When a page of writing could not pass, a brief remark, calling the attention of the pupil to the faults which prevented it, was sometimes made in pencil at the bottom of the page.  In other cases, the fault was of such a character as to require full and minute oral directions to the pupil.  At last, to facilitate the criticism of the writing, a set of arbitrary marks, indicative of the various faults, was devised and applied, as occasion might require, to the writing-books, by means of red ink.

These marks, which were very simple in their character, were easily remembered, for there was generally some connection between the sign and the thing signified.  For example, the mark denoting that letters were too short was simply lengthening them in red ink; a faulty curve was denoted by making a new curve over the old one, &c.  The following are the principal criticisms and directions for which marks were contrived: 

  Strokes rough.  Too tall or too short. 
  Curve wrong.  Stems not straight. 
  Bad termination Careless work. 
  Too slanting, and the reverse.  Paper wasted. 
  Too broad, and the reverse.  Almost well enough to pass. 
  Not parallel.  Bring your book to the teacher. 
  Form of the letter bad.  Former fault not corrected. 
  Large stroke made too fine, and the reverse.

A catalogue of these marks, with an explanation, was made out and placed where it was accessible to all, and by means of them the books could be very easily and rapidly, but thoroughly criticised.

After the plan had gone on for some time, and its operation was fully understood, the teacher gave up the business of examining the books into the hands of a committee, appointed by him from among the older and more advanced pupils.  That the committee might be unbiased in their judgment, they were required to examine and decide upon the books without knowing the names of the writers.  Each scholar was, indeed, required to place her name on the right hand upper corner of every page of her writing-book, for the convenience of the distributors; but this corner was turned down when the book was brought in, that it might not be seen by the committee.

This committee was invested with plenary powers, and there was no appeal from their decision.  In case they exercised their authority in an improper way, or failed on any account to give satisfaction, they were liable to impeachment, but while they continued in office they were to be strictly obeyed.

This plan went on successfully for three months, and with very little diminution of interest.  The whole school went regularly through the lessons in coarse-hand, and afterward through a similar series in fine-hand, and improvement in this branch was thought to be greater than at any former period in the same length of time.

The same principle of arranging the several steps of an art or a study into a series of lessons, and requiring the pupil to pass regularly from one to the other, might easily be applied to other studies, and would afford an agreeable variety.