Evaluating Writing by Sandy Larsen

Part 1

“Writing isn’t like math, where the answer is either right or wrong.”

“I’m not a writer. How do I know whether my student’s writing is good or bad?”

Often at homeschool conferences I’ve heard comments like those. Many parents are at a loss about how to evaluate their students’ writing assignments.

If parents lack confidence in how to evaluate writing, they usually default to the red-pen route. They circle every misspelling, punctuation error and grammar mistake, then grade the writing on its technical points alone.

I would never belittle the significance of writing’s technical matters. Incorrect grammar, misplaced or absent punctuation, and bad spelling only confuse the reader. They make the writing look amateurish, and they undercut the writer’s credibility.

On the other hand, technical perfection does not equal excellent writing. A technically perfect paper can still be dull and lifeless. A technically flawed paper can still have the power to communicate ideas and move the reader deeply.

Whether you use letter grades or some other system, I suggest that you give two separate grades for a piece of writing: one for the writing itself and one for the mechanics such as grammar, spelling and punctuation. You may be confident enough to grade the mechanics on your own. If you aren’t, there are plenty of resources available to help you. You are more likely to be stumped about how to evaluate the “non-mechanical” aspects of writing.

When your student hands in a paper, what should you do first? Before you make any comments or corrections at all, read through the entire piece several times. Pay close attention to your own responses. I don’t mean your negative reactions to errors; I mean your responses to the writing itself.

Watch for the following evidences of strong writing:

• Does the writing start out interesting and stay interesting? In other words does it hold your attention and make you want to keep reading?

• Does it put you right into the middle of the action or the subject matter?

• Does it stir your sympathies, either elevating your spirits or disquieting you, depending on the subject and the intent?

• If it’s supposed to be funny, does it make you laugh?

• If it’s supposed to be serious, is its subject worth thinking about seriously?

• Does it take an unexpected approach and surprise you?

Such impressions in the reader are a mark of successful writing, and they deserve your affirmation, even if they are marred by run-on sentences and bad spelling.

Also, take into account whether the writing is a first draft or something which has already gone through several revisions. You should be more merciful toward a first draft and more demanding toward a piece which the student has had several chances to revise.

So far I have asked you to pay attention to your overall impressions of the student’s writing. In the second half of this article we will look at more specific criteria such as whether the writing has a clear purpose, how tightly organized it is, and how well the writer stays focused on the topic.

Sandy Larsen is a professional freelance writer and the author of Igniting Your Writing! and Igniting Your Writing II, both available through CurrClick.