Essential Writing Skills for College and Beyond (2014)

Part IV. MAKING THE GRADE

Chapter 10. The Psychology of Grading and Scoring

Will your paper earn an A, B, C, D, or F?

The classic grading spectrum is familiar to most American students, and not surprisingly, most students’ assignments fall somewhere in the middle (B, C, or D). However, did you know instructors or graders can usually spot an Aessay before they even read it? They can also typically spot an F essay just as easily.

This chapter will provide examples to help you see the distinct difference between student work that stands out as exceptional and professional and student work that unfortunately stands out as lazy, sloppy, and subpar.

As class sizes grow increasingly larger at both universities and community colleges, instructors know fewer and fewer of their students. This means your instructors will largely know you through your writing and not through personal interaction with you.

Therefore, the impression you make in writing will largely determine your instructor’s perception of you as a student, meaning their perceptions of your abilities, intelligence, and potential as a scholar. In other words, your writing abilities will largely determine your final grade in many of your courses. If you want to earn the highest scores possible, you must learn to create a positive impression of yourself through your writing.

STRATEGIES TO IMPRESS
YOUR GRADER

Use the following strategies to immediately impress your instructors. Many of these will seem intuitive, but you would be surprised how many papers I have graded (hundreds at least) that have earned failing grades simply for violating the following rules. Granted, your essay will not likely fail simply because you did not follow one of the rules listed below, but, depending on the instructor, violation of several of these rules in concert with other violations (such as grammar or logical errors) may add up to a failing score. Conversely, following these rules may earn you points that add up to a higher grade than you expected.

· Turn in assignments on time and in the way dictated by the assignment (whether digitally or on paper, in a folder or not, with rough draft or not, etc.).

· Contextualize your discussion within a larger one: Show the relation of your ideas to other scholars’ arguments and theories. (The book They Say, I Say provides excellent resources that teach students how to perform this task well—see the list of suggested further reading in Appendix A for more information.)

· Cite plenty of evidence to support your claim(s).

· Give your work an interesting, pertinent title (not “Essay #4”).

· Use your computer’s spell-check function, and double-check its work; the spell-check feature is by no means perfect, so always ensure the accuracy of the spelling (including and especially your instructor’s name, course title, and the titles and names of works and characters or people referenced in the essay).

· Proofread and edit your work, both on the computer and on paper—sometimes you may miss a mistake on the screen that you would not miss on the printed page.

· Go above and beyond the call of the assignment by offering in-depth research and specialized knowledge on the topic or text—but be careful not to ramble.

· Show up for peer review days.

· Ask your instructor if she will read your rough draft and give you feedback.

· Follow formatting instructions (headings, font sizes, cover pages, etc.).

· Heed the word count (do not turn in twelve pages for an eight-page assignment).

· Use black ink (no colored ink).

· Reprint if the ink is faded or difficult to read.

STRATEGIES TO ALIENATE, FRUSTRATE, AND ANNOY YOUR GRADER

If your goal is to ensure your essay will not pass and to make your work seem lazy and sloppy (and I hope that is not your goal), try the following strategies.

· IGNORE THE PROMPT. This point seems obvious, but it can be easy to get off track. Be sure your paper not only addresses the topic but also answers the question posed by the prompt. For example, if the essay asks students to discuss the importance of gender in contemporary film but the student instead discusses why The Dark Knight Rises is such a great and important film, that would be a quick road to an F. Beware of engaging in a rant on what you want to write about rather than what the assignment dictated. It’s frustrating to write on a topic you find uninteresting, but not every prompt you receive in college will excite you. Write about it anyway, and try to make it interesting.

· TURN IN CARELESS, SLOPPY WORK. Typographical errors happen, and most instructors will forgive a few minor issues, especially in a long paper. However, an essay filled with typos smacks of sloppiness rather than honest mistakes.

· ADD LOTS OF BLANK FILLER SPACE. Beginning students often worry they did not write enough, so they use larger fonts or add many extra spaces in an attempt to make the essay seem longer. Doing so will fool no one (instructors were once students, too, and they already know this trick). It actually achieves the reverse effect by drawing attention to the blank spaces.

· DON’T BOTHER TO CHECK FACTS. When student writers do not check facts, such as character names, places, dates, and/or other important information, or if this information is misspelled, instructors worry about the student’s ability to do well beyond the classroom. Conscientiousness is a highly regarded quality by instructors and employers alike, so beware of errors—for they will quickly spell disaster for the essay’s grade.

· ILLUSTRATE INADEQUATE KNOWLEDGE. One of the quickest ways to alienate an instructor is to illustrate that you have little or no knowledge of the texts or concepts studied in class. Students who do not demonstrate that they paid attention during class and completed the necessary reading and analysis of the material receive low scores on their work.

· IGNORE THE TYPE OF WRITING REQUIRED FOR THE ASSIGNMENT. This error remains among the most common for beginning writers, so ensure your work does not merely summarize a text if the assignment calls for analysis or evaluation (few academic assignments will require only summarization).

EXCERPT

Visually compare the following examples of student work—don’t read them yet, but visually scan each and try to develop an idea of the students and their abilities simply by impression.

