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.