Composition teachers think deeply about the comments we put on papers. What is helpful? What will students learn from? What will they use? What will they ignore?
Because grading and writing comments is so time intensive, these are not idle questions. No comments at all is not the answer; receiving a paper back without a comment opens the question, "Did she even read this?" On the other hand, if teachers spend too much time on each paper, then the papers on the bottom of the stack don't get a timely read.
I have read and returned only 6-8 papers, and I'm about to sit down and read for an hour. My goal: one or two comments per paper -- comments that will be helpful, and hopefully will help you to learn something new about your writing and how it is received by others.
I'd love to hear back from you on this. I think I will poll the class.
For example, it took me about an hour and ten minutes to look at and comment on 8 papers. If I continue at that rate, almost 9 minutes an essay, it will take me 980 minutes to finish the class, or 16 hours and change. THAT IS TOO LONG, because those 16 hours have to be carved out of an already full schedule, where I plan lessons, conference with individuals, write letters of recommendation, grade AP work, go to meetings, PLUS have a life where I sleep, eat, read, see my friends, take care of my home, my dog, and myself -- go to the gym, go for long walks, play golf or practice at the driving range...things like that. Plus, I need down time where I don't DO ANYTHING. So...fewer corrections, shorter comments. I have to cut that time in half!
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