...The Intelligent Essay Assessor: Applications to Educational Technology Peter W. Foltz, New Mexico State University Darrell Laham, Knowledge Analysis Technologies Thomas K. Landauer, University of Colorado Abstract The Intelligent Essay Assessor (IEA) is a set of software tools for scoring the quality of essay content. The IEA uses Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA), which is both a computational model of human knowledge representation and a method for extracting semantic similarity of words and passages from text. Simulations of psycholinguistic phenomena show that LSA reflects similarities of human meaning effectively. To assess essay quality, LSA is first trained on domain-representative text. Then student essays are characterized by LSA representations of the meaning of the words used, and they are compared with essays of known quality in regard to their degree of conceptual relevance and the amount of relevant content. Over many diverse topics, the IEA scores agreed with human experts as accurately as expert scores agreed with each other. Implications are discussed for incorporating automatic essay scoring in more general forms of educational technology. 1. Introduction While writing is an essential part of the educational process, many instructors find it difficult to incorporate large numbers of writing assignments in their courses due to the effort required to evaluate them. However, the ability to convey information verbally is an important educational achievement...
Words: 4151 - Pages: 17
...discretion. Any and all changes will be communicated to students in writing. Course Description RHET 1302 will prepare you for college-level writing while helping you develop your critical thinking skills. Rhetoric is the study and practice of how people communicate messages, not only in writing and speech, but also through visual and digital mediums. In this class, you will develop skills to analyze the way rhetoric, in its various forms, addresses audiences. By paying attention to the strategies that good writers and speakers use to persuade their particular audiences, you will learn to reason better and to persuade others in your own writing, both through rhetorical appeals and through analysis of audience, purpose, and exigency that is at the heart of the study of rhetoric. For RHET 1302, you will read and reread texts and write multi-draft essays. Practically speaking, you will learn skills that you can use in your future course work regardless of your major. Student Learning Objectives • Students will be able to write in different ways for different audiences. • Students will be able to write effectively using appropriate organization, mechanics, and style. • Students will be able to construct effective written arguments. • Students will be able to gather, incorporate, and interpret source material in their writing. Required Texts Rosenwasser, David and Stephen, Jill. Writing Analytically with Readings. Second edition. Thomson/Wadsworth, 2011...
Words: 3351 - Pages: 14
...The essay paper (200 marks) in the civil services main examination is crucial in determining the final outcome/ selection and ranking. It is critical because it is a compulsory paper and its score is incorporated in computing the total. It is decisive because there is no specialisation in an essay and so no aspirant can not claim expertise, unlike optional subjects. Finally, an essay is a paper, which does not have a reservoir of definitive information as in the case of general studies. All this constitutes a challenge. It is vital to understand that an essay is a reflection of the personality - ideas, views, analysis, assessments and inferences, values, attitude, aptitude, orientation and communication (written) abilities, all the attributes that are wanted by UPSC in an aspirant. An essay is considered a complete composition. The essentials of essay writing would be the format (framework, structure), information (content, substance), language (expression, presentation), and logic (analysis and information). The conventional design of looking at essay writing in terms of the introduction, body and conclusion is only the format. Although, this is fundamental to essay writing, the concept of an essay is quite intricate. An essay is expected to be a topical text that is self-explanatory and comprehensive, concise, composite and unambiguous, informative and logical. For every effective composition one should ideally begin with clarifying the purpose of the composition...
Words: 600 - Pages: 3
...Advanced Placement English III First Six Weeks – Introductory Activities: ▪ Class rules, expectations, procedures ▪ Students review patterns of writing, which they will imitate throughout the course: reflection, narration and description, critical analysis, comparison and contrast, problem and solution, and persuasion and argument. ▪ Students review annotation acronyms, how to do a close reading, literary elements and rhetorical devices. Students also review the SOAPSTONE (subject, occasion, audience, purpose, speaker, tone, organization, narrative style and evidence) strategy for use in analyzing prose and visual texts along with three of the five cannons of rhetoric: invention, arrangement and style. ▪ Students learn the format of the AP test, essay rubric and essay structure. ▪ Students take a full-length AP test for comparison purposes in the spring. Reading: The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne Writing: Answer the following question in one paragraph. Use quotes from the novel as evidence. Some readers believe that the elaborate decoration that Hester embroiders on the scarlet letter indicates her rejection of the community’s view of her act. Do you agree or disagree? Explain your position using evidence from the text. (test grade) Writing: Write a well-developed essay addressing the following prompt. Document all sources using MLA citation. Compare Hester to a modern day person who has been shunned. Provide at least two research...
