My Students Can’t Write:
What Can I Do?
Tom Pusateri
Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Analysis
Jeffrey R. Galin
University Center for Excellence in Writing
Tim Lenz
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
Special Assistant for Teaching Initiatives
What Problems Do You Encounter
with Student Writing?

Problems

Responsibilities

Solutions
Summative or Formative
Assessment
Formative
Summative

Comments on what
students have done
well, what poorly, and
assigning a grade

comments that
elicit revision from
students
Holistic or Analytical Assessment
Analytical
Holistic

One grade is given for
overall impression of
paper

Separate scores are
given for each
criterion of evaluation
FAU English Dept. Rubric
RUBRIC FOR HOLISTIC ASSESSMENT OF ESSAYS
SUPERIOR
Addresses the question or prompt fully
Demonstrates substantial comprehension of relevant material
Shows substantial depth, complexity, and creativity of thought
Demonstrates clear and coherent organization
Develops arguments fully with ample supporting detail
Demonstrates superior control of diction, syntactic variety, and transitions
STRONG
Address the question or prompt substantively, yet not fully
Demonstrates comprehension of relevant material
Shows depth, complexity, and creativity of thought
Demonstrates clear organization
Develops arguments with supporting detail
Demonstrates control of diction, syntactic variety, and transition
FAU’S English Department
voted to use this rubric to
provide feedback to
students in all of their
3000- and 4000-level
courses. Faculty provide
this rubric in their syllabi
and direct their feedback
to students using this
rubric.
COMPETENT
Adequately addresses the question or prompt
Demonstrates adequate understanding of relevant material
Shows clarity of thought but may treat the topic simplistically or repetitively
Demonstrates adequate organization
Develops arguments adequately, with some detail
Demonstrates adequate facility with syntax, mechanics, and usage but contains some errors
INADEQUATE
May distort or neglect parts of the question or prompt, and/or
Fails to comprehend relevant material
Lacks clarity of thought or demonstrates confused or simplistic thinking, and/or
Lacks adequate organization, and/or
Fails to provide adequate or appropriate details to support generalizations, or may provide details without
generalization, and/or
Demonstrates significant patterns of errors in language, syntax, or mechanics
USC Aiken requires all
junior-level students to
submit a portfolio of
their writing from several
courses. Faculty use this
analytical rubric to
evaluate the quality of
writing in each student’s
portfolio.
USC Aiken provides
departments with
summary data that
describes the quality of
writing submitted by
their majors.
Loras College Portfolio Rubric
1998 PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT SCORING RUBRIC
For each “area of competence assessment” listed below, please score the writings in the portfolio as a whole on the following scale:
1
Deficiency(ies) on this criterion are so serious as to obstruct the author’s intended meaning and require remediation.
2
Deficiency(ies) on this criterion distract from meaning or the writer’s purpose.
3
Generally competent on this criterion, with some deficiencies that need revision.
4
Beyond competence and worthy of congratulation. Performance on this criterion positively contributes to the author’s intended
purpose. The author shows sophistication in employing this criterion to achieve his or her purpose.
AREA OF COMPETENCE ASSESSMENT Portfolio #_______
A. The student supports ideas with evidence:
1 2 3 4
from personal experience and/or research that is appropriate for the assignment;
in a format (e.g., citations, references) appropriate for the discipline and level of assignment;
that the student interprets and/or integrates in the paper.
The student displays creativity, voice, and/or a sense
of audience:
1 2 3 4
C.
The student organizes the writing in ways that:
1 2 3 4
D.
The student demonstrates critical thinking in one or more
of the following ways:
1 2 3 4
The student uses standard English and effective prose:
1 2 3 4
B.
E.
by taking a fresh, novel, or original approach to the subject;
by conveying the student’s individuality through tone and style;
by directing the writing to a specific and appropriate audience.
are consistent with the purpose of the assignment;
articulate the purpose and structure of the paper, usually near the start of the paper;
link paragraphs and sentences within paragraphs (which are of reasonable length).
by considering and articulating varying perspectives;
by analyzing arguments, relating evidence to claims, and defending a position;
by developing a consistent theme.
by spelling words correctly and punctuating appropriately;
by using correct grammar (e.g., no inappropriate run-on sentences or fragments);
