English 110 — Spring 2024

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What is a grading agreement?

A Grading Agreement is a system of grades that are based primarily on your labors and efforts. That means that your final course letter grade will be the result of your participation, attendance, and completion of homework, assignments, and revisions. Thus, your grade will not be based on a subjective evaluation of your final assignments in comparison to the writing of your peers, which is how grades are usually assigned in writing and other courses.

Why utilize a grading agreement?

• Offers you the opportunity to be experimental and exploratory in your writing—to take risks, rather than only producing writing that is thought to be “correct” or doing exactly and only “what the assignment requires” or “what the teacher wants”
• Values the time, effort and, labor you decide to commit to the class
• Provides you with a clear and concrete understanding of your grade at all times throughout the semester (grades are simple and easy to calculate)
• Does not unfairly penalize or reward you for how much experience with writing and language you have prior to entering our class (all students have the same potential to earn an A)
• Privileges students who (can) invest the time, energy, and effort into their learning.

While grading agreements focus on quantifiable outcomes (attendance, participation, completed work), quality matters too: you are expected to carefully write and revise your writing assignments to meet certain goals and criteria. Grading agreements function on the belief that quality writing is the result of one’s efforts at drafting, getting and understanding feedback from others, and revising.

Classes employing a grading agreement aren’t easy.

This class is demanding, with multiple writing assignments every week and the expectation that you will make efforts to improve your writing and editing skills. While a grading agreement is based on quantifiable outcomes (attendance, participation, completed work), quality matters too, and quality writing comes from a multi-step process:

• Each major essay and project will be substantially revised based on the feedback you receive. (You’ll see in the class calendar that there is time provided for revisions.)
• You will be graded not only on your own work but the thoughtful feedback you provide on the writings of your classmates

General Terms of Agreement

• Attendance & Lateness. You agree to strive to attend required classes and to be on time. Being a few minutes late a few times in a semester is understandable, but we may need to talk if lateness becomes a problem. If extenuating circumstances prevent you from attending class, do not hesitate to contact me so that we can determine how to proceed.
• Participation & Collaboration. You agree to participate in ways that best fit you and that are most appropriate for each day’s goal (by actively listening, taking notes, asking questions, offering comments, etc.). You agree to work cooperatively and collegially in groups, to share your writing, to listen supportively to the writing of others, and, when called for, to give full and thoughtful assessments that help your colleagues consider ways to revise.
• Homework & Assignments. You agree to strive to turn in on time all homework and assignments. All should be completed fully and meet all assignment requirements. If you face extenuating circumstances, please email me ahead of time. If you are absent, you are still responsible for submitting on time any work that’s due.

The following guidelines apply to all assignments, including homework, drafts, and final assignments:

Timeliness

• On-Time Assignments: An assignment is “On-Time” when it is completed fully and submitted before the deadline. It will be marked as a “0” in the grade book. You should thus expect to see mostly zeros in your grade book. Zeros should not raise concern; instead, they’re the ideal. 
• Late Assignments: An assignment is “late” when it is turned in after its initial deadline, but submitted within two days (48 hours). It will be marked as a “1” in the grade book.
• Make-up Assignments: An assignment is a “make-up” when it is turned in at some point in the semester but after the 48-hour window. It will be marked as a “2” in the grade book.
• Ignored Assignments. Any assignment not done at all, for whatever reason, is considered “Ignored.” Even one ignored assignment will prevent you from earning a B or higher in the course (see chart below). It will be marked as a “3” in the grade book.
• IMPORTANT: Drafts of major essays cannot be submitted late. If drafts are submitted late, they will be considered “ignored.” PLUS, if an assignment is not completed fully, it may be marked as “ignored.”

Completion

• Projects will not qualify as “complete” unless they have achieved all of the goals of the assignment as discussed in class or explained on handouts. This means that projects are not just to be “done” but “done in the manner discussed.” If I find that a given project is not “complete,” I will contact you about redoing it and how this will affect your final grade.

Improvement

• While you do not have to worry about anyone’s judgments or standards to meet the grading contract, you are obligated for all of your class work to carefully listen to and consider your colleagues’ and my comments. Feedback is essential to improvement. In this class, you won’t just correct errors or touch up pieces here and there. Each major essay and project will be substantially reshaped, extended, or complicated based on the feedback you receive. You will also make efforts to improve your copy editing skills. I certainly do not expect error-free texts, but I do ask that you take an active role in developing your language uses. If too few revisions are made to your drafts over the course of the semester, I will contact you so that we can make a plan and/or determine how this will affect your final grade.

