When assigning Articles and Texts in Zinc, teachers have the option to include writing prompts with Zinc's AI Writing Coach. Zinc Writing Prompts are an excellent way to practice writing fundamentals like creating a thesis statement and providing evidence from the text. You can assign a prompt to single students or an entire class in minutes, and students will automatically receive individual guidance and a writing score!
Zinc Articles are available for students at all Zinc Reading Levels. Prompts may be from one of three categories: Creative, Argument/Opinion, or Explanatory/Informational. The AI Writing Coach provides two rounds of curated feedback. Students cannot "chat" with the AI.
Students automatically receive multiple rounds of feedback and a score from 1 to 5. Teachers may optionally review student work through the Activity Progress Report and update the AI Writing Coach's score if necessary.
Quicklinks
How to Assign Zinc Writing Prompts
AI Writing Prompt Student Experience
AI Writing Prompt Teacher Report
How to Assign Zinc Writing Prompts
Zinc Writing Prompts are an option when assigning any Zinc Article. Zinc Articles selected by students through Zinc Journeys do not currently include Zinc Writing Prompts.
Teachers may assign articles to single students, groups of students, or entire classes at a time with ease. To reach the Zinc Articles page, click "Assign Activities" in the top menu and then click "Articles and Texts."
On the Zinc Articles page, you can browse and sort articles using a variety of methods. Please see the Zinc Articles help page for details.
Click on any article for further details and a preview. Here, you can view the writing prompt by clicking the Writing Prompt tab. The Writing Prompt tab includes the prompt itself, guidelines provided to a student, and a Response Key (if available). Under "Writing Skills," it will state whether the Writing Prompt is Creative, Argument/Opinion, or Explanatory/Informational. The example below is an Argument/Opinion.
Click the green "Assign" button to reach the New Assignment page.
On the New Assignment page, you can choose the class with students who should receive the assignment. Select the correct class from the dropdown menu.
The next step will be Configure Workload, where you choose your options for the assignment. All Zinc Article assignments include a short Article Quiz. If you select Article Vocab with additional options, it will be required before students take the Article Quiz. Select the Writing Prompt option to include the Writing Prompt after students complete the Article Quiz.
Once you've selected all of your options, click the green "Choose Students" button.
Please note that if the student has already received the assignment or chosen to begin the article themselves, then you will not be able to click the checkbox to the left of their name, and they will not be selected if you click the "Whole Class" button. Please ask them to complete the assignment on their dashboard. If the assignment is not on their dashboard, have them search for it on the article page. You will see their results with the rest of the class on the article's Assignment Progress Report.
Article activities expire two months after being assigned. Once an assignment has expired, the student will no longer be able to complete it using the options you've selected. If an article assignment has expired, you can reassign it to a student.
AI Writing Prompt Student Experience
Below, we'll explore the student experience in an Argument/Opinion Writing Prompt. Creative and Explanatory/Informational will be slightly different, but they will still work through a similar set of feedback with the AI Writing Coach.
When a student clicks a Zinc Article assignment on their Zinc Dashboard, they will see a page with their required activities. Students must read the article and complete the Article Quiz before beginning the Writing Prompt. (If vocabulary was included with the assignment, it must be completed before students take the Quiz. If vocabulary wasn't included, students may complete it optionally.) For a full overview of Article Quizzes and Vocabulary, please refer to the Zinc Article help page.
When a student clicks on the Writing Prompt activity, the Writing Prompt page appears. This page provides guidance in reviewing the article and taking notes. These notes will be saved for the student for reference during future steps.
In the next step, students state their argument and provide evidence from the text. Students may click "Show me an example" for helpful explanations. These examples will be generalized and not related to the student's assignment.
The AI Writing Coach provides feedback for the student's argument and evidence. At this point, the student may revise their argument or evidence before continuing.
The student may now use their argument and evidence in their response. The AI Writing Coach requires at least 40 words for a satisfactory response, but teachers may instruct their students to write responses of a longer length.
Once a student completes their first response, they receive feedback from the AI Writing Coach. The AI Writing Coach will always have suggestions for how students can improve their response. Students can expand the feedback for more details.
Students are encouraged to edit their response before making the final submission. The final submission will include a score and updated feedback.
AI Writing Prompt Teacher Report
Teachers can review student responses to Zinc Article assignments with AI Writing Prompts. To view responses, click on a class's assignment on your Zinc Homepage to view the Assignment Progress Report. On that report, click "Review" in the Writing Prompt column.
The report will show the student's final response and score. You can click "Writing Prompt" to view the assignment's prompt. For more details, you can view a tab with the student's AI Feedback or their draft responses. If you feel the student earned a different score than the one suggested by the system, you can update the score using the provided scoring mechanism. Click "Save Updated Score" to replace the suggested score.
