A student asked his Zen master how long it would take to reach enlightenment. “Ten years,” the master said. But, the student persisted, what if he studied very hard? “Then 20 years,” the master responded. Surprised, the student asked how long it would take if he worked very, very hard and became the most dedicated student in the Ashram. “In that case, 30 years,” the master replied. His explanation: “If you have one eye on how close you are to achieving your goal, that leaves only one eye for your task.”
The most important thing for you to take away from this class (and it is something I will repeat over and over again over the course of the semester) is that writing is a labor-intensive and iterative process. Writing is work, and how much your writing improves over the course of the semester depends entirely on how much work you are willing to put in.
I’ve designed this class in such a way that allows for you to engage with the process of writing. In theory, you will only write two, short research papers but you will write multiple drafts of those papers before you hand in the final draft. I will give you ample time to revise and rewrite and drastically rework them so that you hand in work that best reflects your writing, so that you can hand in writing you are proud of, and have had the time to watch evolve. I’ve designed the assessment or grading methods of this class so that it rewards all the labor you put into your writing, so that it rewards the process, and not just the final product.
The only difference between me and you in this class is the amount of time and labor I’ve dedicated to the craft of writing, critical thinking, and research. I ask you to see me not as an authority figure who has a magical box of letters that I pass out as rewards for good work, but as a more experienced team member, a guide, or a coach. Your goal in this class is not to impress me, or to do what I want with your writing. Your job is to honor your craft. My job is to teach you how. Your commitment is to yourself and to your work. My commitment is to your process and growth as writers and critical thinkers.
For decades now, researchers have stressed that grades dampen creativity, courage, and enthusiasm; they foster competitive environments, instead of collaborative ones; and, they cause students to focus on teachers’ expectations more than their own work and progress. It is also evident, both based on research and our own personal experiences, that we do our best work when we are excited about the subject matter, when we feel like we are in control of the work, and when we are given the space to be creative. To foster an environment that allows for creativity, collaboration, and most importantly, failure (without punishment), you will never see a single letter grade on any of your work. In fact, the grading system in this course is labor-based.
You will be given only one grade— the grade on your final transcript— and that grade has nothing to do with what I think about your writing. Rather, it will reflect only the amount of work you have put into your writing.
I’ve designed this class in such a way that allows for you to engage with the process of writing. In theory, you will only write two, short research papers but you will write multiple drafts of those papers before you hand in the final draft. I will give you ample time to revise and rewrite and drastically rework them so that you hand in work that best reflects your writing, so that you can hand in writing you are proud of, and have had the time to watch evolve. I’ve designed the assessment or grading methods of this class so that it rewards all the labor you put into your writing, so that it rewards the process, and not just the final product.
The only difference between me and you in this class is the amount of time and labor I’ve dedicated to the craft of writing, critical thinking, and research. I ask you to see me not as an authority figure who has a magical box of letters that I pass out as rewards for good work, but as a more experienced team member, a guide, or a coach. Your goal in this class is not to impress me, or to do what I want with your writing. Your job is to honor your craft. My job is to teach you how. Your commitment is to yourself and to your work. My commitment is to your process and growth as writers and critical thinkers.
For decades now, researchers have stressed that grades dampen creativity, courage, and enthusiasm; they foster competitive environments, instead of collaborative ones; and, they cause students to focus on teachers’ expectations more than their own work and progress. It is also evident, both based on research and our own personal experiences, that we do our best work when we are excited about the subject matter, when we feel like we are in control of the work, and when we are given the space to be creative. To foster an environment that allows for creativity, collaboration, and most importantly, failure (without punishment), you will never see a single letter grade on any of your work. In fact, the grading system in this course is labor-based.
You will be given only one grade— the grade on your final transcript— and that grade has nothing to do with what I think about your writing. Rather, it will reflect only the amount of work you have put into your writing.
How Grading Works:*
The default grade for the course is a “B”. In a nutshell, if you do all that is asked of you in the manner and spirit it is asked, if you work through the processes we establish and the work we assign ourselves during the semester, if you do all the labor asked of you, then you’ll get a “B” course grade. It will not matter what I or your colleagues think of your writing, only that you are listening to our feedback compassionately. We may disagree or misunderstand your writing, but if you put in the labor, you are guaranteed a B course grade. If you miss class (do not participate fully), turn in assignments late, forget to do assignments, or do less labor than what is expected of you, etc., you will get a lower course grade.
