Postscript on Project #1

-- KEY TO GRADE SHEET:   A checkmark before an item means "satisfactory" (a rare  checkmark + means "unusually well done"); a dash before an item means "okay--but room for improvement"; an X before an item means "unsatisfactory" (and your grade suffers as a result).
-- TIP: Follow project and topic guidelines.  If you have an idea for a topic of your own, fine--but first submit a proposal and get my okay.  If it's unclear after your first paragraph which topic you're responding to, there are problems.  If you choose a topic that calls for an analysis, don't write about yourself.  And unless I've given you clearance to do so (but don't count on it), don't recycle a paper written for another class.
-- TIP: Start early.  You'll always have at least two weeks to complete a project.  Start early to avoid panicking as the deadline closes in.  Start early so that you'll have time to think, revise (perhaps several times), and edit.  Start early so that you can get as much feedback from me (and other readers) as you can take.  As several of you discovered on Project #1, there's no limit on the number of drafts you can submit for review.  And, frankly, I 'd rather spend two or three hours (or more) commenting on your drafts (when my comments might still be of help to you) than ten minutes on a completed project.  The former is a checkup; the latter, an autopsy. 
    Finally, start early because the earlier you start the more help I can and will provide.  On  project #1, the deadline for submitting drafts for review was two days before the final deadline.  On project #2, the deadline for submitting drafts for review will be three days before the final deadline.  In other words, you can choose to get a late start--but if so you're on your own.       
-- TIP: Include all drafts.  If you provide just one draft and that draft is virtually identical to the final version, either (1) you're not turning in your drafts, or (2) you haven't put much work into revising.  Revising means re-thinking your work--not just reprinting it.  Drafts help to show me how aware you are of what "good writing" is all about--and how much effort you're willing to invest in a project.
-- TIP: Learn from mistakes.  If you were marked down for editing errors on the first project, visit with me or with the folks in the Writing Center to find out how to correct those errors.  Know the limits of spell checkers--and practice proofreading.   Know the (American) conventions of punctuation: see "Punctuation Made Simple" and  "Punctuating Quotations." 
-- TIP: Include the self-evaluation (i.e., answers to the three questions--none of which is "What grade would you assign this paper?") at the end of your project.   

Hold on to your pocket folder.  After I've returned graded projects, you can toss out the drafts--but keep the final version of your project and the grade sheet in your folder.   When you turn in the next project, add it to graded project(s) already in the folder.

English 2100H is taught by Dr. Richard Nordquist.
Armstrong Atlantic State University
University Hall 297D
11935 Abercorn Street
Savannah, Georgia 31419
912-921-5991
e-mail: nordqudi@mail.armstrong.edu           

 
27 November 2002

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