I got some papers last week that ranged everywhere from the excellent to the execrable. I had students who made 95, which on an essay where I grade very strictly for grammar is amazing, and students who made 42, for horrible grammar and not following directions.
I told the students that if they got less than a 90% they were required to rewrite the paper. I wasn’t putting up with that. They could have done better. I’m not getting rid of those atrocious grades either; I’m just going to add the rewrite grades to it.
Today those re-writes have come in. Fifty points better. That’s the kind of grade I expected. Not that hideous one from the first time.
I even come in on Fridays (class meets Mon and Wed) and will look over their essays if they get them done by then. It’s amazing how good an essay can get when you rewrite it before it’s due. But most of them don’t even consider coming in. The students who do come in don’t always bring in their essays. How can I help if they don’t bring me anything to help with?
I am hoping that these bad grades will encourage them to come in on Fridays when we have essays due, about every two weeks.