GRADING

Two abiding principals for this advanced writing class.  

1. Clarity 

If what you write is unclear, if it serves no purpose, if it does not accomplish the purpose for which it was written, it is, by definition, useless and so a grade will rise or fall according to the clarity of your writing.

2. Accuracy  

If your writing is not correct, if it has defects in any way—grammatical; stylistic;  incomplete as to information needed to do the job; inaccurate—it is automatically, seriously flawed. The extent of the deficiencies will clearly affect the grade. More so, the writer directly reduces the clarity, the effectiveness of the writing with each error.  

Writing is infinitely perfectible. That is, no matter how you write something and certainly no matter how you style it or structure it, it could be done differently and therefore presumably better.  

Your job should be to produce the perfect product. That goal would be better achieved if each task you undertook was done with true pride in your craft. After all, imagine you were a writer who produced just one “immortal line”—a single sentence so perfect, so memorable, so useful that it was remembered forever. Your name, attached to that line, would never be forgotten.

As an essayist, you would have given something to people that would forever serve their needs. Yes, yes, it’s just a three-credit course at a county community college, but why not allow yourself the chance to dream, or at least to excel. Immortality is not required for you to get your “A,” but clarity and accuracy are absolutely required.

In short, if what you do is slipshod, if it reflects a lack of thought and effort, don’t expect a fancy grade.