What you’ll learn to do: explain common college-level writing assignments and effective writing techniques

Effective writing is essential to your success in college. In this section, you’ll learn about common writing assignments and about writing organically. High school writing often emphasizes formulaic structure, such as the five-paragraph theme or the three-point essay. Those structures are appropriate as an introduction to academic writing because they teach writers to make a point and use evidence to support it in an organized way. Those structures are especially useful when responding to standardized tests under time pressure. In college, though, you’ll be writing in a wide variety of disciplines for many different purposes. You’ll need to move beyond formulaic structures and learn how to develop and organize your ideas more organically. So, what’s the difference between formulaic and organic structure? Read on to find out.