Development of a rubric for evaluating creative writing: a multi-phase research

ABSTRACT

Drawing on a modified version of Delphi technique, the researchers in this study tried to develop a rubric comprising the main criteria to be considered in the evaluation of works of fiction. Review of the related literature, as well as the administration of a Likert scale questionnaire, and a series of unstructured interviews with experts in the fields of literature and creative writing, led to the identification of ten elements which were used in the construction of the first version of the rubric. To ensure its validity, a number of distinguished creative writing professors were asked to review this assessment tool and comment on its appropriateness for measuring the intended construct. Some revisions were made based on these comments, and following that, the researchers came up with an analytical rubric consisting of nine elements, namely narrative voice, characterisation, story, setting, mood and atmosphere, language and writing mechanics, dialogue, plot, and image. The reliability of this rubric was also established through the calculation of both interrater and intrarater reliability. Finally, the significance of the development of this valid and reliable rubric is discussed and its implications for teaching and assessing creative pieces of writing are presented.

KEYWORDS:

• Assessment
• evaluation
• creative writing
• rubric

Acknowledgements

The researchers would like to thank the reviewers who provided us with very valuable comments. We would also like to thank all the creative writers and professors for their participation in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Maryam Vaezi got her M.A. in TEFL from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. Her areas of interest are creative writing, writing assessment, and critical discourse analysis.

Saeed Rezaei is Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics at the Languages and Linguistics Center, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. He works on social issues in language education and linguistics. His most recent publications have appeared in the Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, Asian Englishes, Journal of Multilingual Teaching and Teacher Education and Springer Encyclopedia of Language and Education.

ORCID

Saeed Rezaei http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0296-0382