Grading in Terrill's Classes

In General:

I tend not to use "plusses" or "minuses" in grading course assignments, but instead rely primarily on grades of A, B, C, D, and F, as described below. Plusses and minuses will be used in recording your final course grade, however.
I am glad to meet with students to discuss their graded assignments. Students who are motivated primarily by a desire to increase their understanding of the material will find these meetings much more pleasant and productive than those students who are motivated primarily by a desire to improve their grade.
I will not discuss a student's grade during class time. Such discussions must take place either during my Office Hours or at another time by scheduled appointment.
I will not reveal or discuss other students' grades. Little can be gained by comparing the grades of two students, because those students might receive the same grade for entirely different reasons.
I have been known to allow students to revise and resubmit certain assignments for a higher grade. Any student might request this privilege, and I might or might not allow it. If I do, then the revision must be substantial before I will consider a higher grade. Submitting a revision does not assure a higher grade. (Unfortunately, due to the nature of a large lecture class, I cannot extend this blanket offer to students in C205. Students in C205 may still discuss the possibility of revision and resubmission, on a case-by-case basis, but must shoulder the burden of proof in arguing that there exist some exceptional circumstances that warrant the revision.)

In Particular:

A
This is an assignment that I want to read again and again. Not only will it be among the very best in the class, it also will be among the very best work I have ever seen from a student. I may want to keep a copy of it to use as a model for future students. If this is an oral presentation, it will leave me wishing that I had videotaped it. Everyone who reads it or sees it will agree that it is excellent. Others besides myself would benefit from reading it, and I may urge them to do so.

B
This is an assignment that not only fulfills the minimal requirements, but goes well beyond them. It might be done especially thoroughly, or it might make use of particularly unusual resources, or it might be written very well, or it might show obvious signs of having been revised over the course of several weeks, or it might show that the student is able to apply course material in new and interesting ways, or it might be particularly creative, or it might be especially good for some other reason. Or, it might display any combination of the above.

C
This is an assignment that fulfills all of the requirements and expectations. There is nothing "wrong" with it. It fulfills the assignment, and does so completely. It states a thesis clearly and supports it adequately. It is competently done and displays no grammatical, spelling, or technical errors. It shows that the student has a firm grasp of the English language, that she or he understands the course material, and that she or he has spent a considerable amount of time on the assignment.

D
This is an assignment that is less than perfect. It may have one or more outstanding qualities, but it is missing something vital. It might not fulfill the expectations of the assignment, or it might do so incompletely, or it may have grammatical, spelling, or technical errors. It might show that the student does not understand the course material. It might be too short -- or too long. It might be off-topic. Generally, this is an assignment that will require a major revision before it will be minimally acceptable.

F
This is an assignment that cannot be redeemed. It might lack a clear thesis, or supporting material, or evidence of competence in English. It might not engage course material in a meaningful way. It might not display an effort to fulfill the assignment. In short, this is an assignment that cannot be improved through revision; improvement would require starting over again from scratch.

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A	This is an assignment that I want to read again and again. Not only will it be among the very best in the class, it also will be among the very best work I have ever seen from a student. I may want to keep a copy of it to use as a model for future students. If this is an oral presentation, it will leave me wishing that I had videotaped it. Everyone who reads it or sees it will agree that it is excellent. Others besides myself would benefit from reading it, and I may urge them to do so.
B	This is an assignment that not only fulfills the minimal requirements, but goes well beyond them. It might be done especially thoroughly, or it might make use of particularly unusual resources, or it might be written very well, or it might show obvious signs of having been revised over the course of several weeks, or it might show that the student is able to apply course material in new and interesting ways, or it might be particularly creative, or it might be especially good for some other reason. Or, it might display any combination of the above.
C	This is an assignment that fulfills all of the requirements and expectations. There is nothing "wrong" with it. It fulfills the assignment, and does so completely. It states a thesis clearly and supports it adequately. It is competently done and displays no grammatical, spelling, or technical errors. It shows that the student has a firm grasp of the English language, that she or he understands the course material, and that she or he has spent a considerable amount of time on the assignment.
D	This is an assignment that is less than perfect. It may have one or more outstanding qualities, but it is missing something vital. It might not fulfill the expectations of the assignment, or it might do so incompletely, or it may have grammatical, spelling, or technical errors. It might show that the student does not understand the course material. It might be too short -- or too long. It might be off-topic. Generally, this is an assignment that will require a major revision before it will be minimally acceptable.
F	This is an assignment that cannot be redeemed. It might lack a clear thesis, or supporting material, or evidence of competence in English. It might not engage course material in a meaningful way. It might not display an effort to fulfill the assignment. In short, this is an assignment that cannot be improved through revision; improvement would require starting over again from scratch.