Grading Essays
I teach Writing and the students have to write an essay for each chapter/topic covered. How do I grade these essays faster and with more accuracy?
I also teach writing, so I'm stuck with grading essays, no matter how often I've toyed with ways of grading essays on a Scantron.
We have an official rubric that describes the criteria for evaluation and the levels of achievement for each. The English faculty has turned this into a scoring guide, simplifying the language of the rubric (and the layout). This document/instrument can serve the student as a rubric for the expectations in the assignment, a checklist for the student before submitting the assignment, and a feedback device for the instructor to deliver with the returned paper.
It's particularly helpful to an instructor in keeping perspective. For example, if I'm reading a paper riddled with grammar errors, I might be so annoyed that I forget the student has a really good idea buried in there. In addition to marking the grammar errors in the paper, I use my scoring guide to rate the student's work on Content and Development, Organization, Grammar and Presentation, Information Literacy and Research, and Critical and Creative Thinking. The scoring guide has specific standards listed under each category, and I can provide more specific feedback by underscoring a part (well done) or circling (this aspect needs serious improvement).
It's still a time-consuming task, but this tool helps!
i created rubrics on one of the online teaching websites. It made it easier to grade the essays because it was less subjective. Also, the students liked knowing exactly what I was assessing.
I also tried this method when I first began teaching: Read every essay through quickly and make 4 piles - one for As, Bs, Cs, D/Fs. Then I re-read them with the rubric and can make an honest assessment much more quickly than if I only read them once. It actually saved me time overall. I've tried it several ways and this is the best combination for me.
I would definitely use the suggestion presented by the module in having them underline the key concepts. You could also consider creating a grading rubric for each essay, which should streamline expectations/requirements for your students and make your grading process go more quickly.
I try to use the Essays to improve the writting skills of my students and to have them work on communication skills.
I like the suggestion that the training session made and that is having the students to underline the answers and the key points.
