from just a single chapter or section. Explain each quotation’s relevance to your larger argument.

In his discussion of the role of Jews during the Revolutions of 1848, Elon notes the multi-generational nature of this involvement when he writes, "An older generation of Jewish militants found a role as well." [1] (This example also highlights the fact that you should introduce every quotation.) For subsequent quotations that come from the same source as the preceding quotation, do this.[2]

Provide enough background information so that a person will understand the logic of your argument and the relevance of your examples even without having read The End or Stasiland.

References: 1 . Amos Elon, The Pity of It All: A Portrait of the German-Jewish Epoch , 1743-1933 (New York: Picador, 2002), 163. 2. Ibid.,197.

Gerontology 354: Rhetorical Analysis

Created by: Dr. Kate de Medeiros, Professor & O'Toole Family Professorship

For this undergraduate class, students work on a final persuasive paper based on a controversy of their choice over the course of the semester. I wanted them to read carefully to see how written language can be used to set a tone, to subtly persuade, to speak with authority, to leave one with a certain emotion, and so on. They first complete the rhetorical analysis on controversy articles from the “Opposing Viewpoints” database. After they write their draft, they use the same rhetorical analysis steps to provide a peer review on a classmate’s paper.

Sample Assignment from Gerontology 354

A critical part of writing well is learning to read with a discerning eye. A rhetorical analysis is a close reading of someone else’s work where you pay very close attention to not only what the writer says, but how the writer uses language – word choices, sentence structures, opposing arguments, tone, arguments structure, and others – to convey their point.

• Navigate to the “Opposing Viewpoints” database via the library’s website. Here is a brief video that shows you how to do this in case you are not familiar.
• Select a topic that is different than your own but is related to aging.
• Read the viewpoint essay for the topic you selected. Write or paste the title of the essay here, as well as the url.
• Who is the intended audience of this piece? How do you know? I am not asking you to simply guess based on the title, but see if there are subtle ways that the author conveys this.
• What is the purpose of the piece – the thesis? Either copy a sentence that you believe is the thesis or rephrase in your own words.
• What is the effect the author intends to have on readers? How do you know? Include “evidence” in your response (e.g., copy a sentence, some phrases – whatever makes your case.)
• What are the main arguments that the author uses to support his/her case? (You can cut and paste sentences from the text or explain in your own words.) Does the author bring up counter-arguments? (You can cut and paste sentences from the text or explain in your own words.) Overall, how effective would you say the author’s arguments are? Please explain your response.
• Does the author support his/her argument with additional information or data? Please give examples. How believable/reliable is that data? Please explain.
• Overall, what feelings are you left with after reading the piece (e.g., anger, sadness, outrage, etc.) Since emotions in a text are a direct result of the specific words, among other things, find words in the essay that contribute to your feelings.
• Another effective strategy that writers use is varied sentence length. Focus on one paragraph in the essay. How long are each of the sentences? Is there any relationship you see between sentence length and the message and/or emotions conveyed? Explain your answer and provide support.
• After reading this, what, if any, of the literary devices would you apply to your own work? What literary devices in this piece would you not apply to your own work. Please explain.
• In your opinion, was the essay a good piece of writing? Why or why not? (There is no right answer but be sure to support your response with clear examples and/or explanations.)

Gerontology 602: Theory Project

Created by: Dr. Jennifer Kinney , Professor and Director of Graduate Studies

Sample Assignment for Gerontology 602

At this point in the semester you have a good overview of gerontology (in large part on de Medeiros, 2017) and are beginning to read a variety of genre (journal articles, encyclopedia entries, book chapters) written for an academic gerontology audience. Over the remainder of the semester you will continue to learn about gerontological theory and its application. During this time, in addition to your assigned out-of-class reading and our class sessions, you will complete a theory project. For this project, you will explore a specific gerontological concept that you are particularly interested in/that will be most helpful to you as you prepare to be a gerontologist. Specifically, you will document the development of the concept in gerontology and its theoretical underpinnings. You will complete the project in specific steps, and receive feedback/be evaluated on each step of the project. For several of the steps you will revise your work based on the feedback you get from your peers and/or me, and incorporate the feedback into a revision that is included in the final step of the project. At the end of the semester you will present an overview of your paper to the class.

Specific instructions for each step of the project (1-8) are listed below.

Step 1: Your Initial Idea

Pick a contemporary concept in gerontology in which you are particularly interested. If a topic does not immediately come to mind, you might think about: 1) your previous work with/on behalf of older adults; 2) what interested you when you were applying to graduate school; 3) new interests that have emerged through your classwork, GA work, and other experiences and/or an area that you would like to learn more about. For Step 1, please turn in the following:

• List the top 1- 3 ideas or concepts that you have learned from your prior knowledge/experience related to gerontology.
• For each of the concepts listed, how does your prior knowledge relate to what we have read so far or what you are interested in learning more about?
• What do you need to know (e.g., more theories, applicable examples) to gain more insight into the concept/theory that you are most interested in?

Step 1 of your theory project is due during week 4 of the semester and is worth 5 possible points (2% of the written theory project, which is worth a total of 210 points).

Step 2: Identifying and Reflecting on Your Topic

Last week, I asked you to start thinking about a topic you'd like to explore. Now I am asking you to commit to that topic.

• Step 2 Product: Write a 1-2 paragraph description of what concept you plan to explore, and why you chose that concept. The audience for this concept description is me— your course instructor/a gerontology faculty member. Because of the audience, this should be well thought out and well written. You will get feedback from me about your concept description and should take this feedback into account when you complete Step 3.
• How much of your topic relies on your previous learning or experience?
• What new information/perspective do you hope to gain through your topic?
• How do you hope to apply your topic to your future work in the GTY program?
• What additional challenges will you need to face (e.g., mastering a new literature, changing previous ways of thinking) to accomplish your goal for this project?

