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Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, 3E 
by Janet Lane and Ellen Lange 
Instructor’s Manual: Table of Contents 
 
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………..…….2 
 
Section 1: How to Work with the Student Text…………..………………………3 
Part 1: How to Work with Units 1–15………………………………………..……………………….3 
A. A Suggested Lesson Plan for Working Through a Unit 
B. Working with the Post-tests 
C. Working with the Writing Topics 
Part 2. How to Use Appendix C……………………………………………………………………………5 
Part 3. Ways to Use Section 3 - Beyond Grammar: Other Ways to Make Your 
Writing Clear..…………………………………………………………………………………………………..……6 
Part 4. Why Have Students Write a Diagnostic Writing Sample….……….………....6 
 
Section 2: How to Respond to Student Papers………………………………….…7 
Part 1: Responding to Content…………………………………………………………….………………7 
A. Why Is It Important to Respond to Content? 
B. How Can You Effectively Respond to Content? 
C. Where on the Paper Should You Respond to Content? 
D. When in the Writing Process Should You Give Feedback on Content? 
Part 2: Responding Effectively to Sentence-level Errors……………………….…………14 
A. Why Is Feedback on Errors Necessary? 
B. How Many and Which Sentence-Level Errors Should You Mark? 
C. How Should You Mark Sentence-Level Errors? 
D. What Are the Benefits of Using Editing Symbols to Locate and Identify Errors? 
E. When Should You Mark Sentence-Level Errors? 
F. How Can Tutors or Peers Help in Responding to Sentence-Level Errors? 
Part 3. Editing Symbols, Example Sentences, Sample Paper, and Completed 
 Error Awareness Sheet……………………………………….………………………………….19 
Part 4: Combining Response to Content and Response to Sentences in an 
 End Comment……………………………………………………………………………..………….23 
A. Determining the Effect of ESL Sentence-Level Errors on the Grade of a 
 Paper 
B. Writing End Comments That Incorporate Response to Content, Response to 
 Sentence-Level Features, and Justification of the Grade 
 
Section 3: Suggestions for Further Reading..…………………….…………………28 
A. Books 
B. Articles 
C. Works Cited 
 
 
2 
Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, 3E 
by Janet Lane and Ellen Lange 
Instructor’s Manual 
 
Introduction 
 
The Instructor’s Manual for Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, 
supplements the text with additional information that is helpful for you, the instructor, 
including suggested ways for teaching a unit in the text, responding to student papers, 
and deciding upon a grade for a written assignment. 
 
In this manual, we refer to English as a second language writers as language learners. 
Other common ways of referring to these writers are ESL writers or multilingual writers. 
In the student text, we most often refer to the students as language learners. This 
terminology also is used to refer to EFL (English as a foreign language) writers for whom 
this text is also written. 
 
Much useful information about the student text can be found in “To the Teacher” on 
pages vi–ix of Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, including new 
features in this edition. The editing symbols, illustrated with examples, are located in 
Appendix B in the student text. These are followed by the Error Awareness Sheet and a 
sample student paper that has been commented on and its errors marked with the 
editing symbols. A filled-in Error Awareness Sheet for the paper on p. 344 in the text 
can be found on p. 22 of this manual. A list of editing symbols that follows the order of 
the units in the student text, with example sentences, is also included in this instructor’s 
manual. 
 
The answer key to the Exercises for Practice; Section Three: Beyond Grammar; and 
Appendix C is found on the Writing Clearly 3E Instructor Site. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
Section 1: How to Work with the Student Text 
 
Part 1: How to Work with Units 1–15 
 
While “To the Teacher” in the student text explains how the text and units are 
organized, this expanded lesson plan goes into detail on how to work through a unit. 
Please note that these are only suggestions; you may choose to design your own plan 
according to your instructional needs. 
 
A. A Suggested Lesson Plan for Working Through a Unit 
 
Hour 1 
 
Before Class 
 
Have students read the goals for the unit on the opening page and prepare to 
answer the question(s) below the photograph as an in-class activity. Also ask 
them to read about the error in “Learn What the Error Is” and write answers to 
“Check Your Understanding” to be shared with a classmate during class. Ask 
students to take the pretest and to check their answers against the answer key 
on pp. 350 – 354. Also, have them write their first entry in their grammar 
journal. You may choose to collect the journals at frequent intervals after the 
students have done the assignment or assign them as work the students do on 
their own. 
In the class prior to beginning the unit, you may chose to preview this 
material with the students before they read it at home as an assignment. 
 
During Class 
 
Have the students go over their answers to “Check Your Understanding” in small 
groups or as pairs and respond to any questions students have about their 
answers. Based on what you have observed in the students’ writing, emphasize 
those points in “Learn What the Error Is” that you feel are especially important 
for your class to review. Go over the pretest answers and ask individual students 
to note which aspects of the error they feel are likely to give them the most 
difficulty in their writing. 
Begin working with “Understand Common Problems” by summarizing 
each problem and, if you wish, have students read the correct sentences aloud 
under each problem. Many instructors find it useful to project the problems and 
examples in order to go over them as a group in class. 
 
 
 
 
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Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
Hour 2 
 
Before Class 
 
Students read “Understand Common Problems” and “Review Grammar 
Solutions.” Students then do the first exercise for practice in “Practice What You 
Have Learned.” (You may choose to assign more than one exercise if the 
students understand the error or if it is an error with which they are not having 
that much difficulty.) 
If writing topics from the book are being used, students can be asked to 
read the topics with their accompanying photos and choose which writing topic 
they are interested in writing on. 
 
During Class 
 
Review and continue explaining the problems in “Understand Common 
Problems” and the rules given in “Review Grammar Solutions.” Make sure the 
students understand the self-help strategies for helping them reduce the error 
so that they can begin their journey to becoming self-editors. Go over the 
grammar solutions and clear up any questions the students may have about a 
particular rule or rules. If the class is very advanced, you can expand on the 
grammar explanations with additional material to cover the error in depth. 
Go over the exercise(s) the students did for homework. You can have the 
students compare their answers in pairs or groups or you can cover the answers 
as a class. If writing topics from the book are being used, students can share
the 
topics they have chosen and begin to gather ideas for their topics in small 
groups. 
 
Hour 3 
 
Before Class 
 
Students continue doing exercises in “Practice What You Have Learned” as 
assigned and work on prewriting and/or drafting their essay. 
 
During Class 
 
Continue any remaining explanations necessary so that the students fully 
comprehend “Understand Common Problems” and “Review Grammar 
Solutions.” Go over the exercises students were assigned in “Practice What You 
Have Learned.” Do any remaining exercises in class. 
Students share their prewriting or drafts in small groups. 
 
