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| Writing
Program |
Suggestions
for the Grading of Writing
- Students cannot
fix everything in one revision. Focus comments on drafts on the major
things you would like for students to work on. Make summative comments,
directing the student's attention to key issues.
- Balance your
comments by making several positive remarks about a student's work.
- Editorializing
comments in the margins let the reader know you are engaged with their
ideas, even if you are suggesting that their written presentation
needs more work.
- The greatest
time-saving tip for evaluating writing is to establish a clear sense
of what you are looking for in each essay. If your course is designed
around a series of writing assignments, try to focus on one or two
key elements of good writing for each paper. For example, on the first
essay you might be looking mainly at the essay's focus or thesis statement.
On the next assignment you might move on to transition statements
and overall organization. On the next assignment you might work particularly
on introductions, conclusions, titles, etc. And on a final essay you
might work on using outside sources. While you may still attend, in
your grading, to all of these on each paper, you can minimize your
grading time on each essay by offering your most extensive comments
on the new skill(s) you are asking students to focus on for each particular
paper. Note: if you are inclined to include grammar and mechanics
in your teaching of writing, this approach is effective in teaching
students those "rules" or values without overwhelming students, as
well.
- Do not "fix"
students' papers for them. If a student needs to work on particular
mechanical or grammatical skills, highlight one or two examples of
each kind of error and then require the student to proofread the paper
again and offer a corrected version. If the student is unable to accomplish
this, then refer the student to the Director of the Writing Program
for diagnosis of the student's writing skills and for possible individualized
instruction through the Writing Center.
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