Using Ad hoc Worksheets 

You can get a lot done in class simply by pulling samples from student essays as you grade them and putting them on a worksheet for distribution in class. For instance, you might select examples of transitions between paragraphs, transitional words and phrases within paragraphs, uses of evidence, examples of ways to advance an argument, close readings, etc. Over the semester, you can highlight whatever issue seems most important at the time. Typically, structural issues or macro issues should be taken up first, followed by more local matters as the fundamental shape of the essays improves. Going over worksheets can take as little as ten minutes, depending on the type, and they can be used as a springboard into discussion of the literature.