Establish criteria for evaluating assignments. Have students practice criteria-based evaluation in groups, evaluating other students’ papers. Then have students practice evaluating their own writing with an evaluation-check list. The following is a sample checklist:
Criteria to Evaluate Research
Papers and Synthesis Papers
Use the following check list to evaluate your paper before submitting it for
a grade.
| Introduction: | |
| ____ | Do you introduce the topic in an interesting manner (e.g., using a quote, an anecdote, an interesting fact, a historical event)? |
| ____ | Do you give enough background about your topic so that the reader can understand the rest of your discussion of this topic? |
Thesis: |
|
| ____ | Underline your thesis |
| _____ | Does your thesis indicate your topic, your stance, and your plan of development? Have you left one of these elements out? For example, "Test-score placement affects children" is too broad because it doesn’t indicate your plan of development. A more focus thesis would be "The way children view themselves because of test-score placement in school not only labels them but also affects their self-esteem and learning." |
Structure: |
|
| ____ | Does your paper follow the organizational strategy suggested in your thesis and introduction? |
| ____ | Does each paragraph have a topic sentence or at least a clear focus? |
| ____ | Underline the transitions liking together ideas in sentences and ideas in paragraphs in your paper. Do you need to add any other transitions? |
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