This syllabus was developed to be a three credit/hours course that meets twice a week, allows a maximum of 100 students, and has a TA to help handling grading and basic organization in the classroom.

Regular form of assessment

At the end of each class I will give the students the opportunity to write a short question (and respective answer) related to a topic covered during the class, which they would like to see in their exams. The idea behind this assessment is to keep the students focused in the class content, as well as have feedback about their performance during the class. These questions and answers have to be submitted on BBL by the hour of the following class in a discussion board, opened to all students. The idea is promote a collaborative space in which students can share punctual aspects of the topics covered in each class and create a collaborative study guide throughout the semester. Grading will be based on completion; participation in the discussion board will account for 10% of their final grade. Furthermore, I would let them know that 2 of theses questions will be included in their exams.

Final Form of assessment

At the end of each module of the course there will be a partial exam covering the topics of the specific field of Anthropology (Linguistics, Biological, Cultural and Archaeology). The exams will be based on lectures, readings and videos. Some will be directed at reading comprehension; students will need to read all assigned readings, even if it is not emphasized in class. Each partial exam will consist of four sections: Scantron section (20 questions in total, 5 T/F, 15 multiple choice) representing 10% of the exam grade; definitions section (4 terms to be defined in 3-5 sentences, mentioning the application of the term to the course) representing 20% of the exam grade; short answers (2 questions to be developed in answers of short 1-2 paragraphs, synthesizing the main idea of the question and making direct references to topics covered in class) representing 20% of the exam grade; long answers (1 question to be developed in 3-4 paragraphs, demonstrating the capacity of synthesizing a topic and expanding its definition and concept as discussed in the class to a newly-introduced study case) representing 30% of the exam grade. On the class before each of these partial exams, there will be a class dedicated to review the content. In this class students will receive a printed copy of a study guide and instructions for the development of a 5-6 paragraph essay based on four readings of their choice covered during the module. The essay is due on the day of the exam (two days later) and represents 20% of the exam grade. The topic of the essay will be voted in class out of 3 options. All students must submit papers based on the topic elected in class.

The rubrics for grading the paper (based on the Anthropology Term Papers Grading Rubric available at https://learning.hccs.edu/faculty/robert.marcom) will be shared with students as a printed copy and available on BBL. The grading rubric used will be the Grading Rubric for Papers (79-201) by Marie Norman, Introduction to Anthropology, Carnegie Mellon University (available here), as follows:

College papers are an important product of your education. College level writing ability is an expected skill and so should be practiced by students. Term papers are an opportunity for each student to demonstrate understanding of a topic, mastery of research skills and the ability to communicate at a professional level. The grade for your term paper will be decided according to the following rubric:

Percentages Assigned

Citations and attributions: 30%.

• Minimum 3 sources cited (one may be your textbook)
• Use proper APA citation format (American Psychological Association)
• Attributions for each citation properly formatted in text

Fonts and page layout: 30%.

• 12 point font, Times New Roman or Arial only
• Five full pages in length with no extra spaces or lines
• Double-spaced with 1 inch margins
• Title and headings properly formatted

Content: 30%.

• Full treatment of topic
• Topic thesis is supported by citations
• Conclusion(s) and summary are supported by previous text

Grammar and creativity: 10%.

• Creativity and originality of content (content - not cosmetics )
• No gimmicks, such as fancy fonts, colored fonts, glitter, smiley faces, etc.
• Length: Papers should be 5 full pages, not including title page, or references cited page.

Process

The topic must be the one voted in class.

A single-paragraph summary is also required. Write a single paragraph of less than 150 words summarizing your topic.

Complete and submit your paper by the due day on the hour of the exam class.

Late papers will receive ½ credit as determined by the rubric stated above. Papers submitted after 6 PM of the exam day will not be accepted.