 
 
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Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
Hour 4 
 
Before Class 
 
Assignments will vary depending on the students’ progress in the unit and on the 
essay they are writing. 
 
During Class 
 
This hour can optionally be used for completing longer units (e.g., Unit 1, “Verb 
Tenses,” or Unit 6, “Relative, Adverbial, and Noun Clauses”) or units from which 
a particular class could benefit by spending more time. Alternatively, this hour 
could be used to focus on one of the parts of Section 3, “Beyond Grammar: 
Other Ways to Make Your Writing Clear,” or on doing any of the extra exercises 
in Appendix C. 
 
During this hour, students could do peer editing of drafts as well. 
 
B. Working with the Post-tests 
 
The post-tests are designed for the students to review the material presented in the 
unit. Students can do the tests at home or in class. You can elect to have the students 
do the tests as individuals or in pairs or groups. You can choose to correct the tests 
yourself or furnish the answer key from the instructor’s manual for students to self-
correct. These tests have been designed to be used for either assessment or additional 
practice. 
 
C. Working with the Writing Topics 
 
Each unit features three writing topics, each accompanied by a photo chosen to capture 
students’ interest and move them into the topic. Responding to these topics gives 
students ample practice in writing and editing for errors. Instructors may choose to 
have students write on one or more topics of their choice or may assign a specific topic. 
 
As an instructor, you can choose how you wish to deal with the writing topic, whether 
as an in-class or out-of-class essay and how many drafts you or the students’ peers will 
be looking at. 
 
Part 2. How to Use Appendix C 
 
Appendix C, “Additional Exercises for Practice: Editing for a Variety of Errors,” contains 
five additional exercises for practice which require students to edit for at least two 
 
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Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
errors. These exercises can be done in class, assigned as homework, or given as quizzes 
any time after the two or three errors covered in each exercise have been covered. 
 
Part 3. Ways to Use Section 3 - Beyond Grammar: Other Ways to Make 
Your Writing Clear 
 
Each of the five parts of this section focuses on an aspect of writing that goes beyond 
grammatical errors and addresses clarity and style: Expand Your Vocabulary; Achieve an 
Academic Writing Style; Avoid Nonidiomatic and Unclear Sentences; Improve Flow of 
Ideas; and Revise Your Writing. 
 
This material can be done in class at any time or assigned as homework. You may 
choose to use all or some of the parts according to the needs of your students. As an 
instructor, you may find this material useful as a guide in responding to organization and 
content of student writing. 
 
Part 4. Why Have Students Write a Diagnostic Writing Sample 
 
At the first or second meeting of class, we recommend that the instructor have the 
students do an in-class writing sample of the type of writing they will be doing in the 
class. You can then use this diagnostic in several ways: 
 
1. To determine the overall needs of the class as well as those of the individual 
students. 
The diagnostic will show the students’ strengths as well as their weaknesses, 
including what their sentence-level errors are. 
 
2. To give the students an overview of the editing symbols. 
After returning the marked diagnostic, you can briefly explain the meaning of the 
different editing symbols and indicate that each will be explained more fully during 
the course. You can also direct the students to p. 338 in Writing Clearly: Editing for 
Grammar, Third Edition, so that they will be able to review the editing symbols 
whenever necessary. 
 
3. To help you make decisions on choosing and ordering the units. 
You can use the diagnostic to prioritize the needs of the class and determine which 
units to cover (if not all are to be covered) and in which order to teach the units. It 
is recommended that global errors be taught first unless the instructor has noted a 
pattern of local errors, like singulars and plurals of nouns or word forms, that the 
students are making and which need to be addressed as quickly as possible. 
 
 
 
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Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
Section 2: How to Respond to Student Papers 
 
Responding to student papers is an important way in which the instructor 
communicates with students. Furthermore, because such responses are written, 
students can easily refer back to them when working on subsequent drafts of the same 
paper or on future papers. 
 
Content and language use, the two aspects of a paper that an instructor needs to 
respond to, are quite distinct from each other; thus, they need different kinds of 
treatment. This part of the instructor’s manual will, therefore, first address how to 
respond to each area separately and will then show how an end comment can combine 
the two aspects of response: content and language. 
 
Providing feedback on content as well as on sentence-level errors provides a balanced 
approach to the student by the reader of a paper. If too much emphasis or none at all is 
put on one or the other, the student gets the message that errors are more important 
than content or vice versa. 
 
Part 1: Responding to Content 
 
In giving the student feedback on content, you, as the instructor, are an interested 
reader, a motivator who encourages the student to continue writing, and a coach who 
guides the student in improving his or her writing. 
 
Although the instructor’s responses to student papers usually contain feedback on both 
content and language, the explanations and sample responses in this section focus on 
the instructor’s response to content. Response to language is then addressed in Part 2 
of this section. Part 4 of this section contains suggestions for combining response to 
content and sentence-level features in an end comment. 
 
A. Why Is It Important to Respond to Content? 
 
In language learners’ writing, sentence-level errors are often the most noticeable 
feature. However, in addition to responding to sentence-level errors, it is equally, if not 
more important, that you respond to the content of the paper for the reasons that 
follow. 
 
1. Feedback on content often helps improve the content of a student’s subsequent drafts 
and future papers. 
 
As a busy instructor, you may wonder whether you should spend time responding to 
content. You may well ask yourself, “Does response to content improve the content of 
subsequent drafts and future papers?” Although some research has questioned its 
 
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Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning.
All rights reserved. 
value (Leki, 1990, Cohen and Cavalcanti, 1990), most research that has been done on 
the effects of response to content on later writing performance suggests that feedback 
on content can help students improve the content of subsequent drafts or future papers 
(Fathman & Whalley, 1990; Ferris, 1995b, 1997; Conrad & Goldstein, 1999). 
Experienced ESL composition instructors have found that when students read the 
instructor’s comments on final drafts, they are often able to make good use of both 
positive and negative comments to improve content in subsequent papers. 
 
Feedback to a student indicating that a lack of supporting evidence has made a paper 
less convincing than it could have been, for example, may encourage a student to 
provide supporting evidence in subsequent papers because the student’s awareness of 
a need for specifics has been heightened. In addition, positive feedback about a 
student’s use of interesting specific details may reinforce continued use of this type of 
detail. It also must be taken into consideration that, at the same time, many of these 
techniques of good writing are being taught in class and can be reinforced through 
instructor comments on student papers. 
 
