Grading Contracts

For this course, we will use a grading contract, which my colleague Melissa Watson has defined as “a system of grades that are based primarily on your labors and efforts.” That means that your final course letter grade will be based on your participation, attendance, and successful completion of assignments and revisions. Like Prof. Watson, whose model of grading contracts I borrow from here, I will “continue to hold high standards for completing assignments fully and effectively,” but hope that contract grading will “invite you to feel more comfortable taking risks, making mistakes, and being transparent about your questions and stances.” It’s my preference to put my energy into supporting your growth, rather than assigning you a number. 

Generally, as should be clear from the expectations above you’ll need to attend most classes, for close to their full duration, and be prepared and present for the entire time you are here. Being a few minutes late a few times in a semester is understandable, but we may need to talk if lateness becomes a problem. If things come up, let me know. You might also get the contact information for people in class who seem friendly. They can help fill you in about what you might miss (and you can return the favor). As part of this grading contract, you agree to participate in ways that best fit you and that are most appropriate for each day’s goal (by actively listening, taking notes, asking questions, offering comments, etc.). You agree to work cooperatively and collegially in groups, to share your work, to listen supportively to the work of others, and, when called for, give full and thoughtful assessments that help your colleagues consider ways to rethink and revise. 

The grading contract includes some consideration of the assignments, low stakes and high, that make up your grade for the term. You agree to strive to complete all readings and to turn in on time all assignments. All assignments should be completed fully and meet all assignment requirements. Even if you are absent, you are still responsible for submitting work that’s due on time. The only letter or number grade you will receive in this course will be your final course grade. Pluses and minuses are at the instructor’s discretion. 

All formal and informal writing assignments will instead be marked in the grade book according to the following guidelines:

• Complete Assignments (marked as “0” in the grade book): An assignment is considered “complete” if it is turned in on time and if it effectively meets the assignment goals. This means that projects are not just done but done in the manner discussed. If I find that a given assignment is not “complete,” we will discuss how this will affect your final grade.
• Late Assignments (marked as “1” in the grade book): An assignment is considered “late” if turned in after its initial due date and time, but submitted within two days (48 hours).
• Make-up Assignments (marked as “2” in the grade book): An assignment is considered a “make-up” if it is turned in at some point in the semester but after the 48-hour window.
• Ignored Assignments (marked as “3” in the grade book): Any assignments not done at all, for whatever reason, are considered “Ignored.” Even one ignored assignment will prevent you from earning a B or higher in the course (see chart below).

The Grade You Want	# of Absences	# of Late Assignments	# of Make-up Assignments	# of Ignored Assignments	# of informal artifacts effectively discussed in Essay 4
A	3 or fewer	2	1	0	10
B	4	2	1	0	9
C	5	4	2	1	8
D	6	5	3	2	7
F	8 or more	7 or more	5 or more	4 or more	6 or fewer

Note: “Assignments” include writing prompts, peer editing evaluations, book group participation, class-wide research, and other acts of care/service to the group. These tasks can all be completed asynchronously. A very few tasks (in-class polls, check-ins, freewrites, reading quizzes) will not count as full assignments because they cannot be completed asynchronously. With this work, I see the penalty related to the absence of class and the consequent loss of the learning opportunity as sufficient.

Participation/Effort

This includes regular, active attendance in our synchronous sessions, effective collaboration with others, demonstrations of resilience, a sense of humor when things get tough, engagement with feedback from your readers, a healthy relationship with deadlines, and a genuine curiosity about the work we have in front of us. Places I look for this include but aren’t limited to: especially helpful peer editing, generous blog replies, prepared conference attendance, invigorated book club involvement, and otherwise unbridled curiosity and enthusiasm for the work we’re so lucky to be doing in this class. Generally, we can discuss how you’re doing with this aspect of our class during Week 5 and Week 10, when you’ll have the option to renegotiate your grading contract (from a B to an A, say).

Formal Writing

Formal writing consists of four essays, composed in stages, workshopped with peers, and revised at least once. Essay 1, “How to Book Group” examines the subculture of the book group, ending in your assessment of what kinds of roles, norms, and practices you’d like to engage in. Essay 2, “Consumer Report,” uses a variety of sources to articulate the reason behind and your interest in the book you’ve chosen. [Note, 10/12, we ended up switching these.] Essay 3, “An Autoethnography of a Book Group” uses social science tools to explore the process of a book group *and* to express the product of it (the product being your insights about the book itself). Essay 4, “Letter to a Future ENG 210 Student” combines personal experience, text-based reflection on your writing, and a demonstrated knowledge of audience to produce yourself something you consumed on the first day of class: an effective, detailed, persuasive, and personal letter to an audience you can imagine but won’t ever meet. 

Deadlines (Formal Writing)

All essays will go through a peer editing draft, with these workshops being held a week before the graded revision is due. Leading up to the peer editing drafts, we’ll do a number of reading and writing activities, all of which prepare you to write the draft. This makes prepared attendance a very good idea. Deadlines for those graded revisions are as follows: 

• Essay 1, due Sept 29 by 9:30am to your page on the Commons 
• Essay 2, due Oct 19 by 9:30am to your page on the Commons 
• Essay 3, due Nov 30 by 9:30am to your page on the Commons 
• Essay 4, due Dec 9 by 9:30am to your page on the Commons 

A note about how I grade: like most teachers, I use a rubric to grade. Often, I ask students to collaborate with me on the rubrics I use to grade them. Usually, this is part of peer editing. We’ll talk more about this as we work towards a draft of Essay 1. 

Informal Writing 

The following informal writing activities will be ongoing throughout our semester. Each is considered an Assignment for the purposes of your term grade. 

• Writing Prompts: due throughout the semester, these tasks help us explore ideas and experiment with language as we draft formal essays. These prompts include experiments in disciplinary writing.
• Book Group Discussions: Over the course of 12 possible “responses” to the books you’ve chosen, you’ll use various modes to react to and discuss the reading.  
• End-of-Term Reflective Slideshow: an option for your final reflective essay instead of the letter. Due Dec 7 / Dec 9, these multimodal presentations will be taped, viewed by the class, and discussed; three slides, three minutes, one insight. They will draw on your writing prompts (*not* formal writing) to make the argument for your progress. At least one slide will touch on what you’ve learned about disciplinary writing.