Things Your Students Can Do with Drafts,
to Make Responding Easier 

1.Ask students to number each paragraph on the draft (hand-written numbers are ok).
This gives students a sense of the sequence of their work, and it encourages them to
think about the relationships between paragraphs, and about the relationships between
parts and the whole. It also can make it easier for you to refer to parts of the draft,
when you're making comments. 
2.Ask students to isolate a key term or key phrase for each paragraph, and to write that
term or phrase in the margin. (I call these "working paragraph headings.") This
encourages students to consider paragraph coherence, and at the same time to look at
overall organization. 
3.Ask students to write you a short cover letter, in which they answer the following
questions: What are the strengths of the draft? Where does the draft need work? (See
the sample "self-evaluation" form.) 

- Kevin O'Donnell, East Tennessee State U. 


East Tennesee State Univ.
Johnson City, TN 

Kevin O'Donnell, Coordinator
odonnell@etsu.edu