The Writing RubricInstructional rubrics can help students become self-regulated writers.

Bruce Saddler and Heidi Andrade

With state-mandatedaccountability tests andcollege entrance exami-nations placing agmwing emphasis on

writing, teachers face the challenge ofensuring that all their students becomeproficient writers—even in classroomsthat serve students of widely diverseabilities. Consider a 4th grade classroomthat incltides two young writers, Marenand Katie.

Maren loves to write. She approacheswriting tasks assigned by her teacher,Mrs. Smith, with a positive attitudebecause they give her the chance to tellwhat she feels or knows. Maren takestime to plan what she wants to write,carefully reading the rubric Mrs. Smithhands out and thinking about the topic.As she composes, she routinely stops toread over what she has written and tocheck it against the rubric. When she isfinished, she rereads her work andrevises words or sentences, adding ordeleting as she feels necessary to makeher composition sound better and tomatch the nibric's expectations moreclosely.

Katie, on the other hand, dislikeswriting. She does not believe that she isa good writer, and she never knowswhat to say when prompted to write,even when the teacher assigns a topic.She does not view rubrics as helpfultools, and she promptly loses themwhen Mrs. Smith hands them out. Whengiven a writing assignment, Katiequickly writes down a few ideas withoutdevoting much time to planning orthinking about how her compositionsounds. She rarely bothers with revision.

Although most people find thewriting process challenging, skilledwriters like Maren navigate this processsuccessfully. As they compose, theyattend to the niles and mechanics oflanguage while maintaining a focus onorganization, purpose, and audience. Inaddition to their knowledge of thewriting process, such writers alsomonitor and direct their own

composing processes through self-regulation, a skill that Hayes and Flower(1986) identif) as essential in writing.According to Graham and Harris (1996),self-regulation procedures include goalsetting, planning, self-monitoring, self-assessment, self-instruction, and self-reitiforcement.

In contrast, students like Katiestruggle with writing for a variety' of

48 EDUCATIONAL LEADF.RSHIP/OCTOBER 2004

reasons. First, they may not possessadequate knowledge of the writingprocess. In addition, they may notunderstand what makes a finishedcomposition "good." Finally, they maylack the ability to self-regulate the manycomplex behaviors included in thecomposing process (Harris, Graham,Mason, & Saddler, 2002). Without thewriter's mindful involvement, thewriting process is like a ship withcjut anidder—in motion, but out of control.

Instructional Rubricsand Self-Regulated WritingAn important goal in writing instructionis to help students develop the self-regulation skills needed to successfullymanage the intricacies of the writingprocess. Instructional rubrics canprovide the scaffolding that studentsneed to become self-regulated writers.

A rubric artictilates the expectationsfor an assignment by listing the criteria,or "what counts," and describing levelsof quality from excellent to poor.Teachers commonly use assessmentrubrics to score and grade student work,but instructional rubrics also serveanother, arguably more important, role:They teach as well as evaluate.

To ensure that students have someownership of the nibric, instructionalrubrics are often created with studentsand are always written in language thatstudents can understand (Andrade,2000). Teachers provide instructionalrubrics Gike the example in Figure 1,p. 50) to students before they begin anassignment to help them understand thegoals of the task and to guide them inself-<lirected planning and goal setting,revising, and editing.

Planning and goal setting. During thisstage of writing, suidents create a visualrepresentation of their thoughts (First &MacMillan, 1995), wliich should matchthe objectives of the assignment. Ttiesevistjal representations may take the formof elaborate webs or sequencing charts,or students may simply jot a few ideas onnotebook paper.

A rubric can assist students in theplaJining and goal-setting process byclearly articulating the expectations for

an assignment and describing high-quality work. Students can use therubric's criteria for "good work" to get ageneral sense of the undertaking, setgoals for their writing, create a plan for apaper, and even complete an outline.

