course policies and grading

Grading Policies

We have adopted a process and progress-based approach to grading in Introduction to Critical Studies. This means that your grade will be based entirely on your active engagement with the writing process as a means to deepen learning about course content and develop your voice as a critical writer. We ask that you show up (literally) and that you put in the work on the assignments--using in-class activities and feedback from peers and TAs to guide you through the stages of the writing process on each paper. If you are someone who has previously written papers the night before they are due, this class will ask you to slow down and reflect on writing as an iterative process that includes time for feedback from readers and revision. Therefore, our grading system focuses on your work through each stage of the writing process on each paper and your individual progress as a writer. This is a process-over-product philosophy that matches the tradition of radical pedagogy at CalArts. We hope this will create a context of personal exploration and risk-taking in your critical writing practice.

In the first week of class, you will be asked in your TA sections to complete a grading agreement form, where you will select one of the following outcomes as an intended goal for your work in this class this semester. Here are the requirement for each grading outcome:

To receive a High Pass grade in the class:

• Submission of a complete draft essay of that meets the word count and other assignment guidelines for all three essay assignments

• Submission of a substantive* revision of the draft that responds to and incorporates peer, TA, and/or writing center consultant feedback*, as well as students own reflection for all three essay assignments

• No more than three unexcused absences in either lecture or section, see attendance policy for more information

• Completes all nine of the weekly reading reading response assignments by their section due date

• Completes both the initial course intention statement and the final course reflection assignments.

To receive a Pass grade in the class:

• Submission of a complete draft essay of that meets the word count and other assignment guidelines for all three essay assignments

• Submission of a substantive revision of the draft that responds to and incorporates peer, TA, and/or writing center consultant feedback, as well as students own reflection for at least two essay assignments

• No more than three unexcused absences in either lecture or section, see attendance policy for more information

• Completes at least six of the nine of the weekly reading reading response assignments by their section due date

• Completes both the initial course intention statement and the final course reflection assignments.

To receive a Low Pass grade in the class:

• Submission of a complete draft essay of that meets the word count and other assignment guidelines for two essay assignments

• Submission of a substantive revision of the draft that responds to and incorporates peer, TA, and/or writing center consultant feedback, as well as students own reflection for at least one essay assignment

• No more than three unexcused absences in either lecture or section, see attendance policy for more information

• Completes at least three of the nine of the weekly reading reading response assignments by their section due date

• Completes both the initial course intention statement and the final course reflection assignments.

To receive an Incomplete grade in the class, students may only have one outstanding paper and have completed all of the other requirements for at least a Low Pass grade. In this class, an Incomplete does not expire: once the final missing assignment is submitted, the grade will be revised to LP, P, or HP accordingly.

ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION

This class is designed to be a community-based learning venture: engaging in lectures, section and peer review with your fellow classmates is as important as doing the reading and completing the assignments. Therefore maintaining regular attendance is required to pass the course. The TAs will take attendance in both lecture and section. If a student has more than three unexcused absences in lecture or section, they cannot receive a passing grade in the course. If there is a serious illness or other unforeseen event that during the semester that results in more than three absences, please notify your TA in order to seek a qualified exemption to the attendance policy.

Excused Absences

If you have any COVID symptoms, or have tested positive for COVID within 7 days of the class, you should notify your TA and then stay home and isolate until you have a negative COVID test. In order for this absence to be excused, you will need to do the following for each component of the course missed:

For lecture absence: view the recording of lecture available on the Canvas platform (ask you TA for help if you have trouble finding the recordings) and email your TA a one paragraph summary of the lecture, including answering any questions the lecturing faculty posed to the class.

For section absence:

Schedule a virtual one on one session with a tutor in the Writing Center and use that session to make progress on the essay assignment you are working on at the time. Once you have completed this, send your TA an email describing what you discussed in the session and which tutor you met with.

Feedback and Substantive Revision

The primary learning philosophy of this class is that writers develop and progress through a process of receiving quality feedback and revising their initial draft in ways that respond to that feedback. (Note: responding to feedback does not mean you necessarily always follow the reader's advice, but you at least consider why they may be asking you to change something.)

As you work on your own essays and give feedback on your peer essays, we will all share the following rubric to guide our shared work in developing critical writing skills:

Plagiarism

Critical Studies endeavors to teach students the essential skills and basic ethics involved in any academic enquiry. To this end, we are committed to observing the policy on plagiarism set out in the CalArts Course Catalog. This stipulates that plagiarism is the use of ideas and/or quotations (from the internet, books, films, television, newspapers, articles, the work of other students, works of art, media, etc.) without proper credit to the author/artist. Critical Studies holds to the view that plagiarism constitutes intellectual theft and is a serious breach of acceptable conduct. It is also the policy of CalArts that students who misrepresent source material as their own original work and fail to credit it have committed plagiarism and are subject to disciplinary action. If you have any questions regarding plagiarism or want direction on how to credit source material, please talk to your TA and/or make an appointment to visit Writing Center.

Additionally, this class will use the plagiarism detection platform Turnitin.com for all student writing in the course in order to both prevent plagiarism, but also to help students to easily gauge how much their essays depending on other sources and to help verify that those sources have been cited appropriately.

ACCOMMODATIONS AND ACCESSIBILITY

Services for Students with Disabilities

CalArts will provide reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities who have registered with the Student Affairs office. Registration with the Office of Student Affairs is on a voluntary, self-identifying basis. Services are available only after a student has presented certified, current documentation of the disability from an appropriate medical or educational specialist, and this documentation has been reviewed and accepted as complete. Please go to http://calarts.edu/student-services/disabilities for extensive information on services for students with disabilities.

Accessibility of Readings and Videos

All required course reading and videos will be made available in formats accessible to vision and hearing impaired students. Please do not hesitate to contact your TA or instructor if you encounter course materials that are not accessible.