English 110 | Fall 2024
Download this Grading Agreement
For this course, we will use a grading agreement, a system of grades that are based primarily on your labors and efforts. That means that your final course letter grade will be the result of your participation, attendance, and completion of homework, assignments, and revisions.
Why Grading Agreements?
Grading agreements are valuable for a number of reasons, including the fact that they:
- Offer you the opportunity to be experimental in your writing—to take risks—rather than only produce writing that is thought to be “correct” or “what the assignment requires” or “what the teacher wants”;
- Value the time, effort and, labor you decide to commit to the class;
- Provide you with a clear and concrete understanding of your grade at all times throughout the semester (grades are simple and easy to calculate);
- Do not unfairly penalize or reward you for how much experience with writing and language you have prior to entering our class (all students have the same potential to earn an A);
- Do not involve instructors assigning grades based on their own subjective assessments and/or comparing your writing to the writing of your peers.
- Allow students to determine for themselves how they will invest the time, energy, and effort into their learning.
While grading agreements focus on quantifiable outcomes (attendance, participation, completed work), quality matters too: you are expected to carefully write and revise your writing assignments to meet certain goals and criteria. Grading agreements function on the belief that quality writing is the result of one’s efforts at drafting, getting and understanding feedback from others, and revising.
This agreement outlines the terms for earning grades and successfully completing this course.
How to Keep the A+?
You are guaranteed a final grade of “A+” if you meet all of the following 6 conditions:
1. Attend (almost) All Classes and Be on Time. Our goal is to build a community of writers, and that can only happen if we all show up. You are permitted to miss 3 classes (for any reason). Your grade drops at your 4th absence, and 4 “tardies” will count as 1 absence.
2. Complete and Submit All Major Writing Assignments. To pass the course, all required major writing assignments must be submitted. See syllabus for list of major assignments.
3. Submit All Homework (HW) Assignments. Submitting all HW on time will prepare you to complete the major writing assignments, and it will ensure that you receive feedback (from your instructor/peers), so do strive for that. Missing just 1 HW will drop your grade.
- If you are absent, you are still responsible for submitting any work that’s due.
- HW not completed fully or not fulfilling requirements will be marked as missed.
- HW assignments can be turned in late. There are 3 phases in this course. HW assigned for any of the phases must be submitted before the start of the next phase or it will be marked as “missed.” 1 “missed” HW will drop your grade.
4. Submit All Drafts on Time & Participate in All In-Class Peer Reviews. You are asked to complete, submit on time, and give/get feedback from peers on each of your drafts of major writing assignments. Drafts cannot be submitted late (they will be marked as missed). Missing the deadline for just 1 draft or missing just 1 peer review will drop your grade.
- Up to 2 missed peer reviews can be made up by scheduling and meeting 1on1 with a tutor at the CCNY Writing Center within 1 week of the missed peer review. Ask your tutor for proof of your visit and provide this to your instructor.
5. Complete All Work Fully and According to Assignment Requirements. Work submitted that is incomplete or that doesn’t follow assignment guidelines will be marked as late/missing.
Breakdown of Grade Guidelines
| # of Absences | # of Missed Major Assigns. | # of Missed HW Assigns. | # of Missed /Late Drafts (12 total) | # of Missed Peer Reviews (8 total) | ||
| A+ | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| A | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| A- | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| B | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| C | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| D | 7 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |
| F | 8 or more | 1 or more | 6 or more | 6 or more | 6 or more |
*Notes:
- You only need 1 categorical item/column to dip for the entire grade to dip. For example, having only 3 absences but 4 missing HW assignments still puts your grade at a C.
- A final grade of “F” assigned for English 110 will automatically change to “NC” (no credit) on your transcript and will NOT count against your GPA.
Additional Expectations
To succeed in this course, you are also expected to:
- Participate in Class. Please participate in ways that best fit you and support the goals of the lesson (by actively listening, taking notes, asking questions, offering comments, etc.).
- Collaborate with Peers. Please work collegially in class. Share your writing, respond supportively to peers’ writing, and provide thoughtful feedback to help them revise.
- Communicate Regularly with Your Instructor. Please check daily for instructor messages, reply promptly, and contact your instructor if you experience any delays or concerns.
Exceptions
+/- Grades. +/- grades will be assigned at your instructor’s discretion. They will be used in cases when special accommodations are in order (see below).
Accommodations/Inclusivity. The goal of the Grading Agreement is to meet you where you are in your reading and writing experience and to support you in growing as a critical thinker, reader, writer, communicator, and collaborator. Additionally, the purpose is to ensure students are having the opportunity to work in a just environment that adapts to their needs and equally supports each student’s learning. Thus, your instructor will work with individuals on a case-by-case basis to determine how to adapt this agreement to accommodate your individualized needs. Reach out to meet with instructor to discuss options should you find this grading agreement feels unmanageable. The goal of any accommodations will be to make reasonable arrangements, ones that will be fair and equitable to all in the class while still meeting the university’s regulations on attendance.
University and Military Obligations. Any absence due to a university-sponsored group activity (e.g., sporting event, performance, band, etc.) will not count against you, as stipulated by university policy, as long as you FIRST provide written documentation within the first two weeks of the semester of all absences. This same policy applies if you have mandatory military-related absences (e.g., deployment, work, duty, etc.). This will allow us to determine ahead of time how you will meet assignments and our grading agreement, despite being absent.
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Grading contracts in the field of rhetoric and composition originate from researchers like Dr. Peter Elbow and Dr. Asao Inoue who have sought more equitable and just grading practices. This grading agreement has been adapted from their work, as well as from the contracts of Dr. Missy Watson, Dr. Nicole Howell, and Dr. Kate Navickas.
*By staying in our course, you agree to all of the above terms, and your instructor agrees to keep track of the above details responsibly and enforce them democratically.
