“Utah State University Photo”, by Utah State University

How are essays graded by the teacher ? Are they graded by the organization, the topic, or fluent it is? How does a student learn from receiving a letter as feedback ?  According to Christopher R Friend in, “Student Writing Must Be Graded By The Teacher”, it’s a bad idea to require student writing to be graded. Friend believes that it is a better idea for teacher to promote reviewing and collaboration. Linda S. Bergmann, further explains in, “The Writing Center As A Site For Engagement.”, the importance of engagement and collaboration. 

“I got graded on my English essay”, by Ya_like_jazz, newschoolers.com

     In the article, “Student Writing Must Graded By The Teacher”, in Bad Ideas About Writing, Friend explains that a letter grade does 3 things poorly, ” (1) determining whether students understand a concept well enough to implement it, (2) identifying elements of student writing that need improvement, and (3) helping students learn to better self-assess.”( Friend, 275). Friend explains the very reason why letter grades work so poorly. How can anyone learn from something, that poorly teaches you ?  Friend suggests that, “Grades help label, sort, and rank students; they don’t inform students, target instruction, or encourage self-awareness.” (Friend, 275), so they can be discouraging to students that struggle. 

So what’s the solution according to Christopher R Friend? Peer review. People learn from friends and family, whether it’s tying shoes or learning how to draw. Friend states,  “… we should teach people how to improve their writing through peer review. Variations of peer review help us write in many of our day-to-day situations.”, (Friend, 275).  Friend goes on to say, ” Teachers could benefit from saved time and energy if they incorporated peer review systems of various flavors in their classes, reducing their workload and providing a variety of feedback for their students.”, (Friend, 275). Why is that peer review works? Because students aren’t just writing to please the teacher. Students have an audience that isn’t seen as an authority figure, such as a teacher (Friend, 273).

“Design peer reviews to support our teams growth”, by Maxence Mauduit

In the article, “The Writing Center as a Cite of Engagement” , Bergmann goes into further detail speaking about how peer review is the most effective ways to learn. Bergmann suggests that writing centers can be beneficial to writing ,because of it’s collaborative nature and are more flexible than traditional English departments and universities (Bergmann, 174). Bergmann states, that not all students may not know who to come to with writing questions in their English department. “One of the reasons that writing centers become sites of engagement is that people looking for various kinds of help, knowledge, and interaction with projects related to writing and literacy often contact effective and visible writing centers.”, (Bergmann, 160). The author gives readers a go to place for their writing questions. 

“Edgar Allen Poe Collection”, Harry Ransom center digital collections

In conclusion, it is a bad idea to require student writing to be graded. Students don’t learn anything from a letter nor do they define a student. It is a better idea for teachers to promote peer review and to get students to think critically. When the students main focus turns into grades and not the actual assignment they write only to please the teacher in their writing. There is nothing wrong with teachers grading essays ,but when they only grade papers students don’t get a chance to learn from their mistakes. Students need to be put into peer review collaborations to be able to critically think. It helps students learn, how to use what you learned, and when you see it. 

                               Works Cited

 1.  Friend, Christopher R. “Student Writing Must Be Graded By The Teacher”, in Bad Ideas About Writing. 273-277.

https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/badideasaboutwriting-book.pdf

2. Bergmann, Linda S. ” The Writing Center As a Cite of Engagement”, in Going Public: What Writing Programs Learn From Engagement. 160-176. 

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1027&context=usupress_pubs