In your final exam, you will write a self-evaluation that tells me what grade you deserve in the course. In the workplace, this process would be similar to asking for a raise or some additional perk during your annual review.
You’ll determine the course grade you deserve by returning to the syllabus and requirements page on this site. First, remember that your grades in this course are based 100% on the labor you actively contributed to building and supporting the writing community and the labor you put into completing all the activities and projects in the course. In your final exam, you will present the details on what you have done and avoid making excuses or telling “sob stories.”
Remember that the Grades in Canvas are only a summary of the work that you completed (or did not complete). Your grade is based on your work as outlined on the requirements page.
To Earn a B
You must have completed the following activities in order to earn a B or higher in this course:
- Create five assigned major projects. You must have a complete on each of the following:
- Track your work in the course in a Labor Log. You must have a complete on Labor Logs for each of the following dates:
- Share a draft for each of your major projects with your writing group (in Discussions), and provide formative feedback on the drafts that are submitted by the members of your writing group. You must have a complete on each of the following discussions:
- Evaluate your labor in the course in a performance review, which serves as your final exam (uploaded as an Assignment in Canvas).
To Earn a Grade Lower than a B
If you did not complete all of the activities in the section above, your grade will be lower than a B. Discuss the required work that you did complete, explaining how much of it your completed. You can also refer to any work that you did beyond the basic requirements.
In your final exam, tell me what grade you deserve in the course (B-, C+, D, etc.), using the information from your performance evaluation to support your argument.
To Earn a Grade Higher than a B
You must have taken an ongoing leadership role by helping to teach the class new things and significantly adding support to the writing community.
Your contributions may have been supportive actions that you designed yourself (with feedback from me) or actions that came from a list of possible suggestions.
Be sure to talk about consistency. Your argument is stronger if you demonstrate that you consistently worked toward your goal during the entire term.
Grades higher than a B are earned based on a traditional bell curve: Those students who contributed most significantly will earn an A; those who contributed least significantly will earn a B+. Note that your grade is not based on the number of contributions, but on the value of those contributions to demonstrating your leadership and adding support to the writing community.
FAQ for Grades in the Course
| If you are looking for… | Look here… |
|---|---|
| The basic requirements for grades in the course | Requirements Page |
| Options for earning a grade higher than a B | Section on higher grades on the Requirements Page |
| Information on the check and X marks in Canvas Grades | Completes vs. Incompletes section on How Canvas Grades Work Page |
| How to tell how you’re doing in the course | How to Tell How You’re Doing section on the How Canvas Grades Work Page |
| The reason Canvas isn’t tracking your course grade | What Is Tracked in Canvas Grades on the How Canvas Grades Work Page |
| Details on how to make your case for a grade in the course | Final Exam Page |
3 Comments
I thought this was a really helpful tutorial to help determine my course grade for the semester. Earlier, I was contemplating how I should write my final performance review. Now that I have all the resources on one home page, it’ll be easier for me to start brainstorming and start writing a draft for the assignment.
The thought of writing the Performance Review is very daunting to me, and it’s nice that we have a comprehensive list of everything that applies to our grade. Between this and the Final Exam assignment specification, I have all of the information I need.
I think that keeping track of our work with the Labor Logs provided the most preparation for this assignment. They provide concrete evidence of time spent and the amount of work done over the past three weeks. I also think screenshots of any additional posts or messages that a student has made will really help them in his or her self-assessment.
If anyone is confused about structuring their paper, I think starting by addressing your progress in each expected labor category (Feedback, Writing, etc.) may be a good place to start. It is direct and encompasses at least the expected content.
It is the first time I have written something like this. At first, I was really confused since I think I am not that good at evaluating myself. The labor logs helped a lot! it helped me keep track of my work ( and lack of in some instances).