Part 3: Evaluating Your Students and Yourself

Grading essays, papers, and exams

The task of assigning grades should not be taken lightly. The grade communicates valuable information: How is the student performing in accordance with the standards expected in the course? And, will the grade provide future honours or graduate studies committees with an accurate assessment of the student's performance?

To ensure that your marking system meets universal standards, consult the course director, fellow TAs, and university guidelines. If you have doubts about the standard with which you are working, it is a good idea to have the course instructor review the first few papers you have marked. He or she should let you know whether or not they prefer a percentage or letter grade and how to convert between the two systems. You should also ask the course director to explain the relative importance of style or content for each paper or exam and if he or she has any personal policies on late papers, incorrect style or documentation, and failures.

Preparation and Preview

Preparation for marking begins early in the course when you communicate your expectations to students. If you are leading a seminar you have a golden opportunity to stress personal and university standards. Do not assume that your students are familiar with correct formatting, documentation, or style: Do papers have to be double-spaced or typed? Do you wish to avoid fancy binders? Ensure that students know what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. Some teachers prefer to mark "blind"–not knowing who wrote the paper until after the mark is assigned. For this purpose, students can be asked to hand in a title page with their name on it separate from the paper itself. Their paper can be identified by title alone.

Students should be encouraged to consult you for information on approach, sources, and resources. Let them know that you are available in office hours for consultation purposes and direct them to all available services and sources on campus and in the library. Are there standard bibliographies in the field that your students should be made aware of? Does your library have special collections of primary or secondary sources relevant to student papers?

When the papers begin to show up or the exam is finished and you are sitting before an immense pile of paper, you should still do some further preparation. Familiarise yourself with the university or department’s writing guide so that you can make easy reference to it in your comments or suggestions.

Finally, you should quickly preview the papers or exams. Read a few papers without marking them in order to become familiar with the class standard.

Choose a Marking Method

Three Marking Methods

The Model Answer: This method is most appropriate for marking exam questions. Make a list of points which should be made in order to answer each question and attach values to each point.
The Formula Approach: This method is appropriate for papers or essay-style exam questions. Begin by assigning specific percentages for content, style, and presentation. Separate the papers or exams according to topic so you can more readily compare depth of research and analysis – in addition to writing skills. To level the playing field, you may want to mark style first, and then read for content.
The Holistic Approach: This method is most typical of marking research papers. The paper is read completely and a grade is assigned according to the success of the student at addressing the significant points. However, you still need an agenda: What are you looking for? You should examine the style (how it is said) and content (what is said).

Holistic Marking: What is an A Paper?

A Paper

A paper of this calibre displays a mastery of the information and the theoretical context in which it is presented. It contains original thought that is expressed with a style distinguished by its freshness and clarity. The argument is sound, substantive, and organised; the author introduces other points-of-view and uses sources effectively. One is impressed by the author's understanding of the topic and where the subject is going.

B Paper

The author demonstrates a substantial knowledge of the information and theoretical concepts associated with the subject. The paper is well-writ-ten and presented with no serious flaws: it is based on solid research and has a clear thesis. Although the conclusion is sound, it is not original.

C Paper

The author demonstrates an acceptable grasp of the material and an awareness of the sources and general theory. The organisation is logical and the style follows proper form, but with some lapses. The paper would be described as descriptive because it lacks any substantial analysis and the student demonstrates a modest ability to work with the material critically. One senses the author does not fully understand the issues of the subject because the ideas are shallow, undeveloped, and tend to stray from the subject.

D Paper

The author shows a familiarity with the subject, but not an understanding of it. He or she lacks the writing or communication skills required to intelligibly relate what knowledge has been comprehended. The paper is disorganised, lacks structure, and the ideas are undeveloped. There is no evidence of substantial thought.

F Paper

The author is without any writing skill. Grammar and spelling errors dominate and disguise the lack of organisation. The ideas are unrelated to the subject and reveal a complete misunderstanding of the task.

