Stenske 1

Nick Stenske
Professor Kmiecik
ENG 361
December 5, 2014
Engaging Responses to Student Writing
The best learning never occurs by osmosis. Neither does the best writing. Both acts
should be experiences that force one to reevaluate ones previous experience by coming to terms
with new knowledge. Students are active learners. An effective writing teachers students will
also be active writers. As an English teacher, I want to give my students the opportunity to delve
into the composition process and use it to engage with their own knowledge, surroundings, and
peers. To achieve this end in my classroom, I plan to use rubrics, writing conferences, and
portfolio-based assessment to respond to student writing.
First of all, a well-made rubric is an essential accompaniment to any student writing
assignment.

When creating an assignment, teachers must first think of what criteria and

standards they plan to assess. According to Erika Lindemann in her book A Rhetoric for Writing
Teachers, these criteria help [teachers] determine in advance the most significant features [they]
expect to find in students responses (219). A rubric is a tool that allows teachers to express
these expectations for their students. Instead of throwing students directly into an assignment, a
rubric can work as a guide for the students as they work through the writing process. According
to Vicki Spandel in her article In Defense of Rubrics, rubrics serve as a guide to revision,
giving student writers an insiders view of what makes writing work (19). This guide provides
confidence for students because they know what to aim for and they are not left to guess what the
teachers expectations are for the assignment. Ideally, a teachers rubric reflects their personal

Stenske 2

interests in the classroom (Livingston 3). Handing out an essay prompt without a rubric is akin
to throwing a child into the deep end of a pool for the first time and expecting it to do the
butterfly stroke.
Besides being a useful tool for students, rubrics are also an essential tool for teachers as
they grade, and facilitate students through the writing process. First of all, a rubric also holds
teachers accountable as they grade papers. As teachers evaluate student writing they are using
standards regardless of whether or not they are laid out in a rubric. Spandel states if we do not
put our thinking on paper, lets not kid ourselves into believing that we are not using
rubricsWe do need to offer reasons for our reactions to writing and to show that those reasons
are based on sound criteria (21-22). If a teacher grades students on criteria that the students
were not aware of while they were writing then the assessment is invalid. As a teacher, I will use
rubrics in a student-centered fashion. This means that the rubric will not be my sole mean of
assessment since every student needs something different. In my classroom, rubrics will be used
as a tool for students to learn more about the complexities of writing.

Spandel discusses

student-created rubrics. These rubrics are the result of collaboration between the students and
the teacher to set up criteria for evaluation. According to Spandel, when students design and
use their own rubrics, they read, process texts, and view their world differently. They come to
see those rubrics less as rigid requirements and more as writing guides (21). This strategy for
creating rubrics fits perfectly with the cognitivist theory that students are active learners.
Students create knowledge through experience. Through the collaborative creation of rubrics,
students engage in the conversation about what constitutes exceptional writing.
Another practice of responding to student writing that I will undoubtedly use in my
classroom is writing conferences. A writing conference typically occurs on a one-on-one basis

Stenske 3

between the teacher and the student. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the students needs
or inquiries regarding a draft or where he is at in the writing process. According to Lindemann,
students should begin the conference, perhaps by reading and commenting on a draft or by
explaining what pleases and puzzles them most about the project they are working on(249). It
is then up to the teacher to discuss these comments and address the students needs before
moving onto what the teacher wants to specifically respond to in the students writing.
Conferencing is seen as a teaching method that fosters active participation by the student and
allows the teacher to see exactly what the student does and does not understand (Walker 267).
In a writing conference, a teachers feedback is instantaneous. Students also have the ability to
ask for clarification instead of struggling to decode comments written in the margins of their
paper.
Conferencing works as a strong formative assessment that can be done anywhere in the
writing process of students. The individualized instruction that occurs during a conference is
invaluable for students. According to Jodi Nickel in her article When Writing Conferences Do
Not Work, conferencing should be a time when students share their knowledge, reconsider
and revise their texts, and learn about the craft of writing from a more experienced writer (137).
Conferences work in this way as long as the teacher stays focused on the students needs and the
students writing. An obstacle that could keep me from using conferences in my classroom is
time. Nickel states that the pragmatics of a large class left [her] feeling pressured to hurry
through conferences to meet with as many children as possible and maximize each childs
learning in that short meeting (144). I experienced this pressure when I conducted conferences
with four different classes of seventh graders. There was just not enough time to devote to each
students paper as I would have liked to spend! Nickel also expressed that because [she] had to

Stenske 4

respond immediately in conferences, [she] was not always able to give the best response at the
moment (145). To avoid both of these problems, I would take time to read over the writing of
my students before conducting conferences. This cuts out the time it would take to read over
each draft in class as well as being able to spend time analyzing what each student may need to
continue forward in the writing process.