Words: 3064 - Pages: 13
...Bannister and Ian Baker (Sheffield Hallam University) © University of Northumbria at Newcastle 2000 Published by: Assessment and the Expanded Text School of Humanities University of Northumbria Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST Self-Assessment ISBN: 1-86135-080-5 Text editor: Rebecca Johnson Copy editor: Publications Office, University of Northumbria Designed and produced by the Department of External Relations DER: 2308HCB/6/00J Contents Project mission statement Introduction The nature and scope of the project i) The self-assessment sheet ii) Student guide to self-assessment iii) ‘Writing essays: A guide for literary studies students’ (sample) 5 7 8 10 13 23 Ways of using the materials i) How the self-assessment sheet can be used ii) Workshop using the self-assessment sheet 34 34 34 iii) How ‘Writing essays: A guide for literary studies students’ can be used 35 iv) Workshop using the essay guide 35 Impact on staff and students i) Student response to the self-assessment sheet ii) Student response to workshops using the materials iii) Staff response to the materials 37 37 37 37 Further references About the authors Acknowledgements Appendices i) Example of completed self-assessment sheet with essay 39 39 39 41 3 4 Project mission statement T he Assessment and the Expanded Text Consortium is a project directed by the English division at the University of Northumbria. It involves collaborating with colleagues who teach...
Words: 13479 - Pages: 54
...Basic techniques for generating ideas. Brainstorming. Brainstorming consists in writing series of words or sentences just as they flow from our mind, although they have no logical order or connections. Once the words are written down, we have to establish relationships among them. This is the embryo of the future text. Free writing. Free writing is a similar technique to the brainstorming. Consists in writing a text without previous decisions or ideas about how we want to write it. Just choosing a topic and writing about it, and then we can summarise the main ideas. Organisation of information. There are some basic rules for writing a well - structured text. The text should be organised in a clear way; it must not be a twisted or an incomprehensible lot of ideas. We have to try to write according to certain conventions about hoe the text is organised. We have to structure our text in paragraphs. Each paragraph must express one idea. Some rules referring to the paragraphs: A paragraph must be clearly separated from other paragraphs, either by an empty line or by indenting the first line, or both. There must be no blank spaces or half-empty lines inside the paragraph. A paragraph in academic prose does not begin with a dot, a line or a kind of mark, except in special circumstances. Each body paragraph must normally have a topic sentence, and more than one sentence. Types of paragraphs. The introductory paragraph. There must be at least one...
Words: 1285 - Pages: 6
...many ways his writing was focused on what might be motivating Sandy Hingston to write this. The peer puts effort in analyzing the text to find information that purpose. This varied from mine for I used more different approaches during the essay to reach the readers. The peer brought ideas on cultivating technology and motivation in to the writing to help show why text was made and for. I focused on the overall purpose from Hingston and what she tries to tell the readers. I also used different analysis and factors such as economic standpoint on the change from traditional bury to cremation to bring new ideas to help you think the ongoing change in the body disposal after death. What I wished I noticed about the text was how was the author motivated into writing this. This gives you new thinking and new ideas of what’s going on and understand why this writing is significant. Another thing I wished I noticed, was the authors ways of making the readers think or feel. My peer mentions on how the author displays both sides in a argument and helps try to sway a reader to either side. An example would be swaying...
