Grading Writing Assignments
Grading writing assignments can certainly be challenging. Do most instructors use a rubric when grading these assignments? What elements would you include on that rubric and what kind of weight would you give to each of those elements?
Melissa,
Rubrics give students more detail as to what you are looking for in their work. I like to us rubrics. They can be a challenge and sometimes will not allow for other issues, but they are still a good start for the student.
Shelly Crider
I always use a rubric for writing assignments. Rubrics give the student the guideline for the assignment. For writing assignments, the rubrics include format- 10%, spelling/grammar-30%, avoiding passive voice-20% and content-40%. When the student has a rubric it aligns the assignment with what I am requesting.
LeWando,
Rubrics will give more guidance for students to follow to complete their assignments.
Shelly Crider
A rubric is merely a guideline of grading.
Expectations and the weighting of the grade
should always be explained fully to the student,
and relative to the point that is being emphasized
at that subject level.
Because it is only a guideline, it is sometimes
difficult to stay totally unbiased per student
and their known personalities and attitudes.
Debra,
Good point. Rubrics are guidelines that all students should follow, but it the instructor's role to make sure that all is understood.
Shelly Crider
Melissa,
I have always used a general rubric for writing assignments that will insure that all students are being graded fairly and, additionally, I provide said rubric and go over it with them prior to their executing the assignment so that they will know the criteria on which they will be scored. Further instruction for different writing assignments can always be verbal, but the key points are contained in the rubric so that the student knows what to expect.
I would provide no more than 5 categories of scoring elements, as more than that can confuse and lead to subjectivity. Some elements for scoring may include: (1) assignment completed in appropriate time frame -- 20%; (2) topic clearly stated and addressed in beginning -- 20%; (3) concepts of topic supported and well thought out and explained -- 20%; (4) closing support of topic -- 20%; and (5) cited sources.
I hope this is helpful!
Part of the rubic should be a student evaluation of their teammates and of themself. If a person has not complelted assignments and the final project is good, how will the instructor know what grade should be given?
Ruth,
Students tend to either be tougher on themselves or think they are perfect. So the more we work with how to see our own work, the better the student will become. Good job.
Shelly Crider
Class,
I have found grading research papers to be a daunting task prior to my college integrating TurnItIn into the course. TurnItIn now allows us to efficiently notate strengths of the paper along with areas for improvement. It also provides an effective means to ensure students do not plagiarize. For the use of consistent grading, I do provide a rubric along with expectations of how the research paper should be presented. In addition, I provide students with an example research paper that I previously wrote in college which meets the requirements of the submission.
My university also uses a phased approach similar to mentioned in this course for students to progress through a research paper. The student first submits a topic, second submits an outline, third a draft, fourth a peer review, and finally a final submission.
Thanks,
Andrew
Andrew,
I, too, like TurnItIn as it helps not only we instructors, but also the students!
Shelly Crider
I use a rubric to grade it includes the usual grammar, spelling, punctuation and content but I add a creative element to it by challenging them to "sell me" on the topic. I use this element to evaluate how they thought outside the box and managed to get me to see their point of view.
Tammie,
Nice job....this gives the student a guideline to follow. I like that!
Shelly Crider
Melissa and Shelly,
In beginning English classes, I use a basic rubric. It looks at four items: Introduction (Did the intro effectively introduce the topic and provide a clear focus?); Body (Is it organized and complete?); Conclusion (Did the writer provide a satisfactory ending without introducing new info?); and GPUS (Grammar, Punctuation, Usage, and Spelling).
This makes it more manageable for students; and it allows me to provide constructive criticism on a part that was done well, but point out opportunities for improvement.
John Kavouras
I believe that using a rubric is helpful to the student that has a difficult time putting the assignment in an outline order and then to grade the paper, the rubric spells out and is specific enough for the student to really make sure they are completing the assignment correctly. If something is missing, you go with what is there and the student can't say that you did not grade it unfairly.
Rubrics are so helpful to the teacher/grading and for the students. It allows the teacher to be very clear of the requirements and exoectations and to communicate to the students what is expected or where they lacked.
I also use rubrics for every writing assignment, the rubrics I use for those assignments vary based on the topic of the assignment. For a recent writing assignment in my Professional Development class on success the rubric I used was based on Organization, Mechanics and Grammar and completeness. It was a 60 point assignment ranging from "Professional Quality", "Adequate", "Needs Improvement", "Inadequate" and then each category is given a point value from 5-20 points. I think rubrics help guide the student through the assignment and they can focus on what is expected from the assignment in regard to content.
This is a great question. I would like to know the same thing. Also, this (writing)challenges the professor to stay up to speed with all the changes to writing skills and assessments. I think grading writing assignments is a good way to correct students before they decide to go out into the world and use incorrect grammar/speech.
Kiofa,
This is a much needed skill as well. With social media accepting and promoting bad grammar, this is a way to guide students.
Shelly Crider
I too use a rubric to grade writing assignments. Some days however, I feel that the rubric I use is not sufficient for my needs or for the needs of my students. I like the organization and wording of the elements found in your response. I believe that I will change mine.
