An Experimental Writing and Grading Procedure for Freshman Composition

College instructors of freshman English commonly acknowledge the existence of problems in teaching composition, many of which stem from two causes: the inadequate preparation in composition of entering freshmen, and the increasing size of college English classes. The traditional method of teaching English, thought it may be successful in indoctrinating a few interested students into the intricacies of composition, has limitations because it restricts the quantity of writing, places heavy demands on the instructor, and emphasizes deductive learning. The present study is an attempt to evaluate an approach where extra themes are assigned, each extra theme is judged and graded by six students (with each student grading six themes), and the theme grade is then based on these six evaluations, though not by averaging them. The results of this study all seem to indicate that student-evaluation of student composition, though not the ultimate in grading, can be used successfully in freshman English courses