Post by WIDboard on Oct 12, 2011 7:07:10 GMT -5
Below are Prof. Carol Hayes' tips on how to comment on student writing (as given to a GTA workshop this Fall). As always on WIDboard, it is important to remember that there are multiple ways to do things. These are the thoughts of one experienced professor of writing.
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Tips for Commenting on Student Writing
1. Respond to the content and structure of the paper, not the mechanics.
Mechanics are important, yes. Correcting grammatical and stylistic errors, however, can take an enormous amount of time--and ultimately such corrections don’t teach the students very much. If you correct the errors on a draft, all the students have to do is type in the changes. Because you made all the corrections, the students don’t have to put any effort into learning how to make the corrections themselves. If there are pervasive problems with grammar/style, select one--or, at most, two--paragraphs to edit. Then add a marginal or end note, letting the student know that you’ve made editing corrections on that one paragraph. In that paragraph, you might identify one or two patterns of problems, if you see any. Or, you might simply suggest that the student spend more time at the proofreading/ polishing stage of the writing process before handing in a final draft. Do not comment on grammar or typos elsewhere.
2. Responding effectively to ESL issues. Acquiring proper grammar/stylistic usage of a foreign language is a long-term project. Even if you work intensively over the course of a semester with a student for whom English is a foreign language, that student will not leave your class with the ability to write standard English in ways that will match native speakers. What, then, can you do? One effective strategy is to recommend that students approach their learning of academic English as a long-term goal. Both the Language Center and the Writing Center offer free, one-on-one tutoring sessions for non-native speakers. To encourage your students to use these resources, you might establish contracts with non-native speakers of English in your courses who need help with their academic writing. Let the students know that your goal is to get them in the habit of using the resources provided by the Language and/or Writing Center for all of their writing at GW. If they use those resources consistently all four years at GW, they stand a much better chance of graduating with appropriate language skills. To incentivize their use of these resources, you might establish in the contract that you will minimize the impact of their grammar/style issues to 10% of the paper grade. Proper usage of academic prose will thus remain an important component of their final grade, but the students will still have the opportunity to pass your class with a decent grade--as long as the students provide you with evidence that they’re using the Language Center and Writing Center, and that they’re thus getting long-term help on their writing.
3. Provide positive comments, as well as criticism. Writing is hard. Even if a student has handed in a working draft (or a final draft!) that is completely abysmal, find something positive to say. Doing so will help motivate your students to keep trying. If at all possible, try beginning and ending your comments on a positive note: sandwich your suggestions for improvement in between those positive comments.
4. Limit your comments.
Read through the paper once without making any marginal notes. Put down the pen and sit on your hands, if necessary. Once you’ve finished reading the paper, pause and ask yourself what the biggest strengths of the paper were, as well as two or three conceptual or organizational issues that you think need to be addressed most pressingly. Then write/type/audio record your comments.
5. Let the students know that your comments are not exhaustive.
Tell your students that you have not addressed every single problem in their papers. Instead, you’ve chosen two or three major issues that they most pressingly need to address. During the revising process, their papers will change--often substantially--and other problems may then arise or may become more pressing. And/Or, tell students that you will spend x amount of time commenting on each paper (and then use a timer to make certain you stick to that limit). When you reach the end of the allotted time, let the students know: “There’s more to say, but it’s been fifteen minutes and I need to move on to the next paper.” Both of these moves give you permission to stop commenting and let students know that they need to go beyond taking a “check-list” approach to your comments when revising.
6. Develop effective peer review processes.
The vast majority of your students will not enter your classroom as effective commenters of each other’s work. If you want them to serve as peer reviewers for one another, you’ll need to train them. You can do so in a variety of ways. If one of your students is willing to volunteer an early draft, spend part of a class session modeling the types of comments you want your students to give one another. If you use a rubric in your grading, provide that rubric while your students are still drafting--and ask them to use that rubric to comment on each other’s papers. Or, you can ask the students to engage in a type of peer review that’s grounded in self-monitoring. That is, before the students exchange drafts, each writer should use the “comment” function of their word processing program to ask several questions of their peers about specific sections of their papers. The goal here is twofold: first, the questions let them ask directly for advice on areas they have concerns about; second, the questions prompt self-reflection about their own writing. Instruct the peers to respond to those questions, as well as to provide their own comments (again, using the “comment” function). If you have your students engage in peer review, remind them--repeatedly--that peer review is not about “editing” each other’s work. They should be providing substantial comments about the argument, evidence, structure, and analysis offered in the paper. Finally, keep in mind that your students will become better reviewers with time: it’s a learned skill. The more they do it, the better they’ll become at it.
