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Beyond “Good and “Awk”:Paper Comments That Challenge Students to Think, Rethink, and ReviseChristine CozzensAgnes Scott College18 November 2005“The best kind of kind of commentaryenhances the writer’s feeling of dignity.”John C. Bean, Engaging Ideas: (239) Responding to student writing may be one of the most powerful ofall teachable moments in a course. How can we insure that learning—not frustration, discouragement, or even anger—will occur?Thinking About Writing The old way. . .mark, grade a paperexpect good final productfind faults in student writingmark every errorsummative response: “Y ou can’twrite!”or “You are a C writer.”react to the final workproductgradingChanging Our Thinking About Writing Gatekeeper Thinking Teacher Thinkingmark, grade a paper respond to ideas, argumentsexpect good final product teach good writing in your discipline find faults in student writing teach good habits and strategies forstudent writersmark every error help the novice writer learn to carry outglobal or conceptual revisionssummative response: “You can’t write!”or “You are a C writer.”formative response: “Y ou can learn!”“Writing is worth doing because you have somethi ng important to say!”react to the final work intervene while your efforts can do somegoodproduct processgrading guidingAdapted from Barbara E. Walvoord and Virginia Johnson Anderson, Effective grading: A Tool for Learning and Assessment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998. 127.Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives I: Cognitive Domain (1956)Bloom and his colleagues introduced a framework composed of lower-order thinking skills (Levels 1-3) and higher-order skills (Levels 4-6).Level 1: Knowledge (Recall and repeat information)Level 2: Comprehension (Interpret and demonstrate understanding) Level 3: Application (Apply acquired knowledge to a new problem) Level 4: Analysis (Identify relationships and motives)Level 5: Synthesis (Assemble facts into a coherent or new pattern) Level 6: Evaluation (Use criteria and evidence to make and defend judgments)Anderson and Krathwohl’s Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy (2001) Lower-order skills: RememberUnderstandApplyAnalyzeEvaluateHigher-order skills: Create/ome/faculty/Resources%20for%20Teach%20Learn.htm#AndersonLynn Schultz, Old Dominion UniversityBloom's TaxonomyIn 1956, Benjamin Bloom headed a group of educational psychologists who developed a classification of levels of intellectual behavior important in learning. During the 1990's a new group of cognitive psychologist, lead by Lorin Anderson (a former student of Bloom's), updated the taxonomy reflecting relevance to 21st century work. The graphic is a representation of the NEW verbage associated with the long familiar Bloom's Taxonomy. Note the change from Nouns to Verbs to describe the different levels of the taxonomy.Michael Pohl's Website about Bloom's Taxonomy/educ/llschult/blooms_taxonomy.htm1.Be clear from the beginning about the goals of the assignmentand the criteria for evaluation.2.Determine the role that the comments will play the course ofan assignment.3.Choose the occasions for comments.4.Focus the comments on the goals of the assignment and onthe needs of the particular student at the level that she hasattained.5.Address some frequently occurring writing problems in class.6.Engage students’ minds in the content of their papers and ofthe discipline by focusing your comments on “higher order concerns.”ments in the form of questions are the most likely toattract students’ attention.8.Explain good work.e comments to help the student set reasonable, attainablegoals10.F or some assignments, consider holding conferences with thestudent or with two or three students at once.“The best kind of kind of commentaryenhances the writer’s feeling of dignity.”John C. Bean, Engaging Ideas: (239)Responding to student writing may be one of the most powerful of all teachable moments in a course. How can we insure that learning—not frustration, discouragement, or even anger—will occur?1.Be clear from the beginning about the goals of the assignment and thecriteria for evaluation.Remember that the comments on writingassignments occur within the context of your discipline, your course, and your relationship with the student. What are the relevant aspects of thediscipline you want to convey? What is the focus of the course? Of thisparticular assignment? What will be the characteristics of the successfulpaper?2.Determine the role that the comments will play in the course of anassignment. Do the comments merely explain the grade? Provideguidance for completion of the project? Prepare the way for the nextproject? If you want the students to learn or change, then consider giving them the opportunity to do so by commenting on drafts or by allowingrewrites of “finished” work.3.Choose the occasions for comments.You don’t have to comment onevery piece of work. What other kinds of responses to student work might be effective, given your goals for the assignment? Peer response in theform of in-class workshops or class presentations? Writing Center peerresponse? Self-reflection? A conference between you and the student?4.Focus the comments on the goals of the assignment and on the needs ofthe particular student at the level that she has attained.You don’t haveto cover everything the student needs to know. Concentrate on the two or three things that will help this student most at this stage in herdevelopment. You will find yourself writing very different kinds ofcomments to the student who is struggling to have a thesis than you will to the student who whose work is more advanced.5.Address some frequently occurring writing problems in class. Whatwriting suggestions do you provide for almost every student? How can you avoid writing the same thing on every paper? Go over—in class and for the whole group—some ways in which their writing for the current assignment can be improved. Use a handout, or sample sentences, paper or paragraphs to explain common problems that you saw in most of the students’ papers. This method will save time by allowing you to focusyour written comments on students’ individ ual writing challenges. Usinga handout or an exercise is a good approach for “lower-order concerns”such as grammar, punctuation, usage, discipline-specific elements ofwriting such as how and when to use quotations or the proper method of citation, and your own pet peeves.6.Engage students’ minds in the content of their papers and of thediscipline by focusing your comments on “higher order concerns.”This is the area where they need you the most, and this is the area in which you are most qualified to help them. Students most need your input onlearning to make an argument, managing the conventions of the discipline, organizing their ideas, and moving from simplistic approaches to problem solving to sophisticated approaches. You, as an expert in your discipline, are most suited to responding to their work along these lines. Here aresome suggestions from John Bean’s Engaging Ideas (243-246).∙Does the draft follow the assignment?