Designing and Assessing Student Writing
presented by
Judith M. Davis, Director
Writing Technology Laboratory
Hampton University
18 November 2002
Why write?
• Are students writing to learn? Or are students
writing to demonstrate knowledge?
• What are the goals and objectives of the course?
How will the writing assignment fit those goals
and objectives?
• How much writing, what types of writing, and
what specific assignments will help the student to
achieve those objectives?
What are the goals and
objectives?
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Hampton University
School
Department
Course
Assignment
What are the purposes for
writing?
• Writing to learn
• Writing to demonstrate knowledge
• Writing to produce “polished” products
What types of writing?
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abstracts
case studies
essays
“research” papers
“term” papers
lab reports
articles
reading responses
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journals
literature reviews
scripts
arguments
analyses
instructions
process descriptions
essay tests
How do writers write?
Fluency
 Form
 Correctness
What are levels of cognitive
demand?
• What is the students’ level of content
mastery?
• Through what cognitive levels must the
students pass in order to complete the
assignment?
• How can assignments be broken down and
sequenced to lead students through
successive levels of cognition?
Bloom’s Taxonomy
(lower order thinking skills)
• Knowledge level
– Define, describe, distinguish, identify,
indicate, list, recall, show, state, tell
• Comprehension level
– Compare, conclude, contrast, demonstrate,
differentiate, estimate, explain, illustrate
• Application level
– Apply, construct, develop, plan, solve, test
Bloom’ Taxonomy
(higher order thinking skills)
• Analysis level
– Analyze, classify, discriminate, distinguish,
explain, recognize, support
• Synthesis level
– Create, derive, develop, formulate, propose,
suggest, synthesize
• Evaluation level
– Choose, decide, defend, evaluate, judge, select
How can I get the writing I
want?
• Define goals and objectives.
• Break large projects into smaller writing
assignments.
• Sequence assignments to correspond to
students’ increasing mastery.
• Remember that all writing does not have to
be graded. Plan some assignments that
allow students to “write to learn.”
How can I get the writing I
want?
• Schedule dates for preliminary assignments
leading up to a large project.
• Consider how the project(s) will be
evaluated (both as individual assignments
and in the broader context of the course
grade).
• Put your assignments in writing and
include evaluation criteria on the
assignment sheet.
How can I use feedback to help
students to grow as writers?
• Distinguish between formative and summative
feedback.
– Formative
• use for journals, informal writing, ungraded assignments, and
drafts
• focus on content, organization, and development
– Summative
• use for final drafts and major projects
• focus on content, as well as style and mechanics
• Always point out the best part of the writing.
How can I get the writing I
want?
• To address difficulty in the writing, first
determine the student’s stage of
development in relation to the project:
– fluencyformcorrectness
• Address global concerns like organization
and development before local problems
like style and mechanics.
• Realize that all errors are not created
equally.
How can I get the writing I
want?
• Use a three-tiered system for comments:
– identify the problem
– explain the problem
– offer several options for revision
• Be sure that summative comments (and the
grade) fit the evaluation criteria spelled out
in the assignment sheet.
• Use a rubric that makes the evaluation
clear.
Tools for effective feedback
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Assignment sheet
Preliminary writing and planning sheets
Peer review sheets
Self-evaluation instruments
Formative comments on preliminary drafts
Clear, summative comments on final drafts
Grading rubrics
Checklist for essay exam
questions
• What knowledge is the questions designed
to test?
• What is the relationship between the test
question and other writing assignments in
the course?
• How will responding to the question
enhance the students’ learning?
Checklist for essay exam
questions
• Is the question phrased clearly? Does it
use verbs to indicate desired method of
development?
• Is the students’ knowledge level in the
course consistent with the cognitive level
implied by the question?
• Do students have adequate time to answer
the question?
• Are evaluation criteria clearly specified?
Sample Assignment Sequence
• Readings or content material
• Assignment sheet
• Preliminary writing assignments
– exploratory writing
– library research project
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Preliminary draft/peer review/formative feedback
Revision plan/exercises/conference
Self-evaluationrubric
Final draft/summative feedbackrubric
English 218--Instructions
• Readings on collaborative writing, audience
analysis, graphic design, and instruction writing
• Audience and task analyses
• Assignment sheet review
• Daily memos
• Rough draftuser testingguided peer review
and formative instructor feedback
• Final draftself evaluation/summative instructor
feedback (both with rubrics)