Some first-year composition programs include a literary analysis unit, and Catch-22 is a natural choice. It is accessible, funny, and rich enough to sustain a real argument, and it gives students who might not think of themselves as readers something to grab onto. But building writing skills around it means grading a lot of essays across a lot of sections.

Writing program directors face a particular challenge. Instructors come from different backgrounds, including graduate students, adjuncts, and full-time faculty, and each has their own habits. The program needs common standards without stripping instructors of their autonomy.

The stakes are also different from a literature course. In composition, the goal is not to master the novel but to learn transferable skills such as argument, evidence, and revision. Grading should reflect that focus.

The following ideas can help programs keep consistency while serving the purposes of a composition course.

Align the Rubric With Program Outcomes

Start with the learning outcomes your program has already adopted, such as developing a defensible claim, using evidence effectively, and revising in response to feedback. Build the Catch-22 rubric around those outcomes instead of around literary sophistication. This keeps the essay assignment tied to what the course is meant to teach.

• Map each rubric row to a program learning outcome
• Use plain language that first-year students can understand
• Describe performance levels with concrete examples
• Include revision as a graded component
• Share the rubric with students at the start of the unit

Support Instructors With Shared Materials

Provide a bank of sample essays, annotated with scores and explanations, so new instructors can see what the rubric looks like in practice. A short guide with common student problems and suggested feedback also helps. These resources are especially valuable for graduate instructors teaching for the first time.

Regular norming sessions keep everyone aligned. Even one meeting per term where instructors score a few essays and compare notes can prevent large differences from building up across sections.

Give Feedback That Builds Transferable Skills

Comments should point to skills students can use in other courses. Instead of only noting that a point about Heller's satire needs support, explain how any claim in any class needs evidence and reasoning. That framing helps students see composition as a foundation and not just a hoop.

Encourage reflection as part of the process. A short note on what the student learned about their own writing from the assignment helps them carry the lessons forward. It also gives you a window into their development.

Scaling Feedback Across Sections

Program-wide assignments create heavy grading demands, particularly for adjuncts with large course loads. GraideMind can help by applying a shared rubric across every section, producing consistent first-pass scores and feedback that instructors review and personalize. This reduces the drift between sections and frees up time for conferences and revision support.

Programs can also use the resulting data to see how students perform against each outcome. If most struggle with evidence, that signals where to focus instruction and professional development. Grading becomes a source of program-level insight.