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Assignment Feedback
If you would like preliminary feedback on an upcoming assignment during an in-class workshop day, ask me. That's my job. However, if you want me to be able to provide you with feedback on your assignments, you must give me enough time to do so. Do not talk to me the day before a major project is due, asking for brainstorming on ideas on where to start; you should be asking these questions much earlier than this.
When you ask for feedback on an assignment, do not just ask me to look over your paper and tell you what is wrong with it. No employer / manager would tolerate employees who seek assistance on a project by saying, "Tell me what I should do"—neither will I. Have specific questions for me about specific aspects of your paper / project so you demonstrate to me your understanding of the assignment and of your project and so I can better help you.
Grade Responsibility
You are responsible for the grades you receive. Whether you need a "C" to graduate, a "B" to keep your scholarship, or an "A" to keep your 4.0 GPA is not my concern. If you want a particular grade for this class, earn it.
Deadlines for the class projects are listed on the Assignments page; you have plenty of advance notice to get feedback prior to submission. Do not come to me at the end of the semester, when you realize your grade is suffering, asking for opportunities to improve your grade, revise old work, or do additional work. Your opportunity to improve your grade is now, not after all of your projects have been submitted.
Written Comments on Papers
If you have questions about what my comments mean on your assignments that have already been graded, ask me. For example, if a comment is illegible or unclear, ask me to decipher the handwriting. If a comment is ambiguous, ask me to elaborate or clarify.
I will not discuss any questions about assignment grades on the day assignments are returned. If you have questions, take your paper home and think about my responses to your paper, then bring your questions the next class period. If you have questions about why you received the grade you received on an assignment, you must follow this procedure:
- take the paper home and thoroughly read through my comments, thinking about how those suggestions could possibly enhance your paper
- make a written list of questions you would still have after considering my comments; bring this to the next class period
- discuss your questions list with me after class, during workshop class time, or during office hours
General Grading Guidelines
The following includes generalized descriptions of assignments characteristics required to earn related grades:
| Grade Range | Requirements |
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| A | shows initiative and ingenuity in assignment solution, as well as exceptional / intuitive interpretation of assignment requirements |
| B | exceeds basic assignment requirements |
| C | fulfills the basic assignment requirements |
| D | doesn't completely adhere to the assignment requirements, or is poorly formatted / proofread / edited |
| F | doesn't follow assignment requirements, or plagiarizes other sources (or is submitted extremely late or not at all) |
Appealing Assignment Grades
If you believe you received a lower grade than you deserved, write me a one-page memo, including the following information:
- the information you included in your assignment and how you feel that information fulfilled the writing assignment
- my comments made in response to your paper or certain areas of your paper, as well as your interpretation and understanding of the suggestions I offered on your paper
- why you feel my comments / suggestions are either already fulfilled / answered in your paper, irrelevant to your paper, or irrelevant to the writing assignment itself
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