As composition theorist Peter Elbow has written in several places, grades rarely measure learning accurately or foster a productive learning environment. Compositionist Asao B. Inoue has argued many times that a writing course that bases its assessments on labor rather than on subjective judgments of final products is a course that acknowledges the diverse literacies of students and that emphasizes the fact that writing is a process. Simply put, grades reduce complex ideas and practices to a single letter, obscuring the differences between, say, proofreading skills and the ability to support an argument.So, our class is going to take Elbow’s and Inoue’s advice. To shift our attention from grading toward thoughtful assessment, I’m going to make you a deal. If you fulfill all the terms of the contract below, I will guarantee you a grade no lower than a B. If you consistently exceed the standards in each category below, your grade will improve. If you can’t complete all of the terms of the contract, your grade will go down. Fear not: You will still receive assessments that will guide you throughout the course; and you will still be able to calculate your total grade for the course throughout the semester. Each “above standard” in an overall category will raise your grade by ½ a letter, and each “below standard” will lower your grade by ½ a letter. The difference between how we will work through this course and how other grading paradigms function is that the expectations for a B are based on concrete, observable behaviors, not subjective judgments of quality.This course focuses on your developing durable, long term composing and tutoring practices. As a result, I have emphasized the processes needed to succeed as a writer and tutor. Moreover, because this contract emphasizes effective writing processes, not producing specific products, you can focus on a few manageable goals at a time, rather than feeling pressure to master everything at once. I hope you take this as an opportunity to experiment, to take risks in your writing and thinking about pedagogy, and to trust that you will learn something in the process: even if you try something new and fail, you can (in the words of Samuel Beckett) “fail better” next time, without being penalized.
Please read this all the way through at least one time before you sign it.
I. To earn a B for this course
- Attend at least 90% of our class periods. As per Centenary’s guidelines, you are allowed three absences, for whatever reason. You are expected to arrive on time. Three late arrivals equal one absence. I begin marking people late five minutes after the class has started. If you are more than 15 minutes late, I will mark you absent. If you miss more than three classes total, your grade in this category will fall to a “below standard.” After that, every class that you miss will count against you by ½ a grade letter (so, you’ll go from a B to a B- to a C+ to a C, etc.). You will use classroom time productively. Always keep in mind that attendance means more than mere physical presence. Be consistently prepared for class: read and respond to the required materials, and bring any required texts or drafts to class, actively comment on Google Docs during peer review and other activities. Since our course involves very little lecture, you will not be able to recover lost time simply by reading the materials.Please also note that I don’t distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. First, such policies usually require arbitrary decisions. Second, often your reasons for missing class are none of my business, so I won’t put you on the spot to share them – although I invite you to discuss your specific circumstances with me, if you so choose, so that I can help you figure out how to best approach the challenges of college. Finally, your reason for missing class, no matter how good, does not change the fact that you missed work and contact time. If you need to miss class, be sure to email me and make up the work.If you have, or expect to have, problems with absences or latenesses, speak to me as soon as possible. I’m very flexible as long as you contact me and make up your work quickly and consistently.
- Participate during every class period, peer review session, and assigned tutoring session. In the classroom, take the work we do seriously, and actively collaborate with your fellow students during group activities. In your peer review comments, push yourself to provide your classmates with consistently thorough, thoughtful, helpful feedback. Taking their work seriously enough to think hard about how it can be improved is crucial for your success, and theirs, in this course. Note that this is not just about praise or criticism: ask questions, make connections, explore possibilities. I will explain the benefits and expectations of peer review before our first session, and we will develop a rubric together. At the end of the semester, I will read through your peer review comments, and will mark them as “above,” “at,” or “below” the B-level expectations of the class. Failing to submit a draft to your peer review group, coming to class without a draft for peer review, or failing to offer comments on your peers’ drafts on time will result in a “below standard” for peer review. Similarly, failure to participate in assigned tutoring session this semester will also result in a “below standard.”
- For every assignment, produce a substantial, thoughtful piece of writing that follows all guidelines in the prompt. To earn a B, you must complete all drafts of each major assignment on time. The quality of your final product will help you earn a grade better than a B, but only if you’ve completed the required drafts throughout the semester and followed the guidelines in the assignment descriptions. Research is an important part of writing center work, as it helps us continue to improve how we help students in the campus community. Since our research project this semester is based in primary research based on human experiences in the Writing Collaboratory, completing IRB protocols is an essential part of receiving a standard for this part of our contract. We will meet individually, and go through peer review sessions, throughout your drafting process in order to help you stay on track with the guidelines for the assignment. Since the class is based on writing pedagogy, and since modern writing pedagogy is based on a process model, I expect you to submit multiple drafts of your research project and tutoring philosophy. A draft is late when it is turned in 1-5 days after the deadline indicated on the course schedule. I will not accept assignments that are more than 5 days late; drafts that are 8 days late and beyond are considered a missed assignment. I will provide an explanation of the requirements for each draft as it arrives. Your final drafts will be marked as “above,” “at,” or “below” B-level (or standard) expectations for the assignment, according to the guidelines posted on our course website.
