Everyone,

I have graded all the short writing assignments submitted so far. See the OpenLab Gradebook for your score through the course dashboard. Each writing assignment is worth 4 points. 3 points or higher is good, but if you are below 3 you need to address issues with the way you are developing these assignments.

First and foremost is the issue of using other sources verbatim (exact same words) without citing the source and showing quotation marks. You must avoid plagiarism in your writing by explicitly citing any sources of writing that are not yours. In these assignments, you should be relying on your own voice and thinking. From this point forward, any assignment submissions with passages from an un-cited source will not be accepted and be given a 0 .

Most submissions are earning low content scores, meaning that the submission includes inaccurate statements. To address this, we need to work together during class time to be sure we are all engaged in the conversation and anyone who needs further clarification is asking questions. Note-taking is critical in the field. Please work to understand the big picture of the material covered in each class and the key details that support this big picture. For example, the discussion of tenement housing needs to focus on the actual building conditions, not just the greedy landlords and overcrowding.

Organization is also often a low score for many of you. Please pay particular attention to your paragraphs, with one key idea for each paragraph and discussion of that idea in the following sentences. Many paragraphs move through multiple topics, loosing clarity and focus.

Proofreading out loud is a great technique to eliminate grammatical and spelling errors. Please be sure you are proofreading before submitting.

Please schedule a time during my office hours or another time  including before or after class that we can meet individually to discuss your grades and how you can improve.

Prof. Montgomery