THE RELIABILITY OF THE HOLISTIC METHOD WHEN GRADING LANGUAGE ESSAYS.

Authors

  • Mª Pilar García Mayo

Keywords:

Writing, Holistic method, Foreign language.

Abstract

The evaluation of studenrs' writing abiliy has become increasingly important in second language teaching. There are two main approaches to writing ski11 assessnient, direct and indirect methods. This paper deals with direct methods of assessing writing abiliy, in particular with the method known as holistic evaluation. Afrer providing a brief description of this method, the alleged sources of its lack of reliabilily (writers, readers and topics) are analyzed in turn and some possible ways of handling rhem are considered. Some suggestions for further research on the topic are offered before concluding that, from the aurhor's point of view, the holistic method is an important measure ro assess the underlying constructs of writing and that its use should be encouraged.

Author Biography

Mª Pilar García Mayo

Dpto. de Filología Inglesa y Alemana
Universidad del País Vasco

Issue

Section

Artículos