Your concept description and reflection (in one document) is due during week 5 of the semester and is worth 15 possible points (7% of the written theory project, which is worth a total of 210 points).

Step 3: Contemporary Thinking on Your Topic

• Step 3 Product: For three of the sources (i.e., articles or book chapters) you identified, prepare a summary. You can either prepare a 1-page narrative summary for each source, or you can use a modified version of the Howe Writing Center matrix (similar to the one we have used in class).

Regardless of the format you choose, your summary should include definition of the key concept(s); what lens/perspective/theory the authors use to contextualize and/or ground the concept; and the purpose, major points/findings, and what you learned from each source. The audience for the summary(ies) is primarily yourself and your instructor/consultant who will give you feedback about your ideas (as opposed to the quality of your writing). Be sure that your ideas/writing are clear enough that another reader can understand what you are saying.

Your summary(ies) and the three sources are due during week 7 of the semester and is worth 30 possible points (14% of the written theory project, which is worth a total of 210 points).

Step 4: Looking Back/Historical Influences

• Step 4 Product: Prepare one combined summary for the three sources you identified. In contrast to your summaries from Step 3, which could be in the form of an narrative for each source or a modified version of the Howe Writing Center matrix (either one matrix per source, or one matrix with all three sources), the focus of your Step 4 summary should be how the articles “talk” to one another (e.g., how your concept developed from the earliest to the most recent article, the gerontological lens/perspective/theory used in each source, the commonalities and discrepancies across the three sources), and it should be in the form of one narrative or one matrix for all three sources. The summary (whether it is a narrative or matrix) can address the following topics:
• definitions of the concept
• how the concept is used in the conceptualization/research
• strengths and weaknesses in how the concept is defined/used
• suggestions to improve how the concept is conceptualized/measured

Note: the above topics are suggestions; you should modify them to address the points you want to make in your paper.

The audience for the summary of historical sources matrix is primarily yourself and your instructor/consultant who will give you feedback about your ideas (as opposed to the quality of your writing). Again, make sure that your ideas/writing are clear enough that another reader can understand what you are saying.

Your summary of historical sources is due during week 9 of the semester and is worth 30 possible points (14% of the written theory project, which is worth a total of 210 points).

Step 5: Constructing your “Story”

• Step 5 Product: Develop a “blueprint” of the story you want to tell your audience, which is other scholars in gerontology. This blueprint can take the form of a traditional outline, a “forensic or concept map," or any other format that “works” for you. Although you should keep in mind that the audience for your final paper is other scholars in gerontology, the audience for the blueprint is yourself and your instructor/peers who will give you feedback about your ideas.

Your blueprint is due during week 10 of the semester and is worth 30 possible points (14% of the written theory project, which is worth a total of 210 points).

Step 6: Putting it all Together

• Step 6 Product: Develop your blueprint into a 5-10 ish- page paper. This academic paper should be written for other gerontology scholars. The purpose of this paper is to explain the evolution of gerontological thinking about your concept, with an emphasis on the lenses/perspectives/theories that informed this thinking, and for you to speculate (in an informed way) about how this concept will continue to develop in gerontology.

Your paper is due during week 12 of the semester and you should bring a copy to class, where a peer will be assigned to give you feedback. Your draft is worth 40 possible points (19% of the written theory project, which is worth a total of 210 points).

Step 7: Peer Review

• Step 7 Product: You will be assigned as a peer reviewer for one of your classmates. Carefully read the draft of their paper, and provide written feedback. You will be given specific guidelines for the feedback. Your peer feedback is due during week 13 of the semester and is worth 20 possible points (10% of the written theory project, which is worth a total of 210 points).

Step 8: The Finish Line

• Step 8 Product: Using the feedback you received, prepare, revise and finalize your paper. Your final paper is due during exam week. Your final paper is worth 40 possible points (20% of the assignment, which is worth a total of 210 points).

Step 9: Final Oral Presentation

• have an appropriate powerpoint presentation that uses minimal text and instead uses engaging graphics/images when appropriate.
• be well rehearsed so that it sounds confident but not scripted.
• final paper. Remember, we as an audience do not need to know everything. Instead, you should present a coherent story of why your concept matters.

NOTE: The presentation must not exceed 12 minutes. I will cut you off at the 12 minute mark. It is important to be mindful of other people's time so staying within the allotted time is key.

The presentation will occur during the last week of classes and will be worth a total of 25 possible points.

Gerontology 702: Weekly Synthesis Assignment

The synthesis exercise was based on our observation that students had a tendency to summarize literature, not synthesize ideas. Through this exercise, I wanted to force students to read two very different articles to come up with a synthesis that somehow brought together key ideas from both. We did this weekly. Although difficult for them at first, they gradually became more comfortable with and proficient at synthesizing literature as the semester progressed.

Sample Assignment for Gerontology 702

I borrow this definition of a literature "synthesis": "Synthesis writing is a form of analysis related to comparison and contrast, classification and division. On a basic level, synthesis requires the writer to pull together two or more summaries, looking for themes in each text. In synthesis, you search for the links between various materials in order to make your point." A synthesis is not just a mere summary. It is an integrated analysis whereby you should demonstrate not only that you read and understood the readings, but also that you can pull key points together in some cohesive way. The readings will often not be obviously related. However, find a way to be true to their essence while also using them to build a new observation or idea.

synthesis: Article 1 and 2

Your synthesis should be at least 2 paragraphs long.

