| |
Participation and Attendance Thoughtful participation, mature and respectful dialogue with your peers, and perfect attendance are expected of everyone. You may not like everyone in the class, but I expect you to treat your peers in discussion with all of the respect that I extend to you since one of the objectives of such a course is to learn how to engage in serious debate on difficult material without descending into squabbles. Discussion sections are not an optional supplement to lectures, but a crucial component of this course, during which we will sometimes do group projects that may be impossible for you to make up otherwise. More than three unexcused absences will be penalized at the rate of one full point on the numerical grade scale for every absence. I will keep attendance whether or not it appears that I am doing so. Your presence and involvement in discussions will strongly affect my overall assessment of your engagement with the material and will significantly determine the Projects and Participation part of your final grade. As will quickly become clear, this is a challenging course whose many components fit together in such a way that you may miss much more than a single day of Shakespeare if you miss a given day. Attendance of screenings is optional. Attendance of all lectures and discussions is strictly required. Excused absences may be made up with supplementary work to be assigned in each case. |
Punctuality There will be a 48-hour grace-period after the due date for all written assignments provided that you contact me by email. All late papers, however, will receive only a grade with no comments and will be returned last. After the 48-hour grace period, papers will be marked down one point on the numerical scale for every 24 hour period (8 to 7, 7 to 6, etc). |
Grading Please understand that my expectations are very high. You should know from the start that I will be using the full spread of final grades for this course, from A, for the most excellent work and involvement throughout, to C, for disappointing or disengaged work and participation. Completion of all reading assignments is strictly required unless otherwise noted. I expect you to be intellectually engaged and responsible at all times. |
Citing Your Sources All use of secondary materials must be cited in the text of your essays. As I hardly need to say, failure to acknowledge your sources is a breach of the honor code and will be taken seriously. You should write the honor pledge and your name at the end of every essay. |
I will be using a numerical scale for the grading of assignments. In my experience, most essays weigh in around 7 or 8, showing that some students might earn a 9 with just a little more care in preparing a final draft. I recommend that you complete a full draft of your work at least a day before it is due so that you may take one more pass at a substantial revision before giving it to me. As should be clear from the descriptions below, the 10 range is reserved for truly excellent work, not just work that satisfies the requirements of the assignment. (10) Thoroughly excellent work at every level from style and mechanics to the depth of the discussion. The essay states its objectives clearly and compellingly at the start then pursues the argument succinctly through detailed observations on well-chosen quotations from the text. The essay has an impressive complexity and abundance of ideas presented in precise language without unnecessary repetition. The essay maintains a high level of discourse, never slipping inappropriately into colloquialisms or vague terms. (9) An excellent essay with occasional shortcomings in phrasing or in pursuing points to their fullest conclusion. No misreadings. (8) A very fine essay that needs a little polishing: a final rough draft of an excellent paper. (7) A good essay that either falters on a point of interpretation or that seldom comments directly on the language of the text, and which may also be in a need of a good proofreading for solecisms or confusing sentences. The writer has obviously thought carefully about the topic and has presented a number of good ideas, though they may not be organized to the best advantage. Such an essay seems to me to be two full revisions away from becoming an excellent essay. (6) What seems as though it ought to be a good essay but for something puzzling about the way that it is written. The essay may be severely disorganized; it may lack a clear argument or an intelligible frame; it may continually defer any sort of conclusion on any point but the most obvious. The writer has evidently worked carelessly or in excessive haste and may also benefit from some additional coaching by a writing tutor. (5) An essay that is disappointing in more than one respect or that makes a serious error of interpretation that affects the entire argument. (4) An essay that only seems to fulfill the assignment, perhaps an experiment that went awry. The essay may be re-written once after a discussion with me (in which case the grade for this assignment will be an average of the two versions). (3 and below) Dangerous territory. The writer should not have thought that the essay was acceptable for a course at Middlebury College and should arrange to meet with me to discuss the paper. |
X -- Absolutely superb. Exceptionally perceptive, thoughtful, and succinct. Teaches me something new. VII-IX -- Very good to excellent. A serious engagement with the material. V-VI -- Good, but may overlook something that we have already learned or seem rushed or off-handed. V and below -- Disappointing. |
For the computation of final grades, the numerical scale will roughly correspond to letters as follows: 10 = (A), 9 = (A-), 8 = ( B+), 7 = (B), 6 = (B-), 5 = (C+), 4 = (C), 3 = (C-). |