2. The majority of second-language writers desire feedback on content. 
 
Studies on second-language writers (Radecki & Swales 1988; Cohen & Cavalcanti 1990; 
Ferris, 1995b, 1997; Montgomery and Baker, 2007) have found that the majority of 
these writers desire feedback on content. Experienced composition instructors also 
report that a great majority of their students ask for and appreciate feedback on 
content. 
 
3. ESL writers may need feedback on thinking and organizational patterns they have 
transferred from their native language to English. 
 
ESL students may be using thinking and organizational patterns that they have 
transferred from their native language and which are not used in English writing. In 
Asian languages, rather than directly stating the point being made, it is common to go 
around it indirectly, which may be confusing and vague to an English-speaking reader. 
Although writing in Romance languages such as Spanish and Portuguese permits 
considerable freedom in digressing from the topic, this may appear to indicate a lack of 
organization to an English-speaking reader. In responding to content, you can point out 
these important rhetorical differences by telling the student, for example, to state the 
point directly or to avoid veering off the topic. 
 
Instructors do not need specialized knowledge of the thinking and organizational 
patterns common in a student’s native language in order to recognize rhetorical 
patterns that are not effective in English. However, instructors who are interested in 
this area may want to refer to the research on contrastive rhetoric. The following 
 
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Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
references provide valuable information: Beebe, 1988; Connor & Kaplan, 1987; Gregg, 
1986; Koreo, 1988; Meyers, 1985; Reid, 1992. 
 
4. Feedback on content can help the student develop a sense of audience. 
 
By responding to content as an interested reader, you can help the student develop a 
sense of audience and become aware of the needs of his or her audience. Comments 
that show weaknesses (such as noting whether more information might better clarify a 
particular point) as well as underscoring strengths (such as commenting on good 
organization) ultimately help heighten the student’s awareness of the needs of his or 
her audience. Eventually this sense of audience can be internalized, leading the writer 
to become much more capable of revising his or her own writing independently rather 
than depending solely on the instructor’s feedback. 
 
B. How Can You Effectively Respond to Content? 
 
The following four suggestions can help you respond effectively to the content of a 
student’s paper. At the end of this section, you will find a student writing sample that 
has an instructor’s response incorporating these four suggestions. 
 
1. Write personalized comments. 
 
As discussed earlier, you will want to respond to a paper as an interested reader 
engaged in the text. One way to do this is to write personalized comments that reflect 
your personal reaction or response to the ideas in a student’s paper, commenting on 
elements in the text that are particularly appealing, yet not neglecting those parts of the 
text that are unclear or need to be strengthened. Such comments not only encourage 
the student to continue writing but also contribute to the student’s development of a 
sense of audience. 
 
2. Provide guidance or direction when necessary. 
 
Although an instructor does not want to take control of the student’s text, you will often 
need to provide guidance or direction for students who may be inexperienced in 
academic writing in English or may lack knowledge of the rhetorical structures of 
English. For example, you may need to suggest that a student analyze a point further or 
support a point with specific details, or you may need to make suggestions on how to 
strengthen organization. 
 
3. Make text-specific comments. 
 
In a text-specific comment, you might say, “I liked the example about your sister,” 
whereas if you used the general comment, “good example,” it could apply to any 
example in any paper. Although, ideally, text-specific comments are best, some 
 
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Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
research on second-language writers has indicated that even general comments help 
writers improve the content of subsequent drafts. 
 
4. Balance positive and negative comments. 
 
In your role as motivator and collaborator, it is important that you balance positive and 
negative feedback. Positive comments allow you to establish a “positive affective 
climate” (Beavens, 1977; Cardelle and Corno, 1981; Krashen 1982; Hyland & Hyland, 
2001) so that students can more easily receive the negative feedback on content (and 
sentence-level features) that you may need to give. 
 
 
Sample Response to Content 
 
The following is a student response (written in class) to a short-answer essay question. 
The end comment illustrates the four suggestions for responding effectively to content 
discussed in this section. The comments are personalized and text-specific. They also 
show a balance between positive and negative feedback and provide guidance and 
direction to the student on the need for a stronger focus on the question being 
answered in the beginning of the response. 
 
Writing Topic: 
Discuss the progress you have made so far on your term paper assignment for 
this class. In addition to explaining what you have already done and what you 
are currently working on, comment on one aspect of writing a term paper that 
has been challenging for you. 
 
Student Response: 
 My progress in English has been great. Today, I feel more confident in my 
work and I think I have learned a lot. 
 I had worked in different aspects of the English language such as reading, 
conversation, listening and comprehension, grammar and writing. 
 I am currently working on my term paper, collecting the information, 
organizing it, and trying to get the table of contents. I almost have all the papers 
that I am going to include in this paper. I started to read some of them and take 
notes on the main ideas. 
 I think that the most challenging part for me will be to paraphrase and 
summarize all the information and get the conclusions. 
 
End Comment: 
 I am glad you are progressing well on your term paper. I certainly
agree that 
learning how to summarize and paraphrase effectively in a new language is challenging. 
When responding to short-answer essay questions, you will want to focus immediately 
 
11 
Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
on the question. Your response was somewhat confusing at the beginning because you 
did not directly answer the question until the third paragraph. 
 Yet once you did focus on the question, you were careful to answer both parts 
of it—good thinking! 
 
 
C. Where on the Paper Should You Respond to Content? 
 
Whether you are responding to early or final drafts, you have several options in terms of 
where on the paper to put your response to content. 
 
 1. Responding in the margins and/or after a paragraph 
 
Marginal comments can be especially helpful because they show the student the exact 
location of a problem area (such as an unclear point, an organizational problem, or a 
lack of specific detail) or, conversely, indicate an area that is especially well written. 
Limiting your comments to either just the left or right margin may reduce the possibility 
of the student’s feeling overwhelmed by comments in too many places on the paper. 
 
Some instructors find it useful to make a comment at the end of each paragraph in a 
paper. If you do so, make sure that it is clear to the student that you are responding to 
the previous, rather than the subsequent, paragraph. 
 
2. Responding in an end comment 
 
You may prefer not to write in the margins of a student’s paper. Perhaps you feel that 
responding in the margins as you are reading a paper interrupts your concentration, 
making it difficult for you to judge the overall effectiveness of the paper. For this reason 
or other reasons, you may choose to wait to respond until you reach the end of the 
paper, thus putting all your comments on content in an end comment. 
 
3. Responding both in the margins and in an end comment 
 
You may choose, as many instructors do, to select both of the above options and 
respond in the margins and in an end comment. If you choose this method, you should 
tailor your end comment to reflect what you have pointed out in any marginal 
comments. 
 