Avoid using block quotes (taking large chunks of direct text in quotations.) Everything should be in your own words with proper citation using APA formatting.

You should demonstrate a deep reading and understanding of some major points.

Bring these points together to pull together something related to gerontology.

Remember, this is a theory course. You should not focus on methods, on study design, findings, or anything outside of theory.

Use only the articles assigned for that week. Do not bring in outside readings or sources.

Gerontology 702: Reverse Genealogy Assignment

I found that students, even doctoral students, were not reading critically. This assignment came about during the Fellows program with relation to understanding how to build on past work when writing an article, especially in the literature review. I wanted students to clearly see what the “bones” of an article looked like by looking at its foundation – the references. It was very successful. Students were surprised to see the connections between the articles cited and the final article, which they were given after completing this exercise.

Attached is a reference list for a gerontology article. Using only this list, attempt to make sense of what the article is about and what are the major influencing literatures cited. Pay close attention to details such as: what journals are cited, what "classic" works (if any) are included, whether there are topics that you could group together, what authors are cited. You do not need to upload this — you can have hand drawn diagrams or notes if that is easier. Be prepared to discuss during class.

Gerontology 705: Genre Analysis

Sample assignment for gerontology 705.

The purpose of this activity is to explain the conventions of a particular sub-genre of gerontological writing (e.g., abstract, introduction, method, discussion) and relate these conventions to the work that the genre does for the gerontologists who use it. The main question the analysis should address is why the genre takes the shape(s) that it does given what gerontologists are trying to accomplish when they use that genre. Doing this type of analysis for different genre will enable us to: 1) articulate what that genre “looks like” in gerontology and 2) be able to more successfully create documents in that genre.

After you have carefully engaged with the exemplars/examples from the genre, identify their commonalities using the categories and questions of analysis identified by Sojna Foss (2018) as a starting point:

• What conditions (situations) call for this genre?
• What prompts this sort of document to be written?
• What is the exigence—the need or reason for a given action or communication?
• Who usually creates this genre—people doing what?
• What sort of content (substance) is typically contained in this genre?
• What do these texts tend to talk about or say?
• Is there information that is typically present (or not present) in these texts?
• What form does this sort of genre take and what does it look like (length, page layout, color, font)?
• How are its parts organized?
• What language does it use?
• Are there specialized terms?
• How are references/citations used in the text?
• What “moves” (e.g., transitions, signposting) are made?
• What tone/voice does it take (formal, informal, dense, light; passive, active)?
• What elements make this genre what it is?
• What are the common denominations of the genre (for example, what makes a resume a resume?
• For each characteristic you identify in 1-3 above, you might ask “If I took out this characteristic, would it still be recognizable as this genre?”

Your analysis should “tell the story” of the genre, including how what the genre needs to accomplish leads to the shape it typically takes; how this genre is most often used; and the features that your analysis indicates are required; features that appear to be optional. A good analysis includes a clear explanation of who uses the genre and for what purpose(s), conclusions based on comparison of several exemplars/examples of the genre; accurate assessments of the genre’s key elements; a clear organizational structure that includes a logical progression through the elements of the genre that your analysis highlights.

The source for the genre analysis guidelines: Foss, Sonja K. 2018. Rhetorical Criticism: Exploration and Practice 5th edition . Long Grove, IL: Waveland

Resources/Further Reading

• Anderson, P., Anson, C. M., Gonyea, R.M., & Paine, C. (2016). “How to create high-impact writing assignments that enhance learning and development and reinvigorate WAC/WID programs: What almost 72,000 undergraduates taught us.” Across the Disciplines, 13(4). DOI: https://doi.org/10.37514/ATD-J.2016.13.4.13
• Hyland, K. (2013). Writing in the university: Education, knowledge, and reputation. Language Teaching, 46(1), 53-70. 
• Swales, J. (2004). Research genres: Explorations and applications. Cambridge University Press.
• Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge University Press.

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Planning Instructional Variety for Online Teaching

Bloom’s digital taxonomy verbs.

Created in 1956, the  Bloom’s Taxonomy  framework has been applied by generations of K-12 teachers and college instructors in their teaching. The taxonomy is popularly remembered according to the six main categories: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation.

In 2001, a group of cognitive psychologists, curriculum theorists and instructional researchers, and testing and assessment specialists published a revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy, pointing to a more dynamic conception of classification. Action words described the cognitive processes by which thinkers encounter and work with knowledge.

The prevalence of digital technologies, communication tools, and assorted media requires some consideration of how course objectives and activities evolve. Churches (2008) proposed a Digital Taxonomy, which is provided in this embedded Google Document:

Download the Google Doc as a PDF .

Armstrong, P. (n.d.). Bloom’s taxonomy. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy

Churches, A. (2008). Bloom’s taxonomy Blooms digitally. Tech & Learning. Retrieved from https://www.techlearning.com/news/bloom39s-taxonomy-blooms-digitally

TeachThought (2017). 126 Bloom’s Taxonomy verbs for digital learning. Retrieved from https://www.teachthought.com/critical-thinking/126-blooms-taxonomy-verbs-digital-learning

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Analytical Verbs: Get To Know These Powerful Verbs

Analytical verbs can elevate your English writing and speaking and help you dissect information, present arguments, and convey complex thoughts more clearly. But what are analytical verbs? Analytical verbs are action words used to examine, scrutinize, and interpret data or situations. Examples of analytical verbs include ‘analyze,’ ‘compare,’ ‘describe,’ ‘explain,’ ‘review,’ and ‘validate.’

What Are Analytical Verbs?

