Students usually have two options for submitting essays and research papers on VLA. Some of them choose to type directly in the answer box. Others choose to type in a word processing program and attach the file.
It's much easier to comment on a student's written work when you can type your comments directly on the paper. You can do this even if the student has typed in the answer box.
First copy and paste their writing into your word processing program. Then type directly on the student's document. You might want to try using the highlighter tool to highlight your comments. This makes them stand out very visibly for the student. You may want to highlight spelling errors in yellow, grammar errors in pink, and your comments in green.
I recently graded a student's research paper. She had used the word actually far too many times. I used the highlight tool to mark each use of the word, making a visible statement about its overuse. I used pink highlighting to mark misspelled words. I highlighted sentences and phrases with yellow when they contained grammar errors. After each highlighted word or phrase, I typed my comments in parentheses. I made an occasional comment without highlighting the student's work. When I did this, I highlighted my comments in blue.
This all made for quite a colorful paper! I've done this for several years, and students have responded well. This type of highlighting is easier for students to understand than written directions.
The ideal situation is to create a PDF (read-only) document to return to the student. This eliminates the student's need to have the same word processing software that the teacher has. It also eliminates the possibility that the student might delete or change comments on the document. If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Professional on your computer, you may want to consider downloading a free PDF maker. Here are some to try:
Primo PDF
http://www.primopdf.com/
It's much easier to comment on a student's written work when you can type your comments directly on the paper. You can do this even if the student has typed in the answer box.
First copy and paste their writing into your word processing program. Then type directly on the student's document. You might want to try using the highlighter tool to highlight your comments. This makes them stand out very visibly for the student. You may want to highlight spelling errors in yellow, grammar errors in pink, and your comments in green.
I recently graded a student's research paper. She had used the word actually far too many times. I used the highlight tool to mark each use of the word, making a visible statement about its overuse. I used pink highlighting to mark misspelled words. I highlighted sentences and phrases with yellow when they contained grammar errors. After each highlighted word or phrase, I typed my comments in parentheses. I made an occasional comment without highlighting the student's work. When I did this, I highlighted my comments in blue.
This all made for quite a colorful paper! I've done this for several years, and students have responded well. This type of highlighting is easier for students to understand than written directions.
The ideal situation is to create a PDF (read-only) document to return to the student. This eliminates the student's need to have the same word processing software that the teacher has. It also eliminates the possibility that the student might delete or change comments on the document. If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Professional on your computer, you may want to consider downloading a free PDF maker. Here are some to try:
Primo PDF
http://www.primopdf.com/
CutePDF
RareFind
http://www.rarefind.com/paperlessprinter/downloads.html
When I create a PDF document and return it to a student, I attach it to an email message. This has worked well for me. If you have other methods of grading essays and research papers, feel free to share them. Click the comments link below this post, and add your comment.
When I create a PDF document and return it to a student, I attach it to an email message. This has worked well for me. If you have other methods of grading essays and research papers, feel free to share them. Click the comments link below this post, and add your comment.
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