Grading – Technical Writing

Course Grades Posted

tengrrl — Thu, 10 May 2018 01:51:05 +0000

I have finished grading the finals and submitted course grades in HokieSpa. You can see your course grade in Canvas by checking the grade for your final exam.

Thanks for your hard work this semester. Good luck with your future studies and careers.

Unsubscribing from the Course Website and Twitter Updates

If you subscribed to the course website at the beginning of the term, you probably want to unsubscribe now. Look for an unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email message that you get from the course website.

If you were following the course Twitter account (@HokieTengrrl), just go the the page in Twitter and click the Unfollow button.

I have archived the Facebook group, so you should receive no more updates from it. If you prefer, you can also Leave the Group.

Last updated on Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Changes to the Course Grading System

tengrrl — Sat, 24 Mar 2018 13:03:46 +0000

A lot of you told me in your midterm evaluation that you were anxious about the grading system in these ways:

Some of you worried about how well you were doing on the portion of your grade that would mean that you earned a grade higher than a B in the course.
Several of you used a form of the word competition to describe how you felt about the course because of the curve that is mentioned on the syllabus.
Some have commented that you aren’t sure how you are doing in the course because of the unusual grading system.

About the Grade Curve

Your worries about the grade curve concern me for several reasons:

If you are anxious about the course, you aren’t able to focus on doing your best work.
This labor-based grading system is intended to make you feel free to take risks and revise as much as you like—it’s meant to make you less anxious, not moreso.
I did some additional reading on the kind of Complete/Incomplete, no-grades system that I am using, and I found this comment on Jesse Stommel’s blog: “Grading on a Curve: In brief, it pits students against each other, discourages collaboration, and privileges the students who our educational system has already privileged.”

As a result, the statement on the Requirements page that “Grades higher than a B will be based on a bell curve” will not be used in this course. The passage is marked out on the page. The difference between a B+, A-, and A are still related to the value of your contributions and how they demonstrate your leadership and add support to the writing community; however, you will not be compared to any other student.

About Your Grade in the Course

I posted details on How Canvas Grades Work, which I intended to help you tell how you are doing in the course. That information does seem to be adequate, so I want to try something new.

I have created three completion checklists for the course:

Midterm Completion Checklist (for all work up to Spring Break)
March Completion Checklist (for work from March 3 to March 31)
April Completion Checklist (for work from April 1 to April 30)

By completing these checklists (quizzes in Canvas), you will tally up how you are doing in the course. There are 100 points for each week, for a total of 1500 point overall.

These checklist quizzes are totaled automatically. You can complete them as many times as you like so you can keep a running tally on work in progress.

Because of the way the Canvas gradebook works, I cannot make the points total properly. You will have to add the scores on the three checklists yourself. Divide the number of points you accumulate by the number of points possible to get an idea of your grade in the course. Here’s an example:

The midterm checklist is worth 700 points.
If you did not do any extra work toward a B and you missed one labor log, you would accumulate 586 points.
586/700 = 83.7 (so you are close to a B in the course)

The checklists are based on the assumption that if you turn in your major projects, you will eventually earn a Complete on that work. You must earn a Complete on all five major projects to earn a B or higher in the course.

About Your Final Exam

The completion checklists are a simple way for you to keep track of the work that you have done in the course. You can use the points from the checklist as you write your Final Exam, in which you propose the grade you should receive in the course.

The final exam and its purpose in the course are NOT changing. The numbers from the checklist will give you a general idea of where you stand, but your actual grade in the course will be based on how effectively you present your argument in your final exam.

Remember that the numbers from the checklist are a guideline only. You explain how I should read those numbers when you write your final.

Questions?

If you are confused or want to respond to these changes, you can leave a comment on this post.

Photo Credit: Tombstone: What up Holmes by Warren Rohner on Flickr, used under a CC-BY-SA 2.0 license.