STUDENT 1

Susan Q. Student

Professor V. Smith

English 1310

March 22, 2014

Ophelia’s Beautiful Mess: Revealing the Life in Her Death

Shakespeare’s Hamlet is among the most well-known documents of humanity. As a play, it is considered superb, and as a testament to human character, critics and readers alike hail it as a brilliant masterpiece. This is disturbing information, though, when considering the suicide of one of its only female characters: young, beautiful, tragic, Ophelia. Her suicide haunts readers, and even today, more than four hundred years later, readers continue to ask why. Many scholars argue that Ophelia either accidentally drowns or kills herself out of grief over losing her romantic connection with Hamlet. However, it is clear that Ophelia purposefully commits suicide, which illustrates to readers her lack of freedom and the realization of a crucial aspect of the rottenness in Denmark: Ophelia, as a female, could never truly be free.

STUDENT 2

Rita B. Student

Essay 4

No body knows for sure what Shakespeare meant by this play, esp. about Ophelia. Lots of people wonder why Ophelia did what she did.

That’s why so many scholars have written so much about it and have tried to figure it out. And that’s what my paper is going to talk about too.

Ophelia was young and innocent. She had a relationship with Hamlet, but he was mad at her and told her to become a nun.

Which paper looks more professional? Which student invested more time and energy in the assignment? The following highlights differences in the students’ work.

STUDENT 1

· Uses the standard 12-point, Times New Roman font

· Includes a heading with pertinent course information

· Gives the essay an original, interesting title

· Uses conventional spacing

STUDENT 2

· Uses a larger font to attempt to make her work look more substantial than it is (This “trick” is probably the oldest one in the book; it will not work!)

· Includes no heading

· Titles the paper “Essay 4” instead of giving it a more compelling and relevant title

Clearly, the first student distinguishes herself as a polished and professional student writer. Unfortunately, the second student’s essay looks unprofessional and thrown together, and the lack of information and depth of thought will mean disaster for the grade.

Is it unfair of an instructor to judge the entire paper simply by how it appears? Unfair is a subjective term, and most instructors would say no. Think of it this way: Would a job applicant who turned in a sloppy application get the job—or even an interview? Would a scholarship applicant with a similarly unpolished application beat out the competition? Not likely. Besides, instructors know from experience that failure to attend to detail at the beginning of the essay rarely transforms later into smart, in-depth analysis as the essay continues.

Now go back and read the examples to see whether the formatting and spacing issues do indeed prove indicative of the content. You’ll see that the first student’s work is not perfect, but it clearly demonstrates the student’s thinking on the play and her opinion of Ophelia’s importance within it. The second student’s work, however, does not present any clear perspective on the play. It simply summarizes it and mentions the questions others raise without presenting any answers to or perspectives on these questions.

PLACE YOURSELF IN THE INSTRUCTOR’S POSITION

If you were these students’ instructor, would you feel comfortable passing Student 2’s paper (assuming the quality of the introduction is representative of the paper’s quality as a whole)? Would you feel confident sending this student on to more difficult courses, though she has not yet demonstrated the writing and analytical skills necessary to succeed? Passing this level of work would be unfair to this student, for it tells her that her current skill level will prepare her for the challenges she will face in future courses, and based on this work, that is unfortunately not true.

PLAGIARISM

What is the quickest, easiest way to fail an essay? Plagiarize it.

What is plagiarism? In a word, fraud. Remember the executives from Enron who were caught taking others’ money and using it as though it was theirs all along? The academic equivalent of this offense is plagiarizing: taking someone else’s words or ideas and passing them off as your own.

WHAT COUNTS AS PLAGIARISM?

· Cutting and pasting information from the Internet without citing the source

· Taking a passage, sentence, or even just an idea from any source (a web page, book, essay, article, etc.) without citing the source

· Rephrasing someone else’s words without citing the source

· Buying a paper from an online essay-writing service

· Using a friend, roommate, or anyone else’s paper as your own

The key to all of these examples is in the citation (giving credit to the source). U.S. law protects our written words and thoughts with copyright laws, and theft of these ideas and words is not only immoral but also illegal.

Penalties for this offense are severe. In addition to the fear of getting caught, plagiarizers risk a failing score on the assignment and in the entire course, expulsion from the college or university, and in some severe cases, criminal charges.

Fear not, though! Plagiarism is easy to avoid: Simply cite the source from which you first read or saw the ideas, words, or sentences you include in your work.

If you do not know how to cite the source properly, ask your instructor or reference librarian, visit your university writing center, or check online for citation guide websites (most universities have their own pages and sites on citation guides to help students). I recommend the following sites for easy reference:

· http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/

· http://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/citmanage

· http://library.duke.edu/research/citing/

If you fear you cannot cite the source 100 percent perfectly, don’t let that stop you from citing—ask for help, and then do the best you can. Even if the final citation is not perfect, it’s better to cite incorrectly than to omit the citation entirely. An incorrect citation may cost you a few points, but not citing at all may cost you the entire course.

