Grading Procedures

Each assignment in the Writing for Engineers course has an assigned number of points to be earned by completing the required elements. The total points assigned to each task generally reflect the degree of difficulty for the assignment.

There are a total of 500 points that can be earned for the semester. The Technical Proposal is worth 250 of the points, 50% of the course grade. A grading sheet is in the packet which you can use in place of a grade book for this course. For each assignment, you should record the number of points earned and the corresponding letter grade. At any point in the semester, you can add the total earned, divide by the possible total to that point, and know a students's grade. Particularly when all work except the Technical Proposal has been graded it's useful to obtain the subtotal.

The Grading Criteria Web page for the course gives criteria that are used to evaluate assignments. The page also gives a conversion table. Points are converted into percentages; then table can be used to convert the percentages into letter grades. Refer to this page frequently and direct students to the page when each assignment is introduced. You'll see that while the criteria are clearly stated, your judgment as to the number of points to be deducted for errors or weaknesses is preserved.

Students in the School of Engineering find the point system appealing in a Writing Program class. It fits the evaluation processes they are used to in their engineering classes. Because of this fit, Writing for Engineers is perceived by students as part of their overall program of studies rather than just simply as a "humanities elective", so the math work you do is well worth your effort.

The grade distribution in Writing for Engineers typically falls in the B, B+, A range. There may be grades that fall in the C+/C range. This might occur when a student fails to complete all of the major assignments or does very poorly on the Technical Proposal, but fortunately these occurrences are unusual. As with any Writing Program course, you should confer with students whose work might leave them in dnger of receiving a poor grade. The Business and Technical Writing director is also available to confer with you about the grade status of any student.

Below is a table to use at the end of the semester to determine final course grades.

Grade Conversion Table
(Based on a Semester Total of 500 Points)