Some students, like Maren, know howto use a rubric for planning withoutneeding to be told how to tise it. Othersneed direct instruction in how to readand interpret a nibric, as well as guidedpractice with rubric-referenced plan-

pointers for improvement. The SentenceStructure criterion in the mock inter-view nibric, for example, specifies thathigh-cjuality sentences should "begin indifferent ways." If self-assessment orpeer assessment reveals that the qualit\'of Katie's sentences is only on level 2because most or all of them "begin withthe same word." the nibric tells Katiewhat she has to do to improve—starther sentences in different ways. By iden-tifying problems and their possible solu-

Without the writer's mindful involvement*

the writing process is like a ship withouta rudder-

in motion, but out of control.

ning, before they can use the nibricindependently.

For example, Mrs. Smith might askKatie to make a todo list for her essay.After pointing out that the title of thenibric—"4th Grade Rubric for a MockInterview of a Person from History"—indicates the first step of choosing ahistorical figure, Mrs. Smith would notethat the Content criterion suggests thatthe next two steps should be "read therequired que.stions" and "make up ques-tions of my own." Mrs. Smith and Katiecould repeatedly refer to the nibric tobuild on to the to-do list, adding suchsteps as "read books abt)ut my liistoricalfigtire" and "keep a bibliography of whatI have read." By checking tasks off thelist as she completes them, Katie couldtake charge of her research and of herwriting process.

Revising. Good writers spend muchmore time rewriting their work thandrafting it. In fact, the more skilled thewriter, the more time he or she spendsin revision (Hayes & Flower, 1986).Students who are still developingwriting skills or who have writing diffi-culties may not understand that revisionis an integral part of the writing process(Saddler. 2003).

Instructional rubrics can guidestudents by identif '̂lng strengths andweaknesses in a text and providing

tions, nibrics provide important informa-tion for students to use in revision.

Editing. Etliting is polishing thefmished product—correcting spelling,changing punctuation, and resolvinggnimmar issues (Saddler, 200.̂ ). Rubricscan guide this process by promptingstudents to sift through their work todetect all varieties of problems or errors,not just the kinds students t>picallynotice. WTien pressed, weak writers willscan their papers with an eye for neat-ness or periods at the ends of sentencesbut will notice little else. At this point inthe process, the teacher can ask Katie touse the Conventions criterion of herrubric like a checklist: Correct capitals?Check. Spelling? Check. Punctuation?Check. And so on.

Instructional Rubricsand FeedbackThe quantity and quality of feedbackthat a writer receives througliout thewriting process can contribute to a well-crafteil piece of writing. Recognizingthis, many teachers attempt to providefeedback through conferences. Teacherscamiot provide all the feedback thatstudents need, however; sheer numbersprevail against their best intentions.

Help is at hand, though. Teachers candevelop reflective critics within theirclassrooms by teaching students how to

A S S O C I A T I O N F O R S D P K R V I S I O N A N D C H R R I C H H I M 49

F I G U R E 1 4 t h G r a d e R u b r i c f o r a M o c k I n t e r v i e w of a P e r s o n f ro r r

Content

Organization

Word Choice

Voice and Tone

Sentence Structure

Conventions

4

My essay includesanswers to all therequired questions andto at least five ques-tions of my own. Myanswers are completeand factual- [ have abibliography.

My first paragraphintroduces the personinterviewed and giveshighlights of the inter-view. The body of myessay answers thequestions in a logicalorder, 1 have a conclu-sion that gives awrap-up.

1 use a variety ofsophisticated words-including newand challengingvocabulary—correctly.

My writing is in firstand second person("1" and "you")and sounds like aconversation.

My sentences are clear,begin in differentways, and vary inlength.

1 use correct capitaliza-tion, spelling, punctua-tion, and grammar.

3

My essay includesanswers to all therequired questions.including five of myown, but some answersare incomplete, 1 have abibliography.

1 have an introduction.a body, and a conclu-sion, but the introduc-tion (or conclusion) istoo brief or incomplete.

1 use a variety of wordscorrectly.

1 use first and secondperson, but my writingsounds like a list ofquestions and answers.not a conversation.

1 have no fragments.My sentences aremostly wellconstructed, withsome minor errors.

1 made a few errors ingrammar and punctua-tion.

2

1 answered therequired questionsbut made up fewerthan five of my own.Some answers areincomplete or incorrect.My bibliography isincomplete.

The questions andanswers are in order.but my paper has nointroduction, noconclusion, and nomain idea.

1 do not use a varietyof words, but 1 usecommon wordscorrectly.