by writing clear, concise, and varied prose.
OVERALL RATING
1 2 3 4
(1 = well below criteria, 2 = below criteria, 3 = meets criteria, 4 = exceeds criteria)
Loras College developed
this analytical rubric to
assess the quality of
writing in portfolios
submitted by its
sophomore students.
Note the similarity of
criteria for writing that
were developed
independently by faculty
at Loras College and at
USC Aiken (previous
slide).
REQUIREMENTS FOR WAC DESIGNATION
Catalog Description of 2000-4000 Level WAC Courses
Preamble to WAC Guidelines
Overview
Requirements for WA C Designation
Guidelines and Recommendations
Outcome Goals for Student Work/Guidelines for Students
Syllabus Templates
Syllabus Rubric / Feedback Form for WAC Syllabus Proposals
Sample Syllabi
To receive a WAC designation, a course will:
1. Provide a syllabus that informs students of the writing-intensive nature of the course and
explains how the course fulfills the WAC requirements below.
2. Include writing assignments that engage students in intellectual activities central to the course
objectives.
3. Include at least two graded writing assignments completed out of class.
4. Count writing assignments for at least 50% of the course grade.
5. Provide a clear, written description of each writing assignment and its evaluation criteria.
6. Allocate class time for discussing strategies to improve student writing.
7. Require students to make substantial revision of at least one graded assignment.
8. Include substantive feedback on all writing that leads to a grade.
9. Require each student to write 3,000 or 6,000 words.
[The words in ungraded writing assignments may count toward this total, as do words in a draft
students must revidse as part of a graded assignment.]
For further information on these criteria and suggestions for teaching WAC courses, please refer to
the WAC Guidelines and Recommendations.. This Document and additional helpful information and
links will be posted on the WAC web site: http://www.fau.edu/
Feedback Form for Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Syllabus Proposals
INSTRUCTIONS: Please e-mail back completed form and any supplementary comments to jgalin@fau.edu with copies to
nrosen@fau.edu and ndeimling@comcast.net Thank you; we appreciate your time and expertise.
Course #:
Course Title:
Reviewer:
Review Date:
Author:
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SYLLABUS OF A WACOK Not yet Comments
DESIGNATED COURSE:
1. The syllabus informs students of the writing intensive nature of
the course and explains how the course fulfills the WAC
requirements and Gordon Rule credit.
2. The writing assignments are integral to the course and are
designed to engage students in intellectual activities central to the
course objectives.
3. The syllabus specifies that writing assignments will constitute
at least 50% of the final grade.
4. There are at least two discreet out-of-class writing
assignments.
5. At least one out-of-class writing assignment requires global
revision.
6. Each student is required to write 3,000 (or 6,000) words. (The
words in ungraded assignments may count toward this total, as
do words in a draft students must revise as part of a graded
assignment.)
7. Written instructions explain each writing assignment, including
an explanation of the goals and specific evaluation criteria for that
assignment.
8. The syllabus describes how substantive feedback will be
provided on all writing that leads to a grade.
9. Time is allocated in the schedule for discussing strategies to
improve student writing.
Other comments:
Allocating your time
Assign and Guide
Assign
Grade
Many faculty members devote less time to discussing writing assignments and more
time providing comments and feedback as they grade those assignments.
(NOTE: This often occurs the first time you develop an assignment, when you
aren’t yet certain what criteria you will use to evaluate student papers.)
Paul Anderson “The Future of
Writing Across the Curriculum
at Florida Atlantic University:
Possibilities and Implications”
Allocating your time
Assign
Assign and Guide
By devoting more time to providing
students guidance and suggestions
prior to writing, you can often
reduce the amount of time you need
to spend grading papers.
Grade
Grade
Paul Anderson “The Future of
Writing Across the Curriculum
at Florida Atlantic University:
Possibilities and Implications”
Resources
Websites:
 IEA Home page: http://iea.fau.edu/ (To get to Scoring
Rubrics, click on the link to “Assessment Resources” and
then the link to “Recommended Teaching Pedagogies”)
 Direct link to Scoring
Rubrics: http://iea.fau.edu/pusateri/assess/pedagogy.ht
m#Scoring%20Rubrics (This site provides links to
several online resources for scoring rubrics.)
Recommended Book:
 Scoring Rubrics in the Classroom (Arter &
McTighe): http://www.corwinpress.com/book.aspx?pid=
3950