Online Guide to Writing and Research

Appendix C: Developing an Improvement Plan

Working with Your Teacher’s Comments and Grades

As a writer, you should identify areas for improvement in your writing so that you can present your ideas more clearly. You should always understand your teacher’s comments even if you do not agree with them. Many teachers seek to educate through their comments and can give you important tips for improving your writing or adding to the information you convey.

Sometimes teachers are unaware of various students' desires to improve their writing over their college careers. When this happens, your teacher may not give you enough feedback to plan for improving. Students who wish to improve over time should request such information from their teachers and keep a journal for developing an improvement plan. For example, your journal may include a checklist for what you have learned about writing.

Sample Personal Checklist for Improvement
Assessing My Writing This Term
Planning phase
____	Have I learned to write a clear and focused thesis statement?
____	Do I understand how the intent and purpose of my writing reflect my audience?
____	Do I know how to provide sufficient information?
____	Am I planning my assignments with enough time to be successful?
____	Do I use assessment checklists for my writing?
Researching phase
____	Am I learning how to conduct research for information to support my own research thesis?
____	Is my research methodical and thorough?
____	Do I keep accurate notes about quotations, paraphrases, summaries, and bibliographical information?
Organizing phase
____	Am I learning organization techniques and improving them?
____	Does my organization reflect my critical thinking strategy?
____	Does my content flow logically?
Drafting phase
____	Is my style readable and coherent?
____	Is my tone expressive and consistent?
____	Am I able to plan a first draft with time to plan improvement?
____	Am I developing and using a revision strategy?
Mechanics
____	Have I improved in the overall mechanics of writing?
____	Am I learning a variety of formats for my writing?
Plan to improve
What will I work on in the next writing project or in the next term?
____	Prewriting techniques
____	Journal keeping
____	Planning my writing
____	Managing my writing projects
____	Researching techniques
____	Organization
____	Writing the first draft
____	Revising
____	Assessing my writing

Print Checklist

Although checklists are handy, you may want to keep just an informal journal of your writing progress. Ask your teacher for feedback on how your writing and thinking have improved during the class term and what you should work on improving.

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