My writing soundsmore like a list of factsthan a conversation.

My sentences are oftenawkward. They varylittle in length, 1 havemany sentences thatbegin with the sameword.

My spelling is correcton common words.1 made a lot of errors.but the reader couldunderstand what 1 amtrying to say.

) H istory

1

1 have too few ques-tions, or my questionsare trivial or irrelevant.The answers 1 includedare mostly incompleteor incorrect.

The questions andanswers are out oflogical sequence. Mypaper has no introduc-tion, no conclusion.and no main idea.

1 repeat simple words.1 use big wordsincorrectly, or 1 copiedwords from my sources.

My writing is a list offacts in the third person("he" or "she").

My paper is hard toread because almost allof my sentences areincomplete, run-ons,or awkward.

There are so manyerrors that my paper ishard to read andunderstand.

50 EDI;CATIOIVAL LEADERSHIP/OCTOBER 2004

use nibrics to assess their own and theirclassmates' writing. Student assessmenthas the additional advantage of promotingself-regulation because it gives studentssome of the responsibility' for judgingwritten work instead of placing thatresponsibility solely on the teacher.

Teachers may avoid using self-assessment and peer assessment becauseof three misconceptions: (1) Self-assessment is pointless because studentswill just give themselves As; (2) Peerassessment is pointless because studentswill just stroke their friends and bashtheir enemies; and (3) Both self-assessmentand peer assessment are pointlessbecause students won't revise anywdy.

True? Sort of. If the teacher asksstudents to grade themselves, studentsmay indeed give themselves and theirfriends As. But if the teacher creates aculture of critique by fostering an expec-tation to revise, defines assessment interms of feedback that will help studentswrite better, and bases assessment oninstructional rubrics, then students willlearn to assess themselves and theirpeers effectively (O'Donnell & Topping,1998; White, 1998).

Self-AssessmentPerhaps one of the biggest differencesbetween Maren and Katie as writers isthe amount of informal self-assessmentthey conduct while writing. Self-regulated Maren frequently stops toreflect on the quality of her writing;Katie never does. Mrs. Smith can helpKatie leam to monitor and regulate herwriting by teaciiing her how to use thenibric to formally assess her ownwriting.

Teachers can structure the self-assessment process in many ways.Students might use markers t(J color-code the evidence in their essays thatdemonstrates that their writing meetseach criterion in the rubric. Forexample, the mock interview rubric inFigure 1 includes an Organization crite-rion that requires students to introducethe person interviewed. During class,the teacher can ask students to under-line "introduces the person interviewed"in blue on their rubrics and then under-

Peer assessment helps

students reflect on their

writing, recognize

dissonances, and create

solutions.

line in blue on their essay the informa-tion they provided to introduce theirinterviewee. If students cannot find theinformation in their essay—and theyoften cannot—then they can write them-selves a reminder to add it to theirsecond draft. Students can use the sameprocess to selfk.heck each criterion onthe rubric. With practice, Katie will notonly internalize the standards of qualityas defined by the aibric but also developthe habit of self-assessment—a hallmarkof self-regulated writers (Andrade, 2001;Andrade & Boulay, 2003).

Peer AssessmentSelf-regulation in writing can also beimproved by using rubrics to establish asystem of ongoing feedback from others.Peer assessment can take many forms,but whatever the approach, there aretwo keys to success: (1) Students mustunderstand that they are not assigning agrade to their fellow student's work butrather providing feedback that can helpthat student improve the written piece;and (2) Teachers must model and teachto students a careful, constructive peerassessment process.

The first key to successful peerassessment is relatively easy to address:Teachers explain the differencebetween grading and feedback andrepeat the message as often as neces-sary. The second key requires teachingstudents to use a rubric as well as aconstructive critique process.

