Writing Teachers Gather Round

[lunabee34]

I know a lot of my flist is in academia, and zulu and I have been talking about teaching and teaching writing specifically, and I decided to host a post about teaching writing.

So, if you teach or have taught writing at any age level, what are some of the strategies you use? Specific assignments? General thoughts about writing instruction?

If you have ever been a student of writing, what are some things your teachers did that worked? Failed abysmally? General thoughts about learning/teaching writing?

Recs for books, essays, or websites also appreciated.

Please feel free to share this around.

I'll put my thoughts in comments rather than the top-level post.

Comments

Rubrics

[zulu]

Does anyone have a good method of using a rubric? Or a successful way to generate a rubric for an assignment that shows what you're looking for in a finished piece?

Re: Rubrics

[lunabee34]

No. LOL

I do have a rubric I put up in all of my classes, but it's one of those huge, unwieldy rubrics that have this is what an A paper is like, etc, not one that has points on it.

I have found that using a rubric for writing becomes really limited because a rubric is easiest to use for quantifiable stuff (like grammar, punctuation, spelling, formatting) rather than more subjective stuff like sentence quality and depth of idea. Every time I've tried to use a rubric, it's always resulted in horrible grades for students because they get dinged, dinged, dinged for SPAG.

I will be sitting on this thread hoping someone has an idea.

Re: Rubrics

[zulu]

That rubric sounds really good--this is what an A paper does and so on. Right now I have a 5x6 grid for a total of 30 points. But it's difficult for me to justify each and every box. It's a feeling not a measurement, and boy the students know it. They're like, "But why?" And when I'm grading, I decide on the grade the paper deserves and then tick the boxes, otherwise exactly like you say, they lose all their marks on the unimportant stuff and I have to re-do it anyway.

Re: Rubrics

[the_rck]

I have a vague memory of high school teachers who gave each paper two or three different scores. So many points for grammar/spelling. So many points for logical structure/convincing arguments. So much for... I have no idea. Possibly research and citations? Possibly complexity of expression? Possibly both?

Re: Rubrics

[zulu]

Yes, that sort is what I have. I really don't like it but it seems to reassure some of my first-year students? I want to be able to clearly communicate what an assignment requires and what shows they've achieved that standard, but I don't think this is working as it stands.

Re: Rubrics

[lunabee34]

Check out lyr's rubric below.

Re: Rubrics

[lunabee34]

Yep. This is exactly the problem I encounter. I will try to remind myself to send you the rubric that has no points but just shows what a good paper is at each grade level. You might can adjust it to be what you want.

Re: Rubrics

[lyr]

Yes. I use very specific, weighted rubrics, so that students can see exactly which things they excelled or fell short on and how much relative importance each of those things had. This helps them to understand the reasoning behind their grades, and also lets them know what's most important to focus on in revision. I design a different rubric for each assignment that reflects exactly what I expect them to be able to do in that paper and gives the point value possible for each category so that they can see the relative weight of all the criteria. For instance, my students are turning in their causal argument essays this Thursday. They've already seen the rubric I'll be using, so they know that they need to concentrate most on use of credible, relevant evidence (1-15 points) and critical thinking as demonstrated by fully explaining their claims of chains of causality and the warrants that underlie them (1-15 points). By contrast, a correctly formatted Works Cited page is only worth up to 5 points, and skillful use of sources and quotes clocks in the middle with up to 10.

Re: Rubrics

[lunabee34]

That sounds really useful. I just struggle with making the rubric weight the right stuff appropriately; it sounds time-consuming to make a new one for each paper; does it get easier as you spend time making them?

Re: Rubrics

[lyr]

It really does. I can look back at the rubric I last used for the same kind of assignment and tweak it to match whatever I've covered differently with the current class, and that saves a lot of time.

Re: Rubrics

[lunabee34]

Would you mind at some point sending me one or two of the rubrics you use? Or even just cutting and pasting it here in comments so Zulu can see, too. I've love to get a closer look.

