Very Important Note:
In order to successfully complete the course, you must complete all major
assignments. Failure to complete ALL of the major projects and AT
LEAST 50% of the exercise posts and peer workshops will result in FAILURE
of the course regardless of mathematical outcome.
Exercise Posts
In order to develop various writing skills throughout the semester,
including brainstorming, MLA Format, thesis development, etc, we will be
doing a number of on-line exercises. The general format of these
exercises will be thus:
-
You will post something in response to
a prompt. Oftentimes, this will be a discussion question or
technical exercise.
-
You will then respond to two of your
group members. For discussion, you can disagree, challenge,
expand upon, etc. For technical exercises, you will most often
suggest ways to improve.
Exercise posts will be graded on the
following:
-
Responsiveness to to topic/directions.
Do you do what the assignment asked you to do? (also posting in the
correct Conference with the correct heading, etc)
-
Responsiveness to to topic/directions.
Do you do what the assignment asked you to do? (also posting in the
correct Conference with the correct heading, etc)
-
Responsiveness to your peers' posts.
Do you give them genuine, interesting, and useful feedback?
-
Thoughtfulness of response.
-
Mechanics (grammar and spelling - your
posts don't need to be perfect, but they need to be comprehensible
(posting in the correct Topic with the correct heading, etc)
Please note that you are always free to
post more than the required minimum if you find yourself engaged in the
discussion. Although no specific extra credit value will be given,
this would be one factor that might tip that balance should your final
grade be on the borderline.
Peer Workshops
Part of becoming a good writer is learning to revise your work
according to feedback. As such, you will be required for every
paper, and for shorter sections of the research paper, to submit a rough
draft, and to read and comment on the drafts of your group members.
Directions will be provided for each workshop. Grades will be based
on:
-
Timely submission of a complete draft. Partial
credit will be given to partial drafts, but in order to receive full
credit, a complete draft must be posted.
-
Thoughtful and helpful critique of your group members'
drafts. Remember: the goal is to help them improve their papers.
"Looks good!" isn't going to cut it.
Participation
Your participation grade will be based on your participation in
classroom activities, both small group and whole class. This grade
will be factored on attentiveness, attention to task, and contribution to
discussion and activities.
Grading Scale
Final grades will be calculated according to a 100
point scale by percentage. Grade percentages are:
Final Grade Breakdown by Percentage:
|
A = 90-100
|
B = 80-89
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C = 70-79
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D = 60-69
|
F = 59 or below
|
Final Grade Breakdown by Points:
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A = 630-700
|
B = 560-629
|
C = 490-559
|
D = 420-489
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F = 419 or below
|