Course Policies
Grading System
Major projects are evaluated on each rubric criterion as Advanced Pass, Basic Pass, Conditional Pass, or Not Yet Passing.
Advanced Pass: 100%
Basic Pass: 80%
Conditional Pass: 60%
Not Yet Passing: 0%
Most other work is non-revisable and receives a final outcome of Advanced Pass, Basic Pass, Conditional Pass, or Not Passing. Some work may instead be graded Complete/Incomplete. Quizzes are usually auto-graded in Canvas.
I do not use plus-minus final grades. Final course grades are assigned as whole grades:
88% or more: A
78% to 87%: B
68% to 77%: C
58% to 67%: D
57% or below: F
If you are enrolled in WRIT 2302, you must earn a C or better to pass.
A serious act of academic dishonesty, as defined by university policy, may also result in a final grade of F.
Revision Policy
Major projects may be revised once, as long as they did not already earn an Advanced Pass. If a revision earns a higher grade than the original, the higher grade replaces the lower one. I do not average the two grades.
A substantial revision is not a lot more than proofreading. It means reworking the submission.
For each revision, you must include a revision memo of about 350 words. Put it right under the revised submission and use the heading “Revision Memo.”
Your memo must answer these questions:
What did you change?
How did you change it?
Why do those changes improve the submission?
How did you respond to my original comments?
Examples
“You indicated that my evidence for X was weak and did not meet the STAR criteria. After rereading the assigned material and consulting a librarian, I added two peer-reviewed studies (p. 3, para. 2) and one industry white paper (p. 4, table 1). These sources strengthen the project because they provide stronger support for my claim and improve the credibility of the argument.”
“I mapped each paragraph’s claim to its supporting evidence. That process exposed two unsupported assertions, so I merged those claims and rewrote the transition between them for better coherence.”
“You pointed out that I had not fully met the assignment requirements in the introduction because I omitted my personal connection to the subject. I added four sentences in the second paragraph to address that issue more clearly.”
“You pointed out that I had not synthesized the conversation about X because I relied on only one source. I added Smith’s argument and reworked the paragraph so that the sources are now in clearer conversation with one another.”
If you do not submit the memo, or if it is too thin to show real effort, the revision will not count.
Yes, I will meet with you during revision!
I cannot provide extensive written feedback on revisions.
Meeting with Me
Use Calendly to schedule a meeting during posted visiting hours (see the home page of our Canvas site). You may choose Zoom or a face-to-face meeting in my office, Sorin 102.
If you cannot make my posted hours, email me with:
a clear subject line
one sentence explaining what you want to discuss
three specific possible meeting times, each with day, date, and time
Please also say whether you want Zoom or face-to-face. I may not always be able to accommodate in-person meetings outside my posted hours.
Please email me from your St. Edward’s account at drewml@stedwards.edu, not through Canvas messaging.
I generally respond within 24 hours Monday through Friday during normal working hours, and often sooner.
Before emailing, please check Canvas and the assignment materials first. Many routine questions are already answered there.
Peer Review
Peer review has two parts: your work as a writer and your work as a reviewer.
Read the peer-review specifications carefully. As a writer, bring a good-faith full draft (you will learn what that means) whenever possible. As a reviewer, give specific, useful feedback to your partner.
Peer review cannot be made up if you miss it.
Late Work
I try to give you enough time to move through a full writing process: invention, drafting, peer review, submission, feedback, and revision.
Assignments often have 11:59 p.m. deadlines to give you flexibility. I strongly discourage late work except in two situations:
Freebie: one free late major project per semester
You may submit one major project up to 48 hours late.
You may use this extension without explanation or request.
Emergencies: handled case by case
If something genuinely disruptive and unforeseeable happens, contact me as soon as possible, ideally before the deadline.
You cannot submit a semester’s worth of late work near the end of the term. That bypasses too much of the course process and makes fair evaluation difficult.
Attendance and Promptness
Come to class: on time and consistently. Attendance matters because much of the work of the course happens in class.
Attendance is worth 40 points, or about 5% of the course grade.
Each student has three no-questions-asked absences, but is responsible for any missed work. Absences beyond the first three may reduce the Attendance Adjustment score.
Repeated lateness or early departure may count toward absences.
If you reach five absences and appear to have stopped attending and responding altogether, I may withdraw you with a WA.
If you are sick and contagious, stay home. If your illness lasts more than a day or two, let me know when you expect to return.
I cannot reteach entire class meetings, so come prepared to catch up and work with classmates when possible.
Participation and Classroom Conduct
Bring a charged laptop that meets university requirements to every class.
Come prepared to participate. This is a face-to-face learning environment, and if you are unprepared or distracting others, I may mark you absent.
Unless you are expecting a genuinely important call, silence your phone and keep devices focused on class-related work.
On workshop and conference days, follow the workshop expectations.
Grade Discussions
A grade is an evaluation of your performance on a particular task at a particular time. It is not a judgment on your worth or intelligence.
If I make a mathematical or clerical error, tell me. If I overlook work that you submitted on time, tell me.
If, after rereading my comments and your work, you believe my substantive evaluation is off base, set up a meeting. Email is not a good format for extended back-and-forth about grades.
Academic Support
Use the Writing Center. It is one of the best resources available for improving your writing at any stage.
Academic support services are also available to all students through Academic Support Services.
Academic Honesty and AI
For some assignments, generative AI may be allowed; for others, it may not. See my Policy for Ethical Use of Generative AI Technologies linked on the home page of Canvas.
The work you submit in this course must be your own, and you must acknowledge your intellectual debts clearly.
If you are unsure whether something is allowed, ask before submitting. Do not submit work from another course without my approval first.
Accommodations
Student Disability Services coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities.
If you believe you may need accommodations, even temporarily, I encourage you to follow the university process through Student Disability Services.
Please share your accommodation letter with me as early as possible, ideally during the first week of the semester, and email me to let me know it is available.
Health, Counseling, and Title IX
The Health and Counseling Center supports student well-being and success.
Sex- and gender-based harassment, discrimination, and misconduct are prohibited by Title IX, state law, and university policy.
You can seek confidential support through the Health and Counseling Center or the university’s off-campus partners. As a faculty member, I am a mandatory reporter and cannot offer confidentiality. If I receive information about sexual misconduct, I must report it to the Title IX coordinator.
For reporting options and more information, use the Title IX webpage.