"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth." --2 Tim. 2:15. Effectively Evaluating Student Writing Dr. Jonathan Himes, JBU Professional Studies Faculty Development Conference February 10, 2007

"Study to show thyself approved unto God..." --2 Tim. 2:15. Tips for Painless (okay, less painful) Writing Instruction and Evaluation How to Jump-start Your Students’ Grammar Competence How to Clarify Your Grading Standards for Students How to Streamline Your Grading Process How to Motivate Students to Self-Edit

"Study to show thyself approved unto God..." --2 Tim. 2:15. How to Jump-start Your Students’ Grammar Competence How do we help a diverse student body improve their writing? – Each student struggles with a different set of grammatical issues – We have no time to teach entire grammar texts – “... The burden of learning is on the learner” – Our course materials can guide them to acquire needed skills Early in the semester, assign a Grammar Worksheet, along with a Diagnostic Essay – Helps students self-identify greatest weaknesses more efficiently – Acquaints students with your grading practices While grading, make a list of recurring errors for that class Teach grammar in class only at point of need: 15- minute tutorials at most, when called for “Revise, revise, & again I say, revise!” Revision = seeing again

"Study to show thyself approved unto God..." --2 Tim. 2:15. How to Clarify Your Grading Standards for Students Show your class a description of grade letters A – F, and consider using a grading checklist – Applies to both holistic and percentage/point grading systems – See handout, Grade Letter Descriptors On rubrics, try to achieve a balance between full disclosure of expectations and conciseness – Avoid being too exhaustive and overwhelming – Avoid being too skimpy or sketchy (a paragraph) – Aim to categorize required components with consistency & brevity For all course assignments, provide “To Do” & “To Don’t” Lists – Keep track of your pet peeves, and each semester add to a list for your students

"Study to show thyself approved unto God..." --2 Tim. 2:15. How to Streamline Your Grading Process Take note of typical errors that coincide with certain writing modes – Personal statements: Comma splices and fused sentences – Process Analyses: Unnecessary shifts in tense, person, mood – Memo reports: Passive voice, nonparallel lists Consider concentrating on certain set of errors per paper Return papers of unacceptable quality to resubmit for late penalty Mark only first couple of pages, leaving responsibility of identifying further instances of those errors w/ the student Aim for consistency – Don’t grade angry – Grade in chunks of time – Use pencil in case you make mistakes or change your mind – Review all documents after grading sessions to ensure self-normalizing— so that all A’s look similar, etc.—before recording grades

"Study to show thyself approved unto God..." --2 Tim. 2:15. How to Motivate Students to Self-Edit Before due dates, offer a bonus on papers accompanied by a Cover Memo that explains how revisions improved the paper After papers are graded, offer extra credit for students who look up the errors you marked and explain them in a memo report Offer a Rewrite option for the lowest paper grade (due end of term) that must contain global revisions, not just fixing errors Schedule in-class peer review sessions – Have students use your rubric in class to identify best and worst ¶s and sentences and what makes them so – Offer a small bonus to students who demo 1 ¶ from their draft on overhead for feedback from the entire class Between classes, use a blog site or web board for students to post drafts or ¶s of current papers for peer critique

"Study to show thyself approved unto God..." --2 Tim. 2:15. Closing Be sure to visit JBU’s Online Writing Center (main Eaglenet menubar) – For Student Tips, Tools, & Tutorials – For copies of the handouts used here and for other Faculty Resources Please contact me, Jonathan Himes, for further information or help with any writing-related issues. ( )