We've all probably heard that in one form or another. But have we really considered what this means for a teacher?
For me it means two things. First, a student learns how to really write and think through revision. And second, if a student could achieve a good level of writing with revision, then why not publish the product?
A student learns a little more with each new draft. He gets to critique his thoughts and his manner of expressing them. He gets to look at other points of view, assess his evidence, and question his beliefs and biases. In many cases, he would have discussed with peers and debated with teachers. Teachers who only grade first drafts fail to provide these finer points of rhetoric.
As to publication, isn't this what university is for, to contribute to knowledge? This is true for students and teachers. One does not have to get to graduate school to write for a public.
Publication--the chance to be read and critiqued by the world--implies that there must be a "universal" standard to which all useful writing should tend. For me, a grade of 100 means "you could send this for publication in the Philippine Daily Inquirer", in my opinion. In a graduate class, the standard will be for the Journal of Toxicology or something like it. Of course, each magazine or newspaper will have a different set of standards and may require further editing. Neither does a 100 mean readers will agree with or like the article. More often than not, in fact, papers are rejected. But at that level, they are rarely rejected for blatant errors.
All can achieve this standard given enough time, so why not give them that time? I think that students should be allowed to revise as often as needed to reach publication level. The difference between the more talented and the less talented will be in the number of revisions it takes to reach that level, a number I do not take into consideration in the grading.
There are a few difficulties to this. One is that a teacher will have to check many papers. For instance, the most number of revisions that a student of mine required to reach 100 is eight; the median is four (The talented ones can do it in two; but no one gets even close to 100 at the first try.). Thus, if one had 30 students, each requiring 4 drafts to reach publication level, then one will be checking a total of 120 papers.
I get around this difficulty by requiring all students to write on a different topic every meeting, but I collect only five papers at random every day (failure to submit when called means a zero for a long exam; this zero can not be removed). Because the entire student list is randomized every day, a student may be called several days in a row, whereas others will never be called. I require the latter to take a long exam, which is also a revisable essay. Furthermore, I only ask for papers up to the second third of the semester; the rest of the term is exclusively for revisions.
Revisions can be turned in at any time. I return the annotated drafts at the following class meeting. The grade of each new draft replaces the draft previous to it (the grade does not necessarily improve with each new draft). Many of my students do not stop until they get the 100.
Isn't this tiring for the teacher? Yes. That is why I was thinking of requiring only three students to submit instead of five. Another strategy is to require each student to submit a fixed number of articles on fixed dates. I prefer, however, to have them always on their toes, and that's why I use a random system.
Shouldn't there be a limit to the number of revisions? Yes. Mine is a few days before the final exams. This deadline applies to all papers, even those first written at the start of the semester.
What about the on-the-spot essay exam? I still use them. But I make it clear that the answers should be short (few paragraphs), will not be published, and will be checked for logic and not for grammar (to some extent). I used to require 1-3 page papers for on-the-spots, but I regret those days when I used to give final grades to first drafts; with my standards then, many failed. Now, my standards are even more strict. Thus, when I hear of teachers who do not allow revision of major papers, it makes me doubt the quality of their teaching; not that they're bad teachers, but rather that they do not teach as well as they could. At the very least, neither they nor their students can escape the charge of lack of diligence. I even think part of the failure in education can be traced to putting final grades on first drafts in major papers.
Finally, won't this system lead to too many high-graders? Well, if the intention of the teacher is to give low grades, what can we do about that? But, even when the students get high grades on essays, there are still the usual "objective" or memory exams that can kill. I give these everyday, and they do pull grades down. I also require recitations, and they can be as fatal. Besides, many students have the tendency to delay making their revisions towards the end of the semester. They regret too late that 100 was within their reach, but laziness and lack of time management stole it from them.
The system I now use is tiring for me and even more for the students. But, in the end, even they think it was worth their while. What they end up with are works of art and scholarship that in a sense are certifiably good, especially if the works are published. I have already lined up the 100's for publication in various media, including this blog.
