Bane of the teaching existence

March 1, 2005 4:46 PM

I've got to grade a stack of student essays that is nearly two feet high, and my motivation is lagging. I feel obliged to provide good feedback and useful comments on my student's papers, but it's getting painful. When the task in front of you is distasteful, long, and boring, but you hafta do a good job anyway, what do you to do keep motivated (and/or tricks to make the job less laborious)?
posted by terceiro to work & money (39 comments total)

Buy a CD or a DVD you really like, but don't allow yourself to take off the shrinkwrap until you've completed your task.

Have good snackies that you would not ordinarily have. On a related bent, lollipops and gum are good to suck on or chew, as a repetitive motion.

Listen to music that's bouncy without being overbearing, such as a series of waltzes, or one of the DFA compilations.

Also, if it's going to be an all-nighter, make it a delirious all-nighter.
posted by Sticherbeast at 4:51 PM on March 1, 2005

Overcoming inertia is the hardest part. So, according to the amount of time in which you have to grade all the papers, break it down into (little, happier) manageable chunks.

Like... decide what you're going to eat for dinner, and then tell yourself you can start cooking after you grade five papers. After you're halfway done with the stack, you can watch TV for an hour. And if you still can't get started, just grade one. Grade one right now and then look at your thread again.
posted by Specklet at 4:54 PM on March 1, 2005

I regularly grade large stacks of basic math assignments (calculus, linear algebra, etc). What I generally do is put on a movie or an album that I've watched or listened to a million times; it's something to focus on with the "I don't want to work" half of my brain while the other half grades.

On preview, specklet's advice is really good too. I generally grade 5 papers at a time (or work for half an hour, whichever is more reasonable), then take a short break.
posted by muddgirl at 4:58 PM on March 1, 2005

I like to listen to ambient electronic music: stuff I can groove to without getting distracted.
posted by AlexReynolds at 5:00 PM on March 1, 2005

I agree wholeheartedly with the inertia advice, the music advice, and the wisdom of dividing the work into managable chunks. Here are two other things I find help me with writing up comments on essays in particular:

1) No marginal comments, only endnotes at the end (with numbers in the margins allowed where necessary to refer to specific passages, though usually "For example, at the top of page 5..." takes care of it). I do those on the computer. That has a few benefits for me: my hand doesn't feel like it's going to fall off; if there are certain issues that come up again and again, I can come up with one best way to explain them and then replicate the relevant bits for everyone who needs the explanation; it allows me to make sure I'm giving useful comments without letting myself get carried away trying to comment on everything.

2) Sometimes I go through the stack quickly and pull out papers that I can tell are noticably good and those that are noticably terrible. Then I can sprinkle a good one in every mini-session or so to make sure that my spirits don't flag.
posted by redfoxtail at 5:09 PM on March 1, 2005

Oh god. Marking papers.

Part of the difficulty I got into when I first started facing stacks of papers is that I had a hard time letting go of doing too good a job-- feedback on everything, changes and even corrections to sentences, long, careful summaries mapping out how the paper could be improved. After realizing that I was spending half an hour (at least) on each individual assignment, I started lightening up a little, though I still put more into it than necessary. Then, after handing papers back late because I couldn't let them go without engaging with the essays at what I felt was a proper level, I recieved some good advice from our grad program director, which was this: Most people don't read the comments very closely. Focus on one or two things that they can work on or improve; anything more than that simply won't be taken in by the student in question. It's the grade that the student is most interested in, nine times out of ten, and if they want further explanation, they can come and see you in person. It's far better to hand back essays on time with only a letter grade and an extra comment or two rather than to spend hours providing written feedback and handing the papers back late. And, finally, break it down-- what are you getting paid, and how much time are you willing to spend on this one job?

As far as motivation goes, I'm still puzzling over that. I'm a sprinter as far as working goes, not a long distance runner, so I have to get up to a certain speed and then find I can tear through projects for hours. I know this isn't the best way to go about getting stuff done, but there it is. Focusing on the relief I know I'll feel when it's over seems to help a bit.
posted by jokeefe at 5:10 PM on March 1, 2005

Amphetamines.
posted by borkingchikapa at 5:10 PM on March 1, 2005

Student essays? Grade with a friend, if possible. That way you can keep tally of all the "escape goats," "low self of steams" and, my new favorite, "Brian-washings" that you come across. Also what Jokeefe said: most students don't read that many comments, so don't waste your time trying to be an editor.

