As we approach the middle of the first semester in Language Arts, I wanted to take a brief moment to discuss/remind parents and students of the revision policy in Language Arts. This policy applies to all students in my classes and all long term writing assignments. When the writing is assigned, a rubric will be attached to the assignment sheet. This rubric details what is the expectations are for each assignment. Students are encouraged to review it frequently to make sure they are hitting all required elements for their final draft. That rubric will be adhered to during grading. The process for further revision beyond the original assignment goes like this:
Students receive the rubric with feedback and a point value. If they are dissatisfied with this point value, they can let me know if they would like to revise further. At that point I will go back through their paper and make further comments and revision suggestions. We will then set up an appointment to go through the feedback during an upcoming resource hour. The student will have the opportunity during conferences to ask questions or talk through anything in their paper they deem relevant to their revision. The student will then take the paper and make the necessary revisions to qualify for another round of grading. I will go back to the original rubric and score the paper again. Depending on the new point value given, the student can decide to let the grade ride, or the process can begin again. The process can be repeated as often as necessary to get the student the point value they desire.
This process will be the primary responsibility of the student. They will need to take the initiative to seek my out, tell me they wish to revise, and then set appointments with me during resource hour. This is to teach them responsibility and personal accountability for their grades. I will offer them the opportunity and it is then up to them to seek me out. All of my students have had a long term composition assignment by this time. Only a couple of students have approached me about revision and more are always encouraged.
One caveat to this process: The revision process can be lengthy and will need to be completed in time to comfortably make semester grades. To that end, students will need to approach me sooner rather than later to ensure that there is plenty of time to complete the process thoroughly. Waiting until close to the end of the semester in a last ditch attempt to raise a grade may result in there not being enough time to appropriately work the process. Therefore I encourage students to let me know asap if they would like to revise. As always, please feel free to reach out if you or your student has questions regarding this process.
