Grading Information and Grading Contract

During each assignment cycle, you will be required to submit ancillary work related to the thematic (reading responses, reflections on concepts in the course, etc.), process work (invention materials, peer review responses, self-assessments, etc.) and drafts-in-progress of your essays (rough drafts, revised drafts, etc.).

These ancillary assignments should represent your "good-faith effort" to complete the assignment as described and on time. Typically, ancillary assignments should be submitted on Blackboard by the beginning of the class period for which they're assigned. If I have not specified a specific time for submission, assume that you should submit it by then.

Generally speaking, I will not provide written feedback on your ancillary work. However, I will attempt to maintain updated documentation of your progress in completing that work.

I will use the following marks to indicate your score for each ancillary assignment:

G (good): you completed the ancillary assignment on time and with clear good-faith effort
L (late): you submitted the ancillary assignment late. Ancillary work that receives a mark of L will be counted as "Late Ancillary Work" for the Grading Contract.
U (unsatisfactory): you submitted the ancillary assignment on time but the work was deemed lacking in regard to the expectations for the assignment (e.g., you submitted a 100-word reading response but were asked to submit a 300-word response). Ancillary work that receives a mark of U will be counted as a "Lapse in Good Faith Effort" for the Grading Contract; however, it may be possible to resubmit an ancillary assignment that received a mark of U for late ancillary (L) credit; this may be helpful if you are trying to reduce the number of lapses you have accrued. If you receive a mark of U and would like to resubmit, please contact me ASAP to arrange for that.
M (missing): you did not submit the ancillary assignment or submitted it after the final draft deadline for the project during which it was assigned. Ancillary work that receives a mark of M will be counted as a "Lapse in Good Faith Effort" for the Grading Contract.

Writing Project 1-3 Final Draft Grades

In addition to written feedback on your work, I will provide a letter grade for each final draft of Writing Projects 1, 2, and 3. This grade does not factor into your final course grade; instead, it is intended to provide an approximation of how your final draft would be graded using the WRIT 150 General Evaluation Rubric.

Final Portfolio and Grading

The Final Portfolio for WRIT 150 serves as a replacement for a Final Exam in the course. The portfolio consists of your Final Draft of Writing Project 4 and an additional component (as of the writing of this syllabus that additional component will likely be one of the other projects in the course that has been further revised from the original final draft submission based on my feedback and your own ideas about how to revise/improve the work).

Writing Project Four and the Additional Portfolio Component will be graded separately using letter grades and the WRIT 150 rubric; these scores will be calculated into a Final Portfolio Grade. The specific weighting of each element of the Final Portfolio will be determined collectively during the final project cycle.

Plagiarism Issues and Grading

In the event that one or more assignments are considered to be evidence of plagiarism or academic dishonesty, the terms of the Grading Contract may be suspended to reflect the recommendations of the instructor and Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards (SJACS) for that infraction.

About the Grading Contract

This section of WRIT 150 will be assessed using a contract grading model of writing assessment.

Simply put, this model of the grading contract guarantees a grade of “B” for all students who complete the expected labor for the class. You must submit the work for the class in a timely manner and put in a “good faith effort" toward all the assignments (including participation in class activities).

So long as you turn in all assigned work (essays and ancillary assignments), attend and participate regularly, and meet the expectations of the Grading Contract listed below, you are guaranteed a minimum grade of “B” for the semester, regardless of the grades earned on your final draft submissions and the final portfolio. This minimum grade is designed to acknowledge the labor that you put into the course.

To earn a grade higher than a "B," your performance for the Final Portfolio assignment will determine the final course grade that you receive. For example, if you receive a grade of a B+ for the Final Portfolio and are otherwise in good standing with the Grading Contract, your final course grade will be a B+

Grading Contract Components

The Grading Contract Model is one that may be unfamiliar to you prior to your enrollment in this class, but the premise is fairly straightforward: show up, do the work, and you pass the class. It’s designed to help alleviate some of the stress you may encounter in a traditional grading model for a writing class.

As we’ll discuss, because the goal of this class is improvement rather than content mastery, your prior experiences with writing may significantly impact your initial performance in the course.

When I say show up and do the work, the main areas for grading consideration are thus:

· Engagement with class discussions and activities (attendance & participation)

· Timely and satisfactory completion of ancillary “homework” assignments (including process documents)

· Timely submission of final drafts

This model requires you to stay on top of daily course work, and we’ll work together to try to ensure all students find success in this model.

Official Grading Contract for WRIT 150

THIS CONTRACT guarantees a minimum grade of B for students who meet the following conditions:

Definition of Terms:

1. Attendance:

Any absence other than those described as "excused absences" below will be counted as an "unexcused absence."