Grade Breakdown Guidelines

Note: These numbers are the maximums allowed for that grade. In other words, if you have only 3 absences but 2 make-up assignments, your grade is a C. If you have 1 make-up assignment but 2 ignored assignments, your grade is a D. (There are definitions of these terms further down on the page.)

“B” Grades

A “B” is the default grade, earned by completing the required work in a satisfactory fashion.

• Four or fewer absences, four or fewer late assignments, no more than two make-up assignment, and no ignored assignments.

“A” Grades

An “A” is earned by increasing your writing practice by completing two extra assignments:

• Extended Phase 2 Essay: Rather than creating and then analyzing one rhetorical text for Phase 2, you will use two rhetorical texts.
• Extended Phase 3 Essay: Your Phase 3 essay will be extended by two pages include a peer-reviewed research article as one of seven sources.
• Absent three times or less, three or fewer late assignments, and no make-up or ignored assignments.

Grades Lower Than “B”

The way to avoid sliding to a C, D, or F is to attend classes and submit assignments!

• Miss more than four classes, turn in more than four late assignments, turn in more than one make-up assignment, or have any ignored assignments

Definition of Terms

Assignments

A Completed Assignment achieves all of the goals of the assignment as discussed in class or explained on handouts. If an assignment is not completed fully, it may be marked as “ignored”. If I find that a given project is not “complete,” I will contact you about redoing it and how this will affect your final grade. If you face extenuating circumstances, please email me ahead of time.

An On-Time Assignment is completed fully and submitted before the deadline. It will be marked as a “0” in the grade book. You should expect to see mostly zeros in your grade book—that’s a good thing!

• Note: If you’re absent, you are still responsible for submitting on time any work that’s due.

A Late Assignment is turned in after its initial deadline, but submitted within two days (48 hours). It will be marked as a “1” in the grade book.

• Note: Drafts of major essays cannot be submitted late. If drafts are submitted late, they will be marked as a “2” like make up assignments.

A Make-up Assignment is turned in at some point in the semester but after the 48-hour window. It will be marked as a “2” in the grade book.

An Ignored Assignment is not done at all. It will be marked as a “3” in the grade book, and prevent you from earning a B or higher.

Attendance and Lateness

You are required to attend required classes and to be on time. Being a few minutes late a few times in a semester is understandable, but we may need to talk if lateness becomes a problem. If extenuating circumstances prevent you from attending class, do not hesitate to contact me so that we can determine how to proceed.

Participation and Collaboration

This class requires your active participation and willingness to work with your peers. While it’s understood that everyone has good days and bad, this class requires your participation (by actively listening, taking notes, asking questions, offering comments, etc.). It is also expected that you will work cooperatively and collegially in groups, to share your writing, to listen supportively to the writing of others, and, when called for, to give full and thoughtful assessments that help your colleagues consider ways to revise.

Exceptions

Waiver Requests

Life isn’t perfect and that each semester does not always go according to our plans, so you get one chance during the semester to ask for a late or missed assignment to be removed from your record.

• There must be a special or extenuating circumstance that warrants the request. I won’t give you a waiver just because you want a better grade.
• For a waiver to be granted, you may be asked to complete an extra assignment, such as researching and writing about a course-related topic or meeting with a consultant at the Writing Center.

Accommodations/Inclusivity

The goal of a Grading Agreement is to support your literacy growth, and to ensure you have the opportunity to work in a just environment that adapts to their needs and equally supports each student’s learning. I will work with individuals on a case-by-case basis to determine how best to accommodate your needs as a learner and the course’s learning outcomes.

+/- Grades

+/- grades will be assigned at my discretion. They will be used in cases when

• Your work and participation suggest you labored above and beyond expectations (+)
• The quality and completeness of your work and participation is lacking in one way or another (-)

If a waiver has been granted and/or we determine special accommodations are in order (see above). You will be notified if your final grade will have a + or –

University and Military Obligations

Any absence due to a university-sponsored group activity (e.g., sporting event, performance, band, etc.) will not count against you, as stipulated by university policy, as long as you FIRST provide written documentation within the first two weeks of the semester of all absences. This same policy applies if you have mandatory military-related absences (e.g., deployment, work, duty, etc.). This will allow us to determine ahead of time how you will meet assignments and our contract, despite being absent.

*By staying in our course, you agree to all of the above terms, and I agree to keep track of the above details responsibly and enforce them democratically.