Note: 
 
You will want to avoid overwhelming the student with too many comments. Excessive 
comments may not only discourage the student but also may lead the student to 
become overly dependent on your feedback, thus preventing him or her from 
 
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Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
developing the skills needed to read his or her own writing critically and to progress as a 
writer. 
 
D. When in the Writing Process Should You Give Feedback on Content? 
 
You have several options on when during the writing process to respond to content. 
You can use these options alone or in combination. 
 
1. Responding to early drafts 
 
Depending on the demands of the assignment, the student’s needs, and your own time 
constraints, you may choose to respond to content on early drafts of an assignment or 
not. You may want to comment early on in the student’s writing process to check on 
whether or not the student has approached a topic effectively and to give guidance if he 
or she has not. Alternatively, you may find it useful to have students respond to each 
other’s drafts in peer response groups before you look at later or final drafts. 
 
2. Responding to later drafts 
 
Another option you may choose is to respond to later drafts of a student’s paper, 
focusing on material the student may have already revised on his or her own and/or 
with the input of classmates or a tutor. You may feel that this method gives the student 
more responsibility for revising and permits you to respond to drafts that are better in 
quality than the very earliest drafts. The major advantage of responding to later drafts 
is that you have the chance to indicate to a student some areas in which a paper is 
particularly effective in terms of content or to point out areas that still need work in 
order to make the paper more effective before it is submitted for a grade. 
 
3. Responding to the final draft 
 
Another option you have is to respond to content only on a student’s final draft. Many 
experienced writing instructors, especially those with heavy teaching loads, choose this 
option, although they often elect to use peer response groups to respond to earlier 
drafts. If you do choose this option, you will still want to emphasize to the student the 
value of doing drafts, whether or not you collect and/or give credit for them. 
 
 
Student Paper Illustrating Response to Content 
 
The following paper was an in-class essay written by a student in an intermediate-level 
university writing course for multilingual writers. Preparation for the assignment 
included reading and discussing an article on the amount of time children in the U.S. 
spend watching television and on the types of programs they watch. The writer of this 
 
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Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
paper was required to revise the paper and submit it later in the term as an out-of-class 
essay assignment. The paper has not been given a grade since grading standards differ 
from program to program. 
 The instructor’s response illustrates many of the principles of responding to 
content that have been discussed here. You will note that the paper has both marginal 
comments as well as an end comment. Only the response to content is shown here. 
 
 
Writing Topic: 
What are the effects on American children of watching four hours per day of 
television? 
 
Student Response: 
 
 Television, what will life be if there’s no television on this world? Anybody 
can get bore to death at home without television, but what if a person watch 
too much television? He would not be as clever as a friend at his age. Especially 
the children, too much television could affect them many ways such as 
becoming activeless, and getting behind on everything. Out of those affects, the 
two most significant affects of American children watching several hours of 
television each day are learning the violences on television and slowing down 
their learning abilities. 
 Watching too much television give the American children a greater 
chance immitating the violences on television. Many today’s children 
watch television immediate at the time they come back from school. After 
the cartoon’s program is over, they start to do their homework. That is the 
great idea but they continue to watch other programs after cartoon. That’s 
the problem. Some programs contain adult languages. The children would 
learn the language at the first time when they hear the words. Later on, they 
will say the same stuff over to any person if they think the situation is the same 
as on television. Besides, television plays people’s imaginary or react what one 
has done including bad and good things. The childrens are like a monkey. They 
copy everything they see. For example. A child sees a boy in the movie steals 
his mother’s money to buy candy. What if the child’s mother doesn’t give him 
the money? The next step the child might do is stepping into his mother’s 
bedroom and steal her money. Moreover, there’s more than stealing money in 
the movie. In some cases, one person kills another because a tiny problem. Even 
though it’s not real but the child can’t distint between reality in life and 
imaginary in the movie. That is the point that affects the American children of 
watching
too much television. 
 Besides immitating television’s violences, watching to much television 
would lead children getting behind their friends. Many today’s parents let their 
children joining sports after coming home school avoiding weakness on their 
children, but some kids rather stay home watching all their favorite program 
instead of going out and playing even though they like playing with their 
friends too. Because of loving watching television too much, the children don’t 
even care of anything. From this, they have no choice to learn anything that 
their friends learn. They have no chance to experience anything. For example, 
Mr. Lee’s child does all sort of thing such as climb trees, play baseball in spring, 
 
 
 
 
 
Good focus on the 
question here. 
 
 
Good point 
 
 
 
 
 
Is this point related 
to violence? Could 
you make this point 
clearer? 
 
 
 
Does this example 
relate to violence? 
 
 
Good point. 
Could you 
develop it? It 
is on violence. 
 
 
Could you make the 
effect clearer 
 here? 
 
 
Learning finally 
comes up here. 
 
 
 
14 
Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
go skiing in the winter and do anything the child wants. As the same time, Mr. 
Kim’s child doesn’t step out of the door. He only watch television instead of 
going out. When the two children meet, Mr. Kim’s child would get behind Mr. 
Lee’s child. This hurt Mr. Kim’s child from physical to emotional. Therefore, 
watching too much television could bring the child down. 
 It’s nothing with watching television but watch too much television could 
affect a person at any age. It brings a person to dull stage. Importantly the 
children, too much television reduces the children’s abilities. To avoid any 
future problem in the American children, their parents should limited their 
time in watching television to one hour a day and the rest of the time let them 
do other activities. 
Good specific 
example about the 
two children, but 
how is Mr. Kim’s 
child behind? 
 
 
 
 
 
Good 
suggestion 
 
End Comment: 
 
 Your paper is well organized, with a clear focus on the question in your introduction. I 
particularly liked your comparisons of Mr. Lee’s and Mr. Kim’s children. Also, your suggestion to 
limit children’s TV watching is a good solution to the problem. 
 The two effects you have chosen to write about are also good. But the first effect, 
nonviolence, is not actually focused on until the last few sentences of the paragraph. The 
second effect, the effect on learning, needs to be clearer in the topic sentence. You could also 
improve that paragraph by including more analysis on how TV watching affects learning. 
 When you revise this paper, you will want to work on making your main point clear at the 
beginning of the paragraph and then making sure you stay focused on this point throughout 
the paragraph. Please feel free to see me if you have questions about my comments. 
 
