Strategies for Increasing the Efficiency of the Grading and Feedback Process

Designing Effective Writing Assignments Series: Topic Intro | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Designing Effective Writing Assignments Series
Part 3:
Strategies for Increasing the Efficiency of the Grading and Feedback Process 

Overview

Grading and providing feedback on student writing can be a time-consuming process. However, there are multiple strategies one can use to reduce the “paper load” of grading writing and promote student engagement in formative feedback on writing. Research has shown that timely feedback focused on learning outcomes plays an important role in helping students learn (Ambrose et al., 2010; Chickering & Gamson, 1987; Kuh, 2008). 

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Teaching Strategies

Potential strategies to make the grading and feedback process both efficient and effective: 

  • Strategically schedule assignments and other learning activities. When possible, “flip” learning activities so that students are exposed to new information (e.g., readings and other course materials) and use more in-class time on reviewing and preparing students to process the information and put it to use (Walvoord, 2014).  
  • Stagger deadlines for process-oriented assignments. Consider breaking up large writing assignments into multiple short writing projects throughout the term, rather than a single long project at the end. This will cut down on grading time overall, especially during the already busy end-of-term. Staggering deadlines and having multiple smaller submissions also provides you with an opportunity to check-in with your students and catch mistakes or misunderstandings early, saving you in feedback time later. 
  • Provide a rubric with your expectations and descriptions of what each expectation looks like at different levels of performance. Rubrics have been shown to increase student performance on writing assignments and also promote self-assessment and self-regulation as students check their work against your criteria for successful writing (Brookhart & Chen, 2014). 
  • Provide opportunities for students to apply the rubric to sample writing. Provide deidentified samples of previous students’ work (with permission) to and ask students (individually or in groups) to apply the rubric to the sample and justify their assessment of the work. Provide samples of varying quality, not just “good” or “bad” examples. Don’t tell students what grade the sample received, instead invite the students into the reasoning process behind criteria-referenced assessment.  
  • Engage students in peer feedback activities. Peer feedback can not only provide formative feedback for student writers, it can also support learning for students who are giving feedback as they learn to reference the rubric, interpret another person’s work, and articulate actionable feedback to help the writer achieve their objectives (Zong et al., 2021). 
  • Identify common feedback trends and share them with students: While grading, create a list of comments you make repeatedly on students’ papers, and then use this list to revise your assignment so that it is clearer for future classes. If using the SpeedGrader tool in Canvas, you can also save and pre-load frequent comments into a comment library. Share feedback trends with students when you return their assignments, so that they can have a clearer understanding of your expectations on future writing assignments. 
  • Resist the urge to comment on everything. Keep your focus on the criteria specified in your rubric and the learning outcomes of your course. Excessive correction or feedback on issues of grammar, mechanics, and word choice are not usually helpful if students will not be given an opportunity to revise the work and correct the errors (Ferris et al., 2013). 
  • Ask students to specify the feedback they most need. Include cover sheets with writing assignments where students provide a self-assessment of their own work, where they feel they need feedback the most, and what they would revise if they had more time on the assignment. 
  • Consider providing opportunities for revisions or rewrites. Bean (2011) argues that the time an instructor spends providing feedback is largely wasted unless students do something with that feedback. Therefore, he suggests that instructors should comment on late-stage drafts and allow rewrites. This also has the benefit of improving the overall quality of the writing received from students. 

  

Whatever your strategies for managing the grading and feedback process, remember that both formative and summative feedback are vital for student learning. Though there are ways to streamline the process, keep in mind that every student will benefit from your attention and thoughtful suggestions for their learning in progress. 

  • Additional Resources
  •  
    • Effective Feedback Series
      Please see our resource series titled “Effective Feedback” for additional strategies and suggestions on providing effective feedback on a variety of different activities.
  • Citation
  • Center for Educational Effectiveness (CEE). (2024). Designing Effective Writing Assignments Series: Just-in-Time Teaching Resources. https://cee.ucdavis.edu/JITT
  • References
  • Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M. C., Norman, M. K., & Mayer, R. E. (2010). How learning works: Seven research-based principles for smart teaching. Jossey-Bass.

    Bean, J. C. (2011). Engaging ideas: The professor’s guide to integrating writing, critical thinking, and active learning in the classroom (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.

    Chickering, A. W., & Gamson, Z. F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. AAHE Bulletin. http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED282491

    Ferris, D. R., Liu, H., Sinha, A., & Senna, M. (2013). Written corrective feedback for individual L2 writers. Journal of Second Language Writing, 22(3), 307–329.

    Glenn, C., & Goldthwaite, M. A. (2014). The St. Martin’s guide to teaching writing (7th ed.). Bedford/St. Martin’s.

    Kuh, G. D., & Schneider, C. G. (2008). High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Association of American Colleges.

    Zong, Z., Schunn, C., & Wang, Y. (2021). Learning to improve the quality peer feedback through experience with peer feedback. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 46(6).