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The Second-Level Writing Handbook // Creating and Implementing Effective Writing Assignments // Responding to Student Writing // In-Class Writing Activities // Peer Response // Preventing Plagiarism // OSU Resources.

Download Responding to Student Writing: Frequently Asked Questions as a Microsoft Word file.

• Before you begin, consider the assignment's instructional goals and develop a hierarchy of elements to which you will respond. Concentrate on only the top three prioritized elements as you respond.
• Read through all the papers before writing anything on them. You can discuss the most common problems with the whole class instead of writing the same comment on numerous papers.
• Write your marginal comments first. Tracing your reactions in the marginal comments will help you write a terminal comment.
• Consider meeting personally in a conference with students whose papers require complicated responses. It takes less time to talk than write, and there is less chance of the student misunderstanding you.
• Try implementing peer response on the students' first drafts. By the final draft, they will be easier to read and respond to.

• Make sure the types of comments reflect the goals of the assignment.
• Use both marginal and terminal comments to give specific and general feedback.
• Limit the number of your marginal comments per page so that you don't overwhelm the student.
• Balance praise with questions and advice.
• Advise positive actions to take when writing, not just what to avoid.
• Explain what is done well; don't give vague praise.
• Identify error patterns instead of marking every error.
• Write about problems in "the essay," not the student: be careful with the word "you."
• Red ink can seem "angry"; try other colors. Use a pencil for marginal comments so you can revise or erase.
• Discuss your responding strategies with your students, and make your instructional goals and responding criteria clear in the assignment.

Yes and no. While you certainly need to omit personally derogatory comments or purely negative reactions, it is very valuable to let a student see the reactions of a real reader. Because you experience reading a student text as a reader first and a teacher second, let the student see both reactions.

Yes and no. A good reader will try to intuit or interpolate meaning based on what is stated; however, it is dangerous to assume you know what is going on in the writer's head based on a vague or ambiguous passage. Even if you personally understand a writer's hint, will most of the intended audience have the background knowledge and skill to guess the implied meaning? If the target audience includes international students who recognize English as a foreign language, would they be able to understand?

If you perceive two or more options for interpretation, this is ambiguity, and it may be useful to explain the possibilities to the student.

No. The most successful comments to help students revise and develop their own critical sense are comments worded as questions or suggestions. Questions can refer to content, organization, or grammar and word choice.

For example:

• This word has a negative connotation that distracts the reader. Perhaps look in a thesaurus for a different word.
• The paper talks about texture on the last page and brings it up again here. Is there a reason for organizing it this way? Can you show the reader how this relates to the previous section?
• How do you think this youth development program should be implemented? Who would oversee it?
• What specifically do you mean by "this is a problem"?

• Usually avoid proofreading or fixing. Students are less likely to process the reason behind each error and the changes you made. Some instructors don't mind the effort of editing; if it is the final draft, editing a single paragraph might be a good idea to show the student how much attention is needed to sentence-level errors.
• Note patterns. It is more helpful to note error patterns in spelling, grammar, or punctuation. It is usually best to explain an error the first time it occurs and merely to note its recurrence throughout the paper. Obviously, you can't do this for every error. Note the one(s) that affect your ability to read the paper smoothly and are repeated frequently.

No, you can also deal with them orally in class or in a conference with the individual student.

• In-class: If many of your students have the same kind of problem in their essays, discuss it in class instead of repeating the same comment on each paper. You may still wish to indicate the problem in the students' texts so they can find an example in their own writing.
• Conferences: Any comment that can be written down can just as effectively be incorporated into a one-to-one conference with a student. In fact, conferences are frequently a more efficient and personable way to help students take control over their texts.