Grading will be based on criteria used by media professionals. These include organization of material, clarity, accuracy and style, not to mention correct punctuation, grammar and usage.
Your final grade will be based on the following formula:
| Writing assignments | 60 |
|---|---|
| Participation | 10 |
| Grammar, usage, punctuation quiz | 10 |
| Final writing project | 20 |
A |
Excellent work. Content, clarity and organization of material are in upper 10% of expected student performance. On the whole, it will be free of mistakes such as typos, misspellings, errors of grammar. |
B |
Above average work. Content, clarity or organization can use mild improvement. Occasional errors say more about proofreading than mastery of the mechanics of grammar, spelling and usage. |
C |
Average but acceptable work. Meets basic expectations for content, clarity and organization. Errors indicate the need for improvement in grammar, spelling and organization. |
D |
Weak, unfocused work. Organization is below average; more than a few grammar and spelling errors. The work may reflect a lack of understanding of the assignment or a lack of effort. |
F |
Unacceptable. Well below expectations. Serious problems in organization, grammar, spelling. Serious errors in fact, for example, consistently misspelling the name of the subject of a story, reporting the wrong date or location of a meeting to be held. I'm thinking of the sort of misstatement or inaccuracy that an editor would feel compelled to correct in print. |
We will use plus and minus grades.
Several of the assignments may be rewritten after they are graded. Notification of the rewrite option will be made only after the assignment is turned in, so you should treat each assignment as your final version and give it your best effort. I feel that rewrites are most appropriate on assignments in which students have problems with organization, clarity, completeness and related issues. You won't receive a higher grade merely by fixing mechanical mistakes, such as errors in spelling and grammar, that were noted on the original. The GTFs will average the two grades (the original and the rewrite).
These may affect grading.
Attendance is crucial in lectures and labs. Missed labs will affect your lab-participation grade. Missed lectures will most likely be reflected in lower grades on writing assignments. Also, coming to lectures or labs late is disruptive, rude and unprofessional.
Deadlines are important in media writing. Late assignments will be penalized, except in the case of serious, unavoidable circumstances. In general, papers will be due at the beginning of class on the due date. If papers are late, the grade will be dropped by one letter. To make this clear, if a paper is handed in at the end of lab on the date due, it is still late. Each day drops it another letter grade. Please note that an assignment that yields an F because of lateness is still better in the final grade calculation than receiving no credit, which is the grade for a missed assignment.
There will be no makeup for missed assignments, except in cases of unavoidable circumstances, such as serious illness or weather emergencies. You might be asked to prove that such circumstances were unavoidable, such as providing a note from a doctor.
The university is serious about this, and so am I. You must do your own work; it's the crux of a journalism writing course. You're training for your future. The Schedule of Classes summarizes the University's rules on dishonesty.