Using Argument Diagramming to Improve Peer Grading of Writing Assignments

One of the major components of MOOCs is the weekly assignment. Most of the assignments are multiple choice, short answer or programming assignments and can be graded automatically by the system. Since assignments that include argumentation or scientific writing are difficult to grade automatically, MOOCs often use a crowd-sourced evaluation of the writing assignments in the form of peer grading. Studies show that this peer-grading scheme faces some reliability issues due to widespread variation in the course participants’ motivation and preparation. In this paper we present a process of computer-supported argumentation diagramming and essay writing that facilitates the peer grading of the writing assignments. The process has not been implemented in a MOOC context but all the supporting tools are web-based and can be easily applied to MOOC settings.