English 160 Grading System

160 Grading System

There are 300 possible points.
285 - 300 = A
270 - 284 = A-
259 - 269 = B+
248 - 258 = B
237 - 247 = B-

226 - 236 = C+
215 - 225 = C
204 - 214 = C-
193 - 203 = D+
182 - 192 = D
171 - 181 = D-
170 or less =F

60 points for impromptu quizzes throughout the term
There will be random quizzes throughout the semester to evaluate if/how well people are reading the assignments. If you need any sort of special accommodation for in class writing, you will need to let me know that at the beginning of the term. In addition to encouraging attendance and reading, I'm hoping these will provide fruitful beginnings to our conversations. If the assigned readings are handouts, it is your responsibility to have those available to you in class.( 60pts)

6 points for responding to each week's assigned readings in a Reader Response Page (RRP). Each of these will be typed, double spaced, and must be a minimum of 1 full pages in length (no larger than 12 pt font/ margins no more than 1 inch please!). For each reader response, you will reflect thoughtfully on the readings for that class and develop your questions, understandings, confusions, dislikes, etc. You will not need to deal with all the reading assignments in each response, rather I would like you to focus on the material in each selection of readings which most attracts your interests. Tangents, asides, connections are all pertinent and valuable here. You may include a few sentences of summary if you wish, but the whole RRP can not be summary.
(6 pts x 10 RRP s =60 pts)

30 points possible for your Analytic Literary paper
This paper will show your interpretation and analysis of a poem from Literature: Craft and Voice, Volume 2 Poetry which is not on our shared reading schedule. Chapter 17 in that text thoroughly covers writing a paper about a poem and includes thoughtful questions that will help you prepare, along with a model student paper that includes MLA documentation. You will compose a thesis statement which focuses on an aspect or quality you see in the poem you’ve chosen to read and learn more about. This paper will be written formally - that is, it requires a clearly stated thesis, which the rest of the paper will support with clear examples from and observations about the text. Your own thinking should form the center of this paper - it should not simply regurgitate any part of our discussions. Your paper must state clearly a particular point of view about the meaning or quality of the poem you've chosen to work with. I urge you to choose a piece which is NOT on the shared reading schedule. Details on this assignment will be handed out and thoroughly discussed in class. You may get help with your paper from the Writing Center staff in LA 355. Plagiarism (even a little) with this project will result in a zero for your grade. Students who bring a rough draft of their paper to class the day we will spend time workshopping rough drafts will have the option to revise their paper after it is graded. I urge each of you to participate in the workshop that day so that you will have that option.

30 points possible for your Author Presentation
Each of you will do a short presentation on one of the authors we will be studying this term. At the beginning of the course, you will have to select which author you would like to do additional research on. Each presentation will need to demonstrate an awareness of the author's biography, their critics' perceptions, and your own views after reading their work. The purpose of the panel presentation is for each of you in turn share your thoughtful reading and research, and to take responsibility for contributing your understandings, observations, and questions to our discussion.
For the author presentations each panel member will need to have read the author's work prior to that class session, and to have done research on critical, historical or context related material that will add meaning and depth to our work with that author. You may include aspects of biography only as they add a meaningful component to your panel's presentation. Each panel member will present her thoughts to the class informally and will have a mandatory handout for each member of our class which highlights her unique contribution to the group's work. My expectation is that you will create a visually interesting handout. Please do not provide an outline of your presentation as the handout, as that will not serve to engage your audience.
If you could use help with printing out the handouts, please be sure to email your handout to me as an attachment well in advance of your presentation (I would need at least a few hours lead time). I will happily handle the duplication of your handout, if needed.
My expectation is that each presenter will make a clear contribution to our understanding of the author and their work. Each member of the group will be graded on their own merits. On the day of your presentation, you will be responsible for handing in to me a one paragraph summary of your research and your particular contribution to your panel's presentation. Each of these will be approximately 10 - 15 minutes long.

45 points possible for in-class Midterm Exam
This in class midterm exam will cover the material we've covered so far in the term. Again, if you have concerns/issues with in-class writing assignments, you must let me know at the beginning of the term. Special arrangements may be possible to take the midterm in advance of the rest of the group should you have a unique circumstance, but otherwise, failure to attend class the day the exam is given will result in an automatic zero for the assignment.

45 points possible for your Final Exam -
The final exam will be over the entire semester's readings, and it will be a take home essay exam. You will have at least a week to complete the exam, which may not be turned in late. Your responses to the exam will need to be presented in standard college format (12 point-ish font, double-spaced, etc.).

30 points possible for your Final Project - Presentation or Paper
Final projects will be due the last week of class. For this project you will be choosing a play that you will read and learn about, and hopefully have the chance to see in production (even if that just includes You Tube). Your options include any of the plays in Literature: Craft and Voice, Volume 3 Drama, that are not on the shared reading assignment schedule. You also have the option to choose other full length plays by playwrights in our text. Any of the plays of Anton Chekov are options as well. Once you've chosen which play you will be working with, you'll have to decide what focus and/or approach you will take to learn more about the author and/or the play. You have the choice to either create a presentation as an individual or a group, to write a formal paper (along the lines of the paper assignment), or to generate a work (poem, song, play, dance, film, quilt, artwork) which covers your thinking and reflection on the play (and playwright) you've chosen. If you choose to do a presentation, group projects work very well with this assignment - a well organized group can cover more material, more efficiently and creatively. The final projects will be planned, designed and presented to reflect your understandings of the play you choose to read, research, and connect to our other work this semester. Your work may be analytic, informal, creative, critical, visual or artistic. You may include any sort of media you think appropriate. The focus will be on what you learn from and about the piece, and how it connects for you with the work we've covered in class. Each presentation (excluding the formal paper) will need to include a handout. I urge you to consider an informal creative design for this assignment.

These are the possible points for each portion of your required work:

Reading and Responses	60 points
Pop Quizzes	60 points
Author Presentation	30 points
Analytic Literary Paper	30 points
Midterm Exam	45 points
Final Exam	45 points
Final Project	30 points

Total Points Possible	300 points

Please note:

Excessive absences (more than three) or excessive tardiness (more than six) may result in the reduction of your final grade by a full letter grade. Our class will only meet for 45 hours over the course of the semester – so missing class regularly will prevent you from completing the class successfully.

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