Grades in this
course
Do you know the university policy on academic honesty? If
not, visit the site from the Dean of Students.
It is your responsibility to follow university policies. Student
dishonesty is troublesome for your classmates, your instructor, and for you. It
is in everybody's best interests that you work with integrity.
Almost every
semester, one of my students has plagiarized part or all of a writing
assignment. In most cases, the student has been stressed and short of time,
rushing to turn something in. If you are stressed, talk to us! We may be able
to find an option that relieves some of your stress. See Plagiarism And How To Avoid It for helpful information.
Another
suggestion.
The document What is Plagiarism? by Scot Van
Bramer is helpful and to the point. Please check it
out!
Quizzes will be held during the
last third of the course only. Check the calendar for the dates, and use
the sample quiz questions prepared by your classmates as a study guide. There
will be 5 quizzes, and each one will be worth 80 points (20 from each of 4
presentations).
You
will grade the quiz questions that you write!
You also will be graded on how well you grade these questions.
NOTE: There are no
scheduled alternative times (early or late) for these five quizzes. In the
event that you must miss a quiz because a university-sponsored event, we will
arrange an early quiz for you. If you have a family or medical emergency (such
as a death in the family or your being sent to the hospital because of an
illness or injury) in which you must unexpectedly miss a quiz, we will arrange
for a make-up quiz. Short of this, if
you miss the quiz, you miss the points.
Your attendance
and participation in class are important. Accordingly, both count toward your
grade in the course. It is your responsibility to let us know ahead of time if
you need to be absent. A detailed message via email (chmiddle@wisc.edu) or
phone (263-5647) any time before
You will rate your
own work using a self-assessment sheet during the first two-thirds
of the semester. These are each worth 25
points and are due on Tuesday before class.
There are 9 self-assessments, and you may drop your lowest score.
This course
has two writing assignments, a short one at the beginning of the semester and a
longer one at the end. Check the details.
This course
uses a point system to assign grades.
|
In class quizzes |
300 points |
80 points/quiz |
|
Self-Assessments |
200 points |
25 points/assessment |
|
Assignment #1 |
250 points |
|
|
Assignment #2 |
550 points |
|
|
TOTAL |
1420 points |
|
Grades are not
assigned on a curve, thus you are not competing with your classmates for a grade.
The instructors reserve the right to adjust the grading scale to match any
changes we make in course activities (and to correct any math errors in the
scale).
|
A |
1320 – 1420 points |
|
AB |
1278 – 1319 points |
|
B |
1166 – 1277 points |
|
BC |
1136 – 1165 points |
|
C |
1040 – 1135 points |
|
D |
994 – 1039 points |
|
F |
below 994 points |
If you do the math,
you will see that this point system is not set up on the basis that 90% and
above is an A, 80% and above is a B, etc. The curve is more rigorous than this.
Why? Because we want you to learn more than 80% of the material in order to
earn a B. You will find that some of the points are quite easy to get. For
example, if you work steadily throughout the semester, attend faithfully and
participate in class, you should get most of the self-assessment points.
Please recognize
that these point allocations are estimates. If for some reason something
extra is added or something does not take place, the scale will be adjusted
appropriately.