Follow A Student: Introduction

While the regular Gradatorium explains grading (how it works, what it means, and how to do it), this section focuses instead on how one student writer develops over the course of a semester. By looking at each of this student's final papers as well as the instructor's end comments on those papers, we get to see how a student responds to the issues raised by the instructor and how that student improves as a writer from paper to paper. Rather than figuring out if the student got this or that grade (here's another "Grade This" opportunity!), the focus is on the student's sustained effort to master the skills required in Expository Writing 101.

On the following pages, you'll find the student's papers. What you won't find, however, are all the other factors that contribute to a writer's development: you won't find classroom discussion, or rough drafts with peer comments, or the conversations that take place during office hours. In this sense, you won't be able to see the full reaons for WHY this student improved over the course of a semester so much as you will see (more simply) the she or he improved. Keep that in mind as you look at these papers and comments.

In any case, it all begins with the first paper, so let's take a look at that now.

next >>