I posted this on the one goal thread but need answers now! ,-)

I haven't done any marking in a year and have just been given 40 essays to mark by wednesday. How do you tend to go about it?

Read a selection through first?

Pick out the best and worst and compare?

Or just go for it and mark the first one you read??

Hi Sneaks,

What I usually do is plunge right in. I take the first in the pile and mark it 'provisionally' (i.e. I write my impressions on a notepad, indicating all the strengths and weaknesses of the essay and I just rely on my overall first impression to come up with the mark I think it deserves). I don't initially write this mark on the essay - I only correct errors of grammar, style, structure and content in pencil but I keep the final mark and comments for when I've read all of the essays. I do this with each essay and then look through my notes to compare. Some of my provisional marks may change because I tend to mark on a curve so any one essay mark will be reflective of its relation to the others. Only when I've got my list of comments and marks on my notepad do I go back and actually write them on the individual essays. Hope this makes sense and is of some help.

Thanks Kamoy - that is helpful. its annoying because I know my colleagues who have more contact with students look up their ID numbers and make sure they mark the one that is most likely to get a good mark first and the poorest student so they can compare - I can't do that :-s

But they have also told me I shouldn't compare one essay to another - I fail to see how that is possible and I know they do it themselves.

Hi Sneaks,

I usually jump right in too. I just pick up random ones, mark them with feedback, but only pencil in their grade. Then when I've finished the pile, I organise them in mark order and go through a few with the same grade to make sure one doesn't deserve a better grade then the other. I think it's impossible not to compare really - but this way I'm only comparing to make sure the grades are consistent rather than comparing marking.

Good luck! :)

40 essays by Wednesday! Oh my gosh - no sleep for you then.
More constructively - what I do is divide the essays up into which question has been answered - I don't know whether this applies with yours or whether they have all had to answer the same question.
Anyway, I then read through and mark in pencil grammar, spelling and other mistakes and also comments on when they have written something good or bad or missed the point etc.
Do you have guidelines to follow for marking? What I do is put a few words for each section - eg argument and structure, use of sources, presentation, knowledge and understanding, on a post-it note and then a rough mark. I do this for all the essays on that question then go back to do the formal feedback forms. I have a basis for these from the post-its and also have an idea of the overall standard and can then increase or decrease marks if I think I have been too kind or not kind enough.
I don't know if this helps but I always leave marking to the last minute and end up with great piles and only a few days to go. (the piles probably from too much sitting down!!!)

thanks all. I like the post it note idea - will implement now! I have divided them up into questions. I don't HAVE tohave them dony by weds, but I save in travel money if I can get them to the moderator then rather than having to go up again.

well I've just read through one that cites wikipedia all the way through 8-)

It's that time of year!

We have a marking grid which has marks for various aspects (understanding, analysis, structure, written style, presentation (incl use of tables images etc) and referencing) and we try to write comments for each aspect.  I used to mark them in the order they were given to me (but divining them into different questions if they had a choice) but then a colleague told me (recently) that she puts them in order and marks the ones she thinks will be least good first as they take longer). We are encouraged to sue the full range of marks (I've jsut given my highest ever mark - 90% and I cna honestly say I am not sure I could have done as well) I find that to do the job properly (and our externals every year commend us on the quality of feedback we give to students) takes significantly more than the time allowed on our workload model.

You shouldn't really compare them (except to make sure that similar essay shave similar marks) - each essay should be criterion marked so if they meet the criteria / learning outcomes / whatever then they get the marks.  If everyone does a brilliant essay (like that is going to happen) they all get a brilliant mark.

I can send you our marking grid if that helps but maybe you have one or something similar in your department.

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I've got the marking grid. At the mo I'm going through, writing all the comments, filling in the grid and then leaving a post-it note for the final mark. I tend to be quite a harsh marker, which I've been pulled up on (not badly) before, so am really trying to give higher marks. I did fail someone last year - it was the WORST essay ever and I gave it to 3 other people and they agreed, but my course leader didn't want to fail anyone so put it up - I'm now paranoid of marking anyone under 60!

I'm also considered a harsh marker (I think it is becuase I did 16 years in industry employing graduates and I expect that someone who got a 2.2 would be able to string a coherent sentence together, be able to proof read and would be able to be able to marshall a convincing argument - apparently though I have unrealistic expectations).

There are too many people who "don't want to fail anyone" which is leading to (and I'm sure I will get verbally shot for saying this) a devaluation in degrees.

totally agree - but as I'm not the course leader, just a lowly PhD student, I have no sway. So far I have 58, 72 and 75. Off to mark the rest today!

Well I've got peanut butter over most of them now :-(

And I feel like a random number generator. nearly finished all the ones on 1 question though, so will compare shortly!

Hi Sneaks,

My school has a detailed list of criteria for each grade - i.e 40-50% essays are x, y, z, 56-60% are a, b, c, and 60-70% are...and so on. This means that I compare each essay to this standard guidline/criteria, and not to how the other students in that year/group have done in their essays. The reason for this is that giving a mark to student A on the basis of what studentc B & C have done is a 'relative' system - what happens if all the students in one group are extremely good, or extremely bad; do we give a 70% for an essay that relative to last year's group would've got a 55%? Your school or Undergraduate Administrator should be able to provide you with a clear list of grading criteria so you can mark fairly and with ease.
I also read essays twice. Once to correct spelling, grammar, style, etc. and make comments on ideas and content (I write a provisional mark on a post-it note), then I re-read a second time (at least the following day, or much later so as to allow time to pass between the two readings) and see if the provisional mark should be changed.
I group my essay in accordance to topic/essay question (but that's just personal preference since I like to stay on the same subject one at a time). I never judge an essay - as some of your colleagues do - by looking at student ID numbers purely because some students may come accross as not so good in classes because they're shy (and not necessarily because they're bad students), but they may be very good at writing essays.. Also, I see that a student's quality of writing can tend to defer based on what topic they're writing about, what else is going on in their lives when they were writing it, etc. This means that the same student can get an A today, but a C next term, and a B the following!