 
Part 2: Responding Effectively to Sentence-level Errors 
 
In this section, you will learn how to respond efficiently and effectively to sentence-level 
errors. The standardized marking system presented here will give your students a 
systematic approach to error analysis and thus move them toward reduction of errors. 
 
In the Editing Symbols with Examples chart in Appendix B, pp. 338–342, in the student 
text, the errors are divided into global, local, and other errors. In the left-hand column, 
you will find the suggested editing symbol and, in the right-hand column, example 
sentences containing the marked error. 
 
A. Why Is Feedback on Errors Necessary? 
 
Because of the high expectations for grammatical accuracy in academic and professional 
writing, students need feedback on their sentence-level errors as well as on content. In 
fact, most second-language writers, at least initially, need feedback on their 
grammatical errors in order to recognize and correct them (Ferris and Roberts, 2001; 
Foin and Lange, 2007). 
 
 
15 
Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
When giving students feedback on their grammatical errors, you are helping them 
establish a balance between fluency and accuracy, strengthening their language output 
overall. Most importantly, as an instructor, you have the training necessary to identify 
grammatical errors correctly and to offer explanations for why the student is making the 
error. By helping your students recognize and become aware of their errors, you are 
giving them control over their writing and facilitating their second language acquisition. 
 
B. How Many and Which Sentence-Level Errors Should You Mark? 
 
The following four criteria will help you decide which and how many errors to mark in a 
paper. 
 
1. Give top priority to the most serious errors, those that affect the reader’s 
comprehension of the text. 
 
Give the highest priority to sentence errors that interfere with understanding—those 
that impede the reader’s understanding of the writer’s message. In this system, we call 
those errors global errors, and we call local errors those that do not affect overall 
comprehensibility. Global errors usually involve more than one clause in a text, while 
local errors are most often isolated errors within a single phrase or clause. 
 
Since global errors make it difficult for the reader to understand the overall meaning of 
a piece of writing, marking and helping the student learn to correct global errors will 
have the greatest effect on the overall comprehensibility of the student’s writing. The 
sample sentence below has both global and local errors. Because the global error (the 
sentence structure problem) makes it difficult for the reader to understand the overall 
meaning of the sentence, you should give it priority over the local errors (the number 
and article problems). 
 ss 
EXAMPLE: [When we meet new person and starting living in totally new environment are scary.] 
 
If you give priority to the local errors and subsequently the student corrects only these, 
the sentence will not be significantly improved since the global error will still impede 
understanding. 
 
Linguists such as Burt and Kiparsky have used the global/local distinction to indicate 
effects of errors on discourse. (See Burt & Kiparsky, 1972 and Burt, 1975). In our error 
analysis system, we have used the terms global and local for ESL sentence-level errors in 
a way that differs slightly from the more technical linguistic use of these terms. For 
example, we have called all verb tense errors global in order to show that they are 
among the most serious errors in writing, although a verb tense error affecting only one 
clause would not be termed global by some linguists. This simplification will help 
instructors and students readily distinguish between more serious and less serious 
errors. 
 
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Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
2. Give high priority to those errors which occur most frequently. 
 
Depending on the number and type of errors in a student’s paper, be selective in 
choosing which errors you mark in order to avoid overwhelming the student. If the 
student has few global errors, but frequent local errors, you may choose to give the 
most frequent local errors priority in marking since these will be distracting because of 
their frequency. 
 
3. Consider the individual student’s level of proficiency, attitude, and goals.
In selecting errors to mark, take into account that an advanced student whose text is 
generally readable and coherent is capable of working on local errors as well as on his or 
her most serious and frequent global errors, whereas a student at a lower level of 
proficiency whose text may be incoherent in several places may be able to concentrate 
only on one or two types of global errors. Also, keep in mind that a very confident 
student will be able to handle receiving feedback on more errors than would a 
discouraged or resistant student. 
 
If you have met with a student in conference, you may already know the student’s goals 
and want to consider them when marking sentence errors. For example, you might 
consider whether the student wishes to reduce most errors or control just enough 
errors to make his or her writing readable. Or you may have a student who wants to 
work on improving his or her use of articles, even though this may not be his or her 
most serious error. In this situation, you, as the instructor, can decide to address article 
errors in addition to the student’s other more serious errors. 
 
4. Consider marking errors recently covered in class. 
 
You may also choose to mark errors you have recently covered in class. For example, 
if you have recently covered subject-verb agreement, you may choose to mark these 
errors in student papers even if they are not the most serious or frequent errors in the 
paper. 
 
C. How Should You Mark Sentence-Level Errors? 
 
Once you have decided which errors and how many you want to mark, you are ready to 
begin marking them with the editing symbols and implement what many researchers 
suggest is the most effective way of marking errors, locating the error and identifying it 
with an editing symbol. 
 
Each type of error listed in the chart on pp. 338 – 342 in the student text and in the 
chart in Part 3 of this section is identified by a brief abbreviation or editing symbol. 
Using these symbols will enable you to mark sentence errors quickly—yet clearly—so 
that students, with a little practice, can easily see the error. 
 
17 
Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
 
Note that certain types of verb errors, such as conditional, modal, passive, and subject-
verb agreement, have their own distinct symbol or sub-category, rather than being 
combined with verb form or verb tense. The reason for this division is that students 
need to study each of these types of errors separately since each has its own distinct set 
of rules and each creates different kinds of problems for second-language writers. Also 
note that within the units, certain errors may be further sub-divided, such as modal vf. 
 
Methods of marking errors vary widely from writing in the correct form above the error 
to simply putting an “X” or “” in the margin to indicate that an error of some kind has 
occurred somewhere in that line. Research (Lalande, 1982; Hendrickson, 1980; Walz, 
1982) and practice suggest that an optimal method of marking a paper is indirect (using 
symbols or other marks) rather than direct (rewriting for the student). Ferris & Roberts 
(2001) and Foin & Lange (2007) found that long-term immigrant students had a much 
higher success rate of correcting marked errors (77 – 81%) versus unmarked errors 
(32%). 
 
1. Ways to Locate and Identify the Error 
 
In the example sentences below, you will see several ways, depending on the type of 
error, to locate and identify ESL sentence errors, using a method that is designed to be 
user-friendly for the student. In this system, the error is identified at its location rather 
than simply being indicated at the end of a line of text or just underscored. 
 
 Write the grading symbol over the error. 
 vt 
 I am a student here at UC Davis since 1991. 
 
 Underline the error and write the grading symbol over the error. You can 
also choose to underline just the part of the word that is incorrect. 
 vt 
 I am a student here at UC Davis since 1991. 
 sv 
 They reads as many books as they can after school. 
 
