A presentation by Aaron Livingstone, Lacey Banman, and
Vagn Moore Creative writing cannot be assessed objectively There are no right or wrong answers in creative writing “ ...the assessment of writing is problematic and is considered to be the single most significant obstacle to practical progress in writing instruction and research” (Cole, Haley, & Muenz, 1997). Creative writing contains many aspects Aspects include: Setting (time, place) Character development Tone Form Subject matter Technical/Structural (grammar, spelling) Others... Depending on the assignment, some aspects will be more heavily weighted than others for assessment Reader-response criticism is important ● focuses on the reader their impression/interpretation Opposed to new critical theory Peer review is a great tool for creative writing assessment When more readers review a piece of writing, the cumulative response becomes more objective Peer review promotes dialogue and self reflection Peer review encourages students to communicate about their material and consider their own writing Group Review of Creative Writing Examples ➔ Form Groups Groups of six, try to have at least one English-savvy person in each group ➔ Review “Peer Editing Handout” and then read a piece of creative writing Your group will all have the same one ➔ Discussion/Assessment Discuss with your group what you found notable about the piece of writing and use the “Peer Editing Handout” you’ve been given Class discussion Assessing creative writing can be troublesome, but through PEER REVIEW we can find more objectivity and inspire dialogue on our own writing References Cole, J.C., Haley, K.A., Muenz, T.A. (1997). Written expression reviewed. Research in the Schools, 4 (1), pp. 17-34.
Meier, S.L., Rich, B.S, Cady, J. (2006). Teachers’ use of rubrics to
score non-traditional tasks: Factors related to discrepancies in scoring. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice, 13 (1), pp. 69-95
Rezaei, A.R., Lovorn, M. (2010). Reliability and validity of rubrics for
assessment through writing. Assessing Writing, 15, pp. 18-39.