Words: 619 - Pages: 3
...How to Write an Essay Plan 1. Before you can begin to select material for your essay, you need to make sure that you understand the exact requirements of the question. The following method of title analysis encourages you to break the question down into clearly identifiable elements so that you can accurately see what the question requires. 2. What is your answer to the essay question? 3. What main points will you discuss in order to support your argument? 4. In what order will you discuss your main points? 5. How long will you spend discussing each main point? 6. What information will each paragraph contain (i.e. what information will you use to discuss each of your main points)? 7. What references will you use to support your argument? Many students make the mistake of thinking that, having read around their subject, they can immediately start writing. Essays written in this way are sometimes poorly structured and poorly organised, resulting in lower marks. You will ultimately save time and effort, as well as maximise your chances of success, if you write a good essay plan. Planning takes place at a number of different levels which reflect the structures within an essay. Every essay has a macrostructure, that is, the overall organisation of the written material into major components. Essays also have a microstructure, that is, the way in which particular points are argued within sections, and the way in which one point should lead on to the next. Ideally, you...
Words: 945 - Pages: 4
...Assessment detail Assessment 1: Individual Assignment Weighting: 20% Final Essay Length: 2000 words Due: Final submission due Week 6 (Friday, 29th August, 11.55pm). Assignments must be submitted through Turnitin. Description: The role of power and politics in organisations. Power and politics are very much part of organizational life. To succeed managers need to understand the meaning of power and politics, how power is acquired and how politics should be utilised. Power and politics may be the sources of solutions but can create problems in organisation. This essay asks you to explore the issues associated with power and politics in organisational life. Your essay should include the following: • Define the concept of power in the workplace. • Define the concept of politics in the workplace. • Explain how a manger could work to acquire power. • Explain how a ...
Words: 1412 - Pages: 6
...Educator Guide to the 2014 Grade 7 Common Core English Language Arts Test THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK Regents of The University MERRYL H. TISCH, Chancellor, B.A., M.A., Ed.D. ................................................................ ANTHONY S. BOTTAR, Vice Chancellor, B.A., J.D. ............................................................... ROBERT M. BENNETT, Chancellor Emeritus, B.A., M.S. ....................................................... JAMES C. DAWSON, A.A., B.A., M.S., Ph.D. .......................................................................... GERALDINE D. CHAPEY, B.A., M.A., Ed.D. ........................................................................... HARRY PHILLIPS, 3rd, B.A., M.S.F.S. .................................................................................... JAMES R. TALLON, Jr., B.A., M.A. .......................................................................................... ROGER B. TILLES, B.A., J.D. ................................................................................................... CHARLES R. BENDIT, B.A. ..................................................................................................... BETTY A. ROSA, B.A., M.S. in Ed., M.S. in Ed., M.Ed., Ed.D. ............................................. LESTER W. YOUNG, Jr., B.S., M.S., Ed.D. .............................................................................. CHRISTINE D. CEA, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. .......................
Words: 6646 - Pages: 27
...Overview of Current Research on Automated Essay Grading Salvatore Valenti, Francesca Neri and Alessandro Cucchiarelli DIIGA - Universita’ Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy valenti@inform.unian.it neri@inform.unian.it alex@inform.unian.it Executive Summary Essays are considered by many researchers as the most useful tool to assess learning outcomes, implying the ability to recall, organize and integrate ideas, the ability to express oneself in writing and the ability to supply merely than identify interpretation and application of data. It is in the measurement of such outcomes, corresponding to the evaluation and synthesis levels of the Bloom’s (1956) taxonomy that the essay questions serve their most useful purpose. One of the difficulties of grading essays is represented by the perceived subjectivity of the grading process. Many researchers claim that the subjective nature of essay assessment leads to variation in grades awarded by different human assessors, which is perceived by students as a great source of unfairness. This issue may be faced through the adoption of automated assessment tools for essays. A system for automated assessment would at least be consistent in the way it scores essays, and enormous cost and time savings could be achieved if the system can be shown to grade essays within the range of those awarded by human assessors. This paper presents an overview of current approaches to the automated assessment of free text answers. Ten systems, currently available...
