How I grade the J100 First Amendment Project
Rich Cameron
Issue date: 5/15/08 Section: Mass Media
Grading the first amendment project, as with any essay assignment, is highly subjective, but there are some guidelines that can be followed. While I don't sit there and mark down points for each of the following areas and then add up points to calculate the grade, there IS a general philosophy I use in determining the grade. It is as follows:
A = 90+ ... B = 80+ ... C = 70+ ... D = 65+ ... F = Below 65
The First Amendment Project is worth 25 percent of the overall grade. While it is mathematically possible to pass the class without completing the project, only one ever has. And that person ended up with a low C. See the file on grade distribution to see the correllation.
- Selection of topic - Up to 50 points
- Is the topic a proper selection of a first amendment topic. The student was to select 1) a current topic (something in the news within the last few months), that applies to the expression clause of the first amendment. If it applies to another first amendment clause the student earns probably half of these 50 points. If it is NOT a first amendment topic, then the student earns zero of these points.
- Current issue/expression clause - Up to 10 points
- Part One was to describe the current topic. Some students select a proper first amendment/expression clause topic, but the specific event for part one is no longer current. The 10 points for this section is a combination of currency and proper, clear explanation of the issue. Use of multiple sources to help better understand the issue is good.
- General issue - Up to 15 points
- Part Two is to expand the specific issue into a general discussion of media law and should include explanation and some historical review. Does the student go far enough beyond the current issue to understand how it fits? This part requires the most work.
- Personal application - Up to 10 points
- Has the student internalized the topic and formed an opinion? And how well is that opinion expressed? It should go beyond agree and disagree. The higher grades in this section will analyze. This often is either the weakest part of a paper or the largest portion because students have left out one or both of Parts 1 and 2. If your personal application can be summed up in a sentence or two, you haven't fully analyzed it
Most students will show clear separation of these three parts, but it is not required. Has the student shown analysis and personal application throughout?
- Format - Up to 15 points
- The paper requires a minimum of three sources and requires that students cite sources adequately. A Works Cited or Bibliography is not enough. The reader should be able to determine WHAT was borrowed and from WHERE. Footnotes, works cited sections or bibliographies must contain appropriate bibliographic detail. Web site citations must contain access dates and consist of more than a URL. Style is less important than content.
Spelling and grammar must be reasonably free of errors. Mark errors as you read so that at the end you can see whether there are too many.
Of course, papers that are plagiarized will receive much lower grades, often in the F range and even zero, regardless of how well written they are or how well they cover the topic. These are papers where parts or the whole is borrowed without any attempt to give credit to the source, where there is an attempt to cover up the source, or the work is clearly someone else's work with your name put on it (somebody else wrote it).
The First Amendment Project is worth 25 percent of the overall grade. While it is mathematically possible to pass the class without completing the project, only one ever has. And that person ended up with a low C. See the file on grade distribution to see the correllation.
