Graded Work for English 105

        Each year I spend hours writing responses to students' writing, both early and final drafts, in addition to countless emails and paper notes we exchange.  As I write, I try to give students a clear idea of what is working in their writing and what needs improvement.  That writing matters far more to me than grades computed for individual assignments, or final course grades.  Nevertheless, I recognize that twelve or more years of relentless grading have conditioned most college students to such an intense focus on grades that they cannot bear not to receive them, even though they routinely describe the experience of being graded as profoundly painful and unpleasant.  Please keep in mind that English 105 can be taken Pass/No-Pass, which requires only a C- or better to receive a "Pass" and 3 credits toward graduation without having any effect upon students' Cumulative Grade Point Average (the insane climax of the grading system).  If students sign the appropriate forms to take the course Pass/No-Pass, I would be happy to continue the written comments on papers while "grading" them only "Strong Pass," "Pass," or "No Pass," to help writers track their overall progress.  I also would continue to give P/NP students grades, though that seems to defeat the best result of the P/NP strategy--focusing our attention solely on the students' writing, and on the writers' evolving abilities to control its purposes and effects.  Whether you choose the graded or Pass/No-Pass option, please take time to read and understand the College Writing Proficiency Criteria, which guide all of my efforts to teach you to meet Goucher's community standards for what qualifies as good writing.  Also, look at hyperlinks below which connect to the evaluation criteria I have written to determine whether individual writing assignments are meeting those criteria.  The more you understand what the course is trying to teach you, the closer you are to having learned it.

Product Purchase Recommendation: 10%

Paper #2 Hawthorne Project: 15%

Paper #3 Film Analysis Project: 15%

Paper #4 Independent Research 15%

Final Portfolio (revision of one paper from #2, 3, or 4): 20%