I find myself dancing between grading essays online (via Google Spreadsheets and Doctopus/ Goobric) and printing out student essays to grade on paper. If you’d like more information on getting started with online grading using Google Spreadsheets, check out my YouTube tutorial for some helpful tips.
If you are looking for more general tips on grading, check out this post on 8 Tips for More Effective Grading for ideas on specific strategies for grading quickly and efficiently.
But when it comes to deciding how I’m actually going to grade student essays, I let my eyes make the decision. Mostly, my eyes just get tired of reading words on a screen, so I will sometimes switch to grading essays on paper. But recently, I’ve started thinking through the pros and cons of grading online versus on paper… and I might be reverting back to good old hand-grading.
Let’s explore both ways!
ONLINE PROS AND CONS
Pros
When it comes to grading online, there are some clear advantages over hand-grading— but also some disadvantages.
The obvious pro here is that grading online SAVES PAPER and printer woes.
You are able to auto fill comments.
You can make changes inside the document with tracking.
Typing is typically faster than writing comments by hand.
Goobric even allows you to leave audio feedback and speak comments into a recorder for students.
The teacher can dialogue with students via chats in comments about specific parts of the essay.
Using a Google Spreadsheet, you can attach a Goobric (Google rubric) to the assignment and quickly enter numerical values for each area of the rubric, which will automatically be printed at the bottom of each assignment when it’s returned to students.
Cons
My students often tell me that there are too many comments or corrections, and they get cluttered up on the side margin, which can make feedback difficult to track.
Grading online requires a ton of computer screen time, which can be hard on the eyes.
Grading online makes me feel more inclined to mark everything… so ultimately takes me longer.
Grading online means being at the mercy of technology. Our school Wi-Fi often goes out, and this can cause massive interruptions to everyone in the writing and grading processes.
PAPER PROS AND CONS
Let’s take a look at the “old-fashioned” way of grading— on paper!
Pros
I find that I grade much faster on paper because I can quickly place checkmarks (which is a hooray moment) as well as circle items that need further attention (in lieu of writing out an entire comment). These kinds of marks are not easy to make when grading via Google.
Grading by hand also enables me to insert punctuation corrections more quickly.
“Seeing” the end helps me to stay motivated when grading essays. With a physical stack of papers, I can “see” how many are left and set goals to help me get through it. I think it’s called visualization, but it certainly helps me get to the end.
The older-aged me likes to get my eyes off of the screen, so reading on paper can help with any eye strain caused by the computer.
Printed out essays and assignments can be taken anywhere. Recently, I caught up on grading when our family was on a car trip. No computer or internet needed!
Cons
Handwritten comments can be difficult for students to read and track. I often ask students to use a highlighter to mark off comments as they work through revisions and edits to keep track of changes.
Grading by paper means you need the obvious paper and printer… and that can bring a whole host of problems with printers at home and printers at school.
Handwritten comments can take longer to write rather than typing them.
Ultimately, the choice is yours! Try it both ways and find a balance that works for you!
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About the Author
Meredith is the founder and creator of TeachWriting.org and Bespoke ELA. She has taught high school English for 10+ years in Dallas, Chicago, and New York City and holds a M.A. in Literature from Northwestern University. She has always had a connection to the written word-- through songwriting, screenplay writing, and essay writing-- and she enjoys the process of teaching students how to express their ideas. Meredith enjoys life with her sweet daughter and Yorkie.