Grading & Assignments - General Description

ENGL 1A Course Requirements and Assignments

SJSU classes are designed such that in order to be successful, it is expected that students will spend a minimum of forty-five hours for each unit of credit (normally three hours per unit per week), including preparing for class, participating in course activities, completing assignments, and so on. More details about student workload can be found in University Policy S12-3 Links to an external site. at http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S12-3.pdf.

Assignment Word Count and Learning Goals

Grading Policy

Grade Distribution:

10% Class Discussion & Participation

10% Discussion Board

60% Essays

20% Final Project and Presentation

Class Discussion & Participation

English 1A is a reading-intensive course. You will have reading assignments to complete for almost every class period, and each reading will be accompanied by some form of writing. In addition, all or most of the assigned essays will be based on the reading. It is therefore imperative that you complete the readings prior to each class and come with your book prepared to discuss them in class. Bring Signs of Life with you to every class meeting unless you are told otherwise.

• To earn a “C,” do the minimum: read and prepare assigned readings so you are never at a loss if you are asked a question, but speak only when called upon, do “ordinary,” plain-vanilla presentations and responses. This is the “bottom line” for getting a “C” in this part of the course.

• To earn a “B,” prepare assigned readings thoroughly, initiate discussions about them by asking good questions or suggesting ways to interpret readings, do presentations that reveal that you have done good additional work that you can make both interesting and meaningful to our discussions, and participate actively in those discussions.

• For an “A,” take it up another level entirely: prepare readings thoroughly, find and talk about connections among them and among other aspects of culture (then and now), take a real leadership role in class discussions, including working actively to get others involved in the talk, make your presentations and responses “sparkle” by bringing to them something really special in terms of your own contributions, interests, skills, and abilities to think in broad even interdisciplinary terms. Most of all, remember that an “A” indicates the very best grade a person can get; that should tell you what sort of work you need to do to earn the grade of “A.”

Within any of the letter grade ranges (e.g. B+/B/B-), the assignment of a + or - grade will reflect stronger (+) or weaker (-) completion of the goals of the assignment.

If you miss class, contact a classmate for notes, reading assignments and handouts – or, better yet, check Canvas.

Discussion Board

We will post to the Canvas discussion board on a weekly basis. A prompt will be opened at a designated time for your response. That particular topic will be closed at a particular time. You must post within the allotted time frame. No make-up posts will be allowed. If you miss a post, you will receive a zero for that week. These posts are intended to demonstrate your understanding of the readings and your exploration of the topics. Good writing is also integral to these posts. Some of them may take place during our class session and serve a reading quiz. You may respond to each other in this discussion board, but you must first submit your own post. Each post is worth a total of 7 points (with 15 posts in total). Points will be distributed according to the effectiveness and thoroughness of your response. Citing and quoting (and linking!) outside sources will definitely enhance your score. See below for scoring rubric:

• 7 points: The post explores the prompt using references from our discussions, details from evidence, and an intellectual exploration of the topic. The post is free from grammatical and writing errors. This level of points is difficult to achieve. Expectations are high for the intellectual rigor of the post.
• 5-6 points: The post has the beginnings of intellectual rigor but lacks one of the qualities above.
• 3-4 points: The post regurgitates class discussion without exploring the topic further in addition to lacking evidence. The post contains grammatical errors, informal writing (such as the use of I or you), ignores MLA style.
• 1-2: The post severely lacks elements from above or does not answer the prompt. This point range also signifies a lack of formal writing and a recommendation to visit the Writing Center for help with formal writing style. This point range also signifies use of personal pronouns throughout the post as well as a lack of interest in the topic/prompt.
• 0 points: This represents not submitting the post on time, not at all, or not answering the prompt at all.

Essays

There will be two timed essays and three out-of-class, formal essays. Each essay is worth 12% of your final grade. Each essay varies in purpose and will focus on differing sets of academic writing skills. By the time we reach the last essay and final presentation, you will have learned about both the major and minor elements of writing. Each essay is based on readings from Signs of Life. Each essay will receive a letter grade based on the Departmental Grading Policy below. Every essay will be submitted to Turnitin.com. (See below for the late policy on drafts and essays.)

Grading Standards

In English Department courses, instructors will comment on and grade the quality of student writing as well as the quality of ideas being conveyed. All student writing should be distinguished by correct grammar and punctuation, appropriate diction and syntax, and well-organized paragraphs. Grades issued will represent a full range of student performance (no extra credit offered) and will adhere to the following SJSU academic standards of assessment:

• An “A” essay is organized and well-developed, demonstrating a clear understanding and fulfillment of the assignment, written in a unique and compelling voice. It will show the student’s ability to use language effectively with a solid command of grammar, mechanics, and usage.
• A “B” essay demonstrates competence in the same categories as an “A” essay, but it may show slight weakness in one of these areas. It will respond to the topic suitably and may contain some grammatical, mechanical or usage errors.
• A “C” essay will complete the requirements of the assignment, but it will show weaknesses in fundamentals, such as development. It may show weakness in mastery of grammar, mechanics, usage, or voice.
• A “D” essay will neglect to meet all the requirements of the assignment or may be superficial in its treatment of the topic. It may lack development or fail to stay on topic. It may contain grammatical, mechanical, and/or usage errors that interfere with reader comprehension.
• An “F” essay does not fulfill the requirements of the assignment.

Within any of the letter grade ranges (e.g. B+/B/B-), the assignment of a + or - grade will reflect stronger (+) or weaker (-) completion of the goals of the assignment.

Note: This is an A, B, C, No Credit course, but individual essays will be graded on an A to F scale. There are no C- final grades in English 1A. You must earn at least a C in order to pass. Any student with a final grade below a C will receive an NC and must repeat the course.

Calculating Your Final Grade

For your final grades, 100-90 is an A, 89-80 is a B, 79-70 is a C, 69-60 is a D, and below 60 is an F. Pluses and minuses are the middle of each range. In calculating the final grade, a set number will represent each letter grade; for example, B+ is 87.5, B is 85, and B- is 82.5.

The Department of English reaffirms its commitment to the differential grading scale as defined by the SJSU Catalog (Grades-Letter Grading).  Grades issued must represent a full range of student performance:  A+/A/A- = excellent; B+/B/B- = above average; C+/C/C- = average; D+/D/D- = below average; F = failure.  Within any of the letter grade ranges (e.g. B+/B/B-), the assignment of a + or - grade will reflect stronger (+) or weaker (-) completion of the goals of the assignment. (added 4/13/16 as official Departmental Policy)