Assignments

Our class blog is where we work through the ideas and arguments discussed in class in writing. Your work on this blog should be more formal than what you write in your class notes, but it also a space where you can explore your own understanding of the course readings and your reactions to the “Spirited Things” exhibition and related programs. In this space we will work on drafts of your six required blog posts, before they are posted to the official “Spirited Things” blog.

You will make three kinds of posts to the class blog: Reflections, Reviews, and Analyses. The schedule of posts is as follows:

Guidelines for each post will be made available here. You will complete your post in stages, working from brainstorm to outline to draft to final version. Once your post is finalized, it will be posted to the official Spirited Things exhibition blog for public viewing and commentary.

Grading

All substantive blog posts will be graded according to the following rubric:*

A Exceptional. The post is focused and coherently integrates examples with explanations or analysis. The post demonstrates awareness of its own limitations or implications, and it considers multiple perspectives when appropriate. The post reflects in-depth engagement with the topic and answers the questions raised in the assignment prompt completely and appropriately. The post is well written: it uses an appropriate level of specificity, is clearly structured and focused, and is almost entirely free of spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors.
B Satisfactory. The post is reasonably focused, and explanations or analysis are mostly based on examples or other evidence. Fewer connections are made between ideas, and though new insights are offered, they are not fully developed. The post reflects moderate engagement with the topic and only partially or tangentially answers the prompt. The post uses words accurately and effectively, but may sometimes be too general. Sentences are generally clear, well-structured, and focused, though some may be awkward and ineffective. The post may contain a few errors but they don’t impede understanding.
C Underdeveloped. The post is mostly description or summary, without consideration of alternative perspectives, and few connections are made between ideas. The post reflects passing engagement with the topic and a minimal attempt to answer the prompt. Author uses relatively vague and general words and sentences may be wordy, unfocused, repetitive, or confusing. The post contains several mechanical errors which are confusing but don’ t impede understanding.
D Limited. The post is unfocused, or simply rehashes previous comments, and displays no evidence of student engagement with the topic and no attempt to answer the questions raised by the assignment prompt. The post may be too vague and abstract, or too personal and specific. It contains several awkward or ungrammatical sentences and sentence structure is simple or monotonous. The post contains either many mechanical errors or a few important errors that block the reader’ s understanding and ability to see connections between thoughts
F No Credit. The blog post is missing or consists of one or two disconnected sentences.

* Adapted from a rubric developed by Mark Sample.