After class on Thursday, I started thinking about not only grading criteria, but also about written comments on essays. What I said in class, I realize may have sounded harsh, but it is not something I would ever say to the student. I have found that negative criticism automatically turns them off; they no longer listen to any suggestion. That is why I found the chapter in Bean extremely helpful. I, too, believe it is best to start with the positives of the paper in the end summary because it boosts the student's confidence, which prepares him for the "bad" news. I also find that students take constructive criticism better if the positive is outlined first since they feel you are being open and objective instead of hateful and "out to get" them. Although I must admit that it is sometimes difficult to find a positive comment to make since I feel that the positive comments also need to be very direct and detailed (not vague) for them to make a real impression. Also, if you make positive comments throughout the margins, students will read all of the comments and not assume they can be ignored as negative.
With the grading rubric, I decided to change the original one I included with the assignment on the wiki because I feel that the B-C range should maybe be outlined first with the criteria for an "A" outlined separately so the students can see an "A" takes more than the minimal effort. I also feel that the first submission will be the hardest to grade after reading the example on Thursday. I failed it because I assumed it would have been a second submission, which would mean the organization should have been fixed. However, if it was a first submission, I too would praise the content of the ideas and let the student know that it needed a clear thesis and stronger organization.
My last idea about grading deals with marking mechanical errors. It does take so much time, but I developed a habit of marking every error because beginning students in high school need the guidance. I hope I can break the habit since I won't have as much time to grade. Any suggestions on how to tackle the mechanical issues of a paper. Bean was helpful but I feel an "x" still will take a lot of time on some papers.
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On the Online Writery, I often will mark one example of an error that comes up particularly often and advise the student to keep an eye out for the same error throughout the paper. If it's something like commas, I'll suggest they read the paper aloud to figure out where the natural pauses are.
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