Celebrating Success in Research-based Argument Essays

I have been grading research-based persuasive argument essays all week. These essays tackled big issues like abolishing nuclear weapons, and small issues like deciding if milk is healthy for you. Each student in the class chose a different topic, each had his or her individual struggles, and each got several check-ins from me along the way. This was hard work-- research projects always are, especially because this is a new genre for them and they are unsure about the best way to write it. I am exhausted.

As I grade their finished pieces, I do as all teachers do (I suspect): I celebrate places where they have stretched and succeeded and I sigh when they still make the same mistakes they've been making all year. Here are some things I am celebrating:

• Sentence fluency. For the vast majority, I have seen a great deal of improvement in their ability to write sentences that flow, are concise, and have a minimum of grammar mistakes. It is an area that we've worked on during our writing units this year, focusing on sentence combining, looking at models, and learning fix-up strategies like reading your work aloud to hear clunky sentences. I am celebrating their logical sentences that are interesting to read.
• Conclusions. Everyone knows a conclusion needs to restate the thesis and main points. But a good conclusion is more than a summary; it concludes something. I am celebrating the thinking about future implications, the calls to action, and the connections to the broader world context. 
• Structure. Throughout the drafting/revising phase, I got so many questions about the best way to organize paragraphs to make a strong argument. I had already taught a lesson on possible body paragraph structures: reason/reason/counterargument or reason/counterargument/reason or counterargument/reason/reason. Usually when these questions came, students had already tried one of these structures, and their questions usually centered around: It doesn't feel right or It's all chopped up or It doesn't really make my point. This conversation said one thing to me: I care about this topic and I want my ideas to come through loud and clear. And so we "wrote in the air" (thank you Katie Wood Ray) to hear what it would sound like if ideas were rearranged. Now as I read their essays, I am celebrating the care they put into constructing their argument to make it as powerful as possible.
• Citing sources. Weaving research into an essay so it sounds good is a new skill. Oh, they have done research projects before, but they have not had to cite the source along with the research. We looked at several models and talked through how to incorporate the expert's name and why we should trust her or him (based on their affiliation) or where the statistics came from. I am celebrating paragraphs which incorporate cited research in a way that sounds natural.

It's a difficult and serious project to tackle at the end of eighth grade when summer looms and energy flags. But they rose to the challenge, using all their best writing skills. I still worry about how some of them will cope in high school next year. For most of them, though, I can see they have the independence, work ethic, stamina, and openness to learn that will help them succeed.