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It also wouldn’t hurt if teachers didn’t kill themselves with the amount of time they have to put in marking up assignments. If you’re leaving school even more tired than your students you may want to reconsider your methods. While teaching is tough work, learning should be even more exhausting. If you’re doing all the editing yourself, you are removing half the learning cycle. Writing and evaluation are two sides of the same coin. To grow as writers, your students must learn to develop an editorial eye by continuously re-engaging each piece of text. No one (not even famous writers), gets everything right the first time. For your students to receive the maximum benefit from the writing process (and for you to retain some sense of sanity), peer editing should be an integral part of your instructional design. To create an effective peer editing environment first you must create a rubric that targets the objectives for each assignment. This rubric may be based on the classic 6-traits: http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001707.shtml, but it should always include additional details and examples of both good and poor writing. It’s helpful to include a list of the most common errors: http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/easywriter3e/20errors/. Provide plenty of room for positive comments and train your students in what positive, helpful (yet honest) feedback looks like. It’s also good idea to make these sheets a different color. | 