“Excused absences” refers to absences that are related to university-sanctioned events (such as athletic contests or religious holidays). Documentation having to do with excused absences needs to be submitted to me within one week of the absence. Please note that documenting excused absences is essential in the event that you exceed four absences during the semester; additional accommodation may be possible to ensure your standing

If you satisfactorily complete a make-up attendance assignment (see Course Policies section for details), your absence will be nullified. If you miss the agreed-upon deadline for submitting a make-up attendance assignment (typically 72 hours after the missed class period), the unexcused absence will be counted.

2. Tardiness:

Timely and full attendance of class periods is critical to the work of the course. If you arrive to class more than 15 minutes after our scheduled start time or more than 15 minutes before the end of the class session, you will be counted as tardy. Accruing three tardy marks will count as one absence; no make-up attendance work will be offered for absences due to tardiness. If you have concerns about other commitments that may cause you to regularly arrive to class late or need to leave early, contact me as soon as you are able to discuss those concerns.

3. Late or Missing Essays (Final Drafts)

You must complete all four of the major essay assignments for class as well as all components of the final portfolio, and they must be handed in on time. Final draft due dates are assigned a window of time in which you must submit. If you submit your final draft after that window closes, it will be counted as Late.

Bear in mind that you must submit all the essays to pass the course. If one or more late essays are missing on the last day of class (December 2 at the 5:00 p.m.), you will not be able to pass WRIT 150.

4. Late Ancillary Work

You must complete all of the smaller writing assignments and tasks, including practice heuristics, reading responses, stylistic exercises, and so on. This work needs to be submitted on time, too. Ancillary work will be counted as late if you do not submit on Blackboard by the specified deadline.

You may not submit ancillary work after the final deadline window of the project during which it was assigned is closed; any work not received in by the close of the assignment cycle will count as a lapse in good faith effort (for example, you cannot turn in a reading response assigned during WP2 after WP2 final drafts are due).

5. Good Faith Effort

All your work needs to show signs that you are putting in serious and focused effort. This means that you need to be an active participant in class and a good colleague for your fellow students (especially during peer review activities). It also means that your written work should meet the length requirements, and meet the expectations for the assignment prompt. Even if you submit an assignment on time, if it does not demonstrate careful effort on your part, I may mark is as a lapse in good faith effort. If you do not submit an ancillary it will count as a lapse in Good Faith Effort.

Grading Breakdown

As indicated at the beginning of this contract, if you meet the expectations of the contract, you will receive a semester grade of B for WRIT 150. If you do not meet those guidelines, your final grade will be deducted accordingly:

Grading Breakdown

*Numbers in parentheses in the “Late Essays” column refer to any essays that still haven’t been submitted on the last day of class.

Note that penalties indicated on the table are cumulative. So, if you have 5 lapses in good faith effort (3 steps), plus a late essay (2 steps), your final grade will be reduced by 5 steps from your Final Portfolio grade. Or, if you have 4 absences (2 steps), plus 4 late ancillary assignments (2 steps), your final grade will be reduced by 4 steps (so B+ on Final Portfolio would result in a Final Course Grade of C). If you are in good standing with the grading contract by the completion of the course, your grade will not be lower than a B regardless of your Final Portfolio grade.

For Grades of B+, A-, and A: These grades will be given to students based on assessment of the Final Portfolio. Starting in the last project cycle of the semester, we will, as a class, review and discuss the WRIT 150 General Evaluation Rubric in the Writing 150 Course Book to discuss how final grades will be determined.

Final Grade Determination Using Grade Deductions: In the event that your standing according to the Grading Contract means that your final grade will be deducted for an infraction, I will make the following determinations in assigning the final course grade you receive: if your grade for the Final Portfolio is higher than a B, I will lower the grade by the number of steps indicated by the table above. That is to say, if you were to receive an A on the Final Portfolio but had two grade deductions, your final grade would be a B+. However, if the deduction from your Final Portfolio score would result in a grade lower than the grade indicated in the table above, your Final Course Grade would be the higher of the two scores.

“Eraser” Clause

Each student may have one “Eraser” to use in the event that the expectations for the grading contract are not met. You may use it once at any time during the semester, and it may only be applied to erase a single infraction (meaning that, e.g., you cannot use it to erase 7 absences, or 5 late ancillary assignments, but you may erase one step deduction).

Accommodations to this Contract

I want you to succeed in this course. If you feel that you will be unable to meet the expectations of this grading contract for any reason, please contact me to discuss how I may be able to accommodate any special learning considerations.

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