Writing workshop

Assessing, correcting and

marking students written work

Workshop objectives
At the end of this three-session workshop you will be
able to:
1.Identify and understand key areas of
writing performance.
2. Assess and correct students written
production according to specific marking
criteria.
3. Provide adequate feedback and develop
error correction strategies.

Before we get started

Lets discuss some questions in small groups.

Ready?

Discussion
What do you find easy/enjoyable about
correcting and marking writing?
What do you find challenging and/or difficult?
Which steps do you follow when correcting and
marking your students written work?
How do you provide feedback
on errors?

Marking and feedback

The purpose of marking is
to provide students with
feedback on their written
performance.
How should feedback be
provided through the
marking process?

Feedback
Direct feedback: teachers locate and correct
errors for students.

Indirect feedback: teachers indicate errors

without correcting them. Errors are underlined
or circled, and/or identified by a symbol, mark
or code.

Feedback
It is unrealistic to expect that L2
writers production will be error
free.
(Ferris, 2002, p. 5)

Writing marking criteria

Language / range: vocabulary and structures
appropriate to the task and level.
Appropriate length.
Paragraphing:
Ideas clearly organized into paragraphs.
Use of appropriate linking devices.
External and internal cohesion.
Punctuation.

Writing marking criteria

Target reader: The target reader should be able to:

understand the message.
follow the storyline (short story).
be engaged / interested (article essay).
be informed (letter review report).
to give the written work a passmark.

Writing marking criteria

Task: all points should be included.

Style: consistency of formal / informal style.

Writing marking criteria

For students to get top

marks, they should:

Include all the points in the Task.

Demonstrate very good performance in
Language/Range, Paragraphing,
Target Reader and Style.

Important

Comprehensive error feedback or

selective error feedback?
Direct error feedback or indirect error
feedback?

Writing marking criteria

Written work correction code
/
//
voc / w.w.
w.o.
vb
gr
^
sp
punct
(

)
?

style

Word too many / paragraphing

New paragraph
Wrong word / phrase
Word order
Verb form (tense, verb pattern, 3rd person singular)
Grammar
Word missing / omission
Spelling
Punctuation
Irrelevant / inappropriate N/A
Dont understand / unclear
Not quite right / re-write
Good
Wrong style / register

Lets get down to work!

Work in small groups. Read, assess and
mark samples of students written work.

Lets get down to work!

Read each piece through first to get a general
impression; then correct it.
When marking exams:
Correct the whole lot (one group) within a relatively short
time.
Once youve corrected them, and before giving the
marks, look at all the exams to able to establish a
standard (= the best tests average the worst tests)
so you can mark them more fairly.

Lets get down to work!

Ready
Steady

Go!