Self and Peer Evaluation of Written Work –
Grade 10
Ohio Standards
Connection
Writing Process
Benchmark D
Edit to improve sentence
fluency, grammar and
usage.
Indicator 15
Proofread writing, edit to
improve conventions (e.g.,
grammar, spelling,
punctuation and
capitalization), identify and
correct fragments and runons, and eliminate
inappropriate slang or
informal language.
Benchmark E
Apply tools to judge the
quality of their writing.
Indicator 16
Apply tools (e.g., rubric,
checklist and feedback) to
judge the quality of writing.
Benchmark F
Prepare writing for
publication that is legible,
follows an appropriate format
and uses techniques such as
electronic resources and
graphics.
Indicator 17
Prepare for publication (e.g.,
for display or for sharing
with others) writing that
follows a manuscript form
appropriate for the purpose,
which could include such
techniques as electronic
resources, principles of
design (e.g., margins, tabs,
spacing, and columns) and
graphics (e.g., drawings,
charts and graphs) to enhance
the final product.
Lesson Summary:
Because this lesson focuses on the editing and publishing
phase of the writing process, students must have completed
prewriting, drafting and revising of documents prior to
starting. Students evaluate their own and each other’s
writing as they prepare their written work for publication.
First, students use a checklist on their own draft. Then, they
participate in a peer editing activity. After the peer
evaluation, students have an opportunity to make any final
edits and/or revisions to their deadline drafts.
Estimated Duration: One hour and 30 minutes to two hours.
Commentary:
Because students work at different rates, this lesson is
designed to be completed inside or outside of the classroom.
It also can be used when students are working toward a preset
deadline or in a writing workshop setting that gives them the
opportunity to submit work as they complete it. The materials
provide teachers with an opportunity to assess both process
and product.
“The tools (rubrics, self-assessment and peer review sheets)
are excellent. The methods (whole group, individual and
small group) are conducive to learning for most students.”
Pre-Assessment:
• Observe students working through the stages of the
writing process and students’ working drafts and
assessment of prior documents.
Scoring Guidelines:
Use observational assessment data as well as ongoing
assessment data to determine students’ active involvement in
the writing process.
Post-Assessment:
• Use the Generic Rubric for Evaluating Students’ Work,
Attachment A, to assess the quality of the deadline draft
(the student’s product).
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Self and Peer Evaluation of Written Work –
Grade 10
•
Use Revision Checklist, Attachment B, Self-Evaluation of Written Work, Attachment C and
Peer Evaluation, Attachment D, to assess the quality of students’ writing processes.
Scoring Guidelines:
All rubric and evaluation sheets are attached and include performance criteria.
Instructional Procedures:
Day One
1. Students need to have copies of Generic Rubric for Evaluating Students’ Work, Attachment
A, and their drafts.
a. Review any of the areas of particular concern, confusion and/or emphasis for this
particular writing assignment.
b. Review and discuss with students the differences between exploratory, working and
deadline drafts.
2. Distribute the Revision Checklist, Attachment B.
a. Students work independently to complete the checklist.
b. If students do not finish within the class period, the checklist should be completed at
home.
3. After completing checklist, each student must complete a Self-Evaluation, Attachment C.
Instructional Tips:
Remember students work at different rates. For efficient use of the checklist, emphasize:
• the need for quality;
• that the checklist should be completed honestly and carefully;
• the need to read your own writing aloud during editing;
• one way to search for spelling errors—many students have found it useful to read the
document backwards.
Rubrics and evaluation sheets are attached. Be certain students:
• understand each document;
• use them to evaluate and self-check;
• use them as a guide for work completion;
• use them to assist with collecting all work to be turned in with the deadline draft.
Day Two
4. After students complete the self-evaluation, they select with your assistance partners at the
same writing stage, read each others papers aloud and evaluate each other’s writing with the
Peer Evaluation Sheet, Attachment D.
Instructional Tip:
Use professional knowledge and understanding of the personalities and ability levels of students
as they pair in this activity. It is important that the students are willing to give honest critiques
that focus on the writing and not the writer.
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Self and Peer Evaluation of Written Work –
Grade 10
5. After completing both parts of the peer evaluation, give students an opportunity to
consider the comments they received and make additional edits and/or revisions to their
drafts.
a. Students need not make the suggested revisions in their papers; rather, they must consider
the suggestions and, as a writer, consider the validity and appropriateness of the
comments.
b. On deadline day students must turn in all of their working drafts with their deadline
drafts, including the checklist, self-evaluation and peer evaluation.
Differentiated Instructional Support:
Instruction is differentiated according to learner needs to help all learners either meet the intent
of the specified indicator(s) or, if the indicator is already met, to advance beyond the specified
indicator(s).
•
The indicator requires students to improve sentence fluency, grammar and usage. The
checklist enables students to use specific strategies to improve their writing, regardless of
their current writing levels. Students will be able to use the rubric to focus on specific areas
of their own writing.