For me it means two things. First, a student learns how to really write and think through revision. And second, if a student could achieve a good level of writing with revision, then why not publish the product?
A student learns a little more with each new draft. He gets to critique his thoughts and his manner of expressing them. He gets to look at other points of view, assess his evidence, and question his beliefs and biases. In many cases, he would have discussed with peers and debated with teachers. Teachers who only grade first drafts fail to provide these finer points of rhetoric.
As to publication, isn't this what university is for, to contribute to knowledge? This is true for students and teachers. One does not have to get to graduate school to write for a public.
Publication--the chance to be read and critiqued by the world--implies that there must be a "universal" standard to which all useful writing should tend. For me, a grade of 100 means "you could send this for publication in the Philippine Daily Inquirer", in my opinion. In a graduate class, the standard will be for the Journal of Toxicology or something like it. Of course, each magazine or newspaper will have a different set of standards and may require further editing. Neither does a 100 mean readers will agree with or like the article. More often than not, in fact, papers are rejected. But at that level, they are rarely rejected for blatant errors.
All can achieve this standard given enough time, so why not give them that time? I think that students should be allowed to revise as often as needed to reach publication level. The difference between the more talented and the less talented will be in the number of revisions it takes to reach that level, a number I do not take into consideration in the grading.
There are a few difficulties to this. One is that a teacher will have to check many papers. For instance, the most number of revisions that a student of mine required to reach 100 is eight; the median is four (The talented ones can do it in two; but no one gets even close to 100 at the first try.). Thus, if one had 30 students, each requiring 4 drafts to reach publication level, then one will be checking a total of 120 papers.
I get around this difficulty by requiring all students to write on a different topic every meeting, but I collect only five papers at random every day (failure to submit when called means a zero for a long exam; this zero can not be removed). Because the entire student list is randomized every day, a student may be called several days in a row, whereas others will never be called. I require the latter to take a long exam, which is also a revisable essay. Furthermore, I only ask for papers up to the second third of the semester; the rest of the term is exclusively for revisions.
Revisions can be turned in at any time. I return the annotated drafts at the following class meeting. The grade of each new draft replaces the draft previous to it (the grade does not necessarily improve with each new draft). Many of my students do not stop until they get the 100.
Isn't this tiring for the teacher? Yes. That is why I was thinking of requiring only three students to submit instead of five. Another strategy is to require each student to submit a fixed number of articles on fixed dates. I prefer, however, to have them always on their toes, and that's why I use a random system.
Shouldn't there be a limit to the number of revisions? Yes. Mine is a few days before the final exams. This deadline applies to all papers, even those first written at the start of the semester.
What about the on-the-spot essay exam? I still use them. But I make it clear that the answers should be short (few paragraphs), will not be published, and will be checked for logic and not for grammar (to some extent). I used to require 1-3 page papers for on-the-spots, but I regret those days when I used to give final grades to first drafts; with my standards then, many failed. Now, my standards are even more strict. Thus, when I hear of teachers who do not allow revision of major papers, it makes me doubt the quality of their teaching; not that they're bad teachers, but rather that they do not teach as well as they could. At the very least, neither they nor their students can escape the charge of lack of diligence. I even think part of the failure in education can be traced to putting final grades on first drafts in major papers.
Finally, won't this system lead to too many high-graders? Well, if the intention of the teacher is to give low grades, what can we do about that? But, even when the students get high grades on essays, there are still the usual "objective" or memory exams that can kill. I give these everyday, and they do pull grades down. I also require recitations, and they can be as fatal. Besides, many students have the tendency to delay making their revisions towards the end of the semester. They regret too late that 100 was within their reach, but laziness and lack of time management stole it from them.
The system I now use is tiring for me and even more for the students. But, in the end, even they think it was worth their while. What they end up with are works of art and scholarship that in a sense are certifiably good, especially if the works are published. I have already lined up the 100's for publication in various media, including this blog.
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