Also, the more breaks you take, the less tempted you'll be to scrawl "I Hate You All!" in the margins. I've got 20 critical analyses to get through tonight, so I'll be with you spirit.
posted by bibliowench at 5:27 PM on March 1, 2005

Oh boy, I hope you have a few days before you need to get them back. The obvious plan of dividing the work helps me. I try and do 10 to 15 a day (in chuncks of five).
But if you do not have that kind of time, perhaps you can try another obvious strategy: make a generic comment handout with numbered points. Then refer to these on the actual papers. But at the end of each paper you, provide individual attention by addressing the student by name and making a few general comments about overall strengths and weaknesses. In my experience, individualised commenting at the end of each paper makes grading much less of a chore as you can read papers with fewer lengthy commenting interruptions.
But this is not always the best way to give feedback. Depends on the assignment. And of course the above suggestions re making your environment comfortable, focusing yourself, distracting your impatient side, etc. are helpful. Also it may help to lay down a non-negotiable rule: I tell myself that if I sit down to grade, I absolutely cannot take a break (not even a quick click to refresh my inbox page) without grading at least a certain number of papers. The non-negotiable status of little rules like this are amazingly effective in building discipline and increasing self-satisfaction (when followed through).
On preview: what jokeefe said.
posted by crack at 5:30 PM on March 1, 2005

Overnight. Fewer distractions, and sleep, blessed sleep, only comes when you meet your quota.
posted by piro at 5:32 PM on March 1, 2005

Go somewhere with no distractions (libraries are good for this). Also, it's good to break it up into constant, small, manageable tasks. In some cases you can take work with you on trips, but I find I tend to do it only during the actual transit (plane/train rides). Which I guess goes back to the first bit.
posted by Tuwa at 5:48 PM on March 1, 2005

Stand at the top of a large flight of stairs, hold the papers out and start dropping. Curve the papers on a scale with the paper landing furthest down the stairs having the highest grade. That's what the students think you do anyway.

If you really can not deliver everything that you envision, fine. Figure out what you can deliver and stick to that. You have to give at least a grade, and a well reasoned one at that. Can you do more? A few sentences of end notes to explain the grade would be great. I think comments throughout should be kept to an absolute minimum. You obviously do not have the energy. If something leaps out at you write it, but otherwise do not worry. Stay within your limits and do not feel guilty. If you lectured well, and grade fairly you have more than provided value to your students. If you can not find it within yourself to provide detailed comments on every paper you are no failure, you are just like most of the rest of the folks doing this. If even grading the papers is a chore, well, there is always the staircase.
posted by caddis at 5:56 PM on March 1, 2005

I like to listen to ambient electronic music: stuff I can groove to without getting distracted.

What do you recommend?
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 6:03 PM on March 1, 2005

These suggestions are all great.

If you don't have a friend to grade with, you can still note the more amusing turns of phrase and then force your friends to listen (two of my favourites from last term were "along the limes of reproduction" and "due to the lack of sperm in their relationship, lesbians have to adopt children.")

Also, I reserve the right to complain about one really bad essay with my friends (this can have other bonuses. For instance, by reading a particularly insane essay to a friend of mine, I was able to discover that the student was actually plagiarizing Sex and the City).
posted by carmen at 6:15 PM on March 1, 2005

I agree with the periodic rewards idea-- it works well for me when I have stacks and stacks of papers to get through.

You know, I also find that giving comments about the entire paper at the end, rather than about specific sections, helps alleviate the workload. You can offer that anyone with more specific questions is welcome to meet up with you, and just focus on giving a good, holistic assessment of the paper. I think it's also more honest too, since your grade will be based on an overarching sense, not on the merit of particular sections.
posted by yellowcandy at 6:16 PM on March 1, 2005

If you're going to work overnight -- about which I am of two minds -- make sure you have a really really bright light. And cold drinks. In particular, you will grade more efficiently if you have to pee. Second the ambient wordless music; I like DroneZone. And absolutely it's great to have a fellow sufferer upon whom to let off steam!
posted by Aknaton at 6:18 PM on March 1, 2005

Apply a rubric. For essays, split the grade into two parts: 1) content 2) execution. A five in content means that the student used subtle, well thought-out and organized arguments with good supporting material. A 5 in execution means that the student showed a mastery of language, grammar, vocabulary, and spelling. Sum them and give a grade out of 10. Do this as pass 1. You will find it a nearly automatic process. Then on pass two write a minimum of two coments per paper, 1 strength (way to go) and 1 area of improvement (you can do better).
posted by plinth at 6:32 PM on March 1, 2005

I have also had success in going up to one of the local trendy coffee bars (of which my neighbourhood now seems to have several hundred) and planting myself at a table for an hour or two. No internet, no interruptions, and a steady stream of caffeine.