- Complete all semi-weekly assignments, including readings, précis, and your tutoring journal, and actively comment on and extend other people’s contributions through class discussion. The readings and précis will make up a large part of our class content this semester. While the practical part of the class is extremely important, so, too, is the theoretical. Understanding the theory and history behind writing center work, and composition and rhetoric studies, will help you both as a writer and a tutor. You should complete the reading to which you were assigned and the précis before class, and be prepared to lead a discussion of that reading with the rest of the class. Since we are not all reading every assigned article, your ability to explain your piece is critical. Your tutoring journal is an opportunity to make connections between the practical and theoretical aspects of the course as you reflect on your experiences as a peer reviewer, writer, and tutor trainee in other classrooms and in the Writing Collaboratory. Your tutoring requirements and tutoring journals are not due until the end of the semester; however, I expect you to be working on those requirements throughout the semester.
- Complete all presentation requirements, including the workshop lesson plan (which is a group project) and the style handout. Being able to present and speak about writing openly is an important part of a peer tutor’s job. The ability to collaborate with others in a positive way is also essential to our work int he writing center. With this in mind, in order to receive a standard for this part of our contract, you will need to effectively work with a group to produce a workshop lesson plan, and will also need to be able to explain your style handouts to the class. While working in groups, you will need to be respectful of your classmates, and responsibly participate in the project. Taking on all of the work on the project, or, conversely, doing nothing to help your group members will result in a below standard in this category.
- Show respect for your classmates and your instructor, and practice mindful uses of technology while in class. This includes taking each other’s ideas seriously, listening to each other during presentations and discussions, refraining from distracting behaviors (falling asleep, reading or watching something online, doing work for other classes, focusing on something other than the task at hand during group work), and being courteous and kind in the language that you use when responding to ideas, formal, and informal assignments. This doesn’t mean that you only have to say nice things about everyone’s writing, but it does mean that you should take into account how it would feel to receive the kind of criticism that you’re giving. We’ll talk about some strategies for giving constructive feedback when we discuss peer review.Being responsible in your use of technology does not mean “DO NOT USE TECHNOLOGY EVER” or “HIDE YOUR PHONE FROM ME WHEN YOU SEE ME COMING OVER.” In fact, I encourage the use of technology in our class (and, also, everyone in the class knows when you’re texting or using SnapChat.) So, if you have a laptop or a tablet, bring it. If you access course readings through your phone, great. Half of our class basically takes place online, and you’ll be sharing drafts and links and posts with each other, so banning computers and phones would be counterproductive. But this means that I expect you to use your technology to do class-related stuff and that I’ll sometimes ask you to put away your tech gear to focus on something else. If you can’t (or won’t) do that, don’t bring it, because it will jeopardize your grade in this category.
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If you fulfill all of these expectations, you are guaranteed a grade of at least a B overall. I will do my best to keep you informed and afloat with regard to your successful participation. If you’re ever in doubt about your contractual status, feel free to email me or drop by my office hours.
II. Grades Below a B:
Failure to complete the contract will result in a proportional reduction in your final grade below a B. Common ways for students’ grades to go down include:
- Missing a tutoring observation
- Missing more than three classes.
- Missing a draft of a major assignment.
- Not participating during group project work, or not allowing other group members to take on tasks.
- Consistently checking out in class: sleeping, using your phone, not participating in group work / free writing / pair work / etc.
- Failing to revise your work, or insufficiently revising your work.
- Turning in late drafts or other assignments.
- Not following the guidelines for all assignments.
More substantial deviations from the contract, such as missing a major assignment, or consistently missing informal writing assignments, may result in more serious penalties. On the other hand, I’m usually open to your making up work if you contact me to discuss it. Moreover, I’m much more open to accommodations if you speak to me in advance. In other words, when in doubt, always speak to me.
III. How do I earn above my contract grade?
As mentioned above, grades up to and including B are based purely on behaviors, which is to say on process; for grades above a B, by the end of the semester, your Google Drive folder should be full of work that demonstrates exemplary creativity, precision, and drive in your work. I admit that these terms are, unavoidably, rather fuzzy, but we will spend time in class discussing expectations for each assignment. I also value your opinion about the quality of your work. As a tutor, part of your job is to identify strengths and weaknesses in your fellow students’ work in order to help them improve their writing. While it may be daunting to evaluate your own work, I ask you to do it in order to ground our class assessments in writing tutor practices. Additionally, I’ve indicated behaviors that will bump your grade higher throughout the contract. I’ll indicate throughout the semester if your work is exceeding or not yet meeting the B standard. Students may conference with me about their grades at any time by making an appointment.
