ESSAY SKILLS |
6 or less: inadequate command |
7= limited command |
8= some command |
9= adequate command |
10= strong command |
11-12= superior command |
Content/
Organ-
ization |
May not have an opening or closing; unclear focus; disorganized and hard to understand; details irrelevant to topic |
May not have an opening or closing; some attempt to focus but may drift off topic; some organization evident, but poor or too few transitions from thought to thought; details not elaborated or developed |
Has an opening and closing; has a focus; clear attempt to organize ideas; details relevant and present but may not be fully developed and may be repetitious |
Has an opening and closing; has a clear focus; is organized and has transitions, but ideas may be loosely connected; writer may ramble in spots |
Has an opening and closing; stays focused on topic and has completeness and unity; key ideas developed and progress logically; may take some risks in adding strong description or narration; details are effective and varied |
Has an opening and closing; stays strongly focused on topic and has completeness and unity; key ideas are very well developed; progress logically; may take some risks in adding strong description or narration; groups of ideas are strongly connected; details are effective, varied, well described, vivid |
Usage |
Many usage errors (subject-verb agreement, pronoun usage, word choice, modifiers) |
Some errors in subject-verb agreement, pronoun usage, word choice, modifiers |
May have a pattern of errors in one area |
Some errors, but no consistent pattern; errors do not interfere with meaning |
Few errors |
Few errors or none
|
Sentence Construc-
tion |
Many incomplete, incorrect, hard-to-understand sentences (fragments) |
Sentences dull, unvaried, often incomplete |
Not much sentence variation; some errors in sentence construction |
May have minor errors in spelling, capitalization or punctuation; these errors do not interfere with meaning |
Few errors; sentences are varied |
Few errors or none; sentences are varied, effective, advanced and sophis-ticated in style |
Mechanics |
Many errors in spelling, capitalization, and punctuation make the essay difficult to read and understand |
Some errors in spelling, capitalization, and punctuation |
May contain a pattern of errors in one area (spelling, capitalization or punctuation) |
Few errors |
Few errors |
Few errors or none |
Grades
All work carries value, particularly constructive class participation. All formal essays are to be handed in on the due date. If you are having problems with your writing or assignments, please speak to your instructor before the assignment is due. Essays will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
1. Clarity of topic and presentation of point of view;
2. Control and purpose of main idea;
3. Coherence and unity of development; and
4. Language awareness and correctness.
Please be warned that assignments are due on the due date at the beginning of class. No paper or other assignment will be accepted later than the beginning of class.
Students who pass the course will receive a final grade based on the following:
- Class attendance
- Class participation
- Submission of portfolio and all drafts on time
- Score on Nelson Denny post-test
- Quality and extent of progress on written work and
- Preparedness
Grades for ACF 96 are A, B, C and F. Note, a C- is not a passing grade. A student is allowed two attempts at passing the course. A grade of W or WF is considered one attempt at the course. A second unsuccessful attempt to pass the course will mean that the student is not eligible to continue in the college next semester.
| Evaluation |
|
| Essays |
70% |
| Reading post-test |
5% |
| Portfolio |
5% |
| Double-entry journal |
5% |
| Midterm |
5% |
| Final exam |
10% |
Chart of Grade Ranges for Nelson Denny Post-Test
A |
93-100 |
A- |
90-92 |
B+ |
87-89 |
B |
83-86 |
B- |
80-82 |
C+ |
77-79 |
C |
73-76 |
C- |
70-72 |
D |
60-69 |
F |
59 and below |
THE DOUBLE ENTRY JOURNAL
ACF 96
The double entry journal is a note-taking reading strategy designed to help you work with the text by identifying passages that are meaningful or confusing to you. We will use your double entry journals on Mondays as the basis for our class discussions. These journals will not be accepted late and may not be done during class on Mondays. They may be handwritten, but spelling, grammar, punctuation and usage count.
There will be a total of 6 double entry journals, which will count as one grade in your final average. If you receive credit for all 6, you will receive, at the end of the semester, a grade of A, and so forth:
# Double entry journals completed: Grade:
6……………………………………….. A
5……………………………………….. B
4……………………………………….. C
3 or fewer…………………………... F
To receive credit for each double entry journal submission, you must copy and respond to at least 5 passages in each section of the book.
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