Dr. Mark Jordan ~ ENGL 1301: Composition & Rhetoric Assignments You will find a Calendar of Assignments in table form after the following introductory section on grading criteria. As mentioned in the Syllabus, formal essays will make up the bulk of your course grade. A WORD OF CAUTION: Your browser may be set up so that when you try to access this link, it may access its own cache of my link, rather than my actual link. The problem with this is that the cached link will not show any current assignments. To avoid this problem, you may want to either click on "Refresh" or "Reload" when you access this link, or else set your browser options so as to not save any history of links you access. Grading Criteria Here is a specific list of characteristics I look for in a well-written document: You should assume that your writings (essays, especially) will be graded for these five criteria, unless I specifically tell you otherwise. A precise, consistent focus: Don't switch to a similar but different topic unconsciously; don't change from one opinion or purpose to another unconsciously; make sure your supporting arguments really support the point you mean for them to. A clear pattern of organization: Essays should have effective introductions, main bodies, and conclusions. How to do these things, and what to include in them, is all covered in the Three-Part Format link. Adequate development: It is common for inexperienced writers to assume the audience either understands or agrees with them far more than the audience really does. Thus student writers, assuming understanding and agreement, stop short of adequately developing their points. The two key tools to adequate development are to use both logos, in the form of full explanation of claims you're making, and pathos, in the form of specific examples, stories about individuals which back up your explanation. These two key appeals are mentioned above and discussed in the Three-Part Format section also. Effective error control: This is the dreaded "grammar part." I see grammatical errors as being similar to static in a radio signal: a listener, or in this case a reader, will overlook a certain amount, but at some point the static becomes more noticeable than the signal itself. Can grammatical problems alone cause a student to fail in my class? It's rare, but it's possible. The way to control this aspect of your writing is to master effective proofing strategies. Several are explained in the same Three-Part Format link mentioned above. Beyond that, a good key to more fundamental improvement is to simply count the errors I mark, figure out what your two or three most frequent mistakes are, and devote yourself to finally understanding what you are doing wrong in these specific cases. I am happy to work with students personally on specific errors, whether via email or in person. Sensitivity to audience: Poor development is in itself a key sign of lack of sensitivity to the needs of the audience, because it shows that the writer is assuming that just a brief summary of the writer's view is adequate, rather than a more thorough explanation. Another sign of a problem in this area is the absence of a preview of supports in the introductory paragraph; a similar sign is an absence of transition wording and/or clear connections to the thesis in the topic sentences of body paragraphs. Yet another similar sign is a failure to tell how a fact, quote, story or example specifically relates to the main point of a given paragraph. At this early point in the course, these items I have just mentioned may be foreign to you, but we will soon cover them. And for web students, please bear in mind this also: I am particularly bothered when students fail to personalize the filenames of essays they send as attached files, and/or when they fail to include their names as a heading within the essay file. So please pay special attention to instructions in this regard, which deal with audience sensitivity in the specific context of myself as an audience who receives many student files.

