Assessing Writing

By B. A. Mey Reynolds Panton

Writing is one of the most important skills in which learners write about different topics. Teachers assess the clarity and organization of the message and the mechanics (spelling, capitalization and punctuation).

There are two major approaches to writing assessment indirect and direct. Indirect is more concerned with accuracy as direct assess communication.

A good writing assessment test involves four elements: Rubrics, prompt, expected response and post-task evaluation. Rubrics are the instructions, criteria on which the work will be evaluated; prompt refers to the task; expected response is basically, the teachers’ expectations toward students; post-task evaluation is the way educators will evaluate learners.

 Moreover, timing should be considered when writing, 30 minutes for a section and more for the whole writing process.

Technology can affect the writing process, since students use the spelling checker when they write on computers; this represents a disadvantage for those who do not have access to one.

There are two types of writing: free writing and guided writing. Free writing requires students to read a prompt with a specific situation to write a response using background knowledge. On the other hand, guided writing entail students to manipulate the content provided.

Teachers can assess their students based on different techniques: through student-teacher conferences (asking a set of questions to students), self-assessment (dialogue journals and learning logs), peer assessment (students receive regular feedback on what they write from other students) and portfolio-based assessment (collection of students writing.

 Finally, is important to mention the two main types of writing scales for assessing students writing proficiency: holistic and analytic scales. The holistic is based on the marker´s total impression of the article; the analytic provide separate assessments for each number of aspects.