Revised Version of Blog Evaluation Categories Fall 2013

Here is the blog evaluation guideline you created. Based on your comments, we revised the first blog evaluation guidelines. Revised parts are written in red. Thank you very much for your contribution.

1. Language

Use of Japanese:

- transition into using more Japanese, use Japanese as much as possible

Grammar and Vocabulary:

- clear language, grammatically correct sentences, and proper spelling

- use the grammar structures and vocabulary we learned (If necessary, attempt to challenge and go beyond your language skills)

- demonstrate improvement from the previous posts

2. Content

Topic/Theme: 

- various topics that lead to good discussion (ex. comparison between two cultures)

- select topics that are culturally sensitive and target diverse population. (Topics should not be relevant only to a small community. ex. Columbia students)

Body:

- clear, easy to understand, coherent

- have a clear point if you can

- entertaining, creative, original, informative, interesting, and/or relevant to reader and writer

3. Layout

Aesthetics

- easy on the eye, visually attractive (e.g. stylish layout, effective usage of colors, uniqueness)

- utilize external resources (multimedia such as pictures, videos, links, and/or recordings)

- clear font

Organization

- user-friendly, easy to navigate, organized

4. Communication

Reply

- respond to comments (e.g. commenting on classmates’ blogs and other blogs outside the class)

- comments should be meaningful and thoughtful (e.g. constructive criticism and compliments)

- foster active discussions

- attempt to connect with readers

- interact with other blogs

Facilitate Understanding

- English translation when relevant

- attempt to be clear in your writing

5. Consideration

Politeness

- no offensive words or posts but have an opinion

- be kind, sincere, respectful, and thoughtful (should respect others’ blogs, consider other’s opinions, try not to be politically incorrect)

Language Level

- aware of the language levels of the readers, and try to post at the class’ level so that your classmates can read all the posts.

6. Frequency

- post the required number by the due date

We hope you have fun and see the blog project as less of an assignment, but more of an opportunity to improve language skills.  Try to browse other schools' blogs as much as possible so that you can learn from them!