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7969 · Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 5782 Location: Coastal Guangdong

i have writing classes for the 2nd year now. i enjoy them. however, last year i didnt have a very effective marking scheme for the students work.

i need to develop a system that deducts marks depending on the weight of the error.

i instruct the classes on punctuation, correct sentence structure, various clauses, writing short notes, memos, business letter, emails, short essays etc.

the things i consider are when marking are:

forget to double space the work (-10), margins (-3 to -5), general legibility (variable),
grammar, or lack of (-2 to -5 variable), spelling (-1 to -2 per error. repetition of the same spelling error only counts once), misuse of words (-1 to -2), content, did the student answer the question or fulfill the requirements of the task (variable).

does this seem reasonable? any suggestions for improvement?

7969

johnchina · Joined: 24 Apr 2006 Posts: 816

A few ideas:

range of grammar structures
paragraphing
clear intro/conclusion
format (esp. for letters)
register (level of formality / appropriate vocab.)
use of idiomatic language

saint57 · Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 11:47 am Post subject: Hello

Why is double spacing the worst thing a student can do in your class?

7969 · Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 5782 Location: Coastal Guangdong

kev7161 · Joined: 06 Feb 2004 Posts: 5880 Location: Suzhou, China

Why not just create a standard rubric that can be easily used on any and all papers?

You can just deduct, say, 5 points for each kind of error (spelling, spacing, punctuation, etc.). If they forgot to put in ALL periods, they lose the full 5 points in punctuation. If they left off maybe a couple periods and a question mark, perhaps they retain 4 out of 5. As the semester lengthens, you can become more critical in your grading due to the fact you've taught certain writing skills and they should be retaining what you've taught - - emphasis on "should"!!

Be sure each of your students get a copy of the rubric so they know going in how you're going to grade. If they want to slack off, so be it, you've let them know what you are expecting.

7969 · Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 5782 Location: Coastal Guangdong

Lorean · Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Posts: 476 Location: Beijing

I would add a small penalty for incorrect spacing.

Examples:
This is an essay commonly written by Chinese students . They have difficulty using correct spacin g rules .Unfortunately,this poor grasp of spacing rules makesthem appear unprofessional in business communications.

saint57 · Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 11:17 pm Post subject:

The way you wrote it, it appeared that you were deducting marks if they double spaced something.

7969 · Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 5782 Location: Coastal Guangdong

Yu · Joined: 06 Mar 2003 Posts: 1219 Location: Shanghai

I dont usually take away points for errors, I just dont give them.
I make a rubric that identifies the areas I think are most important.
For example. I may have punctuation worth 10 points.
A student gets 10 points for no errors.
8 points if errors are minor.
6 if errors are numerous and can cause misunderstanding.
4 if errors cause frequent misunderstanding.
2 if punctuation is present, but all in error.
and 0 if there is no punctuation at all.

Then for spelling I would have a similar system.

I generally look at these ares:

Grammar and Mechanics
(grammar, spelling, punctuation)
Sentence Structure
(variety of sentence types, used correctly)
Content and Organization
(use of transitions and follows logical organization)
Idiomatic Use of Language
(chooses clear words to express ideas)
Format
(follows rules for format provided by the instructor).

Then make descriptors of what a student would need at each level and grade accordingly.

You might google writing evaluation rubrics and find something similar to what I am describing.

Burl Ives · Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Posts: 226 Location: Burled, PRC

I like JohnChina's Few Ideas:

7969 · Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 5782 Location: Coastal Guangdong

Leon Purvis · Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 2:57 am Post subject:

I had a university writing class which spoke very well but did not write well. The students just did not care about their writing because the Chinese teachers did not take the time to make any meaningful attempts to indicate errors.

I found myself swamped in terrible work in two weeks. I decided to underline their mistakes and make short notes and then return the papers to the students. At this point I told them that they were to work with a peer to make their papers intelligible and that no grades would be issued until their papers improved drastically.

They'd work on the papers, turn them in, and I'd do the circle and arrow bit and make short remarks, and then return the papers over and over again until they got it right. This activity was accompanied by classroom instruction in which I reviewed the most common mistakes and gave tips on how to express the idea better.

It was not until the middle of the semester that the students began receiving grades on their work. They realized that if they continued to give me trash, they'd get it right back. By the end of the semester, these students were writing short, but excellent papers.

My philosophy is that revision is necessary for the developing writer to make progress in written expression. The teacher is a facilitator and, in the end, an evaluator, not a paper corrector.

In order to maintain student motivation, I stressed that success in the class was determined by how well the student finished the class.

For the final examination, the class was given a choice of topics upon which to write IN CLASS. I was surprised how well my students performed.

ddeubel · Joined: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 39

I like the ideas mentioned too.

I would suggest going here and finding some rubriks to help in evaluating.

http://www.esnips.com//web/eflclassroom-Writing/

Plus lots of other writing materials. I think there is also a blank rubrik form with descriptors that you can use to make your own rubrik. Also rubrikstar works well (website).

DD

Yu · Joined: 06 Mar 2003 Posts: 1219 Location: Shanghai

Remind your students that writing marks, unlike multiple choice, are subjective. That if you given the exact same paper 3 times in different years may rate it differently. For example if you read five excellent papers and one that is just ok, you may give it an even lower grade. But if you read five papers that were terrible, you may rate the ok one a bit higher. Remind them that there may be a few points variation, but it does not reall mean that much. They should pay more attention to the reasons their score was lower in some areas and focus on what their weaknesses are and seek to improve. Let them compare their writing over a extended time and see if they are making gradual improvement. Also if the student is not happy with their score, invite them to revise their paper and resubmit it. It is good to encourage them to write multiple drafts.

Unlike a test where there is one answer, the grade on their paper can also be influenced by things like whether or not you had a cup of coffee. And that over time, they will get an average grade that will reflect their writing ability. Students could have the same number of mistakes, but some mistakes are more serious than others and any mistake that causees misunderstanding is going to be marked down more than one that is just superficial.