Suggests two ways to make grading of writing easier, fairer, more helpful to students: first, using minimal grades or fewer levels of quality, and, second, using criteria that spell out the features of good writing sought in the assignment. Discusses minimal grading techniques in contexts of low-stakes writing, high-stakes writing, the final…

The margins of college students' writing are the ideal site for teacher-student conversations about the writing, but most of these conversations misfire, largely for reasons that are avoidable. Suggestions are made for responding so students can understand, respond to, and learn from teachers' written comments. Examples from several…

The complex and comprehensive nature of writing-across-the-curriculum programs makes them difficult to evaluate. There are some measures of program effectiveness that are easy to collect and others that are worth trying for. (MSE)

Electronic dialogues tend to be rapid, informal, and public. When college teachers use computer technology to respond to student writing, they have an opportunity to rethink and reinvent the ways in which they teach and by which students learn. Despite some new concerns and problems, this mode of communicating does not evoke the same response that…

College courses which use writing across the curriculum (WAC) principles encourage students to write about assigned readings and to respond to each other's writings, resulting in better learning of course concepts and the experience of participating in a discipline's ongoing conversation. Guidelines for setting up peer response groups in both…

Tape-recorded commentaries on student writing can tell students in detail how a reader responds to their writing. Computers that can record and/or play back voice recordings can also help improve the way teachers annotate students' drafts. Strategies for using the method are presented, with excerpts from students' discipline-based writing and…

Offers basic guidelines for college teachers in responding to students' writing in the disciplines, with the central principle that teachers' comments should reflect their instructional goals for individual students. Suggests that fewer, more carefully designed comments are likely to be more effective than many unfocused responses. Examples of…

Argues that developing writing activities, consulting with students as they work on a major writing project, and responding are important vehicles for teaching that fosters engaged learning. Central principles are to make assignments inquiry- or issue-based, to keep them focused but open enough for students to develop their own angle or interest,…

Peer response groups contribute to students' effectiveness as writers in any field, but cultural differences in communication affect interactions within the group. Culture-based dimensions on which communication may differ include individualism/collectivism, power distance, concept of "face," and communication style. Recommendations are…