Example:
Cumulative Sequence of Writing Assignments
By Mark Hall

My Major, My Future
This assignment offers you the opportunity to explore what you will need to do--both in college and beyond--to accomplish whatever you have established as your career goal.  For example, if you want to become an environmental engineer, what are the specific requirements for this major?  What experience beyond the classroom might help you to reach your goal?  What are your chances of getting a job?  Will you need to attend graduate school or acquire some other training beyond a four-year college degree?  What kinds of demands will the career make upon you?  What kinds of rewards might the job offer?

Part I.  Annotated Bibliography
Summarize 5-7 texts that address a specific issue related to your career choice--the more specific, the better.  Texts can be chapters from books, academic journal articles, magazine articles, newspaper articles, government documents, electronic sources, or interviews.  Choose a variety of texts.  Each item in your annotated bibliography should begin with an MLA-style citation.  Each summary should be one paragraph (125-175 words) that begins by identifying the main point of the source.  Do not quote from the texts you are summarizing; instead, condense sources using your own words and sentence structures.

Part II. Introductory Essay
Introduce your annotated bibliography with a short essay (250-500 words) that describes your topic and explains how you became interested in it.  Also, explain why your annotated bibliography might be of interest to other students pursuing the same career.  Finally, introduce the specific concerns in your chosen field that directed your research.

Part III.  Documented Essay
Based on your research, write a documented essay of approximately 1,250-1,750 words.  Avoid simply cutting and pasting together the words and ideas of others.  Instead, present your own ideas on your topic, then critically analyze, evaluate, and compare the ideas presented in your sources both with one another and with your own views.  Respond to your sources.  Explain how they’ve shaped your thinking about your topic.