Analytical verbs, also known as ‘process verbs’ or ‘thinking verbs,’ are action words used to describe the cognitive processes we use when analyzing information. They’re often used in academic writing and essays to guide how an argument, data, or concept should be examined or discussed.

Why Learn Analytical Verbs?

Critical thinking :.

These verbs help promote critical thinking and analysis. They encourage an individual to go beyond surface understanding and delve deeper into the subject matter.

Academic Writing

Communication skills.

Understanding and using analytical verbs can also improve general communication skills. They allow individuals to convey their thoughts more effectively, particularly in discussions or debates.

Reading Comprehension

Standardized tests & job applications, professional development.

In professional settings, these verbs often appear in tasks, assignments, project outlines, and performance reviews. Understanding these verbs can help an individual meet and exceed expectations in their roles.

Analytical Verb List

Tips for teaching and learning analytical verbs, regular practice.

The best way to get comfortable with analytical verbs is through consistent usage. Try to incorporate them into your everyday conversations, writing tasks, or academic assignments.

Use Flashcards

Reading and listening, teaching through context.

If you’re a teacher, try to teach analytical verbs within a context. Instead of merely providing a list, use them in sentences, stories, or examples. This strategy can help students understand the meaning and application better.

Encourage Critical Thinking

Use in peer review sessions, more verb lists.

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a better understanding of analytical verbs and find the above analytical verb list useful. Before you go, check out these other useful English verb lists: Imperative Verb List Descriptive Verb List Verbs Of Perception Stative Verb List Irregular Verb List

The Peak Performance Center

The pursuit of performance excellence, verbs for learning objectives.

Verbs for Learning Objectives / Learning Outcomes

The verbs used in learning objectives or learning outcomes should correspond to the level of thought at which the learners are expected to perform or function. The following lists of verbs are provided to help recognize the levels of thought and to help you write learning objectives that address the various levels of skill your learner should attain. By creating learning objectives using these verbs, you indicate explicitly what the learner must do in order to demonstrate learning.

Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning

This list is arranged according to Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning. Bloom’s Taxonomy classifies thinking according to six cognitive levels of complexity: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The categories are ordered from simple to complex and from concrete to abstract. Each level becomes more challenging as you move higher.

Cognitive competency or complexity begins at the knowledge level learning and advances up the taxonomy to comprehension, application, and then to the higher order thinking skills involved in analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom’s Taxonomy Revised

Determining Verbs for Learning Objectives

When determining your learning objectives, consider using a verb from the appropriate cognitive domain below. This list will help you express specific performance expectations you have of the learners at the completion of the course.

This is the lowest level of learning. This cognitive level focuses on the ability to remember or retrieve previously learned material. The learning standards at this level simply ask the learner to recognize and recall data or information.

Examples of verbs that relate to the Knowledge domain are:  

Comprehension

This cognitive level focuses on the ability to grasp or construct meaning from material. The learning standards at this level ask the learner to demonstrate understanding of the meaning and ideas by organizing, comparing, translating, summarizing, or paraphrasing.

Examples of verbs that relate to the Comprehension domain are:  

Application

This level focuses on the ability to use information in new ways or situations. The learning standards at this level ask the learner to use the newly acquired information in a new situation or different way from the original context.

Examples of verbs that relate to the Application domain are:  

This level consider to be a higher order of thinking. This level focuses on the ability to examine and break information or concepts into component parts so that its organizational structure may be understood. The learning standards at this level ask the learner to separate the whole into its parts, in order to better understand the organization of the whole and the relationships between the parts.

Examples of verbs that relate to the Analysis domain are:  

This level also considered to be a higher order of thinking. This level focuses on the ability to compile information in a different way by combining elements in a new pattern or proposing alternative solutions. The learning standards at this level ask the learner to put parts together to form a unique new whole or build a structure from diverse elements.

Examples of verbs that relate to the Synthesis domain are:  

This is considered by Bloom to be the highest level of learning. This cognitive level focuses on the ability to make judgments about the value of ideas or materials and able to present and defend opinions based on a set of criteria. The learning standards at this highest level ask the learner to judge, check, critique the value of material to make decisions.

Examples of verbs that relate to the Evaluation domain are:  

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Bloom’s Taxonomy Verbs for Critical Thinking

September 10, 2021 By Rana Waqar 1 Comment

English Writing Skills English Vocabulary

Bloom’s taxonomy is a classification system used to define and distinguish different levels of human cognition—i.e., thinking, learning, and understanding.

Bloom’s taxonomy was developed to provide a common language for teachers to discuss and exchange learning and assessment methods. Specific learning outcomes can be derived from the taxonomy, though it is most commonly used to assess learning on a variety of cognitive levels.

Bloom’s Taxonomy comprises three learning domains: the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor, and assigns to each of these domains a hierarchy that corresponds to different levels of learning.

Examples Of Bloom’s Taxonomy Power Verbs Knowledge: Define, Identify, Describe, Recognize Understand: Summarize, Interpret, Classify Apply: Solve, Change, Relate, Complete Analyze: Contrast, Connect, Relate, Devise Evaluate: Criticize, Reframe, Judge Create: Design, Modify, Role-Play, Develop

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July 16, 2024 at 5:30 pm

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Bloom’s Taxonomy Question Stems For Use In Assessment [With 100+ Examples]

This comprehensive list of pre-created Bloom’s taxonomy question stems ensure students are critically engaging with course material

Jacob Rutka

One of the most powerful aspects of Bloom’s Taxonomy is that it offers you, as an educator, the ability to construct a curriculum to assess objective learning outcomes, including advanced educational objectives like critical thinking. Pre-created Bloom’s Taxonomy questions can also make planning discussions, learning activities, and formative assessments much easier.