Also, I wish I had a loonie for every time I've had to write out things like "describe events in the narrative in the present tense." Maybe I could just get stickers made up and slap them on when necessary?

Finally, just remember that somewhere in every set of twenty or thirty essays you are going to read one that will be well written and thoughtful and from which you will actually derive some pleasure. Good luck!
posted by jokeefe at 6:38 PM on March 1, 2005

plinth, that sounds great. *takes notes*
posted by jokeefe at 6:43 PM on March 1, 2005

When I mark, I always try to break it up as much as I can. If I have a week to mark (for instance) thirty-five papers, I do five a day, no more no less. Then I try not to think in terms of "I have 30 papers to mark" but rather "I have just five papers to mark, then I can do something interesting!"

Everybody's approach to work is different, but I find I get my best work done at the laundromat of all places. I take a load or two, start it off, then get down to it. No distractions, aside from the monotonous sound of the machines.

Note that I usually have music to listen to, as well. Sometimes I wonder if the songs I listen to while marking a particular paper influences my response to the paper.
posted by synecdoche at 6:51 PM on March 1, 2005

Oh, and one other thing: if I know the class, I try to put a couple of papers that usually do well, or are at least entertaining, at the end. There's nothing worse than getting to the last five papers or so and noticing that they are all by those people who never follow instructions and/or just generally cannot write well.
posted by synecdoche at 6:54 PM on March 1, 2005

I don't know what your situation is and where you're teaching, so this might not apply to you:

(1) If you're adjuncting anywhere, fuck 'em and get back to your own work. In that case, you're not obliged to provide more than the bare minimum -- that's why they're paying you so badly. If they had wanted it done well, they'd have had regular faculty do it or hired someone as regular faculty, and you shouldn't let them exploit your sense of obligation to buy great teaching at bargain-basement prices. In that case, provide what you're contractually obligated to provide and work on getting out of that situation.

(2) If you're not at a really pretty selective school, most of your students won't pay any attention to any comments you write so long as their grade is acceptable to them (which might well include D's). Give them one or two big-picture comments each --and-- write yourself enough marginal notes to be able to construct a set of comments after-the-fact for any student who asks for one.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:57 PM on March 1, 2005

I'm a college student who has to write a lot of papers so here's here's my student point of view on grading.

1) It sounds like this is a very large class. When I hand in papers for a large class, I really don't expect very in-depth comments. Some indication that you have indeed read the paper is nice, but there is no need to write immensely detailed suggestions. Just a few comments, and perhaps a couple of sentences at the end summing up your opinion are more than enough. Stuff like check marks for parts you generally like are adequate. As jokeefe says above, the grade is what we students ultimately care most about, and students who want more details can always come and see you. They won't hold light paper commenting against you.

2) For smaller classes, I expect a little more detail. For one thing, I'll usually know the professor a lot better. Usually, the smaller classes also have longer, more important/in-depth paper assignments - on stuff like research papers or term papers, I appreciate a decent amount of feedback because of the work I've put into the paper.

So as a general rule, I expect comments that are about in proportion to the importance and depth of the assignment. I guess this doesn't answer your question of how to tackle the actual task at hand. When I have such a task (for example, writing a paper), I like to work at off hours or overnight with no distractions. I make sure I have something to drink, put on some music at a low volume, and just dive into it...
posted by swank6 at 7:00 PM on March 1, 2005

Other advice that works for me:

Use a clock or an egg timer to pace yourself - say between 5 and 10 minutes a paper, depending on the length.

Interweave papers from good and bad students. Too many bad papers in a row can kill your enthusiasm, and good papers have the dual benefit of being easy to grade and indicative (perhaps falsely, but use the emotion) of your success as a teacher.

I'll second the rubric suggestion. I started using them last semester, and they keep me from writing the same damn comments over and over again. They also give me concrete criteria to focus on since, let's face it, where do you start with some of these.

