Composition teachers have found that students write better papers and learn more about writing when they are given explicit instructions about what to write. As a consequence, most UCI writing assignments begin with a prompt that includes some questions to answer or tasks to carry out. The kinds of tasks vary from course to course, section to section, and assignment to assignment, but a possible (though incomplete) list includes personal narrative (39A) and various kinds of analysis, including textual analysis (39A, 39B, and Humanities Core) and problem analysis (39C).

Textual analysis is a broad category that can be divided into language and rhetorical analysis. It encompasses a number of sub-activities such as definition, explication, evaluation and critique, and comparison / contrast. Each of these sub-activities may be supported by the skill, or art, of close reading. An especially challenging form of textual analysis that is asked for in several courses is "reading one text 'through' another." The problem analysis that is carried out in 39C makes uses of causal analysis, a type of analysis that can also come up in Humanities Core. All these activites and skills can be supported by the technique of counterargument.

There isn't necessarily a conventional format or formula for every kind of assignment but knowing how rhetorical tasks differ from each other and understanding the demands of particular tasks can help you to generate, focus, and organize your ideas. Two excellent sources of information about how to complete particular kinds of UCI writing assignments are the "assignments" pages found elsewhere in the LARC Electronic Writing Center and LARC Writing Workshops.