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The Matrix
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The Grading Matrix, Written Comments, and Grading Scales
Paul Hagood
LBCC English Dept.
(Return to Tips and Techniques)
How do you grade student writing? (And how do you do it without spending waaaay too much time doing it?)
The first task is to clarify your criteria, and the second is to find a way to give quick feedback to the students for each of the criteria. In the English Dept. we often make a distinction between content and form, and give separate grades for each, and then combine them to form a final grade.
The Grading Matrix
One method to simplify this and to make it easier to give feedback is to create a grading or feedback matrix, with a list of your criteria going down the side, and your scoring continuum going across the top.
For a literature paper, we might have questions that ask students to analyze, interpret, and evaluate a reading. These would form the content of the paper, and we'd give students feedback on how well they performed each of them. We also would ask that the writing be organized, clear, correct, well documented, and formatted correctly. We'd have a line on our matrix for each of these as well.
Here's an example from Writing 122:
Paper #1 Analysis and Evaluation of Two Arguments
| Criteria | Strong | Okay | Needs Work |
| Learning: Did you discuss what you learned about persuasion and what kind of evidence you prefer? | |||
| Introduction: Does your introduction indicate why you thought the issue was interesting or significant? Does it get our interest? | |||
| Analysis of Claim: Do you clearly indicate the main claim of each article? | |||
| Analysis of Support: Do you indicate the writer's main reasons and support strategies? Do you analyze the elements of logos, ethos, and pathos present in each argument? Do you use quotes and details to illustrate your analysis? | |||
| Evaluation of Argument: Do you indicate what you thought were the strong and weak points of each essay, in terms of its support, clarity, emotional impact, motives, authority, etc? Do you evaluate the ethical aspects in terms of goods, rights, and virtues? | |||
| Your conclusion: Do you say which one you found more credible and persuasive overall, and why? | |||
| Are the mechanics (spelling, punctuation, grammar) correct? | |||
| Are the appearance and readability of the final draft good? Do you cite and document your sources using the MLA method? | |||
Often I will pass out this grading matrix when they are reading each other's rough drafts so that they know exactly what I'm looking for. Notice that it gives me a quick way to indicate a number of scoring criteria for the paper. Sometimes I replace the Strong/OK/Needs Work with a numerical scale, but in general I find that this simple scale communicates better.
Here's a link to a great collection of grading matrices (they're called assessment criteria and rubrics on this page):
Creating Effecting Writing Assignments (plus many other topics)
Oregon State's Writing Intensive Curriculum Links page
Comments
With a longer paper, we'll also give some written feedback at the end so that students get a quick idea of what we thought were the main strengths of the paper, and what needed work the most. Some of us handwrite them, some of us sit at our computers and type them. But the goal is to make it quick - don't write letters!
One technique I've found that works well if I can hold class in a lab setting is to just jot brief phrases, and to then to talk with each student for 2-3 minutes as I hand back papers. My tone and expressions helps them see that I'm positive about the work they've done, that I'm not judgmental about the paper's weaknesses, and that I believe they can revise the paper well if they focus on the main things I point out. Students seem to respond to this much better than just getting written comments back, because they sense the positive regard more easily.
And the final score is...
How do you put all this into a final score? Some of us give letter grades, some % grades. One technique I've found useful when I can let students revise is to give them a grade such as "75% done so far." This is less emotionally charged than a C, and it also communicates a very important point: their writing isn't necessarily bad, it's just unfinished. There's a huge difference in how that feels for the students. I then push them to revise it so that it's more complete. Perhaps they need more detail, or a clearer point, or better structure, or clearer writing. It's all manageable - they just need to do the work.
And if they don't want to do the work? It turns into a plain 75%....
If you don't have the time or energy to allow for revisions, you can still give them a grade like "75% done" to communicate the same thing so that they know they need to do more the next time.
Overall, the most important thing is to look at grades from your students' perspective:
What would they find most helpful as students?
What would they find unhelpful?
What would motivate them to work harder next time?
What would inhibit their motivation to work harder next time?
Comments about this article, along with provisional grades and suggestions for improvement on my next draft, may be sent to hagoodp@ml.linnbenton.edu
Consulting Service Available: if you'd like help implementing any of these tips or techniques, Paul Hagood is available by phone (917-4570) and email (hagoodp@ml.linnbenton.edu) for consultation. You might even get email assistance at night or on weekends!
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