•
Activities in this lesson are designed to be completed individually and within pairs. Either
the teacher or peer tutors can assist students having difficulties in particular areas.
•
Students who struggle with writing can use the revision checklist in all of their classes for
writing assignments and as a means to record progress throughout the year.
•
Advanced writing students may start internalizing the revision checklist. These students
should focus on the characteristics of an “A” paper on the rubric.
Interdisciplinary Connections:
These types of activities are important for students to use in the writing they have in any of the
other content areas. As students learn to take purpose and audience into consideration and take
responsibility for their own revising and editing, the quality of their written expression improves.
Science
Scientific Inquiry Standard
Benchmark: A. Participate in and apply the processes of scientific investigation to create
models and to design, conduct, evaluate and communicate the results of these investigations.
Indicator: 2. Present scientific findings using clear language, accurate data, appropriate graphs,
tables, maps and available technology.
Materials and Resources:
The inclusion of a specific resource in any lesson formulated by the Ohio Department of
Education should not be interpreted as an endorsement of that particular resource, or any of its
contents, by the Ohio Department of Education. The Ohio Department of Education does
not endorse any particular resource. The Web addresses listed are for a given site’s main page,
therefore, it may be necessary to search within that site to find the specific information required
for a given lesson. Please note that information published on the Internet changes over time,
therefore the links provided may no longer contain the specific information related to a given
lesson. Teachers are advised to preview all sites before using them with students.
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Self and Peer Evaluation of Written Work –
Grade 10
For the teacher: all attachments
For the students: applicable attachments plus a draft of their written work
Vocabulary:
• deadline draft (a polished copy that can still be improved)
• editing (polishing mechanics, usage, grammar, and spelling)
• exploratory draft (an initial piece of writing that generates ideas)
• invention strategies (things you do to prepare for writing, e.g., webbing, outlining,
brainstorming, or free writing)
• revising (adding, deleting, moving, and/or changing content)
Technology Connections:
• Use a word processor to improve the “look” of the polished piece of writing or at any time
during the writing process.
• Teach students to use all word processing tools (like spell check and grammar check) on your
school’s word processing program, but encourage students to depend on themselves, not the
computer.
Research Connections:
Arter, Judith and Jay McTighe. Scoring Rubrics in the Classroom: Using Performance Criteria
for Assessing and Improving Student Performance. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press, 2001.
An “analytical trait rubric” divides a product or performance into essential traits or dimensions
so it can be judged separately—one analyzes a product or performance for essential traits. A
separate score is provided for each trait.
Students:
• Judge complex performances involving several significant dimensions.
• Break performances into traits in order to more readily grasp the components of quality.
• Provide more specific feedback to students, parents and teachers.
Zemelman, Steven, Harvey Daniels and Arthur Hyde. Best Practice: New Standards of Teaching
and Learning in America's Schools. Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, 1998.
WRITING
• All children can and should write.
• Help students find real purposes for writing.
• Encourage students to take ownership and responsibility.
• Organize “writing workshops” where students journal in a cooperative, workshop setting.
• Realize effective writing programs involve the entire writing process.
• Give students real audiences and a classroom context of shared learning.
• Extend writing throughout the curriculum.
• Teach grammar and mechanics in context, at the editing stage of students’ writing.
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Self and Peer Evaluation of Written Work –
Grade 10
CLASSROOM STRUCTURES
• Small-group activities
Cooperative learning has been described by William Glasser (1990), David and Roger
Johnston (1991), Yael and Shlomo Sharan (1992) and Robert Slavin (1985) among others.
Manifestations
Peer Response and Editing
• Classroom workshop
Students use large scheduled periods of time for doing their own reading and writing. They
collaborate freely with classmates and keep their own records and self-evaluate.
Teachers take new roles as model and facilitator and teach to the teachable moments every
day (Ruth Hubbard 1996, Elinor Ross, 1996).
Attachments:
Attachment A, Generic Rubric for Evaluating Students’ Work
Attachment B, Revision Checklist
Attachment C, Self-Evaluation of Written Work
Attachment D, Peer Evaluation
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Self and Peer Evaluation of Written Work –
Grade 10
Attachment A
Generic Rubric for Evaluating Students’ Work
A grade on a written assignment is the reflection of a series of judgments about the quality of
ideas presented and the manner in which they are presented. The following are holistic
descriptions of universal characteristics of writing. Use specific rubrics, adopted from and
aligned to this generic rubric, for specific writing prompts. Additionally, specific guidelines
should be used if and when you want to assess students’ abilities to use and/or apply specific,
individual writing skills. (For example, assess specifically for correct comma usage, in addition
to using the rubric to evaluate the draft as a whole, use a scoring guide that makes comma usage
worth X number of points with points deducted for each comma error. Sometimes, you may wish
to only assess specific skills; identifying the three or four areas and grade the paper on those
areas only.)
A
This paper is well-organized throughout, down to the individual paragraphs. Sentences are
carefully crafted with virtually no errors in punctuation, spelling, grammar or usage. Words
are accurately chosen; informal language, slang or dialect is used only when appropriate. The
paper is insightful and vivid. The writing is tight and effective throughout.