 Underline the error and put the symbol in the middle of the set of words if 
the error involves several words. 
 cond cond 
 If Kennedy did not visit Dallas in 1963, he might not be assassinated as he 
 was at the time. 
 
Underlining is effective when the error involves several words together, such 
as several words in a verb phrase or two connectors in a sentence that do 
not work together. 
 
18 
Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
 
 Put in brackets the part containing the error and place the symbol over the 
group of words where the most significant problem is located if an error 
involves a large number of words or even the whole sentence. 
 ss 
 Astronauts need to be prepared for every obstacle [that could encounter in 
 space.] 
 
The example sentences above suggest ways to locate and identify sentence-level errors 
on paper. However, you may choose to respond to papers online. If you are using track 
changes, we suggest you insert the editing symbol after the error where it will 
automatically appear in color. Whether or not you also underline the error, highlight it, 
or put it in brackets is a choice you can make. 
 
Even though I emigrated from Vietnam to the United States 15 years ago, event s/pl from 
my childhood had always remained vt in my memory. Those unforgetful wc= 
unforgettable events become vt=present perfect a wonderful reminder of my past and 
have enable vt me to remember my country of origin. 
 
Notice also a suggested way to enter a correction if you feel, in some cases, that the 
student needs to be given the correction or further information about it. 
 
 
D. What Are the Benefits of Using Editing Symbols to Locate and Identify Errors? 
 
1. Engaging Students in a Discovery Process 
 
Marking errors systematically with symbols in the ways suggested above helps make 
error analysis a discovery process in which students take an active role in analyzing their 
own problems with errors. Each student must take the responsibility to learn what the 
symbols mean, discover exactly what his or her particular errors are, and then take the 
steps needed to reduce those errors. 
 
2. Offering the Students Consistency 
 
Students learn much more efficiently when you are using the same set of grading 
symbols on all papers throughout the term. Applying this type of consistency 
throughout a program is very helpful for students since each term they would be 
working with symbols they have already seen as they move through classes in a writing 
program. 
 
19 
Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
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E. When Should You Mark Sentence-Level Errors? 
 
On early drafts, the primary focus of feedback should be on content, although some 
instructors may choose to mark those frequent errors that interfere with understanding 
(global errors) or note in an end comment that one type of error is prevalent throughout 
the draft. 
 
On later drafts, as well as on graded papers, if there are few problems in organization 
and development, marking a number of sentence-level errors is entirely appropriate.
However, while attending to errors in a student’s paper, always ensure that the focus on 
errors does not detract from the primary focus, the content of the paper. 
 
F. How Can Tutors or Peers Help in Responding to Sentence-Level Errors? 
 
Other readers, including tutors and peers, can also take an active part in indicating or 
marking errors that need attention. Tutor training, even just as little as a one-hour 
workshop, will enable tutors to confidently use at least part of the systematic approach 
described here in helping students work on errors. 
 
Students in peer response groups can also help one another locate sentence errors in 
drafts; however, this is best done only after peer response to content. You can guide 
the peer response in stages—first content, then sentence errors. 
 
 
Part 3. Editing Symbols, Example Sentences, Sample Paper, and Completed 
 Error Awareness Sheet 
 
In the student text, in Appendix B, pp. 338 – 342, are the editing symbols with example 
sentences. These are in alphabetical order. In this chart, you will find that the editing 
symbols are in the order of the units themselves. 
 
This chart is for your reference but also may be used in teaching the symbols to your 
students. 
 
 
 
Examples of Global Errors—(more serious, usually interfere with understanding) 
 
Symbol Explanation Example Sentence Page in Student 
Text 
vt verb tense incorrect verb 
tense 
 vt 
I am a student here at 
Princeton since 1998. 
 4 
 
20 
Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
Symbol 
 
Explanation Example Sentence Page in Student 
Text 
vf verb form 
 
verb incorrectly 
formed 
Unlike me, Khan 
Duong did not 
 vf 
received any training 
in English when she 
was in Vietnam. 
 
32 
modal modal incorrect use or 
formation of a 
modal 
Chinese people think 
that a stranger who 
greets you without 
 modal 
any reason must has 
some bad intentions. 
 
58 
cond conditional incorrect use or 
formation of 
conditional 
sentence 
 cond 
If Kennedy did not 
visit Dallas in 1963, he 
 cond 
might not be 
assassinated. 
 
80 
pass passive incorrect 
formation or use 
of the passive 
voice 
If a student 
 pass 
overcomes by his 
financial problems, he 
or she cannot 
concentrate on 
studying. 
 pass 
A power failure was 
occurred last night in 
the dorms. 
 
104 
 cl clause incorrect use or 
formation of a 
dependent 
clause 
In the dining hall, I 
was served some food 
 cl 
[which I had never 
seen them before.] 
 
124 
ss sentence 
 structure 
 
Incorrect 
sentence 
structure 
 ss 
[When we meet new 
people and start living 
in a totally new 
environment are 
scary.] 
158 
 
21 
Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
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Symbol Explanation Example Sentence Page in Student 
Text 
wo word order incorrect or 
awkward word 
order 
Students have to ask 
themselves [what 
 wo 
courses are they going 
to take.] 
 
178 
conn connector incorrect or 
missing 
connecting 
word(s) 
Even though she 
became deeply 
involved in her work 
 conn 
again, but she was 
still energetic and 
driven. 
 
200 
 
 
Examples of Local Errors—(less serious, distracting, yet usually do not impede 
understanding) 
 
Symbol Explanation Example Sentence Page in Student 
Text 
sv subject-verb 
 agreement 
incorrect 
subject-verb 
agreement 
What I saw when I 
came out of the airport 
five months 
 sv 
ago were totally 
different from what I 
expected. 
 
220 
art article incorrect or 
missing article 
Students may like 
mathematics because 
 art 
it is straightforward 
subject. 
 
238 
s/pl singular/plural Incorrect 
singular or plural 
of a noun or 
adjective 
With this 
sophisticated 
 s/pl 
equipments… 
The two most 
 s/pl 
important reason… 
 
256 
 
22 
Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
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Symbol Explanation Example Sentence Page in Student 
Text 
wc word choice incorrect word 
choice 
I think it is only wise 
to take advantage of 
the technology that is 
 wc 
possible to us. 
 
270 
wf word form incorrect word 
form 
Because of my 
 wf 
confident in speaking 
English, I have made a 
great many friends in 
Boston. 
 
284 
prep preposition incorrect use of 
a preposition 
Living in an apartment 
is difficult if you are 
 prep 
not happy of your 
roommates. 
 