__________________________________________________________________
Tips for Commenting on Student Writing
1. Respond to the content and structure of the paper, not the mechanics.
Mechanics are important, yes. Correcting grammatical and stylistic errors, however, can take an enormous amount of time--and ultimately such corrections don’t teach the students very much. If you correct the errors on a draft, all the students have to do is type in the changes. Because you made all the corrections, the students don’t have to put any effort into learning how to make the corrections themselves. If there are pervasive problems with grammar/style, select one--or, at most, two--paragraphs to edit. Then add a marginal or end note, letting the student know that you’ve made editing corrections on that one paragraph. In that paragraph, you might identify one or two patterns of problems, if you see any. Or, you might simply suggest that the student spend more time at the proofreading/ polishing stage of the writing process before handing in a final draft. Do not comment on grammar or typos elsewhere.
2. Responding effectively to ESL issues. Acquiring proper grammar/stylistic usage of a foreign language is a long-term project. Even if you work intensively over the course of a semester with a student for whom English is a foreign language, that student will not leave your class with the ability to write standard English in ways that will match native speakers. What, then, can you do? One effective strategy is to recommend that students approach their learning of academic English as a long-term goal. Both the Language Center and the Writing Center offer free, one-on-one tutoring sessions for non-native speakers. To encourage your students to use these resources, you might establish contracts with non-native speakers of English in your courses who need help with their academic writing. Let the students know that your goal is to get them in the habit of using the resources provided by the Language and/or Writing Center for all of their writing at GW. If they use those resources consistently all four years at GW, they stand a much better chance of graduating with appropriate language skills. To incentivize their use of these resources, you might establish in the contract that you will minimize the impact of their grammar/style issues to 10% of the paper grade. Proper usage of academic prose will thus remain an important component of their final grade, but the students will still have the opportunity to pass your class with a decent grade--as long as the students provide you with evidence that they’re using the Language Center and Writing Center, and that they’re thus getting long-term help on their writing.
3. Provide positive comments, as well as criticism. Writing is hard. Even if a student has handed in a working draft (or a final draft!) that is completely abysmal, find something positive to say. Doing so will help motivate your students to keep trying. If at all possible, try beginning and ending your comments on a positive note: sandwich your suggestions for improvement in between those positive comments.
4. Limit your comments.
Read through the paper once without making any marginal notes. Put down the pen and sit on your hands, if necessary. Once you’ve finished reading the paper, pause and ask yourself what the biggest strengths of the paper were, as well as two or three conceptual or organizational issues that you think need to be addressed most pressingly. Then write/type/audio record your comments.
5. Let the students know that your comments are not exhaustive.
Tell your students that you have not addressed every single problem in their papers. Instead, you’ve chosen two or three major issues that they most pressingly need to address. During the revising process, their papers will change--often substantially--and other problems may then arise or may become more pressing. And/Or, tell students that you will spend x amount of time commenting on each paper (and then use a timer to make certain you stick to that limit). When you reach the end of the allotted time, let the students know: “There’s more to say, but it’s been fifteen minutes and I need to move on to the next paper.” Both of these moves give you permission to stop commenting and let students know that they need to go beyond taking a “check-list” approach to your comments when revising.
6. Develop effective peer review processes.
The vast majority of your students will not enter your classroom as effective commenters of each other’s work. If you want them to serve as peer reviewers for one another, you’ll need to train them. You can do so in a variety of ways. If one of your students is willing to volunteer an early draft, spend part of a class session modeling the types of comments you want your students to give one another. If you use a rubric in your grading, provide that rubric while your students are still drafting--and ask them to use that rubric to comment on each other’s papers. Or, you can ask the students to engage in a type of peer review that’s grounded in self-monitoring. That is, before the students exchange drafts, each writer should use the “comment” function of their word processing program to ask several questions of their peers about specific sections of their papers. The goal here is twofold: first, the questions let them ask directly for advice on areas they have concerns about; second, the questions prompt self-reflection about their own writing. Instruct the peers to respond to those questions, as well as to provide their own comments (again, using the “comment” function). If you have your students engage in peer review, remind them--repeatedly--that peer review is not about “editing” each other’s work. They should be providing substantial comments about the argument, evidence, structure, and analysis offered in the paper. Finally, keep in mind that your students will become better reviewers with time: it’s a learned skill. The more they do it, the better they’ll become at it.