Life Beyond the Red Pen

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Grading is not my favorite part about teaching (is it anyone's?). I really enjoy engaging students with new material, throwing ideas at them, and watching the lightbulbs come on. Seeing a student's improvement in writing over the course of a semester is very fulfilling.

But, every few weeks or so, I have to put on my other "cap" as grader. I guess some teachers relish getting out the red pens (slowly going the way of the buffalo in today's technology-driven culture, really I use Turnitin.com) and marking up student papers with gusto. I do not relish the task, but I do understand the importance of the task.

Giving a grade in writing is no small task. Where in math there may only be one answer, and that eases the burden of grading, writing is totally different. It's often not easy to weight out a students idea, or essay, and say how it measures up. Case in point, recently I received a well-written essay, but it totally ignored the prompt and the style of essay we were examining at the time. Here, clearly the student missed the mark of the assignment, and yet, good quality writing prevailed. Unfortunately, I had to dock the student several points for this.

Some might be comfortable in this role of grand arbiter of taste, judgment, and the RED PEN, but lets face it, it's not an easy role.

Over the course of a semester, as a teacher of college composition, you face lots of these little judgments along the way. Decisions and decisions. Rinse, wash, repeat. With this in mind, it's common to start second guessing yourself in the grading process. Did I judge this student's work too harshly? Or, Was I not harsh enough? 

See, writing is not an exact science. It is not something that teachers can look at in a completely objective manner. It is a craft, can be an art, and at the end of the day, it remains largely subjective. 

Which brings us back full circle to the sometimes painful process of grading. Sure, with my experience in writing, I have learned to recognize the full spectrum of bland, good, and great writing. Along with plagiarism, poor citations, and other ills that come with the territory. But, when it comes to grading students responses, stamping a tough grade on a student's paper sometimes feels like a chore. A poor grade can challenge a student to hone his or her craft, rise to the occasion on the next assignment, etc., but it can also be the death knell of the student's ambition to write, especially for students that may lack the confidence to continue through a setback.

I think more times than not, I err on the side being a little soft in my grading. Some seasoned, hardened teachers might see this as a setback, but I try to be encouraging and supportive in my feedback to students' papers. They need the support to continue on in the craft that really has no end point. One will be honing his or her writing skills throughout life. They need to be shown that it is possible for them to improve. And, students need feedback to be shown how to get there - this comes by the measured hand of constructive criticism. Too much, and the student shuts down. Just enough, and well that is where you begin to see students stick with the process and improve.