| Attendance | 15% | |
| Research Bibliography | 25% | 3 iterations (include 1 optional corrective) |
| Process & Findings Journal | 20% | |
| Participation | 10% | |
| Oral presentation | 25% |
Attendance is required and missed classes cannot be made up. While you are notionally penalized by 1% per missed class, the actual impact on your course grade is much more dramatic. As a matter of experience, note that one missed class usually has no impact on your course grade. After that, each missed class impacts the quality of your class work at an average rate of 5% per missed class. This is because my classes generally do not rely on predigested published works, so you really are dependent on the material and ideas we cover in class.
Research bibliography is graded on the assumption that you will submit three iterations (one of which may be an optional corrective), that you demonstrate each of the strategies explained in class, and that you include at least five confirmations or refutations of expected content based on familiarity with the actual text.
Research Journal is a running commentary on your process and findings. Although it is acceptable and sometimes useful to make brief (polite!) comments on your state of mind, your attention should focus on what you do, what you achieve, what you discover, and any intellectual response that arises from these. In this way, the journal does your field charting for you. Each entry should be word-processed and double-spaced, and up to one page long. Each entry may be considered a valid complete work for presentation in your portfolio. Note that there are three focal entries that come in for extra points. These are:
Oral Presentation will last 5-10 minutes and will be graded according to the rubric on the website. That grade will then count for 25% of the course grade.
Participation should arise naturally from the course structure, and you may find your research journal a particularly strong foundation for this. If lack of participation becomes an issue, I will introduce tried and tested grading mechanisms to correct the situation. Do not make me do this!
At semester's end, students will submit a portfolio that contains their best revised work of the semester. A cover letter describing the contents of the portfolio and discussing a significant idea or observation about the enclosed work must be included.