When marking the graphic organizer, the first thing to check is whether the student’s ideas are clear and whether the structure makes sense. The GO should show the student’s thinking before writing, so the teacher’s job is to help the student move from raw ideas into a more organised shape.
A good way to do this is to let the student talk first. As the student explains their thinking, the teacher can note down key points on a blank GO and then compare that with the student’s submitted version. This helps the student see the difference between what they meant to say and how they actually organised it.
The GO should contain keywords and phrases, not full sentences. If students write complete sentences at this stage, they may start treating the organizer like a draft essay, which weakens the purpose of the pre-writing process.
Teachers should also keep the focus on structure and organisation, not on polishing language too early. The main question is whether the student has a clear point-by-point plan and whether the details support each main idea in a sensible sequence.
In other words, the GO is not the final product. It is a thinking tool that should help students organise their ideas before they write the actual essay.