Structured Marking Systems

If you are marking first- and second-year papers you may want to utilise a more structured marking scheme by creating a standard form that breaks the overall essay mark into component parts: introduction and thesis, structure, relevance, coverage, content, conclusion, style, paragraph structure, documentation. Assign a specific percentage of the total mark to each element of the paper. Review your marking system with your students as a way of teaching them how to write a good research paper. Let them know why each element is important to the overall work and why you feel that some elements deserve more weight than others.

Comments

Teacher comments provide feedback that is necessary for a truly rewarding learning experience. They should be plentiful, but not repetitive and they should address the strengths and weakness of the paper and offer suggestions for improvement. At all costs, avoid the use of sarcasm or humour. The former serves no purpose in the classroom and the latter will most likely be misunderstood as hurtful rather than helpful. The colour of the pencil you use can also contribute to the way in which the student receives your criticism. Some markers prefer red because it stands out from the page. Others feel that red is overly intimidating and hostile-especially when the page is heavily marked.

Rather than burdening yourself with extra work by marking each page, pick one or two pages for comments and let the student know where they can be found. Many standard problems can be identified with short phrases which refer to the writing guide, e.g.: "run-on sentence." Many others can be dealt with – with standard abbreviations such as "sp." for spelling error.

Many new markers have a tendency to edit everything in the paper. Seek out the best and the worst aspects of the paper for extensive comments and use shorter remarks for less notable aspects of the work. Assess the student’s style: Does the student use correct grammar and spelling? Does the student's sentence and paragraph structure, vocabulary, and organisation enhance or detract attention away from the research and thesis? Does the paper have a clear thesis, introduction, body, and conclusion? In terms of content, does the student exhibit familiarity with the most recent and relevant research in the field? And, does he or she draw upon the best examples to illustrate his or her argument?

Assigning Grades

The final grade should be placed on the last page of the paper. After you have assigned a mark, you may want to pile the papers according to the A's, B's, C's etc. and quickly review each pile. This will assure that you marked consistently.

What does each grade mean? Keep in mind that what is considered “mastery” or "acceptable" in a first-year student differs from what can be expected of a more advanced student. In addition, first-time markers tend to mark too harshly: judge the individual’s work in relation to their fellow students’ – do not compare it to your own. In a large class it would be unusual if there were not some "A" students, even the occasional "A+," just as it would be unusual not to have any "D's."

A student's grade is not for public consumption. To protect your student's privacy and your own academic position, make sure that you hand out the papers individually: do not throw them in a pile to be picked up by the students. If you must do the latter, staple the paper together so student grades remain private.

Grading Disputes

Only discuss a student's grades in private. Be prepared to explain your grades by showing the student your criteria and keys. If a student wishes to appeal a grade, ask him or her to return the paper/exam in question so that you can review it. If the concern is a miscalculation of marks, recalculate and make changes if necessary. If the student convinces you that their answer is acceptable, acknowledge that you had not thought of that possibility and alter the marks accordingly. If the student has not convinced you that a grade change is in order, advise him or her of the proper procedure for appealing grades. Normally, the first level of appeal will be to the course director.

Plagiarism

In cases where you suspect academic dishonesty on assignments, essays or exams, retain possession of the material in question and contact the course director immediately. Academic dishonesty is a serious infraction with severe penalties. Cases sometimes conclude in a court of law. The course director will be responsible for pursuing the investigation.

The Ultimate Assessment: Letters of Recommendation

Students may ask you to write a letter of recommendation for a particular job, scholarship or admission to an academic institution or program. It is probably wise to remind the student that letters from regular faculty members will carry more weight than a letter from a teaching assistant. The student may rightly believe that you are in a better position to comment on his or her work. If you feel that you must decline do so immediately with a short explanation to the student. If your are willing and able to write a positive letter, note the nature of the job or position sought and use the forms provided by the student. Letters should state the context and length of your relationship with the applicant. Be as specific as possible and take into account the requirements of the job, award or program sought, make an honest assessment of the student's abilities, and mention weaknesses as well as strengths.