Just found a new favorite tool!  This is great for both students and educators!!  Teaches students what to look for in their own papers and also gives valuable feedback regarding norms and expectations for different styles of writing.  www.paperrater.com!!!  In this instance, the score was right on as well - I did get an A on this refection piece :)

Title:

K.Sanchelli Sample

The first section of Falk’s Defending childhood: Keeping the promise of early education (2012), explores how a children grow and develop from infancy through their early school years. I approached this book thinking that I knew a good bit about childhood growth and development for a few different reasons. First, I had previously taken an undergraduate course entitled Childhood Growth and Development which touched on a lot of development theories and field work including Piaget, Montessori, and the concept of “tabula rasa” or the blank slate. The course, however, did not delve into practical applications or classroom implementation. It was more from a historical/theoretical mindset. Additionally, I am in the process of raising two children of my own,... (only first 800 chars shown)

Analysis complete. Our feedback is listed below in printable form. Some of the items have been truncated or removed to provide better print compatibility.

Spelling

Spelling Suggestions

• Spelling: like post-partum [suggestions: postpartum]
• Spelling: with post-partum [suggestions: postpartum]
• Spelling: childproof [suggestions: ]
• Spelling: own childrens [suggestions: children, children's, childless, Childress, chaldrons]
• Spelling: I hadnt [suggestions: hadn't, hasnt, haunt, hadst, haint]
• Spelling: and manipulatives [suggestions: manipulative, manipulations, manipulates]
• Spelling: and childrens [suggestions: children, children's, childless, Childress, chaldrons]
• Spelling: interpersonal enivornment [suggestions: environment]

Grammar

Grammar Suggestions

• Possessive Ending: in a childs development [suggestions: a child's development]
• Missing apostrophe: I hadnt [suggestions: hadn't]
• Possessive Ending: on a childs development [suggestions: a child's development]

Word Choice

Word Choice Suggestions

No errors of this type found in the text.

Word Choice

Bad Phrase Score

Bad Phrase Score*: 2.705 (lower is better)
*based on the number and quality of trite or inappropriate words, phrases, and cliches found in your paper.

Great job - your score is above average! You know exactly which phrases to avoid in your writing.

Style

Transitional Phrases

Transitional Words Score*: 76
*based on quality of transitional phrases used within your paper

Good job! Your usage of transitional phrases is within an acceptable range! Nevertheless, you may still benefit from reading the info below.

One sign of an excellent writer is the use of transitional phrases. Transitional words and phrases (e.g. therefore, consequently, furthermore) contribute to the cohesiveness of a text and allow the sentences to flow smoothly. Without transitional phrases, a text will often seem disorganized and will most likely be difficult to understand. When these special words are used, they provide organization within a text and lead to greater understanding and enjoyment on the part of the reader.

These words and phrases fall under a few grammatical categories:

•  Conjunctions: but, provided, and, although

•  Prepositional phrases: in addition to, in conclusion

•  Adverbs: also, however, nevertheless

 

Transitional phrases may be used in various places in a text:

•  between paragraphs

•  between sentences

•  between sentence parts

•  within sentence parts

 

For example, you could write:

Form and function are central themes in Biology. However, knowing the structure of something does not necessarily reveal its function.

The word 'however' contributes to greater unity or cohesion between sentences.

Vocabulary Words

Vocabulary Score

Vocabulary Score: 79
Vocabulary Word Count: 25
Percentage of Vocab Words: 2.91%
Vocabulary Words in this Paper (a Subset): delve, practical, applications, historical, application, address, tactile, circuits, cognitive, check

Excellent work! Your usage of sophisticated words is on par with other well-written papers! Nevertheless, you may still wish to use our Vocab Builder to maintain your edge.

Tips
Whether you are writing for a school assignment or professionally, it is imperative that you have a vocabulary that will provide for clear communication of your ideas and thoughts. You need to know the type and level of your audience and adjust your vocabulary accordingly. It is worthwhile to constantly work at improving your knowledge of words. To help with this task, please consider using our Vocabulary Builder to improve your comprehension and usage of words.

Grade

Auto Grader

Grade: 90* -> A
*based on college grading scale

NOTE: The grade above is NOT complete! We do not actually use a crystal ball to generate your grade. Instead, this grade takes into account spelling, grammar, word choice, style, vocabulary, and more; but it does NOT examine the meaning of your words, how your ideas are structured, or how well your arguments are supported. We should also mention that our automated grader doesn't always get things right. So, please consider this grade to be one facet of your paper's overall grade.