For those unfamiliar with Bloom’s Taxonomy, it consists of a series of hierarchical levels (normally arranged in a pyramid) that build on each other and progress towards higher-order thinking skills. Each level contains verbs, such as “demonstrate” or “design,” that can be measured to gain greater insight into student learning.

Click here to download 100+ Bloom’s taxonomy question stems for your classroom and get everything you need to engage your students.

Table of Contents

• Bloom’s Taxonomy (1956)

Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy (2001)

Bloom’s taxonomy for adjunct professors, examples of bloom’s taxonomy question stems, additional bloom’s taxonomy example questions, higher-level thinking questions, bloom’s taxonomy (1956).

The original Bloom’s Taxonomy framework consists of six levels that build off of each other as the learning experience progresses. It was developed in 1956 by Benjamin Bloom, an American educational psychologist. Below are descriptions of each level:

• Knowledge: Identification and recall of course concepts learned
• Comprehension: Ability to grasp the meaning of the material 
• Application: Demonstrating a grasp of the material at this level by solving problems and creating projects
• Analysis: Finding patterns and trends in the course material
• Synthesis: The combining of ideas or concepts to form a working theory 
• Evaluation: Making judgments based on the information students have learned as well as their own insights

A group of educational researchers and cognitive psychologists developed the new and revised Bloom’s Taxonomy framework in 2001 to be more action-oriented. This way, students work their way through a series of verbs to meet learning objectives. Below are descriptions of each of the levels in revised Bloom’s Taxonomy:

• Remember: To bring an awareness of the concept to learners’ minds.
• Understand: To summarize or restate the information in a particular way.
• Apply: The ability to use learned material in new and concrete situations.
• Analyze: Understanding the underlying structure of knowledge to be able to distinguish between fact and opinion.
• Evaluate: Making judgments about the value of ideas, theories, items and materials.
• Create: Reorganizing concepts into new structures or patterns through generating, producing or planning.

Free Download: Bloom’s Taxonomy Question Stems and Examples

Bloom’s Taxonomy questions are a great way to build and design curriculum and lesson plans. They encourage the development of higher-order thinking and encourage students to engage in metacognition by thinking and reflecting on their own learning. In The Ultimate Guide to Bloom’s Taxonomy Question Stems , you can access more than 100 examples of Bloom’s Taxonomy questions examples and higher-order thinking question examples at all different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. 

Bloom’s Taxonomy (1956) question samples:

• Knowledge: How many…? Who was it that…? Can you name the…? 
• Comprehension: Can you write in your own words…? Can you write a brief outline…? What do you think could have happened next…?
• Application: Choose the best statements that apply… Judge the effects of… What would result …? 
• Analysis: Which events could have happened…? If … happened, how might the ending have been different? How was this similar to…?
• Synthesis: Can you design a … to achieve …? Write a poem, song or creative presentation about…? Can you see a possible solution to…?
• Evaluation: What criteria would you use to assess…? What data was used to evaluate…? How could you verify…?

Click here to get 100+ Bloom’s taxonomy question stems that’ll help engage students in your classroom.

Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy (2001) question samples:

• Remember: Who…? What…? Where…? How…?
• Understand: How would you generalize…? How would you express…? What information can you infer from…?
• Apply: How would you demonstrate…? How would you present…? Draw a story map… 
• Analyze: How can you sort the different parts…? What can you infer about…? What ideas validate…? How would you categorize…?
• Evaluate: What criteria would you use to assess…? What sources could you use to verify…? What information would you use to prioritize…? What are the possible outcomes for…?
• Create: What would happen if…? List the ways you can…? Can you brainstorm a better solution for…? 

As we know, Bloom’s Taxonomy is a framework used in education to categorize levels of cognitive learning. Here are 10 Bloom’s Taxonomy example questions, each corresponding to one of the six levels in Bloom’s Taxonomy, starting from the lowest level (Remember) to the highest level (Create):

• Remember (Knowledge): What are the four primary states of matter? Can you list the main events of the American Civil War?
• Understand (Comprehension): How would you explain the concept of supply and demand to someone who is new to economics? Can you summarize the main idea of the research article you just read?
• Apply (Application): Given a real-world scenario, how would you use the Pythagorean theorem to solve a practical problem? Can you demonstrate how to conduct a chemical titration in a laboratory setting?
• Analyze (Analysis): What are the key factors contributing to the decline of a particular species in an ecosystem? How do the social and economic factors influence voting patterns in a specific region?
• Evaluate (Evaluation): Compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of two different programming languages for a specific project. Assess the effectiveness of a marketing campaign, providing recommendations for improvement.
• Create (Synthesis): Design a new and innovative product that addresses a common problem in society. Develop a comprehensive lesson plan that incorporates various teaching methods to enhance student engagement in a particular subject.

Download Now: Bloom’s Taxonomy Question Stems and Examples

Higher-level thinking questions are designed to encourage critical thinking, analysis, and synthesis of information. Here are eight examples of higher-level thinking questions that can be used in higher education:

• Critical Analysis (Analysis): “What are the ethical implications of the decision made by the characters in the novel, and how do they reflect broader societal values?”
• Problem-Solving (Application): “Given the current environmental challenges, how can we develop sustainable energy solutions that balance economic and ecological concerns?”
• Evaluation of Evidence (Evaluation): “Based on the data presented in this research paper, do you think the study’s conclusions are valid? Why or why not?”
• Comparative Analysis (Analysis): “Compare and contrast the economic policies of two different countries and their impact on income inequality.”
• Hypothetical Scenario (Synthesis): “Imagine you are the CEO of a multinational corporation. How would you navigate the challenges of globalization and cultural diversity in your company’s workforce?”
• Ethical Dilemma (Evaluation): “In a medical emergency with limited resources, how should healthcare professionals prioritize patients, and what ethical principles should guide their decisions?”
• Interdisciplinary Connection (Synthesis): “How can principles from psychology and sociology be integrated to address the mental health needs of a diverse student population in higher education institutions?”
• Creative Problem-Solving (Synthesis): “Propose a novel solution to reduce urban congestion while promoting eco-friendly transportation options. What are the potential benefits and challenges of your solution?”

