If any of you have a blog for your PLE and practicing writing in English - and have been blogging, please let me know.
The blog post excerpted below is about student blogging. It applies to advanced writers blogging as part of a college course that requires more writing and much longer posts. Still, the basic guidelines would apply reasonably well if you were being graded, which you are not. Still, evaluating your own work and progress is part of self-paced study. How would you rephrase or interpret these guidelines?
Prof Hacker writes,
"In my efforts to quickly and fairly evaluate blog posts, I developed a simple 5-point scale, which rates each post according to the level of critical thinking and engagement displayed in the post. The rubric is quick and easy and in roughly 1–2 minutes I know what to rate any given blog post:
| Rating | Characteristics |
| 4 | Exceptional. The blog post is focused and coherently integrates examples with explanations or analysis. The post demonstrates awareness of its own limitations or implications, and it considers multiple perspectives when appropriate. The entry reflects in-depth engagement with the topic. |
| 3 | Satisfactory. The blog post is reasonably focused, and explanations or analysis are mostly based on examples or other evidence. Fewer connections are made between ideas, and though new insights are offered, they are not fully developed. The post reflects moderate engagement with the topic. |
| 2 | Underdeveloped. The blog post is mostly description or summary, without consideration of alternative perspectives, and few connections are made between ideas. The post reflects passing engagement with the topic. |
| 1 | Limited. The blog post is unfocused, or simply rehashes previous comments, and displays no evidence of student engagement with the topic. |
| 0 | No Credit. The blog post is missing or consists of one or two disconnected sentences." |
Do you blog? Blogging in English is great way to practice your writing. If you have a blog, send your link to or post in comments. We can start a study group blog roll. 
