On Assignments
- The blog assignment page will be updated throughout the semester with blog assignments for each of the 20 blog posts you will write.
- The blog assignments are at http://nopyramid.blogspot.com/p/blog-assignments_23.html
- Our course blog, which includes a blog roll for all student blogs, can be found at http://nopyramid.blogspot.com/
Grading
- In grading these posts, I will assess your thinking about journalism as literature and the issues and problematics that cascade from this huge umbrella of a term. Each blog assignment will be graded on a 0-4 point scale. A fifth point is reserved for your meaningful participation in the comments sections of other students' blog posts – for a possible total of 100 points by the end of the semester. I will comment on your blog assignments, and if I say something like “more, please” – that means your posts are not up to par.
- You should include your name and a link to your e-mail on each post – and slug each post Blog 1, Blog 2, and so on. You should strive to be thoughtful and nuanced; avoid description and summary unless it forms a (small, introductory) part of your thoughtful writing.
- Above all, follow the assignment instructions. That is, do what it asks you to do. Essentially, a blog assignment that is description only and fails to leap off from the readings into a brief discussion reflecting critical thinking, creative ruminations, and some interpretations about the issues of literary journalism is incomplete, which garners a grade of zero. I also believe, at heart, that editing oneself is the key to good writing, so a reading reaction that is poorly written and/or edited can garner a grade of zero or better depending on the degree of the failures of writing and/or editing.
- Here is a reading On Writing About Literature you should try to follow.
Specifically, here is a general rubric for the blog posts:
- 4 points: Exceptional. The blog entry is focused and coherently integrates examples with explanations or analysis. The entry reflects in-depth engagement with the topic.
- 3 points: Satisfactory. The blog entry is reasonably focused, and explanations or analysis are mostly based on examples or other evidence. Fewer connections are made between ideas, and though new insights are offered, they are not fully developed. The entry reflects moderate engagement with the topic.
- 2 points: Underdeveloped. The blog entry is mostly description or summary, and contains few connections between ideas. The entry reflects passing engagement with the topic.
- 1 point: Limited. The blog entry is unfocused, or simply rehashes previous comments, and displays no evidence of engagement with the topic.
- 0 points: No Credit. The blog entry is missing or consists of disconnected sentences.
To begin
- Set up a blog at Blogger with the title starting with your last name. Make sure it has an RSS feed that I can put on my reader. E-mail url to me at rrodgers@jou.ufl.edu
This grading rubric is adapted from one used by Julie Meloni of the Dept. of English at Washington State Univ. for a course in 19th Century Literature of the British Empire and the Americas Grading. Accessed 23 June 2010. http://www.academicsandbox.com/S10/E372/blogassignments.html , which itself is adapted from a rubric of Mark Sample. "Pedagogy and the Class Blog." 14 Aug. 2009. SAMPLE REALITY. Accessed 9 Jan. 2010.; http://www.samplereality.com/2009/08/14/pedagogy-and-the-class-blog/
