Engagement: 15%

This grade is based on your regular engagement in our readings and discussions. It will include grades from filling out your critical reading handouts, being an active discussant in class, turning in discussion question ideas, before class, readily pushing our conversation, readily helping others make their points, readily helping with the editing and brainstorming sessions.

Writing Fundamentals: 20%

The Paragraph: Each week you will be responsible for a short writing assignment. For the first several weeks this will be a paragraph.

• YOU MUST MASTER THIS MOST BASIC FORM OF WRITING BEFORE MOVING ON TO longer projects. THE PARAGRAPH IS A SELF-CONTAINED UNIT OF EXPRESSION. IN MOST NON-FICTION WRITING, THE PARAGRAPH DEVELOPS ONE MAIN IDEA AND SUPPORTS THAT IDEA WITH FACTS. THERE ARE FOUR ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS TO THE PARAGRAPH: UNITY, COHERENCE, A STRONG TOPIC SENTENCE, AND DEVELOPMENT. UNITY SIMPLY MEANS THAT IT ONLY DEVELOPS ONE MAIN IDEA. COHERENCE REFERS TO THE LOGICAL ARRANGEMENT OF information and SENTENCES as well as HELPFUL TRANSITIONS. A TOPIC SENTENCE IS THE POINT WHERE YOU – THE AUTHOR – EXPRESS THE IDEA THAT YOU WILL DEVELOP OVER THE REST OF THE PARAGRAPH. AND DEVELOPMENT MEANS THAT YOU SUPPORT YOUR IDEAS WITH ADEQUATE AND APPROPRIATE EVIDENCE THAT SUPPORTs YOUR CONTENTION.  YOU WILL WRITE A PARAGRAPH FREE OF GRAMMATICAL, STYLISTIC, OR STRUCTURAL ERRORS THAT MAKES A PARTICULAR AND WELL SUPPORTED POINT. YOU WILL NOT MOVE ONTO THE three-paragraph essay UNTIL YOU HAVE TURNED IN TWO ASSIGNMENTS THAT HAVE DEMONSTRATED YOUR MASTERY OF THE PARAGRAPH. YOU MUST MASTER THIS SKILL TO PASS THIS COURSE.

• GRADING: THERE WILL BE TWO FORMS OF GRADING ON THESE ASSIGNMENTS: THE STANDARD LETTER GRADES WILL APPLY, BUT ONLY ON THOSE PARAGRAPHS THAT HAVE RECEIVED A B+ OR HIGHER. ANY GRADE BELOW B+ WILL RECEIVE CREDIT FOR COMPLETION AND FEEDBACK FOR FUTURE WORK. ONCE A STUDENT HAS RECEIVED TWO PASSING GRADES, THEY WILL BE AVERAGED AND WEIGHTED.

The Short (3-Paragraph) Essay: After demonstrating proficiency in the Paragraph, students will then turn in bi-weekly short essays that will address a particular problem of biography or an analysis of books under consideration. These will DEMONSTRATE PROFICIENCY IN BOTH ANALYSIS AND WRITING. THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF these papers will contain A SUCCINCT SUMMARY OF THE SUBJECT (1-2 sentences), ANALYSIS/ARGUMENT, ORGANIZATION, AND CONNECTIONS.  Essays SHOULD BE FREE OF GRAMMATICAL, STYLISTIC, OR STRUCTURAL ERRORS. ONCE A STUDENT HAS DEMONSTRATED MASTERY OF THE short essay  (2 B+ PAPERS), THEY WILL NO LONGER BE REQUIRED TO TURN IN THESE PAPERS AND WILL focus solely on THE SHORT RESEARCH PAPER.

GRADING: THERE WILL BE TWO FORMS OF GRADING ON THESE ASSIGNMENTS: THE STANDARD LETTER GRADES WILL APPLY, BUT ONLY ON THOSE RESPONSE PAPERS THAT HAVE RECEIVED A B+ OR HIGHER. ANY GRADE BELOW B+ WILL RECEIVE CREDIT FOR COMPLETION AND FEEDBACK FOR FUTURE WORK. AFTER SPRING BREAK, HOWEVER, ALL RESPONSE PAPERS WILL RECEIVE NUMERIC GRADES AS WELL AS FEEDBACK.