R.A.F.T.S. 


The writing prompts you create for your students should include enough structure to clearly define what the student should do and for whom the student is writing as well as allow for creativity and imagination on the part of the writer.  The RAFTS assignment, developed by Nancy J. Vandeventer, offers a balance of structure and flexibility.
 

R= Role

     A= Audience

          F= Format 

               T= Topic

                    S= Strong Verbs

Role: In designing writing prompts allow students to take on a variety of roles so that they may explore different points of view. The role designated in the assignment should suggest whom the writer is as well as the tone of voice and mood used to convey the point.
Suggested Roles: expert, parent, an object, enemy, a character from history or literature, critic, etc.

Audience: Clearly identify the audience for the writer.  A student will write what he or she thinks the teacher wants if that is the only audience he or she writes for.  "Role and audience together give you specifics about your relationship and attitudes which must be included in your writing." (Adler)
Suggested audiences: self, peers, protester, company, a character from literature or history, etc.

Format: Be specific about the format for the assignment.  Students will develop stronger writing skills if they are challenged to write in a variety of formats.
Suggested formats: essay, narrative, letter, speech, editorial, script, memo, dialogue etc.

Topic: The topic of the assignment should be narrow enough for the writer to address without bring overwhelmed. Focus the topic to include the skills you are evaluating. A well-developed topic will encourage well-written papers.

Strong Verbs: Use strong verbs to define what the writer is to do. Include the tense you expect the writer to use. Most students are more proficient in past tense so it is valuable to develop some assignments that require present tense verbs.
Suggested Strong Verbs: convince, share, assess, prove, persuade, translate, evaluate, etc.

Source:  Adler, Richard.  Writing Together.  Kendall-Hunt: Iowa, 1989.