B
Although the paper is generally well-organized, the paragraph structure may sometimes be
disjointed. The paper may have a few awkward passages and some errors in punctuation,
spelling, grammar or usage, but these errors are not significant enough to distract the reader.
The language at times may be too general; the paper lacks some of the insight in thought
and/or precision in the writing of an “A” paper.
C
This paper responds to the assignment in an ordinary way. Although the paper is basically
well-organized, individual paragraphs may be weak or out of place. The paper follows a
logical plan and contains generally competent writing, although the language may at times be
vague, imprecise or trite. Sentences may sometimes be awkwardly constructed, but their
meaning will be clear. Errors in punctuation, spelling, grammar and usage are not highly
distracting.
D
Although this paper may have a recognizable and appropriate thesis, the paper is poorly
organized. The paper is understandable, although the writing may be imprecise, trite or
vague. Some sentences or passages may be so confusing that their meaning is not clear.
Errors in punctuation, spelling, grammar or usage are distracting.
F
This paper lacks a clear thesis, and the language is muddled and sometimes unclear. Errors
in punctuation, spelling, grammar or usage are highly distracting.
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Self and Peer Evaluation of Written Work –
Grade 10
Attachment B
Revision Checklist
Directions: Follow the steps below to examine your own essay. Check each off as you complete it and
include this checklist stapled to your working draft.
1.
Look at your opening sentence/paragraph; is it attention getting? Does it make the reader want
to continue reading?
2.
Do you include clear, well-developed examples, illustrations and/or ideas?
3.
Have you broken your essay into appropriate paragraphs? You do not need to have five, but
you should have more than one or two.
4.
Have you used transitions to get smoothly from one idea to another?
5.
Read the conclusion. Does it “tie everything together” well? Is the last sentence a clincher?
Does it leave a good impression?
6.
Look at your individual sentences:
Check to see if you have a variety in length. You should have some long and medium
sentences with a few short ones scattered throughout your work. Three short sentences in a
row, for instance, should be revised.
Check your sentence beginnings. Do you tend to repeat words or phrases? Revise those
sentence beginnings that are repeated within each paragraph. Do you have too many
subject-verb starts? Have you omitted there as a sentence beginning?
Have you used action verbs and active voice verbs? Can you eliminate some forms of be
(is, am, are, was, were)?
Do any of your sentences begin with “because?” If so, make sure the first mark of
punctuation in that sentence is a comma and not a period.
7.
Highlight the topic sentence in each body paragraph. Do all of the sentences in each
paragraph develop the idea expressed in the topic sentence? If not, revise the topic sentence or
eliminate the sentences that don’t fit.
8.
Look at the first word of every paragraph. Do you use a variety of beginnings? If not, revise
until you do.
9.
Start at the end of your essay with your last sentence and read every sentence aloud. Is every
sentence a complete thought whose meaning is clear?
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Self and Peer Evaluation of Written Work –
Grade 10
Attachment C
Self-Evaluation of Written Work
After you complete the revision checklist, complete this self-evaluation of your paper.
Writer’s name ____________________________
Title of paper ____________________
Introduction
The best thing about the introduction is—
If I had more time to improve the introduction, I might—
Body
The two best things about the body are—
The body’s organization is clear because—
The body could be improved by—
Conclusion
The best thing about the conclusion is—
To improve the conclusion, I might—
Overall Evaluation
Comment on interest level, style, organization and development of ideas.
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Self and Peer Evaluation of Written Work –
Grade 10
Attachment D
Peer Evaluation
After completing the self-evaluation, choose a partner for this peer evaluation.
1. Read each other’s papers aloud to each other. Give your partner the opportunity to stop and
make any corrections—additions or deletions—that he/she hears when listening to his/her
own work.
2. After each writer has an opportunity to hear his/her work, individually complete this peer
evaluation sheet.
Writer’s Name ______________________________ Title of paper __________________
Evaluator’s Name ___________________________
Content
Is the writing interesting? Does it achieve its purpose?
Are there enough details? Are the ideas related to the
topic?
Points Possible
Points Earned
25
Organization
Are ideas and details arranged in an effective order?
Are the connections between ideas, sentences and
paragraphs clear?
20
Style
Is the meaning of each sentence clear?
Are the language and tone appropriate for the
audience, topic and purpose?
Do sentences read smoothly?
Are there a variety of sentence types, lengths and
beginnings?
20
Grammar and Usage
Is the paper free of problems in grammar and usage?
15
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Self and Peer Evaluation of Written Work –
Grade 10
Attachment D (continued)
Punctuation, Capitalization and Spelling
Is the paper free of problems in punctuation, capitalization and spelling?
15
Manuscript Form
Is the paper free of problems in manuscript form?
5
Total pts.
100
When the writer revises, what should definitely remain in the draft?
Suggest two specific things the writer could do to improve the paper.
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