Professor or Editor? Time-Saving Strategies for Effective Grading of Writing Assignments DR. DAVID S. HOGSETTE

Common Questions  What is the purpose of grading?  What do students learn, if anything, from our grading?  How much time should we spend grading student writing?  What should the content of our commenting be?  Should we be editing student work when we grade?  How much grammar should we mark?  How do I make room and time for commenting on content?

Strategies to Address These Questions  Using gateway policies  Marking error patterns  Effective marginal commenting  Effective final commenting  Considering rubrics  Commenting on drafts

Gateway Policy  Knucklehead syndrome  Students submitting unacceptable work  Wastes our time  Increases our frustration level  Establish minimum requirements for accepting papers  Formatting  Certain level of proofreading  Proper citations and bibliography formatting  Layout and design  Do not grade the work  Give it an F  Return it to student for revision and resubmission  Grade the resubmitted work with penalty  If a paper is particularly bad  Stop grading it  Give it an F  Discuss paper in office and offer a chance for revision and resubmission with grade penalty

Marking Error Patterns  How to deal with grammar?  Grading is not the same as editing  Grading:  Evaluates the quality of the work  Explains/justifies the grade  Provides instruction  Editing:  Heavy marking of the paper  Corrects the work for the student  Provides little instruction  Wastes instructor’s time  Marking unique errors throughout paper  Mark only one or two instances of the same error  Mark only new or different errors throughout the paper  Summarize the major error patterns at the end  Marking limited section of a paper  Mark all instances of grammar errors you find on only 1-2 pages of the paper  Indicate to student where you stopped marking grammar  Summarize the major error patterns at the end  Consider highlighting several different error patterns and encourage students to fix them for extra credit

Effective Marginal Comments  Marginal commenting for addressing:  Content issues  Critical thinking  Argumentation  Use of evidence  Comment as a reader, not a writer  Discuss how you are reacting to the ideas instead of how you would write about the ideas  Ask probing questions—helps students open up within the assumptions of their claims  Avoid overwhelming students with too many comments  Encourage students toward improvement  Comment on what is working (positive reinforcement) as well as what is problematic  Consider summative and formative comments  Formative  Instructional comments that help build skills  Well suited for commenting on drafts  Summative  Judgments of quality and justification of grade  Well suited for commenting on final drafts  Mix formative and summative if you do not comment on drafts  If you comment on drafts, no need to provide extensive marginal comments on final drafts

Effective Marginal Comments  Writing classes  Heavy on writing comments  Lighter on content comments  Writing intensive courses  Balance of writing and content commenting  Reinforce both writing skills and course content  Major courses and upper-level electives  Heavy on content comments (concepts, critical thinking, use of evidence, argumentation  Light on writing comments

Effective Final Comments  Provides a summary overview of your views on the paper  Should cover variety of elements including content, skills, and grammar/mechanics  Can incorporate generalized formative and summative comments  Provide a mixture of both positive reinforcement and constructive criticism  Can be used in conjunction with marginal comments  Lower-level students  May be used alone without marginal comments  Upper-level students  Consider using a rubric for final commenting

Considering Rubrics  Excellent for streamlining final comments  Don’t have to write a paragraph at the end  Fill in a rubric chart with numbers (1=Poor to 5=Excellent) or weighted points  Include BRIEF comments for each rubric item after the numerical score  Provide the rubric with your assignment description to clarify your expectations  Explains and clarifies their final grade  Reduces frequency of grade challenges  Consider mapping the grading rubric to course outcomes  Helps with assessment efforts

Considering Rubrics Scale: 5=Excellent; 4=Good; 3=Average; 2=Poor; 1=Unsatisfactory Purpose/Focus: [numerical rank and brief comments] Organization: Content and Development: Analysis and Argumentation: Avoidance of Fallacies: Addressing the Opposition: Language Use: Grade: Points weighting each item Purpose/Focus (__/10): Organization (__/10): Content and Development (__/20): Analysis and Argumentation (__20): Avoidance of Fallacies (__10): Addressing the Opposition (__10): Language Use (__20): Grade (__/100):

Commenting on Drafts  Some professors collect and comment on drafts  Common in writing courses and writing intensive courses  Can greatly increase your grading burden  When commenting on drafts:  Avoid commenting on too many sentence-level issues  Consider highlighting a few major error patterns—avoid editing!  Why correct a sentence when the whole paragraph may be revised or deleted?  Comment on larger items like intro, thesis, focus, paragraphing, content, logic, conclusion, etc.  When grading the final, you need only provide brief, summative comments at the end  Comment on effectiveness of the revisions  Comment on general strengths and weaknesses of the paper  Consider using a rubric for these final comments with minimal or no comments

Conclusion  Grading papers stinks!  Most faculty find it onerous  Many students find the results overwhelming  Consider using the principles and strategies discussed in the presentation:  Streamlines the grading process  Emphasizes instruction over correction  Can reduce your time grading  Makes your grading more productive  Provides students meaningful, instructive feedback