A Linguistically Inclusive Approach to Grading Writing

Hannah A. Franz is the program associate for graduate advisement at the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, and a coauthor of The Indispensable Guide to Undergraduate Research: Success in and Beyond College.

"A Linguistically Inclusive Approach to Grading Writing: A Practical Guide provides concrete tools for college writing instructors to improve their grading and feedback practices to benefit all student writers. A linguistically inclusive grading approach honors Black linguistic justice, facilitates students' use of feedback, and guides students to make rhetorical linguistic choices. The existing literature addresses inclusive writing assessment from a programmatic and class policy level (e.g., Inoue, 2015; Perryman-Clark, 2012). Meanwhile, this book provides models of actual comments on student writing to help instructors develop the necessary skills to incorporate inclusive assessment and feedback into their everyday practice. The book details how to respond to organization, word choice, grammar, and mechanics rooted in African American English and other language varieties. A linguistically inclusive approach to grading writing will benefit instructors across contexts - including instructors who teach online, teach high-achieving students, or use contract grading. The book's example comments and practices can also be implemented by instructors constrained by mandated grade weighting or rubrics that preclude adopting more extensive changes. A linguistically inclusive grading approach is grounded in theory and research across education, composition, and sociolinguistics"