Last updated on Sunday, March 25, 2018

Grades on the Professional Bio Project

tengrrl — Thu, 22 Feb 2018 11:39:52 +0000

I have graded all of the Professional Bio projects. This post accomplishes the following goals:

Tells you about the feedback strategy I used.
Provides overall feedback on the project.
Outlines revision activities you can complete if you are not happy with your grade.

Please read the information carefully and note the related dates. If you have questions about grading in this course, consult these resources:

The Feedback Strategy for the Project

I recorded a video for each of you that gives feedback on your project, explaining what I am seeing as I look at the document and talking about how you can improve it.

This is the first time I have tried video feedback. Please watch the entire video as I give you suggestions for improving that will help with future projects. Even if you have a complete on the assignment, there will be useful information in the video. Since I have not used video in this way previously, I would love feedback from you. You can leave a comment on this post that tells me what your thoughts are on this strategy.

I need to share a few details about these videos:

The video feedback files are mp4s and should play in Canvas. All you need to do is click on the link in the comment area on the assignment. The video has audio, so you may want to use your earbuds when you listen.
I may have mispronounced your name. If so, I apologize. Please let me know how to say your name so that I get it right the next time.
You may well hear background noise in the videos. Some of you will hear the dogs bark. One of you will hear the dog flinging himself into the door because he was angry that I shut him out. One of you will hear me gasp when my sister suddenly shoves a piece of paper into my view (I didn’t hear her come in the room and she scared the tar out of me). Several of you will hear my fan, which I forgot to turn off. Apologies for all that.

Overall Feedback for the Class

Complete bios: Most of you did a good job following the instructions in the assignment by including all of the required information.
Work on document design: Many projects could be improved with more attention to document design. In particular, remember the design elements from the CRAP infographic and the F-shaped reading pattern.
Focus on showing: The details in your documents should show the reader what you want to communicate. You may have had a teacher in the past talk about the difference between showing and telling in your writing. A Stanford technical writing course explains it this way:

[U]se specific examples and stories. In writing, we call this show, don’t tell. Don’t just say you are committed to solving global health problems, show an example of this. Readers don’t remember abstractions. They remember stories.
Help from the Writing Center: Remember that anyone can visit the Writing Center in the library for help with projects for the course. Writing Center tutors can help you strengthen your content as well as work on document design and issues with phrasing, grammar, or punctuation. You can read more about the Writing Center and make an appointment at https://lib.vt.edu/spaces/writing-center.html.

Revision Activities for the Analysis Project

I have reopened the assignment so that those of you who want to revise can improve your project. Follow the guidelines below to resubmit your work.

If I made a mistake or there is a technical issue with your video
Send me an email message or a private message in Canvas with the details. I’ll fix it.
If there were problems with the content or design of your bio
Revise your project to improve your work, adding whatever is missing and/or tweaking the design. Resubmit your project, and I will regrade your work.
If you did not submit your work at all
It is too late. Be sure to turn in all the remaining projects if you want to pass the course.
If something else is going on
Send me an email message or a private message on Slack with the details. I’ll see what I can do to help you.

Suggested Revision Dates

It would be unfair to ask for revisions before Spring Break. I’m sure many of you have plans (or at least dreams) of getting out of Blacksburg. Likewise, I take time off during break, so I assume you do too. As a result, I would like to give you a longer period of time to get revisions in.

By 11:59PM on March 16, aim to submit your revision. It will help you to have the bio done before we dive fully into the second half of the term.

If you need more time, that is fine. The bio assignment is open until the last day of classes. You do not need to contact me. Realize however that if you put off revising until the last day, you may run out of time. You cannot revise after the last day of classes.

Last updated on Thursday, February 22, 2018

#SundayShare: Grading System FAQ

tengrrl — Sun, 11 Feb 2018 05:03:26 +0000

Students have told me in their SPOT comments that the grading system I use can be confusing, so I want to dedicate some time to explaining more about it with these FAQs.

Why do you use a labor-based system?

I believe that a system that allows you to keep working until you get the results that fit the workplace is more humane than a system that punishes you if you aren’t perfect on the first try.