Ultimately, writing conferences are a valuable

formative assessment that also helps build rapport with students.

A method of responding to my students that would be complemented by writing
conferences would be using portfolio-based assessments.

Portfolios entail students saving

writing throughout a course. According to Lindemann, students keep all of their drafts and final
versions in a folder, bring it to class and conferences, and produce an impressive quantity of
work. At the end of each termstudents revise some of these writings yet again and submit the
portfolio for a grade (250). The process of creating a portfolio definitely mimics the social and
recursive aspect of composition that is typical of experiences outside of the classroom. Portfolio
assessment also provides the students with autonomy. The students get to decide which pieces of
writing they want to spend time revising and conferencing about. If this autonomy nourishes a
students intrinsic motivation to write then the composition process will likely be more
rewarding for the student.
The greatest strength of portfolio-based assessment is the opportunity it offers students
and teachers for reflection. By compiling the portfolio, students have to look back at their work.
Martha Dudley, a middle school language arts teacher, states in her article Portfolio
Assessment: When Bad Things Happen to Good Ideas this reflection enables the discovery of
ones own strengths and weaknesses as a writer and the sharing of ones accomplishments with
others (1). A students writing never occurs in isolation. The reflective nature of creating a

Stenske 5

portfolio allows students to see how their writing changes from paper to paper or even from
semester to semester. Student writing portfolios are also valuable reflective tools for teachers.
In the article Reassessing Portfolio Assessment: Rhetoric and Reality, portfolios are described
as a rich opportunity for [teachers] to reconsider their teaching practice by making a tight
connection between instruction and assessment (Gomez 620-621). What teachers assess in the
portfolios should essentially be what students were learning throughout the course. As teachers
look through each portfolio their own instruction should be reflected in the writing of the
students. Just like how portfolios allow students to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses as
writers, they also allow teachers to look back on the effectiveness of their instruction.
All in all, rubrics, writing conferences, and portfolio-based assessment would be valuable
practices to use in my classroom to respond to student writing. Each assessment allows students
to fully engage with the writing process in complex ways. Such engagement would create an
impactful writing experience. There are issues such as time constraints that may make these
practices difficult to use; however, as an educator it is important to stay focused on what best
suits the needs of the students. If this involves late nights of reading numerous drafts and
copious amounts of caffeine on my part, then so be it.

Stenske 6

Works Cited
Dudley, Martha. "Speaking My Mind: Portfolio Assessment: When Bad Things Happen to Good
Ideas." The English Journal 90.6 (2001). National Council of Teachers of English. Web.
4 Dec. 2014.
Gomez, Mary Louise, Elizabeth Graue, and Marianne Bloch. "Reassessing Portfolio Assessment:
Rhetoric and Reality." The Whys, Whats, and Hows Of Literacy Evaluation 68.8 (1991):
620-28. National Council of Teachers of English. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.
Lindemann, Erika, and Anderson, Daniel. A Rhetoric for Writing Teachers / Erika Lindemann
with Daniel Anderson. Fourth ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2001. Print.
Livingston, Michael. "The Infamy of Grading Rubrics." English Journal 102.2 (2012): 108.
Web. 4 Dec. 2014
Nickel, Jodi. "When Writing Conferences Don't Work: Students' Retreat from Teacher Agenda."
Language Arts 79.2 (2001): 136-47. National Council of Teachers of English. Web. 4
Dec. 2014.
Spandel, Vicki. "In Defense of Rubrics." English Journal 96.1 (2006): 19-22. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.
Walker, Carolyn P., and David Elias. "Writing Conference Talk: Factors Associated with Highand Low-Rated Writing Conferences." Research in the Teaching of English 21.3 (1987):
266-85. National Council of Teachers of English. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.