As you know from working on your research paper, when you try to engage in authentic
academic inquiry you have to be prepared to alter your plans to reflect the
progress of your investigation. One thing you have to learn as an academic is
how to revise the plans, schedules, and goals for your work as your inquiry
develops. You need to meet your final deadline, but you may need to reconsider
the way you are going to do that.
Over the course of this semester, we have altered our plans in several ways. As we have moved towards the research project, we have decided it would be useful to spend more time learning how to find and evaluate resources. We have also agreed it might be more useful to spend more time on fewer authors rather than racing to get through a larger number of readings. Finally, because researching and writing the projects is such a thought and labor-intensive enterprise, we have decided to eliminate the commonplace book assignment.
It's time now for us to agree how to organize our work for the remaining part of the semester. What you will find listed below is one proposal for the method we should use to evaluate the work for the course, along with some questions designed to elicit additional proposals. Please consider these, and then we can discuss them as a class.
1. Introduction to an Author-15% of final grade
2. Bibliography (final version)-15% of final grade
3. Academic Engagement and Initiative-20%
4. Research Project-25% of final grade
5. Final Examination--25% of final grade
Note: "Academic Initiative and Contribution" reflects the quality
of your contribution to the course through your writing at the Speakeasy, your
comments and questions in class, your contribution to the learning and projects
of other students. The entries you made in the commonplace books in the opening
weeks of the course will also count in this area. Any other signs of your academic
engagement in the course will be acknowledged in this part of your grade. You
will have the opportunity to turn in your own assessment and documentation of
your academic engagement at the end of the semester.