Matt Whelihan, Chair of English
Kate Cottle, Chair of Literature and Humanities
Liz Slater, English Instructor
WU’S GRADUATION
COMPETENCIES
It is intended that students earning an undergraduate degree will
demonstrate university level proficiency in the following areas:
Written Communication
 Write with clarity and precision using correct English grammar:
mechanics (punctuation) and usage (sentence structure and
vocabulary).

Correctly and ethically present scholarly writings utilizing the
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA).
 All students must have these
competencies as they complete
their college careers.
 It is the collective responsibility
of all instructors to ensure that
students have these
competencies (Writing Across
the Curriculum[WAC]).
 Yet sometimes it is easy to be
overwhelmed by essay grading:
what to do?
http://wac.colostate.edu/atd/articles/haswell2.jpg
How can we better
help our students
eliminate the errors
in their writing?
The answer is
simple: put the
responsibility of
editing on the
students.
http://stopgrammartime.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/5.jpg
Students can catch more than 60% of their own writing
errors if they are:
 Taught to proofread
self-edit
read work aloud
peer edit
Peer-Review (Editing Buddy) before final paper is due
Stanford University: “Save Time – Use Student
Readers” (p. 3)
Virginia Tech, Carnegie Mellon, University of Maryland
 Here is Duke’s handout
 University of Kansas proofreading suggestions to students:
 “Read your writing out loud, slowly and carefully. Doing so will
help you catch errors that you might otherwise not see. Watch for
places where you pause, stumble or re-read because those might
be trouble spots. If something sounds strange as you read it, there
is probably a reason why.” (2011)
 It can also be helpful to read your writing out loud,
sentence by sentence, from the end of your paper
backwards to the beginning.
 Also recommended by North Carolina University, Harvard,
University of Massachusetts, SUNY.
 Have students fill out a
checklist as they self-edit.
 This strategy is recommended
by Duke, SUNY, Colorado State
University, University of New
Hampshire, University of
Portland
 Here are three of the best:
 University of Victoria
 New Hampshire University
 Santa Barbara City College
 Walden University – APA
 Southern Nazarene University writes:
 Develop a buddy system in which someone else
proofreads everything you write.
 You know what you meant to say. Thus, although your eye sees an error,
it may not register in your mind. Having another person proof your
papers makes it more likely that errors will be seen.
 Other universities who follow this practice
 Stanford
 University of Maryland
 Given the rubric and a model paper when the assignment
Yellow
bordered
paper
is made
 Yale – Social Science, Bioethics, History, and more
 Yale – Additional Sample Papers: Photography, Natural
Science, Philosophy, Literature
 Bedford St. Martin’s – Sociology, Nursing, Psychology,
Reflection
 University of Memphis – Psychology, Sociology, Religion
 Purdue OWL – Sample APA Paper with annotations
 University of Illinois – Sample Business Paper
 Harvard Business School – Several Sample Papers
 Require revision: The essay is marked by a flow and
rhythm appropriate for academic writing.
 Readability – sentences sound natural and fluid when
read aloud.
 The essay adheres to the standard conventions of
mechanics, usage, and grammar (MUGs).
 Then, ensure students show evidence of revision
 Look at first and revised drafts side by side
 Put in a grade cap for those who don’t revise
Final Note: Instructional Comments  Ready to Cut and Paste
 Every time an essay is assigned, have students write two
drafts.
 In between the first draft and the revised draft (and before
you read anything), have the students make use of three
resources:
 SafeAssign
 Student Success Center
 SmarThinking
 Grammar & Documentation Review
 Essay Center – 1 Hour Review
 SafeAssign (also can be enabled in your class)
 Blackboard Organizations: APA Wizards and Big MUGs Club
 Look over a set of papers quickly and return error-laden essays
for proofreading and correction. (Virginia Tech)
 “Papers that have not been proofread are not worth your time to
read. Anyone can miss a couple of misplaced commas or a
spelling error or two per page, but you should not waste your
time trying to read a paper riddled with errors the students was
too careless to correct. Handle such situations with care: giving
a paper back with nothing but a dismissive comment can do
more harm than good. It is your job to help students understand
how important it is to produce work appropriate for the
audience – and that includes presenting good, clean, easily read
text.” (University of Maryland)
 Set time aside in class to
conference with students
 Some conferences will be quick:
answering 1-2 specific questions
 If a full conference, there are
some guidelines to follow
 Look at two structural elements and
one grammatical
 Grade in trends
 Keep the tone conversational
 Employ the compliment sandwich
 Use Kaltura to give oral feedback
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oyTFFhn08x8/TzFbZyPnNqI/AAAAAAAAA2A/XZOyaZV_zDo/s1600/compliment+sandwich.jpg
 Track Changes
 Grammatical
feedback in text
 Structural feedback
in Comments
 Auto Correct
 List of suggested
Comments
 Save as PDF to
save formatting
http://novelinspirations.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/word1.224135751_std.png
Make students accountable:
 Read work aloud
 Use Student Readers
 Self-edit – checklists
 Rewrite Error-laden Essays
 Use SmarThinking, the Student Success Center, and
SafeAssign
 Revise work based on instructor comments
 Conferencing
 Track Changes
 How can the College of Arts and Science help you?
 Are there any writing topics that you would like offered in
upcoming workshops?