Presentation of Essay Idea
Weight: 10% of final grade
Due: Various Dates

Depending on the number of students in the course, we will schedule one or more 15-minute presentations at the end of each class (beginning about a third of the way through the quarter). The purpose of the presentation is (a) to try out possible essay ideas on the class and (b) to put essay ideas within the context of a student's overall research interests. Some presentations will occur before, and some after, the due date for paper prospectuses (see below). Presentations will be graded for substance combined with speaking effectiveness (how well organized and delivered the presentation is). Part of the reason for presentations is to help train students in the art of orally presenting a project or research interest (one of the necessary skills of the profession).

Prospectus for Essay (posted to Course Online Forum)
Weight: 10% of final grade
Due: Nov. 17

The prospectus should be 1-3 pp. in length. It must include a preliminary bibliography. It may also include a trial first paragraph for the essay. The prospectus will be graded for substance combined with effectiveness as a prospectus. (Prospectus- or proposal-writing is one of the standard genres of writing in the profession.)

Critique of Another Student's Essay Prospectus (posted to Course Online Forum)
Due: Nov. 24

Each student will be assigned another student to critique. Critiques should be rigorous, but should also be constructive in spirit. This assignment will not be graded, unless it is not done.

Essay
Weight: 80% of final grade
Due: Dec. 7

10-12 pp. (plus notes and works cited); due in instructor's mailbox. Alternatively: A hybrid digital/essay project--for example, a shorter essay mounted on the Web complemented by links to online resources, an annotated bibliography, and/or a collection of quotations from relevant theory, etc. (or by a database project, etc.)

Class Participation


Quality and quantity of class participation will determine whether the instructor votes thumbs up or down on ties between A- and B+ grades, etc. This is a frequent situation in graduate courses. In general, class participation matters at the graduate level because it is a measure of how successful a student will be as a future teacher, conference participant, colleague, etc.