Strategy 2: Submitting interactive cover sheets

An interactive cover sheet (ICS) is a single page on which students identify specific aspects of their work they would like comments on and which they submit attached to the front of their writing assignments.^[1]Instructors then focus their feed back and feed forward comments on the student queries, but they need not feel limited to addressing these queries.

Why have students submit ICSs with their assignments?

Having students choose what they would like you to comment on means that students do not passively wait for your comments; they engage in dialogue about their work. Sole responsibility for feed back and feed forward comments from the instructor shifts to a shared responsibility between the instructor and students.^[1] This strategy has the potential for saving instructors’ time as the cover sheets afford a focused and systematic approach to commenting on students’ work.

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How can this strategy be implemented?

• Show students an example of an ICS and explain to them what it is. 

• Explain to students your rationale for asking them to submit an ICS with their writing, including how the ICS feeds forward with respect to fostering their ability to achieve learning outcomes.

• Help students pose meaningful questions. It is important to keep in mind that the meaningfulness of the questions hinges on the desired learning outcomes. Consider these examples: 

  1. Questions that may be appropriate for almost any research paper: 

     1. Did I provide enough detail in the explanation of the context?

     2. I still don’t understand why we are using primary sources. Am I using them correctly in this paper?

     3. Last time you said my conclusion was actually a summary. Did I do better this time?

     4. Did I accurately summarize Carmen et al. (2015)? If not, what did I misunderstand?

  2. Questions that may be appropriate for writing and rhetoric courses: 

     1. Should there be a comma before “because”?

     2. Should I use em dashes to create emphasis?

  3. Questions that are likely never appropriate:

     1. What do I have to do to get an A?

     2. Is this paper long enough?

First-year students in particular, though potentially all students, might have difficulty posing questions that address complex or abstract features of their writing. Help them by providing: 

• Class time to generate and discuss questions.

• Examples from previous students of well-written and poorly written questions. 

• Grading criteria for the writing assignment.

• Online activities for individual practice. 

• Structured opportunities for feedback from peers.

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Examples

We offer an example of interactive cover sheet instructions and examples of student interactive cover sheet submissions. 

Instructions for students

1. When you have finished writing your assignment, type the following identifying information on a blank page. This information should take up no more than a quarter of the page. Do not double space.

   • Interactive cover sheet

   • Assignment submission date

   • Your name

   • Your McGill ID number

   • Course name and code

   • Title of your paper

2. Below the identifying information, write at least two questions that address particular aspects of your work to which you would like the instructor to respond. 

3. Attach the interactive cover sheet to the front of your submission.

Sample 1: Student interactive cover sheet submission

Sample 2: Student interactive cover sheet submission

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References

^{[1] 1 2} Bloxham, S., & Campbell, L. (2010). Generating dialogue in assessment feedback: Exploring the use of interactive cover sheets. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 35(3), 291-300. 

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