Many writing teachers spend hours providing written feedback on students’ first drafts of essays. After doing so, we hope students will apply the feedback to their other writing. However, sometimes students fix only the mistakes that are marked and do not apply it to the rest of their writing. It seems that one step is missing in order for students to apply what they learned to other writing. In order to help students bridge this gap, here are several suggestions:
1. Encourage students to keep an error log. In the log (download an example), students will write down 4-5 mistakes that they made in each essay. One simple way to keep a log is to print out tables with four columns:
| (a) sentence with a mistake | (b) description of the problem and the solution | (c) corrected sentence | (d) type of problem (e.g., adverb clause, punctuation, word form, etc.) |
It is helpful to give examples of completed error logs to students before they do it on their own. Students can use the log to notice patterns in their own writing.
2. Ask students to read the essay out loud. Students can read it to themselves, to a friend, or to a tutor. Many times, students can identify some of their mistakes (especially subject-verb agreement) when they hear it.
3. Highlight specific problems and refer students to the tutoring center. If there are specific and consistent problems in your students’ essays (e.g., informal vocabulary in academic writing, incorrect use of verb forms), you can highlight all the instances of the problem in the essay and refer students to a tutor. You can write a note to the tutor to explain what the issue is for that student (here’s an example). If your school does not have a tutoring center, you can use the specific problems in individual conferences with students.
Great ideas!
These are great ideas especially keeping an error log; however, these ideas don;t match the description in the newsletter.
Hi Rosemary, glad you like the ideas and the error log. Yes, I sent out the wrong description in the email. As soon as I realized my mistake, I went ahead and sent out a corrected version
I think this format for student eflection on errors for work they have done themselves, previously, is worth employing in the classroom. In this way, attention can be drawn to the kind of error, and for students who are expected to have a full understanding of grammar principles, this reflection is like reviewing a math problem to discover where the error occured, or which rule was not adhered to. Because the student looks for the kind of error after the teacher reveals the actual error, he or she will be more likely to remember the form that is correct. This has far greater value than simply being told. It allows the students a chance to revisit their writing and take note of their grammar knowledge, while engaging the problem cognitively. I believe I will use this format from the beginning of a class, incorporating this strategy into portfolio and assessment. This can also be a better way for teachers to lift the grade of a student, as that would be my preference, to grade the final paper after the editing and reflection has been done. Would that be unfair to students whose work is “perfect” from the start?
I agree that this is a great idea and solution to students not applying corrections to their essay writing. I also think it is a great idea to implement the error log at the beginning of the class, in order to make students aware of the importance of responsibility in their own learning. I am unsure as to your suggestion about lifting the students’ grades at the end, with regard to “perfect” students. I can see how they might complain, but really, how much more perfect can they get? If the students that had errors actually corrected them, why should they not have their grades lifted as a reward for their work?
I totally agree with your three suggestions and use them in both EAP and developmental writing courses. Our college has recently added a huge push for “out of class support” and I am so glad to see EAP adjunct instructors employed several more hours/week in the library writing studio; our students seem to take greater advantage of these services when they see instructors there even though all our paid and volunteer tutors are great. I wonder if anyone has suggestions for getting the students who need it the most to avail themselves of learning support services; I see the high achievers and most diligent among our EAP students over there a lot, but the students with lower overall English proficiency and academic/info literacy skills seem to be the same with the greatest number of obligations outside of class who can’t make it in for the extra help. I should say I’m at a community college, not an IEP.
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Thank you for this! I am going to use this idea with my EAP III class this term.