Grading effectively can be accomplished by managing both time and responses to student writing. These steps provide a means of developing efficient grading practices.
Managing Time Effectively
- Read the papers through once to get an overall sense of the responses
- Move papers into ranges of grades
- Use a timer to keep on track—allow no more than 15 minutes per paper (for longer assignments)
Making Effective Pen Strokes
- Focus on global concerns or stylistic problems
- Mark errors on the first page only
- Mark only representative errors
- Place check marks in the margins where errors occur
Providing Effective Feedback
- Terminal comments are the most important messages
- In the terminal comments, document the strengths and weaknesses in the paper
- Use a 3/3 approach, balancing comments on strengths and weaknesses
- Explain whether the students responded well to the assignment
- Encourage or discourage specific writing behaviors
- Set goals for future assignments
Using Technology Effectively
- Return error-laden essays for proofreading and correction
- Use style editors or other software packages to scan student writing for errors
- Have students peer-edit before the final draft is due
Responding to L2 (ESL) Writers
- The content of the essay should be the primary focus
- Sentence-level issues should be addressed by patterns of error
- Concentrate on marking those errors that interfere with the writer’s message
- Demonstrate where the student has used a part of speech correctly