Contracts

This semester, all grades will be carried out using contracts. This means that I will spell out in advance what constitutes an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F.” We will draw up contracts early on in the class, and you will be expected to abide by the contracts. This description of contract-grading is taken (and adapted) from Cathy Davidson’s work.

Evaluation Method:
You determine your grade for this course by fulfilling a contract that spells out in advance the requirements as well as the penalties for not fulfilling the terms of your contract. After each assignment, I will assign an “S” or a “U” grade. Students with a “U” grade will have the opportunity to revise their work, according to requirements I spell out in my comments. If the student fails to satisfactorily revise the project, they will receive a “U” for that specific assignment.

Contract Grading:
The advantage of contract grading is that you, the student, decide how much work you wish to do this semester; if you complete that work on time and satisfactorily, you will receive the grade for which you contracted. This means planning ahead, thinking about all of your obligations and responsibilities this semester and also determining what grade you want or need in this course. The advantage of contract grading to the professor is no whining, no special pleading, on the students part. If you complete the work you contracted for, you get the grade. Done. I respect the student who only needs a “C,” who has other obligations that preclude doing all of the requirements to earn an “A” in the course, and who contracts for the “C” and carries out the contract perfectly. (This is another one of those major life skills: taking responsibility for your own workflow.)

Grade Calculating:
On August 24 (our third class session), each student will sign, with a classmate as a witness, a contract for a grade. I will countersign and we will each keep a copy of your contract. All requirements and penalties for each grade are spelled out below.

There are only two grades for any assignment. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. Satisfactory is full credit. Unsatisfactory (poor quality, late, or not submitted) is no credit. At the end of the course, we tally. If you fail to do a contracted assignment or I do not deem your work satisfactory, you will receive the grade penalty spelled out in the contract. The goal is for everyone to produce satisfactory work, and I will work with everyone to achieve that goal.

REQUIREMENTS FOR A GRADE OF “A:”
(1) CLASS ATTENDANCE/PARTICIPATION (includes reading/viewing/listening to all assignments, participating in blogs and classroom discussion)
Class attendance is required. If you contract for an A in the course, you may miss two classes without an official (doctor or pre-approved) excuse. Penalty: If you have more than two unexcused absences, your grade for the entire class automatically will drop half a letter grade. If you miss four classes, it will drop a full letter grade, and so on.

Excused absence means you give me a doctor’s note. Or, in the case of other official absences, you must submit a schedule in the first two weeks of class. If you are missing for a non-medical/emergency reason, you have to have approval in advance and, at that time, state your plan for making up the missed work. You are still responsible for the readings and filing the weekly blog.

Class participation is required. This means commenting, asking questions, responding to questions at least three times per week.

(2) WEEKLY BLOG AND TWITTER ASSIGNMENTS, See the blog assignment page for more details.
You must complete your weekly 400-word blog post each week, according to the stated revolving role on the assignment page. You may miss up to 4 (four) of the blog posts, but after that, you will receive a U for this portion of the grade. Additionally, you must complete at least three tweets outside of class per week. Bringing laptops is encouraged, but texting in class and surfing the web is grounds for receiving a ‘U’ for participation. See requirements above.

(4) READING ALOUD ASSIGNMENT
You will complete the reading aloud assignment to my satisfaction, along with the written blog reflection. Satisfactory completion includes 1) a specific and provocative argument about the differences between silent reading and reading aloud; 2) well edited and dramatic reading of your required chapter, and 3) a discussion of your creative choices in the blog post.

(5) NOT READING ASSIGNMENT
You will complete the “How to Not Read a Novel” assignment to my satisfaction. Satisfactory completion includes 1) a thoughtful blog post about the differences between close and distant reading in your selected novel; 2) several screen-captures illustrating the discussion you produce in your post.

(6) FINAL COLLABORATIVE OMEKA PROJECT
The final project will involve collaboratively editing, writing, and curating our Omeka project. You will need to participate satisfactorily in order to recieve credit for this project. I will require you to show evidence of your collaboration in a brief 1-page (300-word) statement of collaboration that outlines your specific contributions.

CONTRACTS:
A: Agree to all of the terms above
B: Agree to satisfactorily complete #1, 2, 4 OR 5, and 6 above.
C: Agree to complete satisfactorily #1, 2, 4 OR 5
D and F: The professor reserves the right to award a grade of “D” or “F” to anyone who fails to meet a contractual obligation in a systematic way. A “D” grade denotes some minimal fulfilling of the contract. An “F” is absence of enough satisfactory work, as contracted, to warrant passing of the course. Both a D and F denote a breakdown of the contractual relationship implied by signing any of the contracts above.

A NOTE ON PLAGIARISM
I expect that all written work will be your own. Be sure to cite outside sources, and to attribute any quotations you use to their sources. I prefer you use MLA style when citing sources. If you have any questions about how to cite or quote secondary works or about what is or is not plagiarism, please ask me for clarification before you turn in your written work. You will not be penalized for asking and I will be happy to answerany questions you may have. Plagiarism denotes a breakdown of the contract written above and will result in either a “D” or an “F” for the course.

Purchasing online or elsewhere an essay and then submitting it as one’s own work in fulfillment of an assignment.

Representing as one’s own a passage or passages culled verbatim from another’s published writing (either in hardcopy or electronic format; including web sites).

Paraphrasing the words and ideas of others without properly attributing authorship.

Failing to document according to MLA guidelines all or a portion of another’swords and ideas.

Allowing another person (including classmates, friends, relatives and associates) to write some or all of one’s writing assignment.

Assisting another classmate in the composition of a writing assignment unless otherwise instructed.