GRADING RUBRICS

A grading rubric is essentially a standardized scoring sheet instructors use to evaluate student assignments. Typically, rubrics outline the performance expected in different categories. For example, writing instructors may include the following categories.

· Thesis statement

· Introduction paragraph

· Body paragraphs

· Overall organization

· Grammar, spelling, and punctuation

· Proper citation of sources

USE THE RUBRIC TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

BEFORE TURNING IN THE PAPER

As you imagine, knowing this information before you turn in the assignment would be extremely helpful to you.

If the instructor makes her grading rubric available to students before the essays are due, take advantage of this policy! If not, ask politely if she will make it available to students.

Having this information will help you understand how your instructor will score your writing. The rubric will indicate which sections or elements of the paper your instructor deems most important, and thus which aspects should receive the biggest portion of your time and attention.

AFTER RECEIVING YOUR PAPER WITH ITS SCORE

Don’t simply look at the score and put the paper away. Always read over your instructor’s comments and see where you lost the most points. Doing so is one of the most helpful ways to improve your writing.

Many different types of rubric exist, with an infinite number of scales and methods instructors may use to score student work. Clearly we cannot cover all of them in this book, but on the following pages you will find two of the most common types of rubrics: the category points system rubric and the grid rubric.

CATEGORY POINTS SYSTEM RUBRIC

This type of rubric allows students to earn points based on the different parts of the paper, which the instructor tallies to determine the paper’s final score. Most instructors who use this type of format write comments in the blank spaces to explain the score and offer constructive feedback to the student.

1. INTRODUCTION: Introduces the topic to be discussed, immediately engages reader’s interest, and leads reader to the paper’s thesis

/15

2. THESIS STATEMENT: Well-written, specific, and clear thesis statement that contains how and/or why element, remains present throughout the essay, directing its content

/10

3. BODY PARAGRAPHS: Contain clear topic sentences that assert each paragraph’s claim, remain focused throughout, include citations of clear, relevant examples and/or evidence, and expressly explain how/why the evidence presented illustrates his claim

/30

4. CONCLUSION: Restates the paper’s thesis and ties together the paper’s claims.

/15

5. ORGANIZATION: Well organized and unified, contains clear evidence of logic and transitions between ideas

/15

6. MECHANICS AND STYLE: Employs a formal, academic tone, uses good syntax, has no spelling/grammatical errors, has effective word choice and varying sentence structure

/15

THE CHART OR GRID RUBRIC

With this grading tool, the instructor may write comments to the student in the appropriate box or the rubric may contain preprinted comments within the box. The instructor then circles which comments apply to the student’s work. The instructor may also simply check which box indicates the essay’s level of mastery in that particular criterion area. (For example, a paper deemed “good” in citation format would receive a check mark in the B box in the citation column).

Note that in this rubric, all categories receive equal weight, whereas in Rubric 1, the instructor gives the most weight to the body paragraphs.

SOME FINAL NOTES ON WRITING

Remember, no writer is perfect—not Shakespeare, not Faulkner, not Tolkien, not Rowling, and certainly not you or I, so as you proceed in your classes, strive not for perfection but for improvement.

Writing is a skill that can never be completely mastered, but, to me, this is one of its best attributes: There is always more knowledge to acquire. Learning to communicate effectively through your writing is a lifelong pursuit, but it is one that is well worth the time and effort because it pays off again and again, often in unexpected ways.

Below, you will find some of the best quotes on writing, quotes that reveal something about the very nature of writing and how to view and approach it, whether you are a beginner or a master.

“The scariest moment is always just before you start. After that, things can only get better.” —Stephen King

“Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.” —E.L. Doctorow

“I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet’s, the writer’s, duty is to write about these things.” —William Faulkner

“Don’t get it right, just get it written.” —James Thurber

“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” —Sylvia Plath

I hope you find that these quotes will inspire and encourage you in your pursuit of the craft of writing. If you would like further resources on writing, see both the Works Cited page and the Suggested Reading list provided at the end of the book.

Best of luck in all your future writing endeavors!

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING

Bradbury, Raymond. Zen in the Art of Writing: Releasing the Creative Genius Within You. New York: Bantam, 1992. Print.

Cameron, Julia. The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. New York: Penguin Putnam, 2002. Print.

Goldberg, Natalie. Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within. Boston: Shambhala, 2005. Print.

Graff, Gerald & Cathy Birkenstein. They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. Print.

Heffron, Jack. The Writer’s Idea Book: How to Develop Great Ideas for Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, and Screenplays. Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest, 2000. Print.

King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. New York: Pocket Books, 2000. Print.

Maitland, Sara. The Writer’s Way: Realize Your Creative Potential and Become a Successful Author. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2006. Print.

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2009. Print.

Rico, Gabriele. Writing the Natural Way. New York: Penguin Putnam, 2000. Print.

Robinson, Andrew. The Story of Writing: Alphabets, Hieroglyphs, and Pictograms. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2001. Print.

Strunk, William, and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999. Print.

Truss, Lynne. Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. New York: Penguin, 2003. Print.

Zinsser, William. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction. New York: HarperCollins, 2006. Print.