To take risks and move out of your comfort zone. Trying out new types of writingĬan feel risky and taking grades out of the immediate picture makes it easier Of writing development (Brooke and Carr 62-64). Practice, time, and effort (Yancey 64-65), and failure can be an important part Learning to become an effective writer takes different kinds of Even more importantly,Įngaging with these processes helps you to develop an aptitude for writing And since revision is central to developing writing,Įxtensive revision is often rewarded in contract grading. Writer: taking an active role in peer reviews, participating in discussionsĪbout writing, and taking steps like freewriting and revising that lead to
Contracts reward you for behaving like a professional Task, while others will evaluate whether your work meets a required level ofĬontract, it’s likely that many of the entries focus not only on completing Teachers will check to make sure you’ve put a certain amount of work into the Greatly with different types of contracts, so be sure to ask your instructor Must meet times with instructor duringĬompleted, the grade is lowered.Have completed reading responses on time.Of organization or digital mode, your grade doesn’t suffer as long as you’re If your grammar isn’t perfect, or if you took risks with a new type
Will even base the entire course grade on your writing process and the workĮxample, in some traditional writing classes, the majority of your grade isīased on final revisions, while a contract-graded class might reward youĮqually for pre-writing activities, drafting the essay, peer review, and Traditional grading give credit for your writing process, teachers who useĬontract grading make prioritizing process over product more explicit, and some Rather than focusing on creating a perfect paper to earn an “A.” Similar to portfolio assessment, the goal is for you to become a moreĮffective writer in the long term by engaging deeply in writing processes, (fortunately, it’s not a natural gift that some people have and some peopleĭon’t). Becoming a strong, flexible writer requires lots of practice Processes and labor as much or more than final products. Our students tell us they wish contracts were used in all their classes! What Grading (Hardigan 386-387 Hiller and Hietapelto 664 Taylor 22-29). Inįact, the majority of students across disciplines end up really liking contract Stress, helps students focus on learning, and emphasizes educational equity. Of tallying up points they are using a method of assessment that lowers So, teachers who choose contract grading aren’t just using a different way
Students’ Right to Their Own Language 1 Inoue, “Theorizing Failure” 332 Shorĩ). How well students produce standard academic discourse (standard academic styleĪnd language), some writing scholars consider traditional grading biasedĪgainst students with less access to the dominant discourse-students of color,įirst-generation college students, and multilingual students (CCCC Statement on Moreover, since grades frequently measure Stressful and can put students and teachers into an adversarial relationship On grades is not only less satisfying than focusing on learning, it’s also very
Often more concerned with how to get an “A” than how to write effectively forĭifferent audiences, purposes, and genres, all of which are more important to More focused on grades than on learning (Kohn 29). That grades can undermine student engagement with their own work, making them So familiar, in fact, that most of us have never given that Through the educational system in the United States, and many international This system is familiar to nearly everyone who goes Tests, quizzes, essays, presentations, attendance, and participation toĭetermine your grade. Your teachers probably used a combination of
Grades, or GPA-style grading, but whatever the grades looked like, the Received an “A,” a “B,” a “C,” and so on. Of your classes have probably been graded. A pic of stained glass alongside Tampa Bay's waterfront