Writing Across the Curriculum

USING EXPLICIT CRITERIA

 &  ASSESSMENT RUBRICS

     Many faculty have developed checklists or rubrics to assess or grade students’ writing.  The criteria for excellent writing can be used as a grading rubric.  Faculty may choose to use all or some portion of these criteria to give students feedback on writing strengths and areas for improvement and to grade/evaluate written work.

     Students benefit in a variety of ways when faculty make the criteria for writing assessment very explicit.  Students learn what is expected in college-level writing and they begin developing the ability to do focused self-assessment.  In addition, when faculty discuss the criteria in relation to a particular assignment, students gain enhanced understanding of how to apply principles of effective writing in a specific context.

     Some faculty have developed guidelines for evaluation which offer students an overview of what distinguishes A, B, C, D, and failing papers from one another.  Click here for a version used by Cheryl Laz in Sociology classes.  Click here for a similar document developed and used by faculty in the English Department in ENG 100/College Writing.

This page was last updated on March 10, 2004.