Course Evaluation

EVALUATION OF YOUR WORK:

Because this is a graduate course, I want you to focus on learning and not get distracted by “getting a grade.” For that reason, you are given the opportunity to revise your major written enterprises to a place where you are pleased with the results. In order to pass this course, each of your written assignments must achieve an “ACCEPTABLE” level of achievement.

Keeping a standard of competence in writing, reading, and thinking at the university in mind, I will assign one of three categories to all major assignments (case study drafts, teaching artifact, and mentor text prompts. They are:

“Revision Needed”

Work that is marked in this category requires revision in order to strengthen meaning, to correct errors in print code conventions, or to strengthen its adherence to the appropriate forms of the academy. Please bear in mind that most first drafts require revisions because they are usually unpolished drafts in which the writer is working out his or her ideas. This is true for writers on ALL LEVELS and is not a sign of deficiency.

You must revise any "Revision Needed" work until it receives an "ACCEPTABLE" moniker.

“Acceptable”

Work that is marked in this category has achieved the following:

a clearly- focused idea

exhibits thoughtful organization and attention to the reader's needs

adherence to the conventions of the print code

adherence to appropriate forms of the academy

uses research and experts' views to strengthen its points

This does not mean that an "accept" paper is perfect or even exceptional. It means that this paper has achieved its goals competently, without serious errors, which may impede a reader's understanding. If you receive an Accept and on all your papers and complete the other enterprises of the course, your grade will be a C or better. (The difference between the B and C is the quality of your writing and other work in the course.)

“Distinction”

A paper that is marked in this category exceeds the criteria for an "acceptable" paper. In this paper, careful attention is given to shaping the reader's experience with the text in its style and arrangement. Although there are many things, which set an outstanding paper apart from an acceptable one, the biggest difference is a matter of the clarity of expression and organization and the depth and complexity of the ideas expressed. Outstanding papers are end products of lot of thinking, wrestling, and work on writing. A paper that achieves this category exhibits the following:

excellent organization and expression of ideas

expresses the relationships between ideas fluently and creatively

evinces originality and depth of thought

demonstrates a grasp of audience, purpose, and constraints of the rhetorical situation

demonstrates superior mastery of the print code and other conventions of written discourse

goes above and beyond in all course expectations.