It’s tempting to get into a punitive mindset while grading papers. For example, although we went over proper MLA citations in class, students were given additional resources on where to find citation information, and no one asked questions about this, it is still incorrect. Or even though we spent an entire class discussing organization, paragraphs wander from their original focus, and it’s difficult to find an overall structure in the paper.
The plus side to grading papers
We feel ignored and unheard. There is a strong urge to use comments to show what students failed to do, rather than demonstrate how they can improve. Sommers emphasizes this “hostility and meanspiretedness” as opposed to the computer system’s “calm, reasonable language,” which is more helpful in opening a dialogue with students.
In addition to keeping language objective, we have to be careful our comments are encouraging students to take ownership over their writing. This is difficult to accomplish while giving specific suggestions, and I’m not sure I’ve mastered the craft. One student last week complained about his low essay grade, saying “but I fixed everything you told me to.” There must be a disconnect here. Comments aren’t meant to give students a “fix-it” list, but rather to help them become a better reader for their writing. Until we master this in our commenting, we’ll continue to bang our heads against brick walls and hope for the best.
I’m not sure all of these issues could be addressed simply through commenting. A student who just “fixes” his/her writing because of what you told them to do probably needs to have a verbal conversation about the real purpose of the comments. This is why I think teaching in person versus online is extremely important. There are a lot of things we can say in our comments that will probably need clarification for certain students and not for others. I think utilizing both elements (commenting as well as conversation/class discussion) is the only way to really see progress.