Grading Standards
I follow the College of Wooster guidelines for grading. “A” grades reflect excellent work, “B” grades very good work, “C” grades adequate work, and “D” minimal work. Grades of “F” are reserved for work that is unsatisfactory in its content, relationship to the assignment, and/or degree of effort. Plagiarism will always result in a failing grade.
PROFESSIONALISM (20%)
One fifth of your grade is composed of fulfilling a very simple set of guidelines. Come to class. Don’t be late to class. Don’t be disruptive. Don’t be dismissive of ideas or each other. Pay attention when people are talking. Do the reading. Do your work. Turn in your work. Turn it in on time and in the right format. Don’t make excuses. Just do what you are supposed to do when you are supposed to do it and how you are supposed to do it. That’s what professionals do.
Quizzes (20%)
Almost every week, we will begin our class class on Thursday with a short in-class quiz. Questions will be drawn from that week’s readings and lecture. There will be eleven quizzes creating a built-in makeup quiz grade.
Lepore paragraph summaries and worksheets (20%)
Almost every week, each student will be required to prepare one-sentence summaries each paragraph in that week’s reading of the Lepore text and to fill out a short worksheet on the reading. These are time-consuming, so schedule accordingly. These will be simply graded as credit.
Primary Source Worksheets (20%)
Almost every week, each student will be required to complete one-page worksheets on at least three of that week’s collection of primary sources. These will be graded on a simple 0-2 scale. 0 scores can be resubmitted.
The View from Project (20%)
Each student working either on their own or in a two-person team will prepare their version of our weekly “the view from” format. These will examine a major theme of American history since 1877 over a several decade period from a specific place. It will include a short written paper of 600-700 words and a collection of primary source for the class to consider. All subjects, dates, and reading must be pre-approved.