Experience shows that many students do not read comments made on their writing.
That is certainly within their rights, but it suggests that writing such comments is a poor use of a professor’s time.
In this class, I will respond to your work with a graded rubric (see below), and hope that this offers enough direction for many students. If you would like to receive more feedback, please print out a copy of your essay or discussion forum entry and stop by my office. I am always happy to discuss your writing with you.
Each essay will receive up to ten points:
Length (1 pt)
1 = at least 600 words
0 = less than 600 words
Grammar/Mechanics/Typos (3 pts)
3 = error free.
2 = up to three errors
1 = up to five errors
0 = more than five errors
Summary of the film (2 pts)
2 = a perfect summary. You captured what was essential to the film with the fewest number of words possible
1 = irrelevant details were included, or the essence of the film was neglected
0 = summary needs serious revision
Discussion — organization and understanding (4 pts)
4 = excellent discussion; insightful and enjoyable to read; relevant use of other course materials
3 = good discussion; certain connections with the course material might be neglected
2 = organization or understanding of the material needs attention, or significant misunderstanding of related materials
1 = organizational problems make following your presentation difficult, or serious misunderstanding of related materials
0 = oh my, we have work to do!
Each posting will receive up to six points:
Length (0-2 pts)
2 = at least 400 words.
1 = at least 200 words.
Content (0-3 pts)
3 = good discussion, enjoyable to read, and helpful.
2 = coherent, adequate discussion, possibly with minor problems in organization or understanding.
1 = considerable problems in the organization, or strong evidence that you've seriously misunderstood the topic.
Mechanics (0-1 pts)
1 = flawless writing, impeccable punctuation, with neither typos nor mispellings.
0 = presence of typos, mispellings, or poor punctuation.
Each comment will receive up to 2 points:
2 = appropriate discussion, relevant to the entry, and helpful.
1 = comment is helpful, but either too brief (less than 100 words) or poorly written.
0 = comment is inappropriate, or else shows little evidence of having read or understood the entry, or else is nothing more than a note of praise ("Nice entry") or condemnation ("Stupid entry" — this comment is inappropriate, as well).
Each Film Evaluation will receive up to 4 points:
Length (1 pt)
1 = at least 150 words
0 = less than 150 words
Grammar/Mechanics (1 pt)
1 = no more than two errors
0 = more than two errors
Content (0-2 pts)
2 = you have fully and thoughtfully addressed all parts of the evaluation
1 = the evaluation is either incomplete or else somewhat superficially completed
0 = we need to talk
Each paragraph can receive up to 3 points:
3 = excellent exposition, including some connection to a text, film, or previous class discussion
2 = good, possibly with a connection to other materials
1 = superficial discussion