Saturday, January 3, 2015

Thoughts on Grades

Greetings!

As I'm getting ready to send out grades for the Writing 3 - Research Writing class, I thought that I would first give a couple of comments about grades.  For those who have had classes from me in the past,  you may remember that 

1) I view writing as a process; every paper/assignment is a learning process intended to help you improve on the next assignment;
2) While I don't see grades as a pure or holistic evaluation of a student's academic progress, they do give a snapshot of someone's quantity and quality of work;
3) I intentionally make comments about what I felt a student did well along advice/hints for improving the next paper he/she will write;
4) I am an easy grader.  

With that said, I will be sending out grades for the class soon.  The grade for this class will be in two parts:  the final score/grade for the research paper and a grade that includes class participation and submission of the intermediate assignments.  Late or missing drafts, etc. will be reflected in the "Class grade."

I have enjoyed this group of students.  Each one of them has worked hard; writing a research paper is a challenging task.  Keep writing and build on what you're learned as researchers and writers.  I guarantee that you will not only improve, but it gets easier!

Blessings,
Tammy Prichard