These questions encourage students to go beyond simple recall of facts and engage in critical thinking, analysis, synthesis, and ethical considerations. They are often used to stimulate class discussions, research projects, and written assignments in higher education settings.

Click here to download 100+ Bloom’s taxonomy question stems

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The Ultimate Guide to Metacognition for Post-Secondary Courses

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Glossary of Critical Thinking Terms

accurate : Free from errors, mistakes, or distortion. Correct connotes little more than absence of error; accurate implies a positive exercise of one to obtain conformity with fact or truth; exact stresses perfect conformity to fact, truth, or some standard; precise suggests minute accuracy of detail. Accuracy is an important goal in critical thinking, though it is almost always a matter of degree. It is also important to recognize that making mistakes is an essential part of learning and that it is far better that students make their own mistakes, than that they parrot the thinking of the text or teacher. It should also be recognized that some distortion usually results whenever we think within a point of view or frame of reference. Students should think with this awareness in mind, with some sense of the limitations of their own, the text's, the teacher's, the subject's perspective. See perfections of thought. ambiguous : A sentence having two or more possible meanings. Sensitivity to ambiguity and vagueness in writing and speech is essential to good thinking. A continual effort to be clear and precise in language usage is fundamental to education. Ambiguity is a problem more of sentences than of individual words. Furthermore, not every sentence that can be construed in more than one way is problematic and deserving of analysis. Many sentences are clearly intended one way; any other construal is obviously absurd and not meant. For example, "Make me a sandwich." is never seriously intended to request metamorphic change. It is a poor example for teaching genuine insight into critical thinking. For an example of a problematic ambiguity, consider the statement, "Welfare is corrupt." Among the possible meanings of this sentence are the following: Those who administer welfare programs take bribes to administer welfare policy unfairly; Welfare policies are written in such a way that much of the money goes to people who don't deserve it rather than to those who do; A government that gives money to people who haven't earned it corrupts both the giver and the recipient. If two people are arguing about whether or not welfare is corrupt, but interpret the claim differently, they can make little or no progress; they aren't arguing about the same point. Evidence and considerations relevant to one interpretation may be irrelevant to others. analyze : To break up a whole into its parts, to examine in detail so as to determine the nature of, to look more deeply into an issue or situation. All learning presupposes some analysis of what we are learning, if only by categorizing or labeling things in one way rather than another. Students should continually be asked to analyze their ideas, claims, experiences, interpretations, judgments, and theories and those they hear and read. See elements of thought. argue : There are two meanings of this word that need to be distinguished: 1) to argue in the sense of to fight or to emotionally disagree; and 2) to give reasons for or against a proposal or proposition. In emphasizing critical thinking, we continually try to get our students to move from the first sense of the word to the second; that is, we try to get them to see the importance of giving reasons to support their views without getting their egos involved in what they are saying. This is a fundamental problem in human life. To argue in the critical thinking sense is to use logic and reason, and to bring forth facts to support or refute a point. It is done in a spirit of cooperation and good will. argument : A reason or reasons offered for or against something, the offering of such reasons. This term refers to a discussion in which there is disagreement and suggests the use of logic and the bringing forth of facts to support or refute a point. See argue. to assume : To take for granted or to presuppose. Critical thinkers can and do make their assumptions explicit, assess them, and correct them. Assumptions can vary from the mundane to the problematic: I heard a scratch at the door. I got up to let the cat in. I assumed that only the cat makes that noise, and that he makes it only when he wants to be let in. Someone speaks gruffly to me. I feel guilty and hurt. I assume he is angry at me, that he is only angry at me when I do something bad, and that if he's angry at me, he dislikes me. Notice that people often equate making assumptions with making false assumptions. When people say, "Don't assume", this is what they mean. In fact, we cannot avoid making assumptions and some are justifiable. (For instance, we have assumed that people who buy this book can read English.) Rather than saying "Never assume", we say, "Be aware of and careful about the assumptions you make, and be ready to examine and critique them." See assumption, elements of thought. assumption : A statement accepted or supposed as true without proof or demonstration; an unstated premise or belief. All human thought and experience is based on assumptions. Our thought must begin with something we take to be true in a particular context. We are typically unaware of what we assume and therefore rarely question our assumptions. Much of what is wrong with human thought can be found in the uncritical or unexamined assumptions that underlie it. For example, we often experience the world in such a way as to assume that we are observing things just as they are, as though we were seeing the world without the filter of a point of view. People we disagree with, of course, we recognize as having a point of view. One of the key dispositions of critical thinking is the on-going sense that as humans we always think within a perspective, that we virtually never experience things totally and absolutistically. There is a connection, therefore, between thinking so as to be aware of our assumptions and being intellectually humble. authority : 1) The power or supposed right to give commands, enforce obedience, take action, or make final decisions. 