Materials

• Sample grading policy.  This example of a grading policy is adapted from the UC Berkeley GSI Resource Center, and borrows heavily from Cinzia Solari's grading policy handout.
• GradingPolicySample.docx  
• Creating a grading rubric - worksheet: Worksheet from the GSI Resource Center designed to help you through the steps of creating an effective rubric.  Probably most useful if you read through their guide to grading rubrics (which has a nice example of a rubric created to grade a Sociology research paper).
• rubric-worksheet.docx  

Grading and Grade Contestations - General Advice

• It helps to set a clear policy for regrading papers. Policies sometimes include (i) a time limit for regrade requests (i.e. all requests must be submitted in 2 weeks), (ii) requiring students to wait 24 hours before asking for a regrade (a cool-off period), (iii) requiring students to submit a memo responding to any comments and explaining why they want a regrade, and (iv) notice that any regrade can result in a higher or lower grade. Some GSIs write up their grading policy and hand it out to students. I like to pass it out when I return their first graded assignment.
• Offer suggestions on how they can do better on their next assignment (in depth suggestions for improving writing, for example), and also offer to give further aid on areas in which they were particularly weak.
• Show an example of an 'A' paper.
• Sometimes a student's contestation seems a bit desperate, and they may hang on. Take time to ask them why this is so important. You may discover something important when you give them an opportunity to tell you why they insist on contesting this grade.