Table of Contents
- General Information
- Learning Outcomes
- Policies
- Grading (this page)
- Resources
Grading
Grading Policy
In order to pass this course, students must both:
- Complete all major writing assignments (Essays 1-3)
- Receive an average grade of “C” or better on all assignments
The “average grade of ‘C’ or better,” mentioned above, follows this breakdown:
| Assignment | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Essay 1 | 10% |
| Essay 2 | 20% |
| Essay 3 | 30% |
| Informal Writing Assignments (e.g., assignment reflections) | 10% |
| Annotated Bibliography | 10% |
| Discussion Groups | 15% |
| Reflective Essay | 5% |
- 90%+ = A
- 80%+ = B
- 70%+ = C
- 60%+ = D
- <60% = F
Late Assignments
General Thoughts on my Late Policy
I have tried many different policies for late work — everything from refusing all late work, to accepting all late work with no penalty. Students have made it clear that they need something in between; they need some flexibility, for when life gets in the way of school; but they also need deadlines, so they don’t put things off for so long that they can’t catch up. So I’ve developed a policy that falls somewhere in the middle.
But here’s the most important thing: I am willing to work with you, as long as you contact me. This is especially true in these uncertain COVID times; many lives have been completely upended, and many that are fine now might run into serious problems sometime during the semester.
So please keep in touch. If you think your situation requires that you’ll be late with an assignment, let me know. As I said, I’m willing to work with you. But I need you to let me know what you need.
Major Essay Assignments
For the three major essay assignments, I lower an essay’s grade one-third of a letter for each day that it is late.
For example: assume an essay would have received a B+ if it had been turned in on time. It was due Friday, by 11:59 p.m.
- If it were turned in Saturday (one day late), it would receive a B;
- If it were turned in Monday (three days late), it would receive a C+
- If it were turned in the following Friday (seven days late), it would receive a D.
Note that even an “F” is better than nothing, in two senses: first, as I mentioned above, you can’t pass the class if you don’t turn in all three major essay assignments; second, an “F” may count for as many as 55 points, which is significantly more than 0 points.
Other Assignments
Many assignments are only useful if they’re done more or less on time. Discussion Group Assignments will often ask you to respond to your peers’ writing, and they will not benefit from your response if you wait too long. The Annotated Bibliography asks you to process research in preparation for your third essay, and putting that off to the end of the semester negates any value the assignment offers.
In cases like this, I will most often wait a few days after the due date to grade the assignment. But once I grade it, it will be closed, and I will no longer accept late work for that assignment.
However, as I said above, I’m willing to work with you if you have a good reason for being late. But please keep in touch. It is your responsibility to contact me.
End-of-semester Deadline
At some point, I need to wrap everything up and turn in grades. Thus, I have an end-of-semester deadline, which is the last day I will accept any work. Generally, this is early during Finals Week.
Given the past two semesters’ uncertainty around COVID, I’ve had to extend that deadline, so I don’t want to set a date that I’ll later need to change. I will make sure to announce that specific end-of-semester deadline in several Announcements as we approach the end of the semester.
The Main Takeaway
The most important thing I want you to hear: I see due dates as guard rails; they’ll designed to help you keep on track. They are not meant to be opportunities to punish you. So I am willing to be flexible.
This is dangerous, though. Every time a student turns in an assignment late, it usually means she starts the next assignment late as well. That can add up over the course of the semester. And I don’t know about you, but when I get overwhelmed, I procrastinate even more, which makes things worse.
So do your best to keep up with the pace of the course. But if you find you need to turn an assignment in late, please contact me (in advance, if possible). I’m happy to work with you — but I can’t work with you if you won’t keep in touch.
Next up: Resources
The next section is about resources that you might find helpful.