“B” Grades: You are guaranteed a course grade of “B” if you meet all of the following conditions.
To earn an “A” grade, you must be at a default-B already, and will be required to do additional labor that will take the following form:
The following will result in failure in the class:
“B” Grades: You are guaranteed a course grade of “B” if you meet all of the following conditions.
- Participation.
- Attendance: You agree to attend all classes, and arrive on time. You are allowed two unexcused absences, and can walk into class late 1-2 times in a semester. Any other absences must be excused and consistent tardiness will hurt your grade.
- Discussion: You agree to actively participate in discussions. If, for any reason, you find it difficult to participate in class, please come see me as soon as possible so that we can address this. Active participation in discussion is a requirement for a default grade.
- Materials: You agree to bring hard copies of the assigned readings to class.
- Work Completion.
- You agree to turn in properly and on time all work and assignments expected of you in the spirit they are assigned, which means you’ll complete all of the labor instructions for each assignment.
- Extensions: If you find that you cannot turn in your work by the deadline, please email me at least 48 hours in advance for an extension. I cannot guarantee that I will be able to respond if you email me with less than 48 hours before the deadline. This means checking in with yourself and your writing days before the deadline, and assessing how feasible completion is for you.
- On the days we peer edit, you must bring your work. No exceptions.
- All Work/Labor and writing needs to meet the following conditions:
- Complete and On Time. You agree to turn in on time and in the appropriate manner complete essays, writing, or other labor assigned that meet all of our agreed upon expectations.
- Revisions. By revision, I do not mean editing. There is a difference between “scalpel revisions,” which is also referred to as editing, and “structural revisions.” We will discuss this further in class. What you need to know for the purposes of grading is that your revisions will most likely require serious structural overhauls of your work. Your piece will change drastically, and it will require a lot more work than just line editing. Be prepared for the kind of labor that accompanies drastic reworking of a piece.
- Copy Editing. When the job is for the final publication of a draft, your work must be well copy edited – that is, you must spend significant time in your labor process to look just at spelling and grammar. It's fine to get help in copy editing. (Copy editing doesn’t count on drafts before the final portfolio or first drafts).
To earn an “A” grade, you must be at a default-B already, and will be required to do additional labor that will take the following form:
- Completion of a revision plan for Paper 1
- Completion of a revision plan for Paper 2
- Completion of a full revision of Paper 1
- Completion of a full revision of Paper 2
The following will result in failure in the class:
- Not turning in one of the two final papers.
- Failure to complete more than half of the assignments.
- Regular, unexcused absences.
Goals:
My goals in instilling a labor-based grading system are the following:
- To give you the opportunity this semester to spend time learning who you are as a thinker and writer as opposed to spending time and energy conforming to who I want you to be.
- To structure the course so that it values process over product. What is most important to me is that each of you become more comfortable spending more time on writing and rewriting before considering a piece finished.
- And most importantly, to give you the privilege of failing in an assignment without being punished. What I mean by failing is that sometimes, in a research course, our ideas, lines of thinking, or inquiries do not yield the results we originally hoped for. Sometimes, we ask a question of our material and we hit the library for hours and begin writing only to realize that the question we asked cannot be answered with the resources we have. In a traditional course with a traditional grading system, the labor and time invested in this work is not rewarded. However, recognizing what questions cannot be answered is just as important as recognizing the questions that can.
Without grades, and under a system that rewards labor, we are required to reimagine many aspects of our classroom, feedback being one of them. In a system that is driven by grades, the feedback I give you becomes an act of control over your work. Your ability to earn a higher grade depends entirely on whether you will do as I say. Again, if you see me as a writing coach then you should see my feedback as suggestions for improving your work. We will do lots of peer editing in class and you will have the opportunity to receive feedback from a lot of your colleagues in this class. All I ask of each of you is to listen and seriously consider the feedback I give and the feedback your colleagues give you, and the same should be done of the feedback you give your peers. What you then choose to do with that feedback is entirely up to you. As long as you honor your writing, I trust that you will make the best use of that feedback.
Now, that is a lot to take in. This method may not work well for everyone. If, for any reason, you think you would prefer a more conventional grading system, then I strongly encourage you to consider an alternative course. By remaining in this course, you are agreeing to this contract. Let’s get started!
Now, that is a lot to take in. This method may not work well for everyone. If, for any reason, you think you would prefer a more conventional grading system, then I strongly encourage you to consider an alternative course. By remaining in this course, you are agreeing to this contract. Let’s get started!
