How do I get an A?

In this class we use a different grading system than the one you’re probably used to. It’s called contract grading.

In contract grading, I assign grades based on the quantity of work you do, rather than the quality. This lets you take risks in your writing.

That means to get an A, all you need to is turn in all the assignments I assign. If you do all the work and attend all the class meetings, you will get an A, no question asked.

If you miss a few assignments or class meetings, your grade gets dropped according to the number of things you miss. (There’s a detailed breakdown below of how many assignments and classes you can miss and still get the grade you want.)

So you really don’t care about the quality of my work?

I do care!

But I believe the more you write, the more you’ll learn, so my grading emphasizes writing a lot. Your quality will naturally improve as you keep practicing.

Even though I’m mainly concerned about improvement, your assignments will need to meet a basic standard. If it fails to meet that basic standard, I won’t accept your work.

What would cause you to not accept my work?

As long as you are trying, I’ll accept your work. There are really only a handful of things that would cause me to discount your assignments. They are:

• Plagiarism. I will not accept plagiarized work under any circumstances, and I do not accept ignorance as an excuse. Depending on the severity of the offense, I will consider getting the college involved as well.
• Turning your work in late.
• Writing off topic.
• Not following the assignment directions. If the assignment asks for a 1000 word paper with 4 sources and you write a 500 word paper with 2 sources, that doesn’t follow the instructions, and I won’t accept it.
• Not responding to feedback. Let’s say on a previous paper I ask you to make sure you include a research question in your first paragraph, and on your second paper, you don’t do that. I won’t accept that paper, because I can see you’re not working to get better, and I care about your improvement.

What’s the specific criteria for each grade?

• A: Write 3 conference paper proposals plus pre- and post-work; write 1 scholarship proposal plus pre- and post-work; write a 6 page conference paper with 4 + secondary sources (using Gaipa*); 4 > absences
• B: Write 2 conference paper proposals plus pre- and post-work; write 1 scholarship proposal plus pre- and post-work; write a 5 page conference paper with 3 + secondary sources (using Gaipa); 5 > absences
• C: Write 2 conference paper proposals plus pre- and post-work; write a 4 page conference paper with 2 + secondary sources (using Gaipa); 6 > absences
• D: Write 1 conference paper proposals plus pre- and post-work; write a 4 page conference paper with 1 + secondary sources (using Gaipa); 7 > absences

*we’ll study Gaipa extensively during the course

It looks like you don’t give pluses and minuses?

Correct.

What if I write a 6 page paper but only 1 conference proposal? Will you negotiate so I can get a D+ or something like that?

No. To get the grade you want, you have to do exactly the work laid out above.

How can I check what grade I have?

Unfortunately you can’t. That’s the one drawback to contract grading. Since I’m giving you a grade for the semester, I have to wait and see if you turn in all your work to give you a grade. Obviously I can tell you if you’re missing assignments, and we can see if we can work to fix it.

Do you give extra credit?

If you have a specific idea for an extra credit assignment, ask me and maybe we can work something out.

Could the grading and assignments change if there is a major resurgence of the coronavirus? Would you change the assignments and grading so there is less work?

Yes and yes.