Calendar of Assignments All major and daily assignments will be posted here beginning the first week of class. You will be able to click on the Assignment name to go to the page giving detailed instructions for each assignment; however, shorter assignments may not need their own page and will be explained in full in this calendar. Some assignments involving discussion of topics will actually be done on the spot as email and sent immediately; these assignments are not graded for grammar because the email medium is less formal than the writing you will do in formal essays. As for your essays and any other longer, more formal assignments, these should not be done on the spot within an email message, but should be done meticulously in your word processor program (MS Word, WordPerfect, etc.) so you have the chance to revise for improvement and for error proofing. Once they are complete they should be submitted as email attachments (see Email). Assignment # Type Description Due Date Weight ONE Learning about the course Here in my website (not Blackboard), use the menu bar at the top or bottom of this Assignment Calendar and read four important links:  Welcome, Policies, Syllabus, and Getting Started.  You will read important info on course requirements and how the course works. Please read by midnight, Friday, January 22nd Not a graded assignment TWO In Blackboard, submit "Getting Started" responses as a Rich Text file. Once you have activated your OC email account and logged in to Blackboard, first read the Announcements.  Then locate the menu to the left and select Assignments.  Then select Daily Grades on the next screen.  Select Getting Started and follow the further instructions. Due by midnight, Friday, January 22nd One daily grade THREE In Blackboard, do the first Discussion Board topic, Getting to Know Each Other. Log in to Blackboard.  Click on Assignments, then click on Daily Grades.  Scroll down past the Getting Started assignment and click on Getting to know each other.  Follow the further instructions. Also due by midnight, Friday, January 22nd Part of attendance grade FOUR In Blackboard, submit Quiz One as a Rich Text file. Within Blackboard, select Assignments in the menu on the left, then enter Daily Grades.  Find the Quiz One assignment and complete it according to the further instructions there.  This is an open-book quiz. Due by noon, Monday, January 25th One daily grade FIVE In Blackboard, submit Quiz Two as a Rich Text file. Within Blackboard, select Assignments in the menu on the left, then enter Daily Grades.  Find the Quiz Two assignment and complete it according to the further instructions there.  This is an open-book quiz similar to Q1. Due by noon, Thursday, January 28th One daily grade SIX In Blackboard, do the 2nd Discussion Board topic. Log in to Blackboard.  Click on Assignments, then click on Daily Grades.  Scroll down to the second discussion board assignment.  Follow the further instructions. Open through due date for E1 final draft Part of attendance grade SEVEN In Blackboard, submit the Essay One partial draft as a Rich Text file. Your partial draft will consist of an intro paragraph and the first body paragraph.  You will submit them together as D1 plus your initials.  I will grade the paragraphs separately.  Click here for full instructions. Due by midnight, Tuesday, February 2nd Each paragraph is a separate daily grade. EIGHT In Blackboard, submit the Essay One final draft as a Rich Text file. This is your first major grade of the semester.  You must submit a complete essay (usually five paragraphs) of at least 1000 words, built upon the revision of your two-paragraph partial draft.  Click here for full instructions. Due by midnight, Tuesday, February 16th First major grade NINE In Blackboard, do the 3rd Discussion Board topic. Log in to Blackboard.  Click on Assignments, then click on Daily Grades.  Scroll down to the third discussion board assignment, which will focus on Essay Two.  Follow the further instructions. Open through due date for E2 final draft Part of attendance grade TEN In Blackboard, submit the Essay Two intro paragraph only as a Rich Text file. Your partial draft for E2 will consist of an intro paragraph only,, unlike E1.  You will not submit a body paragraph.  You will submit the intro paragraph as D2 plus your initials.  Click here for full instructions. Due by midnight, Tuesday, February 23rd One daily grade ELEVEN In Blackboard, submit your first Error Log as EL1 plus your initials. An Error Log consists of your corrections of each numbered sentence in your graded essay file.  See full instructions for the error log in the assignment under Daily Grades in Blackboard. Due by midnight, Wednesday, February 24th One daily grade TWELVE In Blackboard, submit the Essay Two final draft as a Rich Text file. This is your second major grade of the semester.  You must submit a complete essay (usually five paragraphs) of at least 1000 words, built upon the revision of your intro paragraph.  Click here for full instructions. Due by midnight, Thursday, March 4th Second major grade THIRTEEN Essay Three Intro:  In Blackboard, submit the intro only as a Rich Text file. Like essay two, you will submit only the intro paragraph as your partial draft for E3.  You will submit that in Blackboard as D3 plus your initials, under Daily Grades.  To read full instructions for essay three, including this partial draft, click here. Due by midnight, Wednesday, March 10th One daily grade FOURTEEN In Blackboard, do the 4th Discussion Board topic. Log in to Blackboard.  Click on Assignments, then click on Daily Grades.  Scroll down to the third discussion board assignment, which will focus on Essay Three.  Follow the further instructions. Open through the E3 final draft due date Part of attendance grade FIFTEEN In Blackboard, submit your second Error Log as EL2 plus your initials. An Error Log consists of your corrections of each numbered sentence in your graded essay file.  See full instructions for the error log in the assignment under Daily Grades in Blackboard. Due by midnight, Friday, March 12th One daily grade

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