annotated bibliography- paper 4

8/2/2019 Annotated Bibliography- Paper 4

1/6

Anna Cmolik

Paper 4

Annotated Bibliography

Elbow, Peter, and Michael Bernard-Donals. "Differences of Opinion." The Theory and Practice of

Grading Writing: Problems and Possibilities. Ed. Frances Zak and Christopher C. Weaver.

Albany: State University of New York, 1998. 67-74. Print.

In their article, Differences of Opinion, Peter Elbow and Michael Bernard-Donals argue back

and forth on the grounds of whether conventional grading or contract grading is better. Elbow

argues that contract grading is better because it gives the students the freedom of not having

to be afraid to try new things when writing or to not take a teachers suggestions on their

paper, it lets them write and their paper end up the way the meant for it to end up. Bernard-

Donals refutes that by saying that conventional grading prepares students for the real world

and to get them to realize that sometimes, they are going to have to make changes that they

dont want to do.

This article will help support a different kind of grading, contract grading, which I believe works

better for writing classes in comparison to conventional grading because it allows students to

feel free to take risks and be creative in whatever kind of writing they are doing without having

the dreadful thought of a horrid grade being put on it. This allows the student to focus on the

writing itself more.


2/6

Everett, Nick. "Creative Writing and English." The Cambridge Quarterly34.3 (2005): 231-42.

Web. 26 Feb. 2012.

.

In his article, Creative Writing and English, Nick Everett argues that creative writing is

underrated and has a lot more benefits to it than people realize. He claims that some of these

benefits are it gives them special insights and new ways to look at writing and it can lead to new

ways of learning, among other things.

This article will help me prove how vital and beneficial creative writing can be and all the

positive outcomes it can lead to.

Gee, Thomas C. "Students' Responses to Teacher Comments." Key Works on Teacher Response.

Ed. Richard Straub. Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook, 2006. 38-45. Print.

In his article, Students Responses to Teacher Comments, Thomas C. Gee argued that when

kids receive good comments on their paper, they tend to write more and think highly of

themselves on the next paper compared to kids who received negative comments or no

comments at all who wrote less on their next paper and were less confident in themselves and

that paper. He does this by conducting a study of high school juniors which he found that the

results supported his opinion.

This article will help support my argument that many negative comments only lower a students

confidence and really dont improve their writing at all, but worsen it.


3/6

Kentucky English Bulletin. "Two Types of Grading." Key Works on Teacher Response. Ed. Richard

Straub. Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook, 2006. 225-33. Print.

In their article, Two Types of Grading, the Kentucky English Bulletin argues that there are two

types of grading, theme grading and marginal notations paired with terminal comments, and

that the grade on the paper doesnt affect the students reactions, but that the type of grading

and comments you leave them do. They show this through providing an example of each type

of grading and also providing two examples to how one should grade and analyze a written

work.

This article will help me counter my argument that both the grade and the

comments/corrections affect a studentsreaction with the notion that its not the grade that

affects them at all, but the type of comments.

LaBrant, Lou. "Marking the Paper." Key Works on Teacher Response. Ed. Richard Straub.

Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook, 2006. 203-11. Print.

In their article, Marking the Paper, Lou LaBrant argues that in order to comment thoughtfully

and truthfully you have to do the following things:take the time to read thoughtfully, commenton use of ideas, overall writing, form, structure, and meaning, and to not comment or look too

badly upon the use of many pronouns or many spelling errors.

This article will help me provide an example on to properly grade a paper in a way that should

be very helpful and constructive to the writer, but also not discourage them in anyway.


4/6

Lloyd-Jones, Richard. "Theoretical Problems in Studying Creativity and Composition." College

Composition and Communication 21.3 (1970): 261-66. Web. 26 Feb. 2012.

.

In his article, Theoretical Problems in Studying Creativity and Composition, Richard Lloyd-

Jones argues that creativity and creative writing can lead to negative outcomes in students.

Some of these outcomes are they need more time and little pressure to create good works of

writing, it could make them stop thinking logically about things, and it makes it more difficult to

write and read critically.

This article will help me address the counter argument to my argument that creative writing is

important and necessary.

Maylath, Bruce. "Do We Do What We Say?" The Theory and Practice of Grading Writing:

Problems and Possibilities. Ed. Frances Zak and Christopher C. Weaver. Albany: State

University of New York, 1998. 31-35. Print.

In his article, Do We Do What We Say?, Bruce Maylath argues that the way teachers teach

and how they teach their students to write isnt necessarily how they grade or rank good

writing. He states that when grading, teachers dont always mean to harp on the nitty gritty

details of grammar and spelling but its hard not to since they judge good writing to be that

free of these simple errors. Teachers also say that simpler wording is better, but then when

ranking papers by how well they are written, they prefer papers that have bigger, more

complicated words to those that use simple verbiage.


5/6

This article will help support the fact that no matter how much teachers try not to, it is hard for

them not to mark up our papers in red whenever they see something simple like grammar or

spelling.

McVey, David. "Why All Writing Is Creative Writing." Innovations in Education and Teaching

International45.3 (2008): 289-94. Web. 26 Feb. 2012.

.

In his article Why All Writing is Creative Writing, David McVey argues that every piece of

writing, whether a poem, instructions on how to use a vacuum, or a lab report, it is all creative

writing. He also argues that students have two main problems with writing Problems of

ability, which is when students struggle with grammar, spelling, and especially academic

writing, and Problems of engagement which is when students dont like writing and see it as a

chore (291).

This article will help me to prove the point that no matter what teachers are grading or looking

at, they should see it as creative writing and grade it as such.

Smith, Cherryl, and Angus Dunstan. "Grade the Learning, Not the Writing." The Theory and

Practice of Grading Writing: Problems and Possibilities. Ed. Frances Zak and Christopher

C. Weaver. Albany: State University of New York, 1998. 163-70. Print.

In their article, Grade the Learning, Not the Writing, Cherryl Smith and Angus Dunstan argue

that traditional grading goes against everything teachers ever learned about what writing was


6/6

and is and that teachers should grade using portfolios and a contract grading system. In doing

so, they explain the negatives in traditional grading (good grades may motivate students to

work harder, but bad grades make kids want to give up) and the positives in contract and

portfolio grading (students no longer have to worry about what kind of grade they are going to

get and can just write).

This article will help me prove why contract grading is in and traditional grading is out for

creative writing by the positives and negatives it explains.

Sommers, Nancy. "Responding to Student Writing." Key Works on Teacher Response. Ed.

Richard Straub. Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook, 2006. 287-95. Print.

In her article, Responding to Student Writing, Nancy Sommers argues that teachers need to

learn how to comment the way they would their writing to be commented on when they

comment on student writing. She says that instead of commenting with general, non-text-

specific comments and to make sure that their comments concentrate on the students purpose

within the writing.

This article will help me, once again, show how teachers should and shouldnt comment on

student papers to ensure that they dont alter the students true meaning with the writing or

alter their creativity within it.

annotated bibliography- paper 4

Documents