A Thanksgiving Family Review

Monday morning always seems to come quickly, doesn’t it? And this one, for me, is particularly stressful because with the holiday coming up, I’m trying to figure out how all of my work is going to get done over the next week. How am I going to balance spending time with my family and focusing on work that needs to be completed by December 1? I always seem to be in this pickle around a holiday because no matter how well I prepare, I always have work to do.

Knowing that my family will ask me how my work is coming along and probably to explain, again, what exactly it is that I’m doing, I’ve been thinking…why not have them read and review something that I have written?

So, here’s my plan – after I finish this entry, I am going to create a peer review sheet (or “family” review sheet!), which will help guide my loved ones as they read what I am currently working on – the method section of my dissertation. I’ll write a few sentences about what a method section is supposed to include (so they are clear) and then I will create a rubric for them to use as a guide as they read through my work, making sure that each subsection is sufficiently complete. I’ll also include a few sentences about the area I am having the most trouble with and ask them to share any suggestions.

I encourage you to do something similar, creating a review sheet that will be the most helpful for you. Perhaps on your review sheet you want to include the instructions that your professor gave you for the specific assignment you are having your family (or friends) read. You can also include a rubric, if the professor gave you one (or you can make your own – see the last blog entry).

If we do this, not only will we get the help that we need, but I think that by reading our work, our families and friends will get a better idea of what we are all working on. For me, the method section will work particularly well for this because it really shows what steps I have taken to collect my data and my reasoning behind the procedures that I am using. Also, it has already gone through multiple stages and revisions, and to be honest, it would be helpful to have other eyes looking at it.

As always, good luck with your work and…

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

BYOR - Bring Your Own Rubric

Welcome to Monday, writers. I hope that you are feeling refreshed from that extra hour of sleep you were able to get this weekend!

Today I’d like to talk about rubrics.

What is a rubric? Well, thanks to Wikipedia I can share with you a clear explanation:

A rubric is a scoring tool for subjective assessments. It is a set of criteria and standards linked to learning objectives that is used to assess a student's performance on papers, projects, essays, and other assignments. Rubrics allow for standardized evaluation according to specified criteria, making grading simpler and more transparent.

The rubric is an attempt to delineate consistent assessment criteria. It allows teachers and students alike to assess criteria which are complex and subjective and also provide ground for self-evaluation, reflection and peer review. It is aimed at accurate and fair assessment, fostering understanding and indicating the way to proceed with subsequent learning/teaching.

You may have had professors that actually gave you the rubrics that they planned to use when grading your papers. They may have even suggested that as you review your work you analyze your writing with the help of the rubric, making sure that you have included all of the requirements.

But what if your professor doesn’t distribute a rubric? I say, when it comes time to edit your work:

BRING YOUR OWN!

That’s right – make a simple rubric using the criteria that your professor gave in the instructions for the paper. This way you can still have a useful tool to assist you when reviewing your work, even though you were not provided with one.

When making your own rubric, you’ll need to “translate” the instructions into criteria for you to look for as you review your work. For example, if the instructions state that you need to present a clear thesis, then “thesis clearly stated” should be one of your criteria. If there is a requirement that you use two sources to support your thesis, make sure that is also included. If the instructions ask that you compare the present topic to a personal experience, have a space for that. Also, if there are logistical requirements, make sure you also include those (i.e., length of paper, page numbers).

*= complete
0= needs strengthening
- = absent from the writing

Thesis clearly stated _____
First support _____
Second support _____
Personal experience_____
3 pages_____
Page numbers on all pages____

As you review your work, score each criterion appropriately with a *, 0, or -.

If you are writing a paper in a discipline that has clear organizational or style requirements, you may want to add those criteria to your rubric. For example, if you were writing in the sciences, your rubric may look more like this:


*= complete
0= needs strengthening
- = absent from the writing

Introduction_____
Methods_____
Data analysis_____
Findings_____
Discussion_____

Again you would score each criterion with a *, 0, or -.

One last bit of advice…if you create a rubric for a specific assignment, show your professor! Make sure that you have correctly recognized all of the requirements and confirm that you haven’t missed any. Not only can you use a homemade rubric to “communicate” with your writing, but you can use it as a tool to clearly communicate with your professor.

Any questions? Any suggestions? I look forward to your comments!

P.S. If there are any professors reading this, I highly recommend distributing rubrics to your students. This way, you encourage your students to more completely review their work - and ultimately your review of their papers will be made easier because they will have successfully edited with the guidance of the rubrics. If you don’t like rubrics, then maybe just distributing a list of grading criteria would be a nice compromise.