Improving Student Writing Skills - cse crafts

Assessment and the Traits of Good Writing
Assignment-Specific Rubrics
Especially in a content-driven assignment, such as a
research report, book review, or retention-check, you
can create an assignment-specific rubric to check for
understanding (Rickards & Cheek, 1999). In this method,
you would assign a certain number of points for various
items you would like to see in the students’ writing.
For example, you could require that students describe at
least three characters in the course of a book review and
assign five points for each description.
There are many strategies for creating individualized
rubrics, but in general you will want the rubric to match
the purpose of your assignment as specifically as possible.
For example, if you were creating a rubric to assess
students’ writing journals, you would likely prioritize a
certain daily volume and de-emphasize, or do away with
completely, checking for conventions. In this assignment,
your purpose is to encourage students to write
their thoughts on a daily basis, not to ensure that these
thoughts are written in perfect prose.
Make sure you preview your rubrics with students so
they have a clear picture of how they will be assessed.
For longer assignments, you may even wish to send the
rubric home with students to be signed by parents.
Whatever the rubric for a given assignment, make sure to
keep track of not only the grade, but also areas in which
individual students excel or need additional work. With
a more style-driven assignment, such as a short story
or description, you may have difficulties defining your
parameters for performance in the format of a traditional
rubric (other than specifying length or detracting
for missed conventions, which likely misses the point
of your assignment). For these assignments, consider
adding written comments as you would in the holistic
grading method or think about a different assessment
strategy.
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