Not all markers get a passing grade. More than likely we’ve all had sloppy markers we’d like to fail for the way they seem to disregard best practice and common decency. So we put together this list of mistakes not to make when marking student papers, exams, and the like to make sure your students don’t wish they could flunk you.

1. 

   Image courtesy of Tony Vincent.

   Don’t give lazy feedback. Lazy feedback can be defined as anything that doesn’t give your students direction, lead them to reflect, or connect to course content. For example, the comment “Awkward/Revise” doesn’t give any constructive suggestions on how your student might improve, nor does it identify what’s awkward about the section of note, nor does it relate the issue to the relevant course content. You won’t always have time for lengthy comments (nor are they always needed on final exams), but assess what’s appropriate for the situation. Also, don’t forget that your comments act as a guide for your thoughts.

2. Don’t take the “one comment fits all” approach. It may save time to put together generic comments, especially for summative and concluding comments, but these formulas likely won’t capture what was actually important about your students’ assignments. At the very least, if you are going to reuse phrasing in your comments, make sure you also include specific references to the important parts of their assignment (e.g., “Your examination of Karl Marx’s theories seems to neglect the issue of class struggle”, NOT “Your examination of Karl Marx’s theories seems to be missing some elements.”).
3. Don’t write illegible notes. Practice your prescription scratching somewhere else. Students are going to want to be able to read their marks and your comments whether they’ve aced the test or flunked the essay. Moreover, in an ideal world, the more clearly your feedback reads (and is understood), the fewer questions you’ll field from confused and/or disgruntled students.
4. Don’t forget to check your math. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: mistakes do happen. When compiling grades, always check your math at least fifty times, give or take.
5. Don’t forget to point out the good stuff. It’s not that you should mince words or skirt criticism, but students need to know what they are doing well too. That’s partially because we could all use a little encouragement now and then, but also because, as Peter Elbow argues, “good writing teachers like student writing (and like students)”. Whether you’re a writing teacher or a biology instructor, don’t under-estimate the power of liking your students’ work.
6. Don’t mix up assignments. Have you ever had a reviewer tell you your paper was good but that your last example with the fire truck was not clear, only the problem is that the fire truck example was in your friend’s paper, not yours? Sure, you laugh now, but graders mix up assignments in final comments all the time, especially when they mark one question at a time and forget to read over their comments. Don’t be that grader. Really, don’t.
7. Don’t contradict the guidelines/rubric. The assignment description and whatever directions, criteria, guidelines, objectives, or rubrics it comes with are what your students will be using when putting together their answers. Whenever you go “off-script” and start grading according to some unwritten rule, momentary whim, or new paradigm. Consistency is the name of the game.
8. Don’t compare your students to yourself. First of all, because it’s vain and you’re better than that. More importantly, your students are at a different level of development than you. Be realistic in the expectations you have for them.

Read more in Elbow, Peter. (1994). “Ranking, Evaluating, Liking: Sorting Out Three Forms of Judgment.” College English 55(2), 187-206.
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