Many such processes have alreadybeen developed. For example, Perkins'sLadder of Feedback (2003) contains four"rungs": clarify, value, raise concerns,and suggest. Starting at the bottom rungand climbing up, students begin theprocess by asking questions to clarify

the work being reviewed. (For example,"How old was Susan B. Anthony whenyou interviewed' her?") Next, theycomment on the work's strengths or onwhat they value about the work. ("I likehow you had her quote from thepreamble of the Constitution to makeher point about women s rights. Itmakes her .sound smart, which she musthave been.') Then, and only then, theyfinish up by discussing their concernsabout the work ("Did Susan B. Anthonyget involved with other issues besideswomen's right to vote?") and offeringsuggestions for revision ("Maybe youcould have her talk about slaver)% too.").Teachers usually need to supervise thisprocess strictly at first; it doesn't alwayscome naturally to students. But withpractice, students become more confi-dent providing constructive feedback totheir peers.

Peer assessment helps students reflecton their writing, recognize dissonances,and create solutions, hi addition, expo-sure to feedback helps students leam toconsider another person's perspective onthe content and quality of their writing(Wong, Butler, Ficzere, & Kuperis, 1997).Finally, peer assessment may providevaluable insight into the role that an audi-ence and critic can have in revising andimproving a writer s piece (Marchisan &Alber, 2001). Perhaps surprisingly,research indicates that peer assessmentscorrelate highly with teacher assessments(O Donnell & Topping, 1998) and thatstudents often create better pieces ofwork for their peers than for theirteachers (White, 1998).

Navigating the Writing ProcessWriting is smooth sailing for Marenbecause she has a firm hand on the tillerand can steer through the rough watersof the composition process. Katie, likemany other students, needs help inrecognizing the existence and purposeof the tiller and training in how to use it.

Clear, accessible instructional rubricscan give students repeated practice withplanning, revising, and editing. Usingrubrics for .self-assessment and peerassessment will help Katie navigate thewriting process and become a better

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writer. She will leam to become a self-regulated lcamer—a habii that will serveher well in reaching any academic desti-nation tor which she sets sail. Q

ReferencesAndrddc, H. G. (2000). Using nibrics to

promote thinking and learning. Hetiica-tiotuil Leadership, 57, 13-IB.

Andnide. H. G. (2001)- The effects ofinstnictional nibrics on learning to write.Current Issues in Hdiication. 4(4).

Andmde, H.. & Boulay, B. (2003). The roleof self-assessment in learning to write.The Journal of Educational Research,97(0,21-34.

First, C. G.. & MacMillan. B. (1995). Writingprocess versatilit\\ Intervention inSchool and Clinic, Jl. 21-28.

Graham. S., & Harris, K. (1996). Self-regula-tion and strateg>' instruction for studentswho find writing and learning chal-lenging. In M. I^vy & S. RansdeiJ (Eds.),Tiye science of iiritin}> (pp. 3-47-360).Hillsdaic, NJ: Eribaum.

Harris, K., Graham, S., Mason, L., & Saddler,B. (2002). Developing scU-regulatedwriters. Tfyeory Into Practice, 41,110-115.

Hayes, J. R.. & Flower, L. S. (1986), Writingresearch and the writer. AmericanPsychologist, 41. 106-113.

Marchisan, M. L., & Alber. S. R. (2a)I). Tbewrite way: Tips for teaching the writingprocess to resistant writers. Interrentionin School and Clinic, J6(3)> 154-162.

ODonnell, A., & Topping. K. (1998). Peersas.sessing peers: Possibilities and prob-lems. In K. Topping & S. Ehly (Eds.),Peer-assisted teaming. Mahwah, NJ:Eribaum.

i'erkins, D. (2(X)3). King Arthur s roundtable: How collaborative conversationscreate smart organizations. Hoboken,NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Saddler, B. (2003). But teacher. I added aperiod!" Middle schoolers leam to revise.Voices frotn the Middle. 7/(2), 20-26.

White, E. (199S). Teaching and assessingwriting (2nd ed). Portland, ME:Calendar Islands Publishers.

Wong, B. Y. L, Butler, D. L.. FiC7xrc. S. A.,& Kuperis. S. (1997). Teaching adoles-cents with learning disabilities and lowachievers to plan, write, and revisecompare and contrast essays. LearningDisabilities Research & Practice, 12,2-15.

Bruce Saddler (bsaddler@uamail.albany.edu) and Heidi Andrade (handrade®uamail.albany.edu) are Assistant Professorsof Educational and Counseling Psychology,University at Albany, Albany, New York.

52 EDUCATIONAL I.HADERSHIP/OCTOISLR 2 0 04