Writing Instruction and Grading

Writing Instruction
Responding to student writing is the most important work I do as a teacher. I am also fortunate enough to have had class sizes that were small enough to allow for 1:1, student-teacher engagement. I always want anything that I write for my students to serve as a model for the type of writing I want to see from them. My responses to student essays generally include marginal comments for more local praise and instruction, a final extended note on the piece as a whole, and an invitation to speak with me further in office hours. Below, I have included a sample student essay that includes all three of these interactions.

Sample Essay Response

Because students tend to have similar challenges when it comes to writing, I also like to include opportunities for group instruction and the sharing of student writing. Mini-writing workshops 15-20 minutes are a regular part of my students’ school week, where we often work together on sentence composition, argument organization, and the use of sources.

Grading
When it comes to grading, my approach is structured but subjective. I look for five critical elements in student writing:
Demonstrated knowledge of material
Proper citation of source material
Organization and positioning of argument
Creativity
Editing / Evidence of Revision
After this assessment, I like to provide examples from within a student’s essay to show specific places where improvement can be made. Often, I will recommend that a student focus on one or two of these elements for the next essay. Below are three different responses to students given the same essay prompt.

Sample Essay Responses (Final Comments)

Rubrics

General Writing Assignments:

Category	A	B	C	D
Critical Argument
Structure
Evidence & Analysis
Language & Style The quality of the diction and syntax
Mechanics & Editing

Upper-level Literary Analysis:

	100-90	89-80	79-70	69 and below
Argument	On topic, coherent, and built from textual evidence and original thought; includes a “so what”; analysis is in-depth and conclusive	On topic, coherent, and built from textual evidence; analysis is in-depth and conclusive	On topic but not coherent or lacks in-depth and conclusive analysis	Argument is off topic or indecipherable
Structure	Clearly and logically leads reader to a conclusion; ideas are organized by some greater unity; transitions seem organic and thoughtful	Clearly and logically leads reader to a conclusion; minimal instances of misplaced or stray ideas; transitions are evident but not fully integrated	Lacking clear, logical organization; shows some coherence but ideas often stray and lack unity; transitions are evident but not fully effective or integrated	Lacking clear, logical organization, with little coherence of ideas; transitions are absent or ineffective
Textual Evidence	Includes textual evidence that advances argument	Provides at least two direct quotes from the text	Makes general/passing references to the text	Provides no textual support
Language and Style	Prose is polished and takes an appropriate tone; makes consistent use of a literary lexicon	Prose takes an appropriate tone and is mostly polished; mostly consistent use of a literary lexicon	Prose takes an appropriate tone but has little variety in sentence structure or word choice; some use of a literary lexicon	Prose takes an inappropriate tone or has little to no variety in sentence structure or word choice; use of a literary lexicon absent or insufficient
Mechanics and Evidence of Revision	Zero to minimal typos and grammar errors; incorporation of editing notes	Minimal distracting typos or grammar errors; incorporation of editing notes	Some distracting typos or grammar errors; surface level editing	Failure to meet page/word count; several distracting typos or grammar errors; surface level editing