After four days of assessing research papers, I've now finished. I've found that reading each one of them 3 times gives me a good perspective on the total writing style of each one of my students. Like all long-term assignments, I wonder if all of the work is totally theirs in some cases. The writing seems more organized and more polished for some of them than what they produce on a weekly basis.
From the "Feedback" book we've read this year, I have chosen two different ways of responding to student writing: 1) writing my expectations when I correct their papers, and 2) using a rubric. My reason was that I wanted to see if my feedback really would change the way students write in Social Studies. I've used these methods before, but in using them more extensively, I thought I could determine the results more clearly than in years past. So, did my feedback change the way students write?

My conclusion: I don't know.

It seems to me that in the analysis of student writing, the purpose for their writing is the determining factor. On their writing assignments when they have to give reasons for the actions of history, I point out the difference between stating opinion and stating fact with reliable research. In this way I had hoped to change their thinking and see it translate to their writing. What I have noticed is that the week-to-week assignments have become clearer, but this long-term assignment still showed a lack of understanding in 36 out of 54 papers. In those 36 papers there were 11 students who glaringly did not apply the "rules of writing for Social Studies". The other 25 students did try to use research as evidence for their thesis, but still used "I" and "you" in their explanations to some extent. All in all, this number of 36 is ten students better than when the process began in October.

The rubric was constructed to lead students to a better understanding of writing with an organized purpose. According to the rubric, many students were able to "Meet Expectations" or "Exceed Expectations" for this first attempt as formal research. I wanted them to have the experience before High School because High School teachers have requested that this be one writing experience that 8th graders have before entering 9th grade.