2) A person with much knowledge and expertise in a field, hence reliable. Critical thinkers recognize that ultimate authority rests with reason and evidence, since it is only on the assumption that purported experts have the backing of reason and evidence that they rightfully gain authority. Much instruction discourages critical thinking by encouraging students to believe that whatever the text or teacher says is true. As a result, students do not learn how to assess authority. See knowledge. bias : A mental leaning or inclination. We must clearly distinguish two different senses of the word ’’bias’’. One is neutral, the other negative. In the neutral sense we are referring simply to the fact that, because of one's point of view, one notices some things rather than others, emphasizes some points rather than others, and thinks in one direction rather than others. This is not in itself a criticism because thinking within a point of view is unavoidable. In the negative sense, we are implying blindness or irrational resistance to weaknesses within one's own point of view or to the strength or insight within a point of view one opposes. Fairminded critical thinkers try to be aware of their bias (in sense one) and try hard to avoid bias (in sense two). Many people confuse these two senses. Many confuse bias with emotion or with evaluation, perceiving any expression of emotion or any use of evaluative words to be biased (sense two). Evaluative words that can be justified by reason and evidence are not biased in the negative sense. See criteria, evaluation, judgment, opinion...... To read the full article, join the  Center for Critical Thinking Community Online ; you will find this article in the Libraries there. The Center for Critical Thinking Community Online is the world’s leading online community dedicated to teaching and advancing critical thinking. Featuring the world's largest library of critical thinking articles, videos, and books, as well as learning activities, study groups, and a social media component, this interactive learning platform is essential to anyone dedicated to developing as an effective reasoner in the classroom, in the professions, in business and government, and throughout personal life. Join the community and learn explicit tools of critical thinking. Back to top 36 Question Stems Framed Around Bloom’s Taxonomy Question stems can be used as thinking prompts for class discussions, prompting, and various forms of assessment. Question Stems Framed Around Bloom’s Taxonomy by TeachThought Staff While critical thinking is a foundation rather than a brick, how you build that foundation depends on the learning process itself: exposing students to new thinking and promoting interaction with that thinking in a gradual release of responsibility approach. Question stems can be a powerful part of that process no matter where the learner is. They can be used as metacognitive and higher-order thinking prompts for class discussions, prompting, cueing, pre-assessment, self-assessment, formative and summative assessment, etc.  See also  28 Critical Thinking Question Stems & Response Cards ($2.95) The following graphic includes 25+ question stems framed around the early, non-revised Bloom’s Taxonomy are worth a gander. In the ‘Knowledge’ category, question stems focus on helping students identify and recall information — these are often referred to as ‘literal’ questions, because a learner could more than likely point to a specific location in a text and say, “This is the answer.” ‘Comprehension’ question stems go a step further by prompting the students to make explain concepts or relationships in their own words, demonstrating that they can organize and select facts and ideas from within and across texts. With ‘Application,’ students elevate their thinking by applying what they comprehend. They use facts, rules, and principles to relate their learning to other contexts, like text-to-text, text-to-world, and text-to-self connections. In ‘Analysis,’ learners separate parts from a whole. They may categorize information, compare and contrast, or use a diagram to show relationships. ‘Synthesis’ requires students to combine ideas to form a new idea. Here, students are moving toward creation and ingenuity. They can make predictions and devise prototypes for presented problems. Finally, ‘Evaluation’ question stems prompt students to share their own thinking, or to make judgments based on a body of evidence and/or opinion.  While this version of Bloom’s Taxonomy has since been revised, we see value in these question stems as resources to help students think more deeply, and to help teachers start them off on the right track.  Image attribution flickr enokson TeachThought is an organization dedicated to innovation in education through the growth of outstanding teachers. 468 IMAGES English worksheets: Action Verbs Critical Thinking Creative and Critical Thinking Task Cards Common Core Critical Thinking Verbs by ONE TECHY BEE Critical Thinking Verbs Educational infographic : Critical thinking tools for everybody! Check PPT VIDEO Critical Thinking What is Critical Thinking ? The Differences Among the Verbs of Thinking English Idiomatic Quiz!🤯 #quiz #shorts #youtubeshorts #trending Creative Thinking verbs The most common verbs and their basic verb collocations (HAVE, DO, MAKE, TAKE, GO, GET) COMMENTS 100+ Bloom's Taxonomy Verbs For Critical Thinking Bloom's Taxonomy Verbs For Critical Thinking. by TeachThought Staff. Bloom's Taxonomy's verbs-also known as power verbs or thinking verbs-are extraordinarily powerful instructional planning tools. In fact, in addition to concepts like backward design and power standards, they are one of the most useful tools a teacher-as-learning ... Bloom's Taxonomy In 1956, Benjamin Bloom with collaborators Max Englehart, Edward Furst, Walter Hill, and David Krathwohl published a framework for categorizing educational goals: Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Familiarly known as Bloom's Taxonomy, this framework has been applied by generations of K-12 teachers and college instructors in their teaching. PDF Bloom's Taxonomy of Measurable Verbs Bloom's Taxonomy of Measurable Verbs Benjamin Bloom created a taxonomy of measurable verbs to help us describe and classify observable knowledge, skills, attitudes, behaviors and abilities. ... Verbs that demonstrate Critical Thinking EVALUATION Appraise SYNTHESIS Argue Arrange Assess ANALYSIS Assemble Choose Analyze Collect Compare 126 Bloom's Taxonomy Verbs For Digital Learning This Teachthought graphic provides 126 power verbs for digital learning-a kind of Bloom's Digital Taxonomy that relies on the existing Remember-Understand-Apply-Analyze-Evaluate-Create and then provides common digital tasks like moderating, duplicating, blogging, wiki-building, podcasting, and more. The result is a tool that can ... bloom's taxonomy revised The word taxonomy means classifications or structures. Bloom's Taxonomy classifies thinking according to six cognitive levels of complexity: Knowledge. Comprehension. Application. Analysis. Synthesis. Evaluation. The categories are ordered from simple