I know there are lots of situations in the workplace that require perfection. If you submit a bid to a client that has errors, for instance, you may not get a second chance—but that’s in the workplace. You are still in the classroom.

The labor-based system allows you the chance to learn and improve. You can make mistakes and try again. You can take risks, and if they don’t turn out, your grade will still be okay.

How does this system relate to the workplace?

I have worked in quite a few places, and in none of them did I ever receive a letter grade for the work that I did. Never ever. It just doesn’t work that way.

Sure my writing was read by others I worked with. Sometimes it was good enough to go out to the intended reader right away. Other times it had to be revised first. Grades just weren’t part of the system.

In the workplace, you are assessed on how hard you work and what you accomplish. Managers expect you to show up, put in your best effort, and accomplish the goals your company sets. If you do nothing or the bare minimum, you will be reprimanded or fired.

Grades in this course are based on a similar system. You earn your grade based on your labor—on the time and intensity that you put into your writing and collaboration. You are not punished for making mistakes as long as you work to improve throughout the term.

What’s the research behind this system?

I adapted this strategy from Asao Inoue’s work on contract grading, labor-based grading, and anti-racist assessment strategies.

You can find additional publications on anti-racist assessment and on grading students’ labor on Inoue’s Academia.edu page.

Why is this system better for students?

The most important benefits of this system are explained in the When Your Grades Are Based on Labor infographic. To summarize those benefits, a labor-based grading system allows you to

Focus on Ideas (Not Mistakes).
Write for Yourself (Not for Me).
Take Risks (Don’t Play It Safe).
Have Do-Overs (No Penalty).

This labor-based system allows you to continue working on your projects until your work reaches the level that would be acceptable in the workplace. Your grade is not effected by what you haven’t learned yet, and you are free to try out ideas as you like.

Why is there no partial credit?

Work in this class is either ready to use in the workplace (and graded Complete) or it’s not ready (and graded Incomplete).

Think of it as a binary system. There can only be 1 or 0, Complete or Incomplete. There isn’t any middle ground, so there isn’t partial credit.

The thing to remember is that when a project is returned as Incomplete, you can always revise it until you do have a piece that is ready to use in the workplace. There is no punishment in the system if your work isn’t quite ready, but there’s no credit either.

How are labor logs part of this system?

You document the time you spend on activities and the level of intensity you put into your work in your labor log. You can think of tracking your work in your log as a parallel to tracking billing codes for what you do in the workplace.

I have no way of knowing what you are working on or even how much you are working in an online class. In a face-to-face classroom, I would see you working in the classroom. I could tell if you were working intensely, working at an average pace, or not working at all. Since I cannot see your work myself, I need you to tell me what you’re doing.

Additionally, you will use your labor log to gather details about your work when you write your final exam. Keeping track of what you do in your log is easier than trying to remember the details of what you did at the end of the term.

Why is there so much emphasis on peer feedback in this system?

In the workplace, you will find yourself reading and commenting on the projects of your coworkers frequently. The peer feedback activities in our class give you the chance to learn more about that process. Writing in the workplace is as much about what you write as it is about how you help others with their writing.

Just as importantly, peer feedback helps you improve your own writing in two ways. First, and maybe most obvious, you get advice on your draft that you can use to revise your document. Second, by reading drafts written by your classmates you can see strategies that will help you improve your own work as well as notice errors that you can later check your own work for.

Naturally, you cannot copy other people’s work; however, you can see useful ideas that you can make your own. For instance, you might read a draft that does a great job with headings. When you return to your own draft, those headings will stick with you, and you can use their example as you revise your own draft.

Image credits: Icons are all from The Noun Project, used under a CC-BY 3.0 license: Worker by Wilson Joseph, Workplace by Darri, Research by Tanuj Abraham, growth by Souvik Bhattacharjee, code by Creative Stall, journal by Vectors Market, and peer review by Cody Foss.

