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Assignments and Grading

Your course grade will be calculated according to the combination of percentages from your portfolio, major writing assignments, small-stakes writing assignments, and daily writing/class participation. Final grades will be determined using a ten point scale and derived from the following percentages: 50% Portfolio, 30% Homework, Classwork, and Blogs, and 20% Daily Writing and Class Participation. 

The purpose of a portfolio is to allow you to gain some critical distance from your own work and reflect on your growth as a writer. Although the portfolio may serve to showcase your best writing in this class, its greater function is to provide you with a forum to defend the purposeful choices that you make as a writer and consequently, your development as a writer.

 

Your portfolio will be evaluated according to the engagement it demonstrates with all aspects of the class—daily writing, your blog posts, process work, reflection, connections, analysis, etc.—not just the polished drafts.

 

We will discuss the evaluation with more detail; however, it is never too early to start organizing portfolio materials and your thoughts about writing.

e-Portfolio aka Writer's Website
Personal Literacy Narrative & Analysis

This essay invites you to explore and reflect on your life story as a literate person whether that be traditional literacy or multiple literacies (digital, cultural, civic, etc.)  How has literacy constructed your identity in the past, how has it situated you in the present, and how will it continue to develop with you in the future?

 

Additionally, the essay asks you to connect your personal history as a reader and composer of meaning  to the values of the culture and communities that surround you now and in the future.  In your essay, you will focus on some connection between your own literacy experience and the values of the communities, cultures, and discourses with which you are involved. We are exploring how literacy and identity are connected and constructed in today's world. 

How is everything graded?

 

50% Portfolio | 30% Classwork/Homework | 20% Participation

 

The majority of your grade for this class will come from your portfolio, which will have all of your finished pieces as well as extensive reflection and work from over the course of the semester. We will begin these websites at the beginning of the semester and will use them weekly. 

 

Aside from the portfolio, you will also be given smaller assignments (forums, reflections, responses, blog posts, etc.) that build into the major assignments. These smaller assignments will not have the benefit of a required drafting process; therefore, you must be assiduous in your completion of these “smaller” assignments. You will be graded on these small-stakes or homework assignments on a four-tiered quality scale (Awesome, Darn good, Meh, and  Not so Much). 

Awesome! (100): You have really expressed yourself in a way that shows deep engagement with the topic, a clear understanding of what you were trying to accomplish, taken some risks perhaps with your writing by trying out new forms, and/or have made some real discoveries while writing the piece. This is top-notch thinking and writing.

 

Darn Good (90): You have produced writing that shows thoughtfulness, care, and attention to the assignment, but is perhaps less engaging than what an Awesome piece may be.

 

Meh (80): You clearly understand the assignment but you could have done so more thoughtfully--with more attention, intention, or rigor.

 

Not So Much (60): You need to come talk to me. Either you didn't understand the assignment, or you didn't try very hard. Either way, we need to chat. Make an appointment to do so.

 

***If you fail to turn in the assignment or completely miss the mark, then you will receive no credit for the assignment. 

Pop Culture/Digital Rhetorical Analysis
Genre Re-Mix or Mash-Up

In class, we will analyze how rhetoric is present in everything that surrounds us from the way that we dress to the things that we buy to the things that we see. For this assignment, I would like for you to explore and analyze your understanding of rhetoric and its presence in our everyday lives. You will choose a text that uses both words and "not words" to convey a particular message to its audience. The final draft of your rhetorical analysis will be in the form of a digital essay. 

 

 

The final major assignment that you will complete will be a cooperative one. With a partner or in a group of three, you will be exploring the function and conventions of genre. As a group, you will locate and choose a particular genre that has very recognizable conventions and perform a genre analysis. Then, you will remediate that genre in a new fashion. 

 

This assignment will be both multimodal and cooperative.

The Drafting Process:

 

As you work through the process of writing, you will be turning in drafts of your various assignments. Although you will earn points of credit for each assignment, keep in mind that writing is a process and you will gain points as you take part in that evaluation process. Each draft that you turn in will be given two grades: a completion grade and an evaluation grade. The completion grade will be “all-or-nothing” for every draft: if you turn it in according to guidelines, you receive full credit; if you fall short of guidelines, you receive no credit. The evaluation grade will be given in my comments on your revised draft for each assignment as well as be recorded on Moodle.

Ongoing Reading:

 

You will also be involved in a process of reading as you work through your writing process. You are responsible for bringing any required reading with you to class every day. Please keep in mind that we are reading to understand what the writer is doing with his text; therefore, it is imperative that you take notes as you read!!! If we are using ancillary texts, then you are responsible for printing, reading, annotating, and bringing the material to class with you.

 

After each reading you will be required to respond to the material through homework assignments, discussion forums, your daily writing notebook, or reading evaluations/reading quizzes. Your grades for these reading assignments will be reflected in your small stakes/homework grade or in your daily participation grade if given in class.

Writing Groups:

 

Throughout the semester, you will be asked to work in various writing groups. You will learn how to offer helpful feedback to other people’s writing as well as receive feedback from the other members. You are responsible for your group members just as they are responsible for you; the effort that you put in to the group will be equal to what you get out of the process. Active and focused interaction is the key to the process. The effort that you put forth in the Writing Groups will be reflected in your Class Participation grade.

Class Participation:

 

I believe that a class should have a comfortable but focused atmosphere; however, this cannot be achieved unless everyone in class is committed to certain standards of behavior and engagement. Students must show RESPECT at all times. Every classroom participant must demonstrate respect and understanding toward me, other classmates, new ideas, and the materials that we are reading. (Just because you don’t agree with something does not mean that it isn’t valid or inherently valuable). Class discussion is not intended to make you believe in something specific, but rather to make you question, think, and ultimately know. Coming to class is important, but it is not enough.

 

The participation grade will be based not only on your daily presence, but also your level of focus and preparation. Preparation includes, of course, reading and your ability to engagingly respond to that reading both in the classroom and in online discussions. Rigor is the differentiating factor in curriculum, instruction, and assessment between a composition course in college and your previous classes. Determination and diligence are expected, whereas laziness and apathy are not tolerated.

Additional Info

Portfolio Anchor
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