Grading
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Intro to Grade Goals
This course has no points! Instead of following a traditional point system, you will have the opportunity to submit your best work, and if you need to revise the assignment, you may do so by resubmitting your assignment up to one week after I return it to you. Once your assignment is passing, you will receive a “check mark” in Canvas. If your assignment is not passing, you will see an "X" in the Grade column for that assignment. There are no limits on the number of assignments you can revise nor the number of times you revise any given assignment.
You will look at the list of assignments for the course and complete the number of assignments listed for the grade goal to earn your desired grade!
You are allowed a specific number of late assignments depending on your Grade Goal. Late work must be submitted within one week of the original deadline. Peer reviews cannot be submitted late, as your peers require their feedback before submitting their final drafts. Also, the final essay (Essay 4) cannot be submitted late, as final grades are due immediately after we finish our course.
Rationale for Grade Goals
This grading system allows students the opportunity to rework their assignments and improve their writing. Also, I know we are all juggling several things in our lives, and some semesters, it simply isn’t feasible to complete every single assignment for every class. With this system, you can determine which assignments will fit in to your schedule.
A few notes:
- Every student must complete every essay assignment and research outline in order to receive a passing grade in the class. It is a writing class after all!
- Students are expected to turn in their best work.
- This class is rigorous regardless of the grade goal you are shooting for! The assignments will challenge and engage you!
Grade Goals Breakdown
To earn a C in this course, you must complete all below assignments with a “pass”*:
- Essays (4) + Research Outline + Syllabus Quiz
- Peer Reviews (1 out of 3)
- Essay Self-Assessments (2 out of 4)
- Discussion Boards (6 out of 9)
- Google Doc Contributions (3 out of 5)
- The Other Wes Moore Quizzes (6 out of 8)
- Grammar Quizzes (1 out of 2)
- 4 late assignments allowed (Late work accepted up to one week after initial deadline passes)
To earn a B in this course, you must complete all below assignments with a “pass”:
- Essays (4) + Research Outline + Syllabus Quiz
- Peer Reviews (2 out of 3)
- Essay Self-Assessments (3 out of 4)
- Discussion Boards (7 out of 9)
- Google Doc Contributions (4 out of 5)
- The Other Wes Moore Quizzes (7 out of 8)
- Grammar Quizzes (2 out of 2)
- 3 late assignments allowed (Late work accepted up to one week after initial deadline passes)
To earn an A in this course, you must complete all below assignments with a “pass”:
- Essays (4) + Research Outline + Syllabus Quiz
- Peer Reviews (all 3)
- Essay Self-Assessments (All 4)
- Discussion Boards (8 out of 9)
- Google Doc Contributions (All 5)
- The Other Wes Moore Quizzes (All 8)
- Grammar Quizzes (2 out of 2)
- 2 late assignments allowed (Late work accepted up to one week after initial deadline passes)
To sum it all up, this course is all about improving as critical thinkers and writers! Here's the quick overview of the graded work you'll be responsible for completing:
| Activity | Grade Goal A | Grade Goal B |
Grade Goal C |
Passing Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essays (4 total) | 4 | 4 | 4 |
|
| Research Paper Outline | 1 | 1 | 1 |
|
| Discussions (Text, FlipGrid) (9 total) | 8 | 7 | 6 |
|
| Syllabus Quiz | 1 | 1 | 1 |
|
| TOWM Quizzes (8 total) | 8 | 7 | 6 |
|
| Grammar Quizzes (2 total) | 2 | 2 | 1 |
|
| Contribution to Module Pages (5 total) | 5 | 4 | 3 |
|
| Essay Rough Draft Peer Reviews (3 total) | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|
| Self-Assessments (4 total) | 4 | 3 | 2 |
|
| Final Exam | 1 | 1 | 1 |
|
| Late Assignments allowed | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|
Assignment Types
Syllabus Quiz: The syllabus quiz is meant to help you become accustomed to taking a quiz in an online course. You have an unlimited number of attempts to get 100% on the syllabus quiz, at which point, you will receive a Passing/Complete score on the assignment. All students must receive 100% on the syllabus quiz in order to receive a passing grade in the course.
TOWM Quizzes: TOWM refers to our novel The Other Wes Moore. There will be 8 TOWM quizzes—one for each chapter of the novel. Upon reading a chapter of the assigned reading, you will take a chapter quiz, which consists of 5 multiple choice questions. You will have 30 minutes for the quiz and you must earn at least 8/10 in order for the quiz to be passing. You have 3 attempts. After the third attempt, you will not be able to attempt the quiz again. For an “A,” students must successfully pass 8 out of the 8 TOWM quizzes, for a “B” – 7 out of 8, and for a “C” – 6 out of 8.
