This page outlines how your learning in this class will be assessed. You'll receive a lot more information about how to complete these assessments in class and through our Canvas page.
Attendance is required in this course. Your first three absences count as "freebies". You should save these for emergencies and illnesses since there are no excused absences outside of religious holidays in this class! After the first three absences, each absence will decrease your attendance score by 3 points out of 15. Once all of your attendance points are depleted (i.e. after 8 absences) you will automatically fail the course.
Much of this class will be devoted to in-class discussion, and you will be rewarded for contributing to that discussion with thoughtful and well-prepared interventions. Engagement points will be awarded as follows and will be posted as part of your midterm grade to notify you of your standing in the class; however, you will still have an opportunity to change your engagement grade by the end of the semester. I'm always happy to talk about your performance in the class, so please get in touch if you'd like to learn how to improve this part of your grade.
12/12: You come prepared to class and are quick to join conversations and ask questions. Your interventions in the class are not off-topic, often responding to what others have said, and encourage thinking by your classmates. Although you may not always understand everything you've read, you are curious and eager to learn from discussion. You participate actively in group work and always bring in the required preparatory work.
9/12: You come prepared to class and often join in class conversations. Although you may sometimes make comments or ask questions that derail our converations, it is clear you are interested and invested in the course material. Although you may not always understand everything you've read, you are curious and eager to learn from discussion. You participate actively in group work and almost always bring in the required preparatory work.
6/12: Although you may come prepared to class, you struggle joining in class conversations and sit quietly and attentively while listening to your classmates meaning your preparation doesn't always benefit the rest of the class. You participate in group work, but may take a backseat, relying on the preparation of others rather than providing your own perspective. You sometimes fail to bring your preparatory work for skills workshops.
3/12: You don't seem to prepare for class or take an interest in joining our class discussion. You are often distracted. You may occasionally make comments, but they don't reflect a strong engagement with the readings and may derail the course of our conversation. You make little effort in group work and usually don't bring in the assigned preparatory work.
0/12: There is no evidence that you do the readings prior to class. You rarely participate in class and do not participate in group work.
Much of the work of this class is reading and preparing for class discussions. Some students feel as though they do this work without it being acknowledged, especially if they don't do as well as they would like on the essays and midterms. In order to reward you for your reading habits, you'll complete a Reading Accountability Quiz for each day of reading. The quiz will be administered on Canvas and will be 5 questions long. These questions will not ask you to analyze the reading, they will simply ask you about major plot points or facts about the texts (Where does it take place? What is the name of a major character?) The quizzes will "open" when I send the weekly email on Fridays and be due at the start of class on the day that the readings are due. Be sure to complete the reading prior to opening the quiz, as you will only have 5 minutes to complete the quiz once it is open. There are 30 days of readings, so there will be 30 quizzes; your lowest 4 quiz grades will be dropped.
At the beginning of the semester you will sign up for two weeks in which you will write a short essay (750-1000 words) on one of our readings for that week. These essays are due to the Canvas site by midnight on Sundays for the week you have signed up for. The first essay will focus on the skills of close reading, and the second essay will combine comparison with the skill of close reading. Each essay is worth 10% of the final grade. You will find prompts and guidelines on the essay prompts posted on Canvas. Although I will not read entire essays in office hours, I am happy to discuss and workshop your thesis statement with you.
Late Policy for Essays: Because these posts are tied to specific weeks, I won’t be able to grant extensions. If you miss your sign up date, I will send you an email asking you to sign up for a new date. There is no grade penalty for switching weeks, but you will not receive written feedback on your essay (although I'm always happy to talk about your work in office hours).
The midterm will take place after the first two units. It will be open book, open note, and untimed. The aim of the midterm is to show your understanding of the concepts discussed in Units 1 and 2, demonstrate close readings of the texts from those units, and make connections between the material. The format will be several short (one paragraph) answers, and a longer essay (750-1000 words) similar to the close reading essay that you will have already completed.
In the final exam period of this class you'll write a short (at least 300 word) assessment essay. This assessment is mandatory across all sections of this course and is intended to assess your writing and critical thinking ability.
There will be 3 google surveys throughout the course of the semester: an Introductory Survey, a Midterm Survey, and an Exit Survey. These surveys have two purposes: first, to help me understand your experience of the class and learn more about you, and, second, to urge you to reflect on what you are learning and how you can get the most out of this class. These surveys are all or nothing--either you complete them by the due date and receive full credit (1 point toward the final grade), or you don't complete them and you receive a 0. There are no extensions on surveys.
Taking good notes is a skill that is not often taught, but is essential for your success in this (and likely other) classes. To encourage you to take notes during classtime, as well as during your reading, you will receive extra credit (up to 10 points on the midterm and the final exam) if you turn in your class and reading notes. These can be typed or written by hand, and they can be formatted according to whatever works for you. However, I should be able to easily and quickly find notes for a given class day or a given text. The extra credit will be assessed based on the completeness/thoroughness of your notes (covering all class days and texts). If the notes are digital you can email them to be by the midterm and final due dates for extra credit. If they are not digital, you should make an appointment to show me your notebook before the midterm and final due dates.
The final exam will take place at the end of the semester. It will be open book, open note, and untimed. The aim of the final is to show your understanding of the concepts discussed throughout the semester, demonstrate close readings of the texts from those units, and make connections between the material. The format will be several short (one paragraph) answers, and a longer essay (750-1000 words) similar to the comparative reading essay that you will have already completed.