Re: Rubrics

[lyr]

Sure! Here is the one my first semester freshmen are working from right now. Their assignment is to write a causal argument based off of an issue raised by one of our readings:

Content, Development, and Organization

_____ 1-5 Paragraph organization
Paragraphs break in logical places, and all content is in the paragraph where it belongs.

_____ 1-15 Support
Evidence is relevant and well-developed. Examples serve to fully illustrate and substantiate your thesis. There is careful explanation of your causes.

_____ 1-15 Critical thinking
There is intelligent and thoughtful exploration of chains of events. You draw connections to larger warrants, and the reasoning behind all your claims is fully explored.

_____ 1-5 Introduction
The introduction is well-structured and does the job of introducing your position and your thesis.

_____1-5 Conclusion
The conclusion is well-structured and does the job of tying up your ideas into a developed thesis.

_____1-10 Focus
You remain on topic, and you include all the information you need without any filler or needless repetition. You clearly explain the relevance of all the evidence you use.

_____1-5 Body paragraphs
Your body paragraphs are well-structured with topic sentences, transitions if necessary, explanations and examples, and ties back to your thesis at the end.

Grammar, Vocabulary, and Mechanics

_____ 1-15 Grammar
Punctuation, verbs, pronouns, and sentence structure are correct.

_____ 1-10 In-text citations
You use at least 3 in-text citations and cite them correctly. You integrate the quotations smoothly to support your points effectively.

_____ 1-5 Word choice
The vocabulary you use is appropriate. Your words mean what you think they mean, and are also non-slang.

_____ 1-5 Works cited
You have a Works Cited page, and it is in the correct format.

_____ 1-5 Format
You follow MLA format correctly in the body of your paper. Your margins, font, spacing, and headers are all as they're supposed to be.


Also, for comparison, here is one from my second semester course. The assignment for this one is to write a research-based argument taking an issue affecting modern America and tracing it back to its historical roots:

Content, Development, and Organization

_____ 1-5 Paragraph organization
Paragraphs break in logical places, and all content is in the paragraph where it belongs.

_____ 1-15 Treatment of sources
Evidence is relevant and well-explained. You understand and accurately represent your sources. Examples serve to develop your position, but also fairly represent the position of the source material. Instead of merely reporting on the information you find, you use it to effectively strengthen your own thesis.

_____ 1-15 Argument
You build a strong, logical argument for your thesis. You make a clear, confident claim about the development of your issue from its historical roots, and you do not oversimplify the complexities of that development.You are not simply reporting the information you gathered from your sources, but using it to build and support an independent thesis of your own.

_____ 1-5 Introduction
The introduction is well-structured and does the job of introducing your position and your thesis.

_____1-5 Conclusion
The conclusion is well-structured and does the job of tying up your ideas into a developed thesis.

_____1-10 Counter-argument
You include at least one counter-argument that engages either why a reader would disagree with your position or how you disagree with one or more of your sources.

_____1-5 Body paragraphs
Your body paragraphs are well-structured with topic sentences, transitions if necessary, explanations and examples, and ties back to your thesis at the end. You engage with one or more sources per paragraph.
Grammar, Vocabulary, and Mechanics

_____ 1-15 Grammar
Punctuation, verbs, pronouns, and sentence structure are correct.

_____ 1-10 In-text citations
You use correct in-text citations and integrate quotations smoothly to support your points effectively.

_____ 1-5 Word choice
The vocabulary you use is appropriate. Your words mean what you think they mean, and are also non-slang.

_____ 1-5 Works cited
You have a Works Cited page, and it is in the correct format.

_____ 1-5 Format
You follow MLA format correctly in the body of your paper. Your margins, font, spacing, and header are all as they're supposed to be.

Re: Rubrics

[lunabee34]

This is so awesome. Thank you so much for linking this. I am going to experiment with seeing if I can get a variation of your rubric to work for me.