R 201:EASTERN RELIGIONS

GRADE OPTIONS

NUMERICAL VALUE OF IN-CLASS GRADES

EXTRA CREDIT

EFFECT OF ABSENCES NOT MADE UP

GRADING CRITERIA FOR RESEARCH PROJECT PAPERS

GRADING CRITERIA FOR BOOK REVIEW PAPERS

GRADING CRITERIA FOR JOURNALS

GRADE OPTIONS

• The default option is Grade Option A. If you wish to be graded under Option B, you must indicate that preference in writing with your Journal and "Journal Summaries" when they are handed in on Friday of "dead week," the last Friday of classes before Exam Week. However, if no serious effort is made to complete the Journal and "Journal Summaries" assignment, the option will default to Grade Option A.  Also, if no preference is made, the default option will be assigned.

NUMERICAL VALUE OF IN-CLASS GRADES

• In class grades are figured and averaged on a 12 point scale: A+ = 12, A = 11, A- = 10, B+ = 9, . . . D = 2, D- = 1, F = 