I've been asked some questions about my Graduate School (USDA) grading techniques semi-regularly, so I thought I'd provide you with some of these answers online. Feel free to ask me more - just e-mail me!

Why do you grade with a purple pen?

Here's my reasoning: I want to grade in a color that differs from the colors most students use on their lessons (blue and black, usually).

• I'm more casual and friendly than I see "red" being. I think of red as rigid, intimidating, and overly associated with right/wrong.
• I'm more professional or mature than I see "green" being. Green seems more casual and youthful than I want to come across in my professional life.
• Purple seems like a good fit for me: friendly, warm, and casual without being unprofessional.

Why do you write in all caps?

I have horrible handwriting, and for some reason it is less sloppy when I write in all caps. Occasionally, you'll see my lowercase writing on your indexes, giving you great insight into this all-caps mystery.

How much time does it take to grade a lesson?

It varies greatly from lesson to lesson.

• Index-prep lessons (the ones that are primarily writing indexes) each take a couple of hours on average. The farther in the course you get, the longer it takes me to grade indexes because I review copies of your older lessons so I can track your progress.
• Lessons that require more creativity (like those that ask for examples of certain entries) take longer, too.
• Some lessons take 10-20 mintues. Those are lessons that have answers typed (or written in elegant handwriting), have answers written word-for-word what is written on my grade sheet, and have no notes to me.

The time I spend on grading Graduate School (USDA) lessons varies from week to week, as well. Lessons seem to arrive in flurries - some weeks I'll only receive 5-10, while in others I'll receive 30.

For info about how long it takes me to return lessons, see the turnaround time info on my page about speeding up the process.

When do you grade lessons?

I grade whenever I can. The non-index prep lessons are quick, portable, & fairly pain-free. Those are great filler work for me and I often tackle them:

• during indexing breaks, when I want to give my brain a rest from my current project, but I still want to be productive.
• waiting for doctors appointments (waiting rooms are great places to zone out the environment around me and focus on something work-related).
• hanging out in coffee shops or on the beach on days when I don't feel like working, but I do feel like being productive.
• sitting at my desk, of course, is also a possibility.

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