Complete details for all assignments available on WTClass.
Assigned Readings: Do not attempt to complete course assignments without having read the assigned material carefully and completely.
Lesson Materials: Lessons are available in different formats—some mp4 videos, some mp3 files, some PowerPoint, some webpages, and some plain text—depending on the topics we’re discussing at the time. You must learn how to navigate different file types and online media in order to be successful in an online class.
Draft Conferences: You are welcome to schedule a conference with me to discussion your assignments at any time. These will be ungraded conferences, and we can discuss whatever is on your mind about a particular assignment. At certain points in the semester, I may assign draft conferences for a grade. If I do, I will make details and grading rubric available on WTClass.
Comprehension Checks (10% of final course grade): Comprehension checks (CCs) are exactly what they sound like: an opportunity for you to check how well you comprehend new material as it is presented in the lesson. Rather than giving you a huge chunk of new information and asking you to take a long quiz, I've given you smaller increments of information and asked you to work with each section as we go. This method will help you absorb and retain new content far more effectively.
In addition, with the exception of essay and short answer questions, comprehension checks may be taken as many times as necessary to master the material. That means there's no good reason* to ever get less than full credit on a CC. Please note that any short answer/essay questions in the comprehension checks WILL NOT BE GRADED AUTOMATICALLY by the system. I will grade them manually once the deadline has passed.
Discussion Forums (15% of final course grade): Collegial and professional written communication skills are one of the fundamental skill-sets a course like ENGL 2311 develops and fosters. As such, we will have regular discussion forums that ask you to post your initial responses to a prompt and then respond to your classmates in particular ways.
Posts that do not follow the A) instructions for the forum and B) the specifications of Online Etiquette will be deleted with no opportunity make up. At the end of term, I will drop your lowest grade from this category.
Peer Review Workshops (10% of final course grade): Learning to respond quickly and constructively to colleagues’ work is an essential skill in any academic or professional setting. In university courses, a good review can raise the final score of an assignment by at least a full letter grade. Workshops depend, however, on the timely and thorough participation of everyone in order to succeed.
In order to participate in a workshop:
You must submit your own draft on time.
If you do not submit your draft on time, you will not be allowed to participate in the peer review workshop, nor will you receive comments from me.
If you do not submit your draft on time, you will receive TWO (2) zeros: one for failing to turn in a draft on time and one for failing to complete the Peer Review assignment.
No exceptions. I will not ask others to delay completing their work because you did not submit your work on time. I understand that emergencies happen, but in this course as in the workplace, if you do not complete your part of a project on time, the project will proceed without you.
Improvements & Solutions Project (I&SP): 65% of final course grade
For this project, you will identify, research, and propose an improvement and solution for a need you identify in your local community, be that WTAMU, your workplace, Canyon/Amarillo, or your hometown.
This semester-long project will constitute the bulk of the work you do in this course. All course assignments are geared toward helping you be successful with this project. Project details available on WTClass.
I&SP Project Sequencing and Grade Breakdown:
I&SP Initial Proposal Memo (5%)
I&SP Audience Analysis Memo (10%)
I&SP Project Proposal (20%)
I&SP Cover Letter (10%)
I&SP Bibliography (10%)
I&SP Résumé (10%)