EFFECTIVE GRADING
STRATEGIES
A workshop presented by New York City College
of Technology Writing Fellows
Emily Crandall
Drew Fleming
Pamela Thielman
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Workshop Goals
I. Advance Planning for the Grading
Process
II. Effective Grading and Minimal
Marking
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Activity
Read the text provided on page one of your
handout and mark it as you would your own
students’ work.
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Lower-Order
Concerns
Higher-Order
Concerns
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Thesis statement
Quality of argument/ideas
Evidence used correctly
Logic of conclusions
Use of topic sentences
Organization of paper
Follows assignment?
Demonstrates understanding
of course material
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Grammar (agreement)
Spelling
Formatting (font, spacing)
Citation
Punctuation
Sentence structure
Vocabulary/word choice
Style
Myth
“Students’ writing will improve in direct
proportion to the amount of time their
teachers spend on their papers.”
(Hairston 2002)
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Lay the Foundation
 Before you hand out assignment:
 Design effective assignments
 Establish clear grading criteria
 Rubrics
 After you hand out the assignment:
 Have a class discussion
 Meet with students (one-on-one or in
groups)
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Share the Workload
 Use Library Resources
 Atrium Learning Center
 http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/students/learningcenter/
 ESL Writing Tutors in English Department
 Peer Review
 WAC Fellows
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Build on WAC Principles
 Scaffolding
 Low stakes/high stakes
assignments
 Assignment handouts
 Establish Clear Grading
Criteria
 Rubrics
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More Strategies for Grading
Preparation
 Peer Review
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In class
 As homework
 Online
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How do students perceive feedback?
 Coach vs. judge
 Encourage student autonomy
Students at Bunker Hill Community College,
Boston, MA
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Instructor Feedback:
General Themes
 “At least do no harm”
 Recognize that students interpret most feedback
from instructors as criticism
 Be careful not to turn students into our
adversaries
 Frame comments in a forward-looking way
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Roles of Grading
 Evaluation
 Communication
 Motivation
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Minimal Marking
 Supports students in improving their
writing
 Gives students concrete ways to fix what
has been marked
 Encourages student accountability for the
quality of their writing
 Saves time!
Strategies for Marking
Low Stakes
Assignments
 No marking
 Have a
conversation
 Ask questions
High Stakes
Assignments
 Put the pen down!
 Selective line
edits
 End comments
 Develop a Key
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One Option: Develop a Key
Incorrect word
Upper case/lower case
Incorrect sentence
Join
Insertion
Provide more support
Reversal
Awkward phrasing
Delete
Redundancy
Combine ideas for concision
Yes!
Well Said
New Paragraph
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Supportive Responding
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Ask questions
Use any color ink or pencil…except red
Write in legible and complete sentences
Vary and prioritize feedback
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Supportive Responding (excerpted from K. Walk)
Types of Feedback
 Supportive Feedback
 “You’ve done a great job at finding facts and quotes to
support your argument”
 “You have included facts that support your argument”
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Revision-Oriented Feedback
 “Your supporting arguments need some development, but
your thesis statement is clear and strong.”
 Informational Feedback
 “Most states do allow a waiting period before an adoption
is final—Do you feel that all such laws are wrong?”
 Technical Feedback
 “Your use of verb tenses is often confused. Please review
paragraphs 1 and 2 on page 4 where those errors were
corrected for you.”
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Group Grading Exercise
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Conclusion
 Plan ahead
 Use resources
 Mark minimally and supportively
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References
Bean, John C. Engaging Ideas. 2nd edition. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2011.
Elbow, Peter. “High Stakes and Low Stakes in Assigning
and Responding to Writing.” In Writing to Learn:
Strategies for Assigning and Responding to Writing in
the Disciplines, ed. Mary Deane Sorcinelli and Peter
Elbow. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997.
Harris, Muriel. “The Overgraded Paper: Another Case of
More is Less.” In How to Handle the Paper Load, ed.
Gene Stanford, 91-94. Urbana, IL: National Council of
Teachers of English, 1979.
Walk, Kerry. “Teaching with Writing: A Guide for Faculty
and Graduate Students.” Princeton Writing Program:
30-40.
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Next time on WAC...
 The Creative Classroom
 December 10, 2015
 1pm-2:15pm
 Namm 1005
 Please review chapter 7 and skim
chapters 8-11 in Engaging Ideas
(Bean)
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