302 
 
Two other useful symbols you will need when marking an ESL paper: 
 
Symbol Explanation Example Sentence Page in Student 
Text 
nonidiom 
nonidiomatic 
not expressed 
this way in 
English 
[It takes one’s 
 nonidiom 
courage in both 
hands] to leave his 
family and start life 
all over again in 
another country. 
 
328 
unclear unclear message not 
clear 
Unlike Hong Kong, 
the streets here are 
busy yet quiet, and 
[only solitude cars 
 unclear 
are on their wheels.] 
 
330 
 
Example of a Sample Marked Paper 
 
Example of a Filled-Out Error Awareness Sheet for the Sample Marked Paper 
 
 
23 
Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
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Part 4: Combining Response to Content and Response to Sentences in an 
 End Comment 
 
This part explains how to combine response to content and to sentence-level features in 
an end comment that summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of the paper. Along 
with responding to content and to sentence-level features, instructors may also need to 
assign grades to student papers. First we will cover how to determine grades on 
student papers, in particular how to determine the effect of sentence-level errors on the 
grade of a paper. Then, we will explain how to write full end comments that 
incorporate the grade (if needed), along with response to content and sentences. 
 
A. Determining the Effect of ESL Sentence-Level Errors on the Grade of a 
 Paper 
 
The task of assigning grades to papers is often the most challenging aspect of 
responding to ESL papers, which often do not fit neatly into any one grade category. 
Instead, ESL papers can often be strong in terms of content, yet weak in terms of 
sentence-level features, leaving it up to the instructor to decide how to weigh the 
strengths and weaknesses of these two aspects of the paper in determining the grade. 
While content is of primary importance in judging a paper, ESL sentence errors should 
still be taken into consideration since these errors, when local (less serious), can be 
highly distracting to the reader and, even more important, when global (more serious) 
can impede the reader’s understanding of the writer’s ideas. To help you decide just 
how much weight to give ESL sentence errors in determining the grade of a paper, 
consider these questions. 
 
1. Are the sentence errors global or local? 
 
Global errors, even when infrequent, usually affect the grade of a paper, while local 
errors most likely affect the grade only if they are frequent. Yet, the exact effect of both 
global and local errors on the grade will vary depending on whether the student
is, for 
example, at the beginning levels of an ESL language program or at the higher levels of a 
native-speaker composition program. Clearly, the needs of students in these different 
types of writing classes may differ as well as the demands for accuracy; these 
differences must be considered in assigning grades. Moreover, an instructor teaching a 
group of students studying English only for the summer in an intensive English program, 
for example, may choose not to grade these students as strictly as a class of students 
preparing to do graduate work at an American university or preparing to take the TOEFL 
Test. 
 
 
 
 
 
24 
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2. Do sentence-level errors dominate the paper? 
 
Deciding whether or not sentence-level errors dominate the paper also helps in 
determining how much effect the sentence-level errors have on the grade. While it is 
usually easy to assign a high grade to a paper with strong organization and development 
and few serious ESL errors or a low grade to a paper in which serious ESL errors make 
the paper largely incomprehensible, the most problematic paper to grade is the one 
with frequent ESL errors but strong organization and development. 
 
In a paper in which the errors dominate, the errors are so distracting that you will be 
highly aware of them while reading. This sense of frequent distraction will build until 
the overall effect at the end of the paper is that the paper is dominated by ESL errors, 
however strong the content may be. The reader’s attention is continuously drawn to 
sentence errors rather than to the ideas the writer is expressing. The difficulty in 
determining a grade on this type of paper is that the paper is unbalanced; it has strong 
content but weak sentences. Therefore, the grade may more closely reflect the 
domination of errors rather than strengths in content. 
 
3. Would a split grade be best for a paper? 
 
Some instructors resolve the dilemma of weighing both content and sentences by 
assigning two grades to a paper, one for content and one for sentences. The benefit of 
this method is that the student is rewarded for what he or she has done well. The 
drawback is that the student may get the impression that content and sentences are 
distinct, rather than two entities which function together to make up a piece of writing. 
Also, the student receiving a split grade may rejoice in the “A” and ignore the “D,” thus 
not seeing the necessity of working on the weaknesses in his or her writing. Therefore, 
many program administrators advise that instructors decide on a single grade, rather 
than give a split grade to a paper. 
 
Note: 
 
Your department or program may have written grading standards which provide 
instructors with criteria they can use to assign grades as consistently as possible to ESL 
papers within a class or across several classes in a program. 
 
B. Writing End Comments That Incorporate Response to Content, Response to 
 Sentence-Level Features, and Justification of the Grade 
 
In addition to responding to content and sentence-level features in the margins or 
within the text of a paper, you will usually want to summarize your overall response to 
content and language in an end comment. There you can summarize the strengths and 
weaknesses of a paper in terms of both content and sentence-level features. You can 
also, if appropriate, suggest strategies for revision to the student. 
 
25 
Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
 
A response to the final draft of a paper will probably include: response to content; 
response to sentence-level features; and the grade (if the paper is being graded), as well 
as some justification of the grade. 
 
1. Including response to content in the end comment 
 
In the end comment, you should respond first to the content of a paper because, as 
noted earlier, content is ultimately the most important part of the paper. Keep in mind 
the benefits, discussed in Section 2, of establishing a positive affective climate by first 
responding positively as an interested reader and then pointing out weaknesses in 
content, including organization and development. 
 
2. Including response to sentences in the end comment 
 
Next, you will want to respond to the sentence-level features of a paper. Keep the 
following guidelines in mind: 
 
a. Balance positive and negative feedback on sentences. 
 
Whenever possible, give both positive and negative feedback on sentences. Perhaps 
begin or end the sentence-level comment with positive feedback, such as “You have 
made excellent progress in controlling your verb tenses in this paper.” 
 
In giving negative feedback on sentences, your aim is to draw the student’s attention to 
his or her most serious and frequent errors. Even if you have marked sentence-level 
errors on the paper itself, in most cases you will still want to draw the student’s 
attention only to the most serious and frequent errors in the end comment. Doing this 
helps the student know which errors he or she should begin working on first. 
 
b. Indicate the effect of sentence-level errors on the grade. 
 
If sentence-level errors significantly weaken a paper and thus affect the grade, you 
should make this fact clear to the student. Likewise, if a student has significantly 
improved his or her sentence-level work, whether from earlier drafts or from previous 
papers, point out this improvement, noting its general effect on the grade, if 
appropriate. 
 
