Responding to
student writing
A few tips
Peter Elbow, “About Responding”
 Students learn from extensive writing. Do they
learn from our comments?
 Comments are frequently misunderstood.
 Be humble in your comments.
 The right way to comment: What will help this
student on this topic on this draft at this point in
the semester?
 Consider a “cover letter” that gives you
information about where the writer thinks she’s
at.
Peter Elbow, “About Responding”
 Be clear (in advance) about what you think is
important qualities of this assignment. Comment on
those qualities.

Read the whole paper without comments. Make
checks by the parts that are most problematic.
Remember: 2-3 major problems are all that
students can address.
 Don’t get caught in “little spasms of unhelpful
irritation.”
 Avoid the “voice of God” comments, since students
know that another reader/teacher may respond
differently.
 Ask students to write a response to tell you what
they “hear” in your comments.
Erika Lindemann's Strategies for Response

Read the paper once without marking.

Identify one or two problems.

Assume that there's a logic to what appears on the page
(even if it isn't your logic). Formulate tentative hypotheses to
explain the problem you want to focus on.

Examine what the student has done well.

NOW you’re ready to start commenting.

Avoid labeling problems unless you also give students a
way of overcoming them. (The “No AWK rule”)

Don’t circle every mechanical problem. Show one or two
instances (so they can “see”) and then have them search for
other instances.
Rubrics!
AKA: Your new best friend.
Rubrics: How to create a rubric?
 Think about your outcomes. What are the goals of this
assignment?
 Once you think about your outcomes, then you can
translate them into your “criteria” for assessment.
 Think about your varying levels of success.
(Excellent/Average/Poor/etc. or 5/4/3/2/1)
 Add descriptive language for each level. (What makes
something an “average” or “3” in this category?)
 Put your criteria and evaluations into a grid.
An example of a writing rubric