NOTE: This page discusses my system for
checking written papers. I also have a correcting and feedback tool for
assignments that are not written papers. I use my correcting and feedback tool
to check math papers and provide extensive feedback to the student in
only a few minutes per student (after the one-time setup per class).
I am willing to
share it freely (at no cost to you). Contact me if you teach a math class at
University of Phoenix.
Correcting Written Papers
I use a complete system for checking papers. By using this entire
system, I can check most student papers in about 10-15 minutes while still giving
extensive and full feedback. My feedback includes notes regarding APA errors,
mechanical errors, spelling errors, content errors, writing style observations,
commendations, and objective scoring against a rubric. This 10-15 minutes also
includes recording the score in grade book and returning the annotated
paper to the student. This system only works on Microsoft Word 2000, XP, or 2003.
It does not work with WordPerfect, Works, Microsoft Word 97, or Word 2007. It
can correct papers written in Word 2007 by the student, but the correcting tool
itself must be running on Word 2000, XP, or 2003. (I can get it to work in Word
2007 but the toolbar is not available unless you copy the toolbar from a Word
2003 machine.)
Description of the System
I share my system here and give you all the files you need to do this
yourself. There is no charge for any of these files. If you would like
extended help or information on how to modify the comments, see the section
below on Extended Help.
Setup Steps to Perform (setup only needs to be
completed
once)
- The correcting toolbar contains Word
macros, so you must have your macro security set to
medium:
- For Word 2000: TOOLS > MACRO > SECURITY >
SECURITY LEVEL TAB
- For Word 2002(XP)/2003: TOOLS > OPTIONS > SECURITY TAB >
MACRO SECURITY
- You should configure Word to help you identify
mechanical errors in students' writing:
http://www.jolenemorris.com/InfoSeries/WordConfiguration.htm
- Download the macro template (right click and choose
"Save Target As...")
correcting_jmm.dot
Save the macro template to your hard drive in the Word Startup folder (the
location of your Word Startup folder is listed in Word -- TOOLS > OPTIONS >
FILE LOCATIONS).
If you are on a network and you are unable to save the template to your Word
Startup folder, ask your network administrator to
place the template in the proper Startup folder.
You can make the correcting toolbar visible or hidden in Word by using the
VIEW menu: VIEW>TOOLBARS>CORRECTING_MACROS. Here is what the toolbar looks like once installed in
Word. Click on the toolbar image below to view it in 100% size.
- The macro template will write feedback using
Word's comments feature. I use auto text (or a pre-writen Word file or
QuickKeys or PhraseExpress or MacroExpress) to inform students
how to read Word comments. You can copy this text to save time when returning papers to students:
Attached is your assignment. I write all
feedback using Word Comments.
If you have Word 97 or Word 2000, you should see yellow highlighting on your
paper. If you do not see the yellow highlighting, use TOOLS>OPTIONS>VIEW tab
and check the box for "Screen Tips" (AND for Word 97, check the box for
"Hidden Text"). To read the comments, hover your mouse (do not click) over
the yellow highlighting and my comments will appear in a pop-up window.
If you have Word 2002/XP or Word 2003, you should see the comments in small
text boxes in the right-hand column. If you do not see the comment boxes,
use VIEW>MARKUP and VIEW>PRINT_LAYOUT to turn on comment
viewing.
- Create a rubric for each assignment you give and copy
the rubric to AutoText. Here's a copy of my abbreviated rubric for checking
papers:
|
Criteria
|
0
|
3
|
5
|
|
Content Knowledge
|
|
|
X
|
|
Research Quality
|
|
|
X
|
|
APA Style and Submission
Requirements
|
|
|
X
|
|
Criteria
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
|
Organization
|
|
|
X
|
|
Voice
|
|
|
X
|
|
Word Choice
|
|
|
X
|
|
Sentence Fluency
|
|
|
X
|
|
Conventions and Mechanics
|
|
|
X
|
|
TOTAL:
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25
|
To copy this into AutoText, create your rubric in Word. Highlight your entire
table then turn it into AutoText (this is in the TOOLS menu in AutoCorrect or
AutoCorrect Options depending on your version of Word).Here is what an
assignment would look like after I checked it with my correcting toolbar and
inserted the rubric:
- Study the handouts with rules for comma placement and writing
skills:
www.JoleneMorris.com/forstudents The Correcting Toolbar comments reference
these handouts so you will also want to share them with your students. You may
customize the toolbar comments and remove reference to these handouts or add
references to Little, Brown or to the APA Publication Manual
instead -- see the section below on "Extended Help."
Checking Papers
Once you have the above preliminary work done, you are ready to check papers
in 10-15 minutes each. Turn on the Correcting Macros toolbar (VIEW>TOOLBARS) and
click the button on the bottom row to enter the word limits of the assignment ( ).
You only need to do this once for all student papers in the same assignment.
This button asks three questions: How many words did you add (for example, if
you pasted in a rubric or generic comment--the usual answer to this question is
zero)? What is the minimum word limit? What is
the maximum word limit for the assignment?
[Return to this point of the correcting process for the
next student's paper.]
-
Open the first student's paper in Word, click the button on the bottom row to
initialize the student's paper and to count the number of words in the assignment ( ).
-
Read the paper as you normally would. When you want to make a comment,
highlight/select the word
(you can double click to select a word, triple click to select a paragraph, or
click once in the left margin to select a line) then click the appropriate
button on the correcting toolbar. It is critical to highlight before clicking
the toolbar; otherwise, students with Word 97 or Word 2000 will not be able to
see your feedback. If you want to make a comment that is
not on the toolbar, click the blank comment button on the bottom row ( ).
-
Notice that comments are in different colors of text.
Red indicates a mechanics/punctuation error,
blue indicates an APA or formal writing error,
green indicates a positive comment, black
is a neutral comment, purple is for word
choice errors, brown is for sentence
errors, and orange is for organization
errors. Obviously, it is a good idea to have green and black, positive comments
interspersed with all the colored, corrective comments.
-
When you are finished checking a paper, position the cursor by clicking at the
end of the paper. Click the button to display total errors ( ).
Insert the rubric using AutoText and score the paper.
-
Record the score.
-
Save the paper (you may use CTRL-S or the button on the bottom of the
correcting toolbar).
-
Close the paper (you may use the close button on the bottom of the
correcting toolbar.)
-
Return to step #1 for the next
student's paper
The first several times you check papers using this system, it may take
longer than your prior method of checking papers; but once you get used to the location of all the
buttons, you should be able to check a paper in record time. Each button on the
toolbar has a screen tip to help you know what the button does -- be sure to
turn on your Word screen tips.
IMPORTANT: A Second Correcting Toolbar
You have probably noticed that the correcting toolbar only contains comments
for mechanics, organization, APA formatting, etc. You also probably noticed that
the majority of the points my students earn are for content rather than
mechanics. I have a second correcting toolbar that I use to make comments about
content--a different content toolbar for each paper I assign. For
example, I have toolbars for COM516_Paper1,
CMP530_Wk1DQ2, etc. The comments
on this second toolbar are specific to the assigned criteria for that paper. For
example, if I ask student to research and reference at least three peer-reviewed
articles in the University of Phoenix library about the assigned topic, I will
have comments about that criteria on the paper's content toolbar. To give the
best feedback to students, constructive comments about content and how to
improve content are more important than feedback on mechanics.
Note that because I have so many content toolbars, I store each course's
content toolbars in a course folder with the other materials I need when I teach
that course. Then when I am teaching a particular course, I copy all its content
toolbars into the Word Startup folder so they are available when I need them.
When the class is over, I'll remove the content toolbars from the Word Startup
folder to keep the VIEW > TOOLBARS list manageable.
Extended Help to Add Your Own Buttons or Modify Existing Buttons
|
The correcting macros template was created using Visual Basic for
Applications. If you know Visual Basic and want to add buttons or customize some
of the existing buttons, I have not protected the module in any way. Feel free
to modify or add individual macros. You can add buttons on mechanics or content
to the correcting toolbar (or to any Word toolbar for that matter). If you need help
adding or modifying buttons on a toolbar, see the next paragraph.
Once again, let me assure you that there is no charge for using my
correcting macros -- I don't even track who downloads the toolbar file. If you
like this software, if you would like extended help using the software, and/or
if you'd like to customize the toolbar for the way you work, I'd
certainly appreciate a donation for my efforts and time.
The donation link to the right is
to a secure site powered by PayPal and Verisign. You may use your
VISA, Master Card, or PayPal account -- you decide on the size of
donation.
As a thank you for your donation, I will send you two
handouts explaining (1) how to add your own buttons to the toolbar and (2) how to customize the existing buttons on
the
toolbar. |
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