S/O of essay topics--evaluating?

[Heather in AL]

I can find many websites with topics for different types of essays. What I can't find is how to effectively grade/critique them.

 

I am specifically concerned about literature analysis essays. Sometimes, the essay suggestions I find are so 'far out there' that I'm not even sure what they are asking, so how can I grade those/help my kids?

 

So, Hive, how do you grade/respond to Lit analysis essays?

[Nan in Mass]

You might do a search for the word "rubric" and whatever sort of writing you are interested in. Rubrics take the guesswork out of evaluating, especially if you give them to your children ahead of time so they know what the goal is. I don't grade, but we discuss papers. I generally let mine choose their own literature topics. I look at whether they proved their thesis statement (if it is that sort of paper), whether it is well-organized, whether they used examples from the book to back up their statements, whether there is any of their own ideas in the paper (good) or whether it is all just examples or summeries (bad), whether the paper makes sense and the logic is ok, whether the wording is awkward, whether there is a topic sentence for each paragraph, and whether the original idea was an interesting one. I don't worry too much about whether the idea is far-out or not, as long as they can find some proof for the idea and whether they present the proof in a well-written fashion. Just getting the paper to make sense sometimes is enough of a challenge for mine SIGH. If you want to turn all that into a grade, then look for writing rubrics for literature analysis for the appropriate grade.

-Nan

[Heather in AL]

You might do a search for the word "rubric" and whatever sort of writing you are interested in. Rubrics take the guesswork out of evaluating, especially if you give them to your children ahead of time so they know what the goal is. I don't grade, but we discuss papers. I generally let mine choose their own literature topics. I look at whether they proved their thesis statement (if it is that sort of paper), whether it is well-organized, whether they used examples from the book to back up their statements, whether there is any of their own ideas in the paper (good) or whether it is all just examples or summeries (bad), whether the paper makes sense and the logic is ok, whether the wording is awkward, whether there is a topic sentence for each paragraph, and whether the original idea was an interesting one. I don't worry too much about whether the idea is far-out or not, as long as they can find some proof for the idea and whether they present the proof in a well-written fashion. Just getting the paper to make sense sometimes is enough of a challenge for mine SIGH. If you want to turn all that into a grade, then look for writing rubrics for literature analysis for the appropriate grade.

-Nan

 

Thanks Nan. I found some rubrics, so I hope they'll help.

 

I am so worried that I will fail my ds in this area! I stress out more about writing than science or math, for goodness' sake!! Since ds is a reluctant writer, I worry even more than I think is normal. Sigh.

 

Thanks again!

[Leanna Tomlinson]

rubistar.4teachers.org/

I use this website sometimes.

 

Also, Writing Aids, by TOG is full of High School Level writing assignments with rubrics. You don't need to use TOG to effectively utilize Writing Aids. The Rubrics will be on your computer, so you can print one for each essay you grade. Writing Aids also has many organizational helps for pre-writing planning.

[homeschoolmommaof4]

I second Leanna's post, Writing Aids makes it sooo much easier to grade my student's writing. There is a grading points section and a rubric for just about every kind of writing you would want your dc to do. It is a great tool to use, even if you aren't using TOG and I haven't realized how great it really is until recently when using it with my formerly ps'ed 8th grade dd. It definitely takes the guesswork out of assigning a grade to their writing :)

[stephanier.1765]

rubistar.4teachers.org/

 

 

Thanks for the link. I found an already created rubric that I'm going to print and add to his notebook. That way he'll know what's expected of a great essay.

[Harriet Vane]

I grade lit essays using the following criteria:

 

Layout mechanics--appearance of the paper, margins, spacing, names, timeliness, etc.

 

Writing mechanics--punctuation, grammar, spelling, etc.

 

Thesis--Clear thesis statement, at least three points to prove the thesis, points all supported by the text and properly cited

 

Writing--Is the writing smooth? Introduction and conclusion? Well-written? Catchy? etc. I struggle to define this--as a former editor, I go by my gut and know good writing when I see it.

[posybuddy]

rubistar.4teachers.org/

I use this website sometimes.

 

 

Thank you for this website! It looks like they have a lot of interesting rubrics there, which is great for the mom who's not talented enough to come up with her own. :001_unsure:

[1Togo]

Evaluating writing takes modeling and practice just like writing, and from the discussions I have with friends, writing evalutation is one of the primary reasons they turn to online classes, etc. Here are resources:

 

Julie Bogart's classes.

After our oldest son took several of Julie's classes, I finally had confidence in my ability to provide

input on papers. Since then, I have been adding to my mentor's toolbox, and every curriculum (IEW, LTW, and others) connects to what I learned from Julie.

 

Evaluating Writing from Writing Strands - I am working through this now. EV includes student samples of

WS assignments with editing comments by parents. The samples and comments are followed by Dave

Marks' critique of the editing comments. Marks also includes lists of common problems (if you can get

your children to master these, their writing will improve significantly) and spelling rules.

 

BJU Companion to College English - Our oldest son used this excellent resource for his American Lit

course in college. The ideas and examples in the lit portions of the handbook helped ds write an A+

paper on the Faulkner short story "Barn Burning."

 

Michael Clay Thompson's Opus 40 and Grading CD - "The result of 40 years of grading student papers,this book contains Michael Clay Thompson's archive of comments used for grading papers -- and his comments to teachers and parents about those comments." I don't have this yet, but it's at the top of my to-buy list.

 

Hth,

 

Bonita