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.  For major assignments (the essays), you will be able to click on the Assignment name to go to the link within my 1301 instructional website giving detailed instructions for each assignment; however, shorter assignments may not need their own  links and will be explained in full within Blackboard, where you will turn in each assignment.  To repeat:  all assignments are to be submitted within this course in Blackboard, as Rich Text file attachments.  I provide instructions as to how to do this.  Also, this course is not self-paced.  All assignments may be listed here from early in the course, as a convenience, especially during short summer terms, but assignments may only be submitted once that assignment opens in Blackboard.  Most importantly, assignments submitted after the due dates are penalized a late penalty, and after a certain number of days (specified in Blackboard within each assignment), the assignment closes and may only be submitted by contacting me via email, normally receiving, at best, a grade of F (see Course Policies within the Syllabus link). 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. 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 three important links:  Welcome, Syllabus, and Getting Started.  You will read important info on course requirements and how the course works. Please read by midnight, Thursday, January 19th Not a graded assignment TWO In Blackboard, submit your "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 20th One daily grade; average of all daily grades counts 10% of course 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 Assignments.  Scroll down past the Getting Started assignment and click on Getting to Know Each Other.  Follow the further instructions.  Due by midnight, Friday, January 20th Part of attendance grade:  average of all attendance grades counts 10% of course 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. Note that this and most following assignments cannot be accessed until the particular assignment is opened by me in Blackboard. Due by midnight, Monday, January 23rd 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. Due by midnight, Thursday, January 26th One daily grade SIX 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 in one file as D1 plus your initials (include your middle initial).  I will grade the paragraphs separately for two daily grades.  When the assignment opens in Blackboard, you may click here to read the full instructions.  Note that campus students do not submit in Blackboard. Due by midnight, Wednesday, February 1st Each paragraph is a separate daily grade. SEVEN In Blackboard, do the second Discussion Board topic Log in to Blackboard.  Click on Assignments, then click on Daily Assignments.  Scroll down and click on the second Discussion Board topic (DB2).  Follow the further instructions. Runs through due date of E1 final draft Part of attendance grade EIGHT In Blackboard, submit the Essay One Final Draft as a Rich Text file. Essay One Final Draft:  Instructions for the final draft are found in the same web link as instructions for the partial draft, but the final draft assignment is listed under Major Grades in Blackboard.  You will turn in the final draft there.  The web link to the instructions can be reached either from here or from within Blackboard once the assignment opens. Due by midnight, Wednesday, February 15th First major grade:  10% of course grade NINE Essay Two intro:  In Blackboard, submit the intro only (no body paragraph) as a Rich Text file. Unlike essay one, your partial draft for essay two will consist only of an intro paragraph.  You will submit that paragraph in Blackboard as D2 plus your initials, under Daily Grades.  to read full instructions for essay two, including this partial draft, click here once the assignment opens in Blackboard. Due by TBA One daily grade TEN In Blackboard, do the third Discussion Board topic Log in to Blackboard.  Click on Assignments, then click on Daily Assignments.  Scroll down and click on the third Discussion Board topic (DB3).  Follow the further instructions. Runs through due date of E2 final draft Part of attendance 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 TBA One daily grade TWELVE In Blackboard, submit the Essay Two Final Draft as a Rich Text file. Essay Two Final Draft:  The final draft assignment will open in Blackboard once the intro paragraphs have been graded.  The link with full essay instructions can be accessed from within Blackboard and by clicking the link above, once opened. Due by TBA Second major grade:  10% of course grade THIRTEEN Essay Three intro:  In Blackboard, submit the intro only (no body paragraph) as a Rich Text file. Like essay two, your partial draft for essay three will consist only of an intro paragraph.  You will submit that paragraph in Blackboard as D3 plus your initials, under Daily Grades.  to read full instructions for essay three, including this partial draft, click here once the assignment opens in Bb. Due midnight, TBA One daily grade FOURTEEN Essay Three outline:  In Blackboard, submit the outline as a Rich Text file. Because the organization of this essay is rather complicated compared to others, I want to see a complete outline from each student.  Details of this are covered in the assignment in Bb, and the general outline you are working from is presented in the essay assignment itself, here. Due midnight, TBA One daily grade FOURTEEN In Blackboard, do the fourth Discussion Board topic Log in to Blackboard.  Click on Assignments, then click on Daily Assignments.  Scroll down and click on the fourth Discussion Board topic (DB4).  Follow the further instructions. Runs through due date of E3 final draft 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 TBA One daily grade SIXTEEN In Blackboard, submit the Essay Three Final Draft as a Rich Text file. Essay Three Final Draft:  The final draft assignment will open in Blackboard once the intro paragraphs have been graded.  The link with full essay instructions can be accessed from within Blackboard and by clicking the link above, once opened. Due by TBA Third major grade:  15% of course grade SEVENTEEN In Blackboard, do the fifth Discussion Board topic Log in to Blackboard.  Click on Assignments, then click on Daily Assignments.  Scroll down and click on the fifth Discussion Board topic (DB5).  Follow the further instructions. Runs through due date of E4 final draft Part of attendance grade EIGHTEEN In Bb, submit Q3 as a Rich Text file. Q3 quizzes over the  Fallacies of Argumentation.  Access it via Blackboard or by clicking here once opened. Due by TBA One daily grade NINETEEN In Bb, submit the Essay Four intro (D4) as a Rich Text file. Here you will find the complete instructions for Essay Four.  However, all that is due at this time is the intro paragraph.  To access the complete E4 instructions, click here once opened. Due by TBA One daily grade TWENTY In Bb, submit Q4 as a Rich Text file. Q4 is over the MLA research citation format.  You access it via Blackboard, from within the E4 instructions, or by clicking here once opened. Due by TBA One daily grade TWENTY-ONE In Bb, submit the error log for Essay Three as per instructions. See full instructions for this error log in Daily Grades within Blackboard. Due by TBA One daily grade TWENTY-TWO In Bb, submit the final draft for E4 as a Rich Text file. Once the final draft assignment opens in Bb, click here to see the full instructions for the Essay Four Final Draft. Due by TBA Fourth major grade:  15% of course grade TWENTY-THREE In Bb, submit the final draft for E5 as a Rich Text file. Unlike other essays, this one does not require you to submit an intro paragraph.  You are required only to submit the final draft.  However, if you wish, you may send an intro paragraph directly to my email address, for feedback.  That must be done no later than two days before the final draft due date.  Once E5 opens in Bb, you may click here for instructions. Due by TBA Fifth major grade:  10% of course grade TWENTY-FOUR In Bb, under Final Exam, submit your final exam essay as a Rich Text file. You will complete and submit this final exam essay similarly to how you have submitted other essays in this course.  This final exam will open as soon as the E4 final draft is due, and may be submitted early.  Click here for a link to the final exam instructions once the final opens in Bb.  Late penalty:  10 points per day; if not received by Thursday, grade of F or lower; if not received by Friday, the grade is a zero.  The semester ends Friday, May 11th. Due by midnight, Tuesday, May 8th Final Exam:  counts 20% of course grade