Although peer assessment is often used as a more objective learning method, self-evaluation is also helpful for students to improve their writing skills. Such an assessment can be done using five criteria of Capella Writing Standards. These criteria are abbreviated as POETS and stand for addressing the purpose, developing strong organization, citing appropriate evidence using the APA format, using scholarly tone, and creating grammatically sound sentence structure. Reviewing my previous assignment, I was able to identify the strengths to maintain and weaknesses to overcome. Specifically, the positive features of my writing are the strong use of evidence, defining the purpose, and applying scholarly tone, but the negative characteristics are the incoherent structure of the text and sometimes incorrect syntax.
When performing self-assessment, it is essential to remain realistic about one’s abilities and results. Furthermore, it is crucial to internalize external and self-feedback to improve in the future because research shows that many students do not enhance their writing skills over time despite self-evaluation exercises (Weiss, 2018). The exact reason for the lack of improvement is still unknown, but, likely, some learners do not understand the problems they have. Fortunately, using the grading rubric and the POETS criteria, I could determine what two areas I must concentrate on to perfect my writing.
First of all, as far as I noticed, most of my assignments seem to follow the conventional introduction-main part-conclusion structure. Still, the meaning is often lost due to inadequate body paragraphs. The reason why it is the case is that I rarely write a good outline for my essay. I mostly rely on the thesis statements that guide me and help answer the central question of a particular assignment. Therefore, I plan to write more detailed plans for future projects to have a more organized text structure.
The second area of focus is developing grammatically sound sentence structure. My primary issue is that I frequently tend to write long sentences so that their meaning is lost. The solution for this specific problem is to use standard text-checking software that helps simplify sentences as well as multiple re-reading of that assignment. I usually become tired from repetitive tasks; hence, checking the same text several times is sometimes exhausting. Still, it is essential to write the first draft as early as possible and edit them several times at certain time intervals before submission. In that case, I will be able to correct grammar and syntax without feeling overwhelmed.
The areas in that I believe my writing can be rated as good are developing purpose, using a scholarly tone, and utilization of reliable resources and referencing styles. Indeed, my introductions clearly state what this paper is about, I avoid using a non-academic writing style, and citation is always appropriately introduced within the text. Still, it is essential not to decline in these three criteria while improving the two abovementioned problems. Thus, assignments must be critically evaluated using all five measures of the POETS tool.
In summary, self-assessment is essential for students to improve their writing skills. The five criteria of Capella Writing Standards that can be used for the evaluation are purpose statement, strong organization, citing evidence, scholarly tone, and sound grammatic structure. Overall, the POETS tool allowed me to determine some of my weak points after re-reading previous assignments, suggesting that I should focus on mastering grammar, syntax, and text structure.
Reference
Weiss, K. (2018). Student self-assessment re-assessed. Journal of Academic Writing, 8(2), 161-175. Web.