Last updated on Saturday, February 10, 2018

Feedback on Your 1/26 Labor Logs

tengrrl — Tue, 06 Feb 2018 05:33:36 +0000

I have graded all of the 1/26 Labor Logs. Good news: Everyone who turned in a log earned a Complete!

In this post, I want to discuss the timing of the grading and to provide some feedback on some patterns that I noticed as I read through your logs.

When I Grade Logs

I usually wait to grade your logs until after the end of the grace period, so don’t worry if you haven’t seen a grade. It’s easier in Canvas to grade the logs all at once.

Overall Feedback for the Class

Check your time: Virginia Tech classes require 36.25 hours of class time for the semester (about 2.5 hours a week), plus time to complete your readings and compose your projects. Out-of-class time usually ranges from 2 to 3 hours a week. If you are averaging fewer than 4 hours a week, you need to up your game! You’re not putting in the amount of work that the course requires.
Include details: Remember that you will use your logs at the end of the term, when you are working on your final exam. If you put in a little effort now to require concrete details about your work in the course, you will have exactly what you need when it comes time to write your final.
Focus on document design: I said this in the post on the 1/19 logs, but it bears repeating. Be sure that you pay attention to document design. Using headings and chunking your text will make it easier for you to find information in your logs later in the term, when you are working on your final exam. You can read more about headings and chunking in Ten Ways to Improve Your Writing.

Last updated on Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Grades on the Group Preferences Survey

tengrrl — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 06:59:08 +0000

There have been some questions about the grades posted tonight for the Spring 2018 Group Preferences Survey.

The survey was item #4 on the list of tasks on the post for the first week of class on the course website. The survey was also mentioned in the third bullet point under Notes on the post for this week.

The survey used a Google Form (because it allowed me to sort responses in a spreadsheet). It wasn’t an assignment in Canvas. I added it as a “No Submission” assignment in Canvas to give people credit for completing it. Basically, if you filled out the survey, you earned a Complete (a checkmark in the Canvas Gradebook).

In the long run, missing one Discussion assignment won’t make much of a difference in the course; but I like to make sure I give folks credit for what they do.

Last updated on Friday, January 26, 2018

Grades on the 1/19 Labor Log

tengrrl — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 00:09:11 +0000

I have graded all of the 1/19 Labor Logs. In this post, I’ll comment on how you all did and what you can do if you are not happy with your grade. Please read the information carefully and note the related dates.

My Grading Strategy

First, let me explain a little about my strategy. To speed up the grading, I make individual comments on your work when there is something you need to spend more time on, and then I post an overall summary with feedback for everyone here on the course website. This process lets me tell you all about the trends in the class at once, instead of typing things out on 88 different projects.

I use this system for all of the work in the course. That said, I probably will not post again on the Labor Logs, since you understand the assignment now.

Overall Feedback for the Class

Complete logs: Most of you did a great job following the instructions, including all of the required information about your work during the first week. I know that the work was light last week. I will expect to see more detail from some of you in future posts.
Work on document design: Some of the logs could be improved with more attention to document design.Using headings and chunking your text will make it easier for you to find information in your logs later in the term, when you are working on your final exam. You can read more about headings and chunking in Ten Ways to Improve Your Writing.

Revision for the 1/19 Labor Logs

I have reopened the assignment so that those of you who want to revise can improve your project. Follow the guidelines below to resubmit your work.

If I made a mistake
Send me an email message or a private message in Canvas with the details. I’ll fix it.
If there were problems with the content or design of your log
Revise your project to improve your work, adding whatever is missing or tweaking the design. Resubmit your project, and I will regrade your work.
If you did not submit your log at all
It is too late. Be sure to turn in all the remaining projects if you want to pass the course.
If something else is going on
Send me an email message or a private message on Canvas with the details. I’ll see what I can do to help you.

Revision Deadline

By 11:59PM on Friday, February 2, submit your 1/19 Labor Log revision. If that deadline is an issue, let me know BEFORE 11:59PM on Friday, February 2.

Last updated on Friday, January 26, 2018