Below will appear the text of the assignment sheet for the Project Evaluation Memo (PEM), adapted for online presentation. This version is to be considered authoritative, superseding any previously published information regarding the PEM.
Note that while the PEM itself is a daily assignment, it directly impacts students’ professionalism grades; students are advised to treat it seriously.
Assessment is part of any sustained project, and the collaborative project that produces both the IP and EAR is certainly sustained. As such, it benefits from assessment, both so that students can reflect upon what they have learned from the experience of conducting the project and so that instructors can refine it for later semesters. It is to those ends that the PEM is directed.
The PEM should take the form of a somewhat extended memorandum, no more than three pages in length. The required subject line is "ENGL 3323 Collaborative Project Evaluation Memo." Its content should consist of the following, working from the course packet, pgs. 36-37:
A brief paragraph (two to three sentences in length) noting the group members, title and description of the project, and purpose of the memorandum;
A paragraph assessing the topic and scope of the project as a whole, at a minimum addressing the questions listed in the course packet under “Evaluation of Project Topic and Scope”;
A paragraph assessing the effectiveness of the group as a whole in executing the project, at a minimum addressing the questions listed in the course packet under “Evaluation of the Project”;
A paragraph for each group member, including yourself, that
Reports the overall performance of the group member, including such concerns as role in the group, punctuality, preparedness; and
Asserts the percentage of effort contributed by that group member relative to the other members of the group. That is, if Member A only did half as much work as did Members B and C, Member A should be assessed at 50%. It is this number which, if substantiated by earlier reports (the series of EARPRs), will be used to determine forty percent of the students’ professionalism scores, per the course syllabus. Where substantiated by the EARPRs, responses may also be used to adjust scores on the IP and EAR retroactively, per program dicta.
A copy of the grading rubric that will be appended to the PEM when it is returned to the student appears here. Scoring of the PEM will be determined according to the following criteria:
Format (3 points)
Does the PEM display appropriate type-face, interlinear and inter-paragraph spacing, and captioning and transmittal information as indicated in the course textbook and class discussion? Does it conform to the length and distribution requirements expressed above? Is it submitted in one of the requested file formats?
Content (5 points)
Does the PEM contain the requested information, as noted above? Is that content sufficient to address the needs of the reader (i.e., determining the overall group performance on the collaborative project)? Is the required subject line in place?
Mechanics (2 points)
Does the PEM adhere to the conventions of academic American English expressed in the course textbook and discussed during class time? Does it observe diction, register, and tone reasonably appropriate to professional discourse, such as can be reasonably expected of students in an upper-division English class?
The PEM is to be submitted as a .doc, .docx, or .rtf file via D2L dropbox before the beginning of class time on 27 April 2015. It is a 10-point daily assignment. As usual, any outside information must be accounted for appropriately, and failure to do so will prompt investigations for plagiarism.
Note that the PEM is an individual assignment. Each student is expected to submit a unique document.
More information may be forthcoming. Check back for updates.