Essays: There will be four (4) typed, titled, double-spaced essays; these essays will range in length from three to twelve (3-12) pagesthat adhere to a highly-structured model that is defined in the textbook and/or class handouts. The topics of each essay will deal in some way with our course theme “The Danger of a Single Story.” Essay 4 will be a research paper which will involve using library and computer resources and basic research methods to help you produce a solid argumentative paper. There will be assignments designed to assist you to prepare a good research paper using to MLA format. Specific criteria for each essay will be given along with the prompt. All four essays must be submitted and earn a Passing/Complete score to earn a passing grade in the course. To earn a “pass,” essays must adhere to the rubric given along with the prompt.
Peer Reviews: The rough drafts of your essays will be due a few days before the final drafts. The rough drafts are to be COMPLETE, polished drafts. The idea is that you will gain constructive feedback from your peers to fine-tune your essays for the final draft submissions. Rough drafts MUST meet the minimum page requirement outlined on the essay prompt to receive full credit. The goal is to only have about an hour of work left to finish your final drafts after you receive your peer feedback. For the 3 peer reviews, you will answer specific questions that are aligned with each prompt. For the assignment to be passing, students must submit their own draft and review at least 2 of their peers’ essays according to the instructions for the assignment. For an “A,” students must successfully pass 3 out of the 3 peer reviews, for a “B” – 2 out of 3, and for a “C” – 1 out of 3. Also, peer reviews cannot be submitted late, as your peers need their feedback in time to submit the final draft.
Self-Assessments: There will be a self-assessment in each of our four units. The self-assessments ask you to reflect on your own essay and journal about your struggles and what went well. These reflections will be graded as incomplete/complete. All students will receive a “Complete”/passing as long as they answer all the questions listed. For an “A,” students must successfully pass 4 out of the 4 self-assessments, for a “B” – 3 out of 4, and for a “C” – 2 out of 4.
Google Doc Contributions: There will be 5 times during the semester where you will be asked to Edit an existing content page in the module and add content. This will be a space for students to catalogue their takeaways and research questions. This is a way for students to collaborate with each other. For an “A,” students must successfully pass 5 out of the 5 Google Doc Contributions, for a “B” – 4 out of 5, and for a “C” – 3 out of 5. Students who contribute and follow all instructions will earn a “Complete”/passing for the Google Doc Contributions.
Discussions: Throughout the semester, we will have reading responses on our public discussion board forums. These should be completed in the order in which they are encountered in the modules, as the assignments will build on one another to guide you through the unit and ultimately aid in completing the essay assignments. Discussions are a way to interact with your peers and have dialogue about the course material. To earn a passing score, students must post an initial response which answers every aspect of the prompt, reply thoughtfully to at least 2 peers, and write predominantly error-free sentences.For an “A,” students must successfully pass 8 out of the 9 Discussions, for a “B” – 7 out of 9, and for a “C” – 6 out of 9.
Research Outline: In Unit 4, students will be writing a sustained research paper. The research outline is a way for you to submit your work for feedback from me before submitting the final draft of the paper. In Unit 4, I provide outline templates and samples. Research outlines must be 2-3 pages and contain everything listed in the instructions (thesis, topic sentences, evidence, bullet points of analysis). All students must complete the outline with a passing score regardless of their Grade Goal. To earn a “pass,” the outline must adhere to the rubric given along with the prompt.
Final Exam: At the end of the semester, you will take a department timed final essay exam on our Canvas course site. The final will ask you to read a pair of readings on the same topic and argue a position. You will have two hours to complete the exam. The exam will then be scored by 2 other English faculty at our department-wide scoring session.
Track your Progress
Mark each as “Complete” with a check mark or “Incomplete” with an “X”
Click on this link to go to a Google Doc Links to an external site. where you can track your course progress! Simply sign in to your gmail and then click "Make a Copy." Or, if you'd prefer, here is a Word Doc version Download here is a Word Doc version of the chart.
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PLEASE NOTE – SUPER IMPORTANT: All items on the list for a Grade Goal must be completed in order to earn that grade. Failure to complete any of the required Grade Goal items will mean an automatic deduction to the lower grade. Grade Goals are the minimum you need to complete with a “pass” for the desired grade. For example, if your desired grade goal is a C, and you fail to resubmit an essay or a discussion board for a “pass,” the grade earned in the course will be a D. If you fail to resubmit more than one assignment for a “pass,” your grade will fall to a F. If you submit 8 Discussions and otherwise have an "A," your grade will become a "B."
Feedback
I know your final grade is important to you, but in college courses, one of the most important aspects of the grading process is the feedback you'll receive from me/us. I'll work extra hard to ensure you receive timely feedback on all assignments--usually within 72 hours of the due date for small assignments and within 2 weeks for larger essay assignments.