GRADING CRITERIA
In a course such as this, it is important that students have clarity on the basis of evaluation. 

GRADING PHILOSOPHY. This course will follow Thomas Sowell’s succinct statement regarding grading and standards: "The philospher Pascal said that morality included a duty to think clearly.  Clear thinking, in turn, included not confusing effort with results.  If I practice singing as long and as conscientiously as Pavarotti, I will have as much merit as Pavarotti-- but I will still not sing as well as Pavarotti.  What other people can judge, in this case all too easily, is who sings better.   That is all they should try to judge.  Neither my personal effort nor his is known to them.  Likewise, we can have rules and criteria that apply equally to men and women.  Traditional concepts of justice or fairness, at least within the American tradition, boil down to applying the same rules and standards to everyone."

 

A Numerical breakdown: 97= A+ 93 = A 90 = A- etc.

The ‘A’ Argumentative Essay Excellence in thinking and performance. The A essay fulfills the assignment in a fresh, insightful, and mature manner, using purposeful language that leads to knowledge making. The prose is clear, readable, and sometimes memorable. Presents an interesting and original thesis that goes beyond what was said in class and the relevance of the topic to the text as a whole is explicit. Contains effective and thoughtful introductory and concluding paragraphs that raise important questions and issues, analyzes key questions and problems clearly and precisely, recognizes key questionable assumptions, clarifies key concepts effectively. The conclusion moves beyond a mere restatement of the introduction, offering implications for or the significance of the topic. A level work is, on the whole, not only clear, precise, and well-reasoned, but insightful as well. The reasoning in the essay is valid and demonstrates good, responsible judgment and an awareness of the topic’s complexities by identifying relevant competing points of view. Written in a tone and style that are entirely appropriate for a college-level audience that is not specifically acquainted the subject; explains and defines key concepts. Articulates ideas in a smooth and cohesive manner with effective transitions between sentences, ideas, and paragraphs; paragraphs are controlled by (explicit or implicit) topic sentences; they are well developed; and they progress logically from what precedes them; maintains focus and coherency, and do not contain repetition and digression. Few or no mechanical mistakes; clear, unambiguous sentences, perhaps with a touch of elegance; maintains basic sentence-level correctness. Excellent use of points from the assigned reading that reveals detailed understanding, and correctly incorporates and cites sources by referring to them. A lively and intelligent voice seems to speak; it has something interesting to say, says it clearly and gracefully to an appropriate audience, and supports it fully. The A-level student has internalized the basic intellectual standards appropriate to the assessment of his/her own work in a subject and demonstrates insight into self-evaluation.   "What we got here, is (a) failure to communicate."  ~from the film Cool Hand Luke If something is not clear--seek clarification