3. Including the grade, and perhaps some justification of the grade, in the end comment 
 
To help a student see exactly what he or she needs to work on and also to avoid 
disputes over grades, you may need to justify the grade you have assigned to a paper in 
the end comment. You may, for example, want to emphasize that weaknesses in 
content have caused a particular paper to fall below the passing mark or that sentence-
 
26 
Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
level errors have caused the grade to drop significantly. In these cases, it is always best 
to be as specific and forthright as possible in identifying those weaknesses that have had 
the most significant effect on the grade. 
 
It is equally important to point out exactly what has made a paper receive a high grade. 
In this case, a clear focus on the student’s strengths enables the student to build on 
these strengths. For instance, if a student becomes conscious of his or her ability to use 
effective specific details, he or she will be motivated to continue using them in future 
writing. If you are using written grading standards, you may wish to further justify the 
grade on a paper by quoting appropriate phrases or sentences from the grading 
standards or by attaching a copy of the grading standards with the appropriate areas 
highlighted. 
 
In the two sample end comments that follow, you will see how an instructor has 
incorporated response to both content and sentence-level features on two different 
papers—one a very effective paper and the other a weaker paper. Note that, in each of 
these end comments, the instructor refers to the grade on the paper, making it clear to 
the student why the paper has been assigned either a high or a low grade. 
 
 
 
Sample End Comment 1 
 
In the following end comment, the instructor incorporates response to both content and 
sentence-level features. The instructor also justifies a high grade to the student. 
 
 Your analysis of how your father and mother
helped you develop a love of 
learning was very nicely done. The specifics you used about how your father’s 
guitar playing made you want to learn to play it put the reader right in the living 
room with your mother and you. 
 The earlier draft of this paper had problems in verb tense shifting that made it 
hard for the reader to know whether you were talking about the past or present. In 
this final draft, verb tenses are used effectively. The scattered errors in singular and 
plural of nouns and word form are few and usually do not distract the reader. Keep 
up the good work in editing your papers for verb tense and verb form errors! 
 As you can see from the high grade on this paper, your careful job of revising 
both for content and language resulted in a very effective paper. I enjoyed reading 
it. 
 
Sample End Comment 2 
 
In the following end comment, the instructor incorporates response to content and 
sentence-level features. The instructor also justifies a low grade to the student. 
 
 
27 
Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
 In this essay you make several very strong points about the topic of suicide—
about the pain of family and friends left behind and about the help that is available. 
 Several weaknesses in development and sentences, however, keep the essay 
below the passing mark. You do stay focused on the thesis of your essay, yet 
evidence and analysis are lacking on several points. Also, frequent global sentence-
level errors (especially verb tense, sentence structure, and unclear sentences) often 
make it difficult for the reader to understand your good ideas. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
28 
Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
Section 3: Suggestions for Further Reading 
 
The following list is not all inclusive but rather reflects the many publications on 
responding to second-language writing. Many of these books and articles have 
extensive bibliographies that may be useful for finding further reading on the subject. 
 
A. Books 
 
Bates, L., Lane, J., & Lange, E. (1993). Writing Clearly: Responding to ESL Compositions. 
Boston: Heinle & Heinle. 
Byrd, P. and J.M. Reid. (1998). Grammar in the composition classroom: Essays on 
teaching ESL for college-bound students. Boston: Heinle & Heinle. 
Campbell, C. (1998). Teaching second language writing: Interacting with text. Boston: 
Heinle & Heinle. 
Ferris, D. (2002). Treatment of Error in second language writing. Ann Arbor: The 
University of Michigan Press. 
Ferris, D. (2003). Response to student writing: Implications for second language 
students. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. 
Ferris, D. (2009). Teaching college writing to diverse student populations. Ann Arbor: 
University of Michigan Press. 
Ferris, D. and J. S. Hedgcock. (2005). Teaching ESL composition: Purpose, process, and 
practice. Second Edition. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. 
Goldstein, L. (2005). Teacher written commentary in second language writing 
classrooms. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. 
Hyland, K. and F. Hyland. (2006). Feedback in second language writing: Contexts and 
issues. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 
Kroll, B. (Ed.). (1990). Second language writing: Research insights for the classroom. 
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 
Leki, I. (1992). Understanding ESL writers: a guide for teachers. Portsmouth, NH: 
Boynton Cook. 
 
B. Articles 
 
Ashwell, T. (2000). Patterns of teacher response to student writing in a multiple-draft 
composition classroom: Is content feedback followed by form feedback the best method? 
 Journal of Second Language Writing, 12, 267–296. 
Bitchener, J. & Knoch, U. (2008). The value of written corrective feedback for migrant and 
international students. Language Teaching Research, 12, 409–431. 
Bitchener, J. & Knoch, U. (2009). The value of a focused approach to written corrective 
feedback. ELT Journal 63(3), 204–211. 
Bitchener, J. & Knoch, U. (2010a). The contribution of written corrective feedback to language 
development: A ten month investigation. Applied Linguistics, 31, 193–214. 
 
29 
Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing, Third Edition, Instructor’s Manual 
Copyright © Heinle, a Part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 
Bitchener, J. & Knoch, U. (2010b). Raising the linguistics accuracy level of advanted L2 writers 
with written corrective feedback. Journal of Second Language Writing, 19, 207–217. 
Bitchener, J., Young, S., & Cameron, D. (2005). The effect of different types of corrective 
feedback on ESL student writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 14 (3), 191–205. 
Blanton, L. (1987). Reshaping ESL students’ perspectives of writing. ELT Journal, 41, 112–118. 
Celce-Murcia, M. (1988). Integrating grammar into the ESL composition class. Intensive English 
Programs TESOL Interest Section Newsletter, 6 (1), 1–3. 
Chandler, J. (2003). The efficacy of various kinds of error feedback for improvement in the 
accuracy and fluency of L2 student writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12 (3), 
267–296. 
Cohen, A.D. (1987). Student processing of feedback on their compositions. In A. Wenden & J. 
Rubin (Eds.), Learner strategies in language learning (pp. 57–69). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 
Prentice-Hall. 
Cumming, A. (1989). Writing expertise and second-language proficiency. Language Learning, 
39, 81–141. 
Ferris, D.R. (1995a). Can advanced ESL students be taught to correct their most serious and 
frequent errors? CATESOL Journal, 8 (1), 41–62. 
Ferris, D.R. (1995c). Teaching students to self-edit. TESOL Journal, 4 (4), 18–22. 
Ferris, D.R. (1999b). One size does not fit all: Response and revision issues for immigrant 
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