to complex and from concrete to abstract. Bloom's Taxonomy for Effective Learning: 47 Verbs for Objectives In the context of employee learning and development, Bloom's Taxonomy guides corporate training by focusing on critical thinking over simple memorization. Created in 1956 and updated in 2001, it helps trainers design programs that teach employees to think deeply and solve problems effectively, matching today's fast-paced work environments ... Bloom's Digital Taxonomy Verbs For 21st Century Students Bloom's Digital Taxonomy Verbs: A Collection For 21st Century Students. by TeachThought Staff. Bloom's Taxonomy is a powerful tool to frame teaching and learning. In one model is a framework that not only lays out for teachers the kinds of thinking that we, as humans, tend towards, but also provides a kind of hierarchy that etches out the ... Bloom's Taxonomy: The Ultimate Guide [Free Download] Verbs to use in this stage of Bloom's taxonomy include apply, demonstrate, predict, show, solve or use. That could come in the form of collaborative group projects or the composition of a blog. ... This level allows students to use their critical thinking skills to understand how or why different concepts work together. 4.7. Bloom's ... Bloom's Taxonomy Bloom's Action verbs . Below is a table of action verbs adapted from Bloom's Revised Taxonomy, (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001). These progress from lower-order to higher order thinking skills. Using verb lists such as the one below can assist educators to develop meaningful learning outcomes that target different levels of cognitive complexity. Teaching critical thinking using Bloom's Taxonomy By using the verbs, we can take any kind of input - for example, a listening or reading text - and create critical thinking tasks around those verbs. Furthermore, by taking a task-based approach to teaching critical thinking, we can design a range of integrated tasks which will enable students to do what is necessary to achieve the output. ... PDF BLOOMS TAXONOMY LIST BLOOMS TAXONOMY LIST August 25, 2014 (AD)-Affective Domain List (CD)-Cognitive Domain List (PD)-Psychomotor Domain List Verbs in Bold are also appropriate for Critical Thinking Verbs Higher Order Thinking: Bloom's Taxonomy Creating involves putting elements together to form a coherent or functional whole. Creating includes reorganizing elements into a new pattern or structure through planning. This is the highest and most advanced level of Bloom's Taxonomy. Build a model and use it to teach the information to others. Critical Thinking and other Higher-Order Thinking Skills Critical thinking is a higher-order thinking skill. Higher-order thinking skills go beyond basic observation of facts and memorization. ... object (noun), and often start with, "Student's will...." Bloom's taxonomy can help you to choose appropriate verbs to clearly state what you want students to exit the course doing, and at what ... Critical Thinking Verbs Critical Thinking Verbs. Writing assignments provide opportunities for students to engage in rich problem-solving to support learning outcomes. Students find such problem-focused assignments particularly engaging. Consider how the following critical thinking verbs in a writing assignment encourage students to engage in complex rhetorical tasks. Bloom's Digital Taxonomy Verbs Created in 1956, the Bloom's Taxonomy framework has been applied by generations of K-12 teachers and college instructors in their teaching. The taxonomy is popularly remembered according to the six main categories: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. In 2001, a group of cognitive psychologists, curriculum theorists and instructional researchers, and ... Analytical Verbs: Get To Know These Powerful Verbs Critical Thinking: These verbs help promote critical thinking and analysis. They encourage an individual to go beyond surface understanding and delve deeper into the subject matter. Academic Writing. In academic writing, analytical verbs are crucial for demonstrating an understanding of the material, formulating arguments, and evaluating ... Verbs for Learning Objectives Bloom's Taxonomy classifies thinking according to six cognitive levels of complexity: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The categories are ordered from simple to complex and from concrete to abstract. Each level becomes more challenging as you move higher. Bloom's Taxonomy Verbs for Critical Thinking Bloom's Taxonomy Verbs for Critical Thinking English Writing Skills English Vocabulary Bloom's taxonomy is a classification system used to define and distinguish different levels of human cognition—i.e., thinking, learning, and understanding. Bloom's taxonomy was developed to provide a common language for teachers to discuss and exchange learning and assessment methods. Specific ... Bloom's Taxonomy Question Stems For Use In Assessment [With 100 Bloom's Taxonomy questions are a great way to build and design curriculum and lesson plans. They encourage the development of higher-order thinking and encourage students to engage in metacognition by thinking and reflecting on their own learning. In The Ultimate Guide to Bloom's Taxonomy Question Stems, you can access more than 100 ... Glossary of Critical Thinking Terms The Center for Critical Thinking Community Online is the world's leading online community dedicated to teaching and advancing critical thinking. Featuring the world's largest library of critical thinking articles, videos, and books, as well as learning activities, study groups, and a social media component, this interactive learning platform ... 36 Question Stems Framed Around Bloom's Taxonomy Question Stems Framed Around Bloom's Taxonomy. by TeachThought Staff. While critical thinking is a foundation rather than a brick, how you build that foundation depends on the learning process itself: exposing students to new thinking and promoting interaction with that thinking in a gradual release of responsibility approach. PDF Action Verb List Suggested Verbs to Use in Each Level of Thinking Action Verb List - Suggested Verbs to Use in Each Level of Thinking Skills Below are terms (verbs) that can be used when creating student learning outcomes for a course or degree program. Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation Count Define Describe Draw Identify Labels List Match Name Outlines ... What are Analytical Verbs Analytical verbs are verbs that indicate critical thinking. They're used in essays to dissect a text and make interpretive points, helping you to form a strong argument and remain analytical. If you don't use analytical verbs, you may find yourself simply repeating plot points, and describing a text, rather than evaluating and exploring ... essay homework paper phd review speech study thesis