∙Does the writer have a thesis that addresses an appropriate problem or question?∙If the draft has a thesis, what is the quality of the argument itself?∙Is the draft effectively organized at the macro level?∙Is the draft organized effectively at the micro level?And from me. . .∙What questions does the writer still need to ask herself?∙Has the writer used the evidence or examples effectively?∙What hasn’t the writer considered that could take the paper to a new level?ments in the form of questions are the most likely to attractstudents’ attention. Questions ask for answers and have a chance ofdrawing students into the problem you’ve identified in their paper. To make sure your meaning is conveyed, use phrases and sentences, not just words.8.Explain good work.“Good,” “nice!” and smiley faces don’t let studentsknow what they did right. Even the strongest writers are still learning to construct arguments, make use of evidence, and develop a confidentwriting voice. They need help understanding what “moves” lead tosuccess in writing papers.e comments to help the student set reasonable, attainable goals forthe revision, for the next assignment, or even for the next course she takes.10.For some assignments, consider holding conferences with the student orwith two or three students at once. Some evidence suggests that in-person comments on writing—in other words, a discussion with thestudent involved—will have more affect on improving writing thanwritten comments.Why Marking Every Error Can Lead to Poor Writing1.Error marking can discourage student writers. When a student gets apaper back covered with circled or even corrected errors, she may feel too disheartened to learn anything from instructor’s efforts. This is especially true of novice writers, or students who struggle with writing. Why should she bother? This grammar and punctuation stuff is too complicated,beyond her abilities, only for English majors!2.Grammar and punctuation mistakes are not really what keep thewriting from being good. Will fixing only those problems really improve the writing? The argument? Errors (lower-order concerns) usuallyaccompany problems with argument, organization, evidence, etc. (higher order concerns). It is rare to find a well-written, sophisticated essay that is littered with grammar and punctuation errors.3.Error marking can narrow a student’s concept of revision, encouragingher to merely correct the mistakes instead of rethinking and reseeing the argument. She may engage in localized editing only instead of the more global changes that will transform her writing and her thinking.4.Marking errors takes the instructor’s time and energy away from themuch harder task of explaining more serious problems, more interesting problems—problems that when solved can result in real transformation of the writing.It’s easy for most of us to find the comma splices, the its/it’s mistakes, the overused dashes in a paper than it is to pinpoint andarticulate a weak thesis, missing or mishandled evidence, or faultyargumentation.5.All errors are not equal. The its/it’s mistake may be annoying, but no oneis going to misread the sentence. A dangling or misrelated modifier is a far more damaging problem. Do you know a modification problem when you see one? Are you sure you know which errors are important enough to mark? Are you marking errors that really damage the writing? Or are you concerned with your own pet peeves, or with the errors for whichMrs. Spaulding, the terror of ninth grade English, turned you’re a paperinto a D disaster?One approach to marking error distinguishes between global errors that result in major communication problems and local errors that are still errors but leave the meaning intact.Example from an ESL writer. . .Global Error“The instructors were boring.” when you mean to say,“The instructors were bored.”Local Error “The instructor were bored.”when you mean to say,“The instructors were bored.”6.Good writing leads good editing, not the other way around. As writersrealize that they have something important to say and that their writing voice matters, they start to care about the details and to strive forcorrectness. When writers begin to master higher order concerns, they start to pay attention to correcting lower-order mistakes.How do professional writers write error-free prose? Success at publishing their work—getting their writing voice noticed, praised, engaged—leads writers to learn and use the fine points of grammar and punctuation. And besides, they have editors!The Bottom Linefor commenting on papers∙At least one comment (use complete sentences!) on the content of the paper.∙Questions (in the margins or at the end) that stimulate further thought.∙Find something to praise.∙Be explicit about problems of structure, argument, reasoning, disciplinary conventions, use of evidence, etc.∙Draw attention to patterns of error; don’t correct paper for student but make sure she knows that errors count.∙Help the student set goals for the next paper.Note how in this handout Dr. Thompson* explains the criteria for grading and how she handles the problem of error. Because she has covered a great deal in this handout, she can focus her paper comments on other matters—intellectual matters.*originally written by Steve Guthrie, modified by Peggy Thompson.English 110, B, Fall 2005, P. ThompsonGuide to Grading Thesis-Driven EssaysA A paper that reflects deep and precise engagement of the material. The thesis is clear, pointed, and insightful, the argument well organized, and the analysis skillfully put forward. The style is not only error-free, but it is powerful, subtle, and engaging to the reader. An A paper takes its reader into consideration; it is compelling and exciting to read and provides the reader with a sense of discovery.B A paper that reflects knowledge of the material organized around a clear and insightful thesis. The argument develops the thesis clearly and coherently and is based on skillful analysis of the text. Few lapses in mechanics or style distract the reader.A B paper might also be an A paper as described above, but marred by serious problems in one or more key areas, e.g., there is a gap in the argument, the introduction is misleading, or the argument is not explicit enough.C A solid, competent paper that has a thesis and argument, but that could reflect deeper, more precise knowledge of the material. The thesis may be unclear or trivial; the evidence sketchy or not convincingly analyzed; the argument not coherently organized. Surface errors in mechanics and sentence structure may obscure the meaning.It is possible for a C essay to have good ideas, but serious problems in organization, analysis of evidence, or surface errors.D A paper lacking a real thesis or developed argument. Little or no evidence is provided or analyzed. Surface errors with mechanics and sentence structure may make it difficult to understand.F A paper that falls significantly short of meeting all objectives. Thesis, argument, and analysis of evidence are lacking or significantly insufficient. Little understanding of the material is evident. Surface errors are distracting and obscure meaning.。
