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Grading
Yes, there will be grades
The real value in my feedback to you is not in the number you see at the bottom of the grading sheet but in the detailed comments I make on your work. My focus is on your own growth and improvement.
That's why assignments at the beginning of the unit (whether Web project or individual reporting project) will have less weight than assignments toward the end of the unit. That's also why I won't grade many of the early, in-class assignments (except with a checkmark or "+" mark), so you'll still feel willing to take some chances and be creative. That's also why I'm encouraging you to revise major assignments if we're not entirely happy with the first effort (see below).
I realize that you're not professional journalists. Nonetheless, I think we should all aspire to professional excellence. We won't always achieve it, but I've found that even in beginning students, the aspiration can produce remarkable growth. So what do I mean by professional excellence? Here's a brief preview of what I'll be looking for in your major work:
Here are some things I'll look for when I grade your work as a reporter:
- Your idea: Is it fresh, significant and appropriate for your audience?
- Focus: Does the information in the story present a dominant message, theme or impression? Is something new, changing or different? Is it truly a story or just a topic?
- Information: Is the information from human and documentary sources relevant to the focus? Is it credible, precise, accurate, diverse, fair and as complete as possible? Does it provide context that enables a reader new to the issue to understand the story? Did you get out of your "comfort zone" during the reporting process?
- Organization: Is the story well-organized? Does the story grab the reader early, establish the focus, and flow logically and clearly from beginning to end? Does it conclude in a memorable way?
- Writing: Is the writing clear, concise and compelling? Is it stilted or overwritten? Does it have a natural, conversational tone?
- Grammar and style: Are grammar, spelling, word usage and punctuation correct? Does the story contain typos? Does the format meet the style requirements of the class?
For your work as an editor, I'll ask these questions:
- Content editing: Did you identify "holes" in the story or information that needed more explanation. Did you ensure that the story is fair and balanced?
- Line editing: Did you edit the story for grammar, style, clarity and conciseness?
Grading of each major assignment will be done on the familiar 100-point scale:
- 97-100 A+ Excellent work
- 93-96 A Excellent work, just a minor problem or two
- 90-92 A- Excellent work, a few minor problems
- 87-89 B+ Good work
- 83-86 B Good work, but a couple of minor problems
- 80-82 B- Good work, but several minor problems or one major
- 77-79 C+ Satisfactory
- 73-76 C Satisfactory, but more reporting/editing needed
- 70-72 C- Satisfactory, but much more reporting/editing needed
- 67-69 D+ Serious problems with reporting, writing or Web production
- 63-66 D Serious problems with many facets of both projects
- 60-62 D- Severe problems overall
- 0-59 F Academic misconduct/failure to do the assignment.
Mistakes in spelling, grammar, style and punctuation will be treated as technical errors, and you'll have a grace period during the first four weeks to brush up on those skills.
Beginning with the memos you turn in for the reporting project, I'll start docking you points: One point off for every technical (grammar, usage, punctuation, etc.) error; three points off for every factual error or misspelled proper name.
If you have questions about how you're doing, please see me at once. Don't wait until the semester is nearly over; by then it may be too late to salvage a horrible grade, and I hardly ever grant incompletes.
Revisions
Because your improvement as a writer and reporter is such an important goal for this course, you will be able to rewrite your memos and stories and re-do your Web site to improve your grade (and, I hope, your journalism skills).
If you want to rewrite a memo or story, you must do so within two weeks of the day you get the first version back from me. Submit the original with the revision. I will then grade the second version, and your final grade for that assignment will be the average of the grades for the two drafts.
To get a lot more points on the revision, you will have to do more than just clean up the grammar and style issues, which I will have corrected for you. Note: This is highly encouraged, though not required. When I assess the "professionalism" part of your grade, your willingness to revise your work will be a chief factor in getting the full points.
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