An evaluation of the assessment of creative writing essays in the Further Education and Training band

Abstract

The current process of assessing creative writing essays (using the correction code and the rubric to mark the pre-final and final drafts of essays in the Further Education and Training band) does not provide useful feedback that learners can use to improve their creative essay writing skills. This discursive paper highlights the basic flaws of the process. Amongst others, is the issue of the holistic nature of the rubric feedback presented to learners on their essays, the generic essence of the rubric in assessing different essay types as though they are similar and the divergent focus of the rubric feedback on the macro-scale issues from the focus of the correction code on micro-scale essay features. The argument here is that the different foci of the two assessment tools leave learners with uncertainty on what they need to improve in their writing, thus impairing the whole process of assessment. This study recommends, inter alia, an inclusion of rubric feedback in pre-final drafts and the expansion of rubric feedback presented to learners.

Keywords: Assessment; Further Education and Training; Holistic rubrics; Analytic rubrics; Correction Codes; CAPS; Creative writing essays