Words: 7241 - Pages: 29
...Criterion SM Online Essay Evaluation: An Application for Automated Evaluation of Student Essays Jill Burstein Educational Testing Service Rosedale Road, 18E Princeton, NJ 08541 jburstein@ets.org Martin Chodorow Department of Psychology Hunter College 695 Park Avenue New York, NY 10021 martin.chodorow@hunter.cuny.edu Claudia Leacock Educational Testing Service Rosedale Road, 18E Princeton, NJ 08541 cleacock@ets.org Abstract This paper describes a deployed educational technology application: the CriterionSM Online Essay Evaluation Service, a web-based system that provides automated scoring and evaluation of student essays. Criterion has two complementary applications: E-rater®, an automated essay scoring system and Critique Writing Analysis Tools, a suite of programs that detect errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics, that identify discourse elements in the essay, and that recognize elements of undesirable style. These evaluation capabilities provide students with feedback that is specific to their writing in order to help them improve their writing skills. Both applications employ natural language processing and machine learning techniques. All of these capabilities outperform baseline algorithms, and some of the tools agree with human judges as often as two judges agree with each other. 2. Application Description Criterion contains two complementary applications that are based on natural language processing (NLP) methods. The scoring application, e-rater®, extracts...
Words: 5634 - Pages: 23
...Campsall Here's how to write your best essay ever... Whatever the essay you have been asked to write, the key to making it as effective as it can be is to write it as a wellstructured and well-supported argument. You will find that an ‘argument’ essay is easier to plan, more fulfilling to write and for your teacher (or the examiner)... a pleasure to mark (and that’s no bad thing!!). It’s important to get one thing out of the way at the outset: an essay question has no ‘right’ answer. You can breathe easy on that one. It’s just not like that. This is English and we leave those kinds of ‘right answers’ to the mathematicians and scientists. An English essay is not an ‘answer’ in that way at all, rather, it’s an informed opinion; but, like all opinions, it’ll require explanation, argument and support. It requires you to argue your case. What’s the first thing you do when you set about starting an essay? Many people start by searching through the text on which their essay is based in the hope of finding suitable quotations to help ‘answer’ the essay question. Well, there’s no getting away from this basic process, but there are ways to make it altogether more efficient, useful and most importantly, more likely to earn a higher grade. More on this later. The Argument Essay The secret of a good essay? Write it as an argument for what you believe! What is there to argue about? Plenty! You’ll be arguing to support your point of view on the essay question - one that you’ve boldly stated...
Words: 5570 - Pages: 23
...will require students to read rhetorically and analyze scholarly texts on a variety of subjects. The course emphasizes writing to specific audiences and understanding how information is context dependent and audience specific. Students must engage with a variety of ideas and learn how to synthesize those in college level essays. Core Objectives • Critical Thinking Skills: To include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information • Communication Skills: To include effective development and expression of ideas through written, oral, and visual communication • Teamwork: To include the ability to consider different points of view and to work effectively with others to support a shared purpose or goal • Personal Responsibility: To include the ability to connect choices, actions and consequences to ethical decision-making ENGL 1301 Expected Learning Outcomes. By the end of ENGL 1301, you should be able to demonstrate the following: Rhetorical Knowledge • Use knowledge of the rhetorical situation—author, audience, exigence, constraints—to analyze and construct texts • Compose texts in a variety of genres, expanding your repertoire beyond predictable forms • Adjust voice, tone, diction, syntax, level of formality, and structure to meet the demands of different rhetorical situations Critical Reading, Thinking, and Writing • Use writing, reading, and discussion for inquiry,...
Words: 4680 - Pages: 19
...to analyse the different theoretical frameworks that underpin research and inform alternative research methodologiesUnderstand and implement consumer and buyer behavior theories, models and frameworks | Penalty for late submission: | Coursework submitted up to one (1) week after the published deadline will receive a maximum numeric grade of 40%. Work submitted later than one (1) week after the deadline will be awarded a fail grade (0%). Lecturer has and may exercise the right NOT TO MARK this assignment if the above declaration has NOT BEEN SIGNED and if the above declaration is FOUND TO BE FALSE, ZERO marks will be awarded for this assignment. | Detailed Brief for Individual Assessment | The title of the assignment: Essay on Contemporary Issues in Marketing...
Words: 1331 - Pages: 6
