WRITING PROCESS TIMELINE

I always divide long writing assignments into several steps. I give each student a copy of the timeline. I also keep the students informed of due dates for each step, but remind them that these due dates may change if it becomes necessary. I change the due dates if I find that most of the students need more time even though they have been working.

The timeline also tells the students how many daily points each step is worth. For this part of the grading, the students either receive all of the points or none of the points. Occasionally, I will give partial points for partial work.

When a step is due, I go from student to student checking the work and recording the points in my gradebook. If a step is not finished, the student receives a zero and I conference with him/her about it. (Of course students who were absent do not receive a zero unless they do not make up the work on time.)

The final writing assignment is graded as a 100 point test. If I am grading it for IDEAS AND CONTENT, then 50 points are based on the rubric score the student earns (from 1 to 5), times 10. The other 50 points are based on the correct format and required length. (If I don't require a certain length, many students will write a paragraph or less.) Based on this grading system, a student who follows the correct format and length requirements will earn at least a 60%. I don't grade the final draft in class, as I need more time to carefully read it and give it a rubric score.

I have found that this system helps students in many ways. They have a plan for completing the long assignment, I talk with them almost every day about their progress or lack of progress, and they can keep track of where they are. Many former students have told me that they create their own timelines for projects in high school because of what they learned from my system.

Sample Timeline

This assignment would be worth 275 daily points and 100 test points.  These would be recorded separately.  If you do not grade with a point system, divide the points earned by 275 to find the percentage.  Or, if you prefer, you could give a separate percentage grade for each step.

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This site last updated 14 November 2007.

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