In reference to Carrie Peters' query, I have a suggestion which really
doesn't directly answer her question, but might help with background
information on what counts as an 'error' and where a lot of typical
student writing errors come from.
 
A big source of such errors is (as we all know) the tendency for people
to write as they speak; but many structures (such as 'fragments') are
quite acceptable in speech, while not being acceptable in formal writing.
Some good sources on the speech/writing differences are 'Language as
Discourse' by Michael McCarthy and Ronald Carter, and 'Discourse and
Language Education' by Evelyn Hatch.
 
In more direct answer to the question, though not a writing teacher, I do
assign a lot of written work, and I do mark things that count as errors
in formal writing. Since I am usually grading only a final draft, I
identify the error either explicitly (by writing 'fragment', for example)
or implicitly (e.g., if a verb is out of agreement with the subject, I
will circle the 'true subject' (i.e. the head noun of the subject noun
phrase) and the verb, and draw a line connecting them, so that, one
hopes, the mismatch would be obvious. I circle misplaced commas, insert
missing punctuation, etc.
 
When I have been in a position to look at earlier drafts, I usually use a
code to flag errors and leave it to the student to figure out how to
correct the error. I lower grades on ALL drafts in proportion to how many
errors there are (so that students have a motivation to be careful, even
on earlier drafts).
 
Johanna
 
 
> >
> >Hello out there,
> >
> >I am an Undergraduate doing some research on grammar and error in writing.
> >I'm hoping some of you may be able to help me, this topic is so big I'm
> >having trouble getting started!  I am interested in how teachers
> >are currently dealing with error in students' writing? Is the red pen
> >highlighting grammatical mistakes/problems still around?- or is there more
> >of a focus on the text itself, overlooking the errors?  Any information on
> >web sites, references of people who study error, or comments from those
> >interested in grammar and error would be greatly appreciated!
> >
> >Thanks in advance,
> >-Carrie Peters
>
>
> As a composition director who trains TAs, I ask that our teachers indeed
> indicate to students where most errors exist--not every error necessarily,
> esp. for students who have many of them.  We avoid symbols and
> abbreviations for errors and rely for the most part on "minimal
> marking"--drawing a box around the place where an error exists and then
> asking students to correct the error.
>
> Larry Beason,Director
> English Composition Program
> Dept. of English
> Eastern Washington University
> Cheney WA 99004
> [log in to unmask]
>
> WAC Page: http://ewu66649.ewu.edu/WAC.html
>
 
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Johanna Rubba   Assistant Professor, Linguistics              ~
English Department, California Polytechnic State University   ~
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407                                     ~
Tel. (805)-756-2184  E-mail: [log in to unmask]      ~
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