Assignments and Grading
I am not an "easy grader," but if you do the assignments regularly,
you will not have any trouble getting a "B" or a "C." If, on
top of that, you put in some extra effort and/or happen to be good at reading
and writing, there's no reason you can't get "B" or even an
"A." The average grade in my class is never lower than a "C"
and is usually closer to a "B." I do not "scale" the grades
on individual assignments, but at the end of the semester I sometimes raise the
grades if I feel that they do not accurately reflect the work I have seen over
the previous 14 weeks.
In brief:
| |
Points |
% |
|
Working Papers & In-class writing |
50 |
25% |
|
Three Tests |
120 |
60% |
|
Presentation |
20 |
10% |
|
Participation |
10 |
5% |
|
TOTAL POINTS |
200 |
100% |
I follow the standard practice of giving an "A" for 90-100%,
"B" for 80-89%, and so on. I do not "scale" individual
grades, but at the end of the semester I reserve the right to adjust all the
final grades upward if I feel they undervalue the work you have done for the
semester. Having provided this information, I will add that I am not interested
in discussing grades once the semester starts. I am always happy to meet with
you individually to talk about the course material and your work for the course,
and I may be able to help you develop effective study habits as well. What I
will not do is try to calculate grades ahead of time.
General guidelines for written work:
All work completed at home and turned in in class should be typed, double-spaced
with one-inch margins all the way around in 12-point Times Roman font. Proofread
your work before handing it in and make any small corrections with a pen or
pencil. When you quote the Longman Anthology, you need to provide the page
number(s); if you use or quote any other sources, you must document those
sources fully according to MLA style. Read and understand the explanation of
plagiarism below. The quality and clarity of someone's writing is a good
indication of the quality and clarity of that person's thinking. So strive for
the clearest and most effective writing you are capable of.
Assignment Details:
Working papers and in-class writing (50 points)
Throughout the semester I will be assigning working papers of approximately
250 words each. The topic for the working paper will be announced at least two
days before class and will be posted on the courseweb site. So if you miss a
class, you should check there to see if there is a working paper. What I am
looking for is evidence that you have (a) done the reading carefully (not just
a quick skim) and (b) have spent some time thinking about it. Good grammar,
spelling, and the rest of that is helpful because without it I may not
understand your ideas in exactly the way you mean them. But what I really want
to see is original thinking supported by specific references to the literary
works. Keep your working papers in any kind of a binder or notebook. I
strongly prefer these papers to be typed, but if you must write, please use a
good pen and write clearly. I will collect them at end of the class on which
it was due and try to return them on Friday. I will assign a grade of zero to
two points for each entry:
1 Point: You have come to class and turned in something that shows
some evidence of having read the assignment.
2 Points: You have clearly done the reading and found something
interesting and original to say about it.
3. Points: On rare occasions I may give three points for an
exceptionally interesting and well-written response.
I will also be giving regular free-writing assignments and occasional
reading quizzes during class. I will be looking for the same qualities in the
free-writing assignments as in the working papers, but I will not expect as
much depth since you will not have had as much time to work on them. Sometimes
you will be able to use your book; other times they will be closed-book. The
number of points for these will vary from one to the next, but during the
course of the semester, you will have the opportunity to earn at least 60
points in this area (plus any extra points for exceptional work on working
papers).
3 Tests (40 X 3 = 120 points)
There will be three tests in this class, each one consisting of a take-home
component and an in-class component. The take-home component will ask you to
discuss in some detail the ideas we have been talking about in class and to
relate those ideas to several of the authors we have read. That part of the
test must be well-written, typed, and proofread for mistakes. The in-class
component will consist of multiple-choice, short-answer, and identification
questions. You should be able to identify distinctive passages from the
readings and to explain what makes that passage so distinctive of the author
and period under discussion. Students who have not missed more than two
classes since the previous test may elect not to take the in-class component,
but they are still required to turn in the take-home portion of the test.
Poster or slide presentation (20 points)
Every Monday, one or two students will be responsible for giving a
presentation on one of the authors we are reading this semester. The
presentation should be both biographical and bibliographical and needs to go
beyond what is presented in the textbook. By that I mean that you should say
something about the author's life, but also about his or her writings and the
way those writings have been received. What did people like and/or dislike
about this person's work? What ideas or literary techniques did he or she
introduce or promote in his or her writing? The presentation should be 10 to
15 minutes long and should include some visual elements in the form of either
a poster or a set of slides (i.e. PowerPoint). If you use PowerPoint, keep two
things in mind: first, you need to let me know well in advance so we can have
the projector ready and, second, you should use it for images: the text of the
presentation should be on paper or notecards or in your head. As always, I
strongly encourage you to come talk with me at least a week ahead of time for
ideas and feedback to help you do the best presentation possible.
Participation (10 points)
You will find in most classes or other situations that the more you get
involved the more you get out of it and the more interesting you find the
situation. But since everyone benefits from an active class, I am rewarding
those who contribute regularly and productively to class discussion. That
doesn't mean shooting your mouth off at every opportunity, but the focus is on
effort and involvement, not on getting "the right answer." If there
is anything about the class itself that is making it more difficult for you to
participate, please let me know and I will see what I can do to change it.
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