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For these reasons, instructors are continuously looking for ways to respond efficiently to student work. Seasoned instructors have developed systems that work well for them. We offer a few here: Don't comment on everything. Tell students that in your responses to a particular paper you intend to focus on their thesis sentences and introductions, or their overall structure, or their use of sources, etc. This method works particularly well in courses that require students to do several papers. Instructors can, as the term progresses, focus on different aspects of student writing. Space or stagger deadlines so that you are not overwhelmed by drafts. If the thought of grading eighteen essays in two or three days is daunting, divide the class in half or into thirds and require different due dates for different groups. Use peer groups. Ask students to meet outside of class (or virtually, on the Blackboard discussion board) to talk with one another about their papers. Peer groups work best when you've modeled the critiquing process in class, and when you provide students with models or guidelines for critiquing. See our page on Collaborative Learning for a fuller discussion. Ask for a Writing Assistant. The Writing Assistant reviews drafts of papers and makes extensive comments. Students benefit by having an additional reader; instructors benefit because they get better papers. If you'd like more information about using a Writing Assistant in your course, contact Stephanie Boone, Director of Student Writing Support.

1. WARM-UP/DO-NOW: In their journals, students respond to the following (written on the board prior to class): “Imagine that you are a college admissions counselor. What would you want to know about each of your potential applicants to decide whether or not you should accept them to your college? Create a list of questions.” Students then share their responses. The teacher should write students’ questions on the board under the categories “Academics,” “Extracurricular,” “Career Goals,” “Talents,” “Personal Qualities,” and “Other.”

3. Tell students that they will be writing letters to college admissions counselors to introduce themselves and to persuade the college to admit them. Students refer to the categories and questions from the initial brainstorming exercise and answer each question for themselves. This procedure will serve as pre-writing for the actual letter.

–If you were a college admissions officer, what would you want to know about each of your potential applicants to decide whether or not you should accept them to your college?

Native American languages impose on their speakers a picture of reality that is totally different from ours, so their speakers would simply not be able to understand some of our most basic concepts, like the flow of time or the distinction between objects

rash-landed on hard facts and solid common sense, when it transpired that there had never actually been any evidence to support his fantastic claims

new research has revealed that when we learn our mother tongue, we do after all acquire certain habits of thought that shape our experience in significant and often surprising ways.

Burdened by expanding curriculum and multiplying high-stakes assessment requirements, some of my respected colleagues might be forgiven for not integrating student journals into their courses. The most common objection: "Who has time?"

I would say that they primarily need protected from themselves… that they need help moderating their web presence until they understand the full ramifications of things they say online.  I don’t think that means they need to be anonymous.  I do think that anonymity tends to foster less responsible behavior, in both children and adults alike

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