If you're not at a really pretty selective school, most of your students won't pay any attention to any comments you write so long as their grade is acceptable to them (which might well include D's)

In my experience, this isn't true. I teach at a community college, and I have increased my comments in response to several student requests. Many of my students are putting significant effort into improving their current situation through education, and since they're usually footing the bill and performing impressive acts of time contortion to fit school into a working life, they want all the feedback they can get. I find them, as a whole, a lot more interested in feedback than my university kids during my grad school days.
posted by bibliowench at 7:22 PM on March 1, 2005

Just to counter what synecdoche said -- I find it very helpful to sort by the best students first, in that I can use them to get a sense of where the students ought to be coming from at this stage. Then I have a better idea, once I get to the worse ones, of what alternatives to suggest.

I should say, I use this technique for grading math papers, not essays! So, seemingly, not your problem; I'm just posting this for posterity.
posted by Aknaton at 7:41 PM on March 1, 2005

Unfortunately, guilt always worked best for me. I'd remember my various teachers who never returned assignments on time or made few or no comments -- I'd think of them, grit my teeth, and get to marking.

Also, if you get stuck on a particular paper, don't be afraid to move it to the bottom of the stack. It'll be a lot easier to face when it's third-to-last.
posted by climalene at 7:55 PM on March 1, 2005

Man, I'm on "spring break" as we speak, which basically translates into: "An effin' huge stack of bluebook essays to grade," and while I don't have much advice beyond what's been offered, I do want to share my favorite eggcorn from the recent spate of essays (phew! run-on sentence, -5 points):

"Now there are attivist judges that want to take God out of the pledge of legions."

I guess that's two eggcorns for the price of one?

(This is in a 200-level philosophy course at a university, mind you...)
posted by joe lisboa at 7:56 PM on March 1, 2005

Yes, a rubric, preferably a half-page form with rows labelled with criteria (clear thesis, uses evidence, spelling, grammar, whatever) and columns labelled 1-5 (absent, poor fair, good excellent) so you can just make check marks on a grid. The rubric could also have a place for comments. Email me and I'll send you some I worked up for history essays.

Also, instead of writing a ton of comments on each essay that many students will never read, photocopy an A or B essay (remove the student's name first!) and hand it out. Have the class read it and open up a conversation--what makes this a good essay? What is going on in the first paragraph? How could it be better? Etc. This is much better teaching than scribbling each student's shortcomings in the margins.
posted by LarryC at 8:02 PM on March 1, 2005

most students don't read that many comments, so don't waste your time trying to be an editor.

I really disagree! I suppose it depends what you're grading, but as a graduate student, I personally find comments, both in margin and at the end, to be a very valuable form of instruction. In fact, I currently work at the writing center in my department, and have recently put on a faculty workshop about this very thing - how to grade efficiently and effectively.

One of the major points was to use a rubric, like plinth (and, on preview, LarryC) says. Clear assignment descriptions to start with - even giving them your rubric - helps, but you're obviously beyond that point now.

Do you have a writing center in your department? Again, it will depend on your department and your field, but you might see if a writing center would be willing to help you with creating a rubric or with writing assignment descriptions. If the writing center is staffed entirely by undergrads, see about meeting with the supervisor. My boss is a lecturer in the Technical Communications department and part of her job is to do presentations and to meet with faculty on this sort of thing.
posted by librarina at 8:11 PM on March 1, 2005

I had a journalism professor who took LarryC's second approach. After every assignment he would hand back our papers with his comments, as well as a handout to discuss. That handout had the full text of the best paper, with that student's name, and excerpts from other papers that didn't work, with identifying information removed. That way, we could discuss what worked, with input from that student on what led him to make those decisions, and what didn't work so that we could all learn from those mistakes.
posted by Coffeemate at 8:15 PM on March 1, 2005

Teachers rule!
posted by Witty at 8:15 PM on March 1, 2005

joe, that "pledge of legions" quote made this whole thread worthwhile.

But dang, there's a whole lot of good ideas here. I orignally posted my question while procrastinating on grading said papers. Not entirely unsuccessful, I hate to say.

However, it's comforting to know that many others suffer as much as I do. I've got a rubric in an Excel spreadsheet which even calculates the grade automagically based on what I enter. Mostly it's a question of getting up the courage to scale the pile. There's just so many of them; and so many of them are so bad. (And for the record, it's a required writing class at a private 4-year university.)

That said, I think my wife just gave me a winning tip: "Turn off the damn internet and grade the stupid papers!" Sigh.

Keep the ideas coming. I'll be checking again tomorrow, after my papers are all done.

(On preview: I will be taking LarryC's advice and looking for both very good and very poor examples instead of spending so much time on commenting. It makes sense. Thanks for that. I hope to discover some other gems in the morning.)
posted by terceiro at 8:19 PM on March 1, 2005

Re: rubrics, having one that's well-articulated definitely helps wade through/address papers both more quickly and more easily.. I grade essay portions of standardized tests for 8 hrs/day (gah!), & the rubric we--my lousy for-profit company--uses is comprised of four parts:

1. Focus (does it stay on topic or diverge elegantly?)
2. Development of ideas (none, lists, layered, or complex)
3. Structure (does it move/transition well?--this ties in w/ 1&2)
4. Mechanics (punctuation, sentence structure)

There's an excellent essay by Gregory Orr specific to poetry which may nonetheless help you think creatively re: rubrics of any sort called Four Temperaments & The Forms of Poetry, from his book "Richer Entanglements: Essays and Notes on Poetry and Poems (Poets on Poetry).."
posted by soviet sleepover at 8:37 PM on March 1, 2005

librarina, I agree that comments are essential to graduate students, but I was assuming, perhaps inaccurately, that terceiro was not grading graduate papers. With fewer students, most of whom are genuinely interested in improving their scholarship in that field, continuing their research, and perhaps polishing a paper for publications, in-depth comments become crucial and manageable. For your average undergraduate, too many comments can be overwhelming, and they don't always know where to begin to improve.

One final comment - I REALLY need to start grading: I will often stop marking a paper if it contains horrible grammar or is clearly off-topic, and I will either fail the student or offer a conference/rewrite. Don't waste your time trying to improve students' writing if they're not giving you acceptable material to work with in the first place.

Turn off the damn internet, eh? It's so crazy, it just might work.
posted by bibliowench at 8:44 PM on March 1, 2005

I teach sciences at the high school level. This means that while I don't have a lot of essays as such to grade, I do have a lot of poorly written labs to go over.

I find that starting to grade a stack of labs like that daunting at times. I usually start off with: I'll mark 1/2 the pile tonight, the other half tomorrow. I find however, that once I get 1/2 through, I look at the rest of the pile and tell myself that I'll mark half of what remains because it's not so much -- I'm at a small school. Then I look at the remaining papers and hey, there's not that much left, might as well finish them off.

I'd also second (and third, and fourth...) the music while you work idea.

I find that because most of my classes are small (under 20 kids per), I get to know which kids will actually read the comments -- these are the ones where I'll put a bit more effort into detailed comments. The others, I'll make a comment or two, a check here and there to show I've read it through.
posted by aedra at 9:03 PM on March 1, 2005

Piss.

I've been cavorting about with my iPod and logging onto MeFi in a purposeful effort to avoid the stack of papers that I really, really need to finish grading. Damn it. Now I feel compelled to go back to work.

But before I do: Music and caffeine are essentials for me. Unfortunately, I have a process that requires me to go through the papers twice. First I scribble in the margins and write the preliminary grades on a separate piece of paper. Then I go through them again and type up comments on the computer and calculate the final grade (sometimes a paper is better or worse on second glance) while I'm at it.

It's slow and laborious, but I feel like it's something I need to do. So many of the students in my class have no idea how to write and I feel that if I don't provide decent feedback, they won't get it anywhere else. The rub? It's not a writing class, it's intro to communication studies.
posted by aladfar at 9:26 PM on March 1, 2005

You say you've got a wife? And she tells you to get off the internet? She's smart. Also, no TV to make you look up. Multitasking, even mindless multitasking, makes the job longer.

If you have any other bad habits, try turning them around. Like, if you're going to snack anyway, limit yourself to one small snack per paper (or X papers, depending on the size of the papers and the snacks).

Or no more coffee or tea or something until X papers are graded. Maybe no dinner until they're all graded -- your rumbling stomach (and maybe your complaining wife) will keep you focused.
posted by pracowity at 11:06 PM on March 1, 2005

Thanks to all of you from a law student studing for finals!
posted by dmt at 8:01 AM on March 2, 2005

Go somewhere with no distractions (libraries are good for this).

yeah, except with wireless everywhere... I'm in a library, supposedly working, just stopped in for a brief break (I swear!) and unfortunately gave myself away to the rest of the folks here by not quite managing to hold back a laugh when I read the line "low self of steams".

anyway, I'm going back to work. so should you!
posted by mdn at 9:07 AM on March 2, 2005