I often find myself spending way too much time evaluating initial drafts (at least it seems like it). I spend an average of 15-20 minutes per paper making adjustments, comments, and asking questions. This means I spend between 5 and 6 hours on one set of student drafts. My students always gasp when they see all of the blue scribbles on their drafts, but then it also seems that they appreciate the guidance. I don't mind spending that much time critiquing drafts, but I am now beginning to wonder if it is even worth it.
Although they seem grateful for the assistance, I usually find that they do not make the majority of the changes or answer many of the questions I pose in the initial draft stage. Why should I use so much time trying to guide them to more specific and coherent writing when the majority of them don't take the initiative to make the changes?
I know that several of the GAs make little-to-no comments on their students' initial drafts, but I think that might not be the right solution to my problem. We certainly do our students a disservice by not giving them feedback--otherwise, how can we expect them to improve or understand the grade they are assigned? But it is endlessly frustrating when I spend so much time commenting on drafts, only to be disappointed with lazy revisions that contain many of the same mistakes. I've tried stressing to them the importance writing as a process, and that my and their peers' critiques are meant to assist them in refining their own work. It just seems like they aren't listening, or just don't care. How can we get them to take the initiative to actually make these changes and address the questions posed?
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You know, I do the same thing, but my students do seem to respond... well, those who bother to turn in their papers, that is. I think, and I don't know how you do things, but for me, I think it helps that when I give them tips, I try to explain why I'm giving this tips, like using "you" sounding cheesy and presumptuous. I think it helps when they see the reason for my scribbles.
Of course, I just spent an entire weekend, minus Sushi night, working on papers and not much else. Which to choose: sleep or helping the writing newbies?
Casey, I also devote a lot of time to my student's rough drafts. Like you, I hope it helps them learn to write good papers. So far, it seems to be working well for me. My advice: make it clear to your students that you will take their attention to your suggestions into account when assigning final grades. So if you write, "You don't state a thesis," and the student still doesn't state a thesis, you can justifiably "teach" this student with a bad grade. Maybe next time he/she will give your comments, which can only help the paper, more heed.
I remember dealing with this last semester. What I did that wound up solving this problem pretty well was tell them that their grades were quite literally dependent on their revisions. I told them, up front and several times, that their grades would significantly improve if they followed my suggestions on their drafts. I told them that, as a part of their grade on the final draft, I would take into account their growth from the rough draft to the final draft. What that amounted to was a class full of students that made specific care to address my suggestions. As a result, their writing got better as the semester went on. Pretty soon, I didn't have to keep making those suggestions. So, my recommendation to you would be to tell your students that their revisions will have a significant impact on their grade. If you already tell this to your students, tell them more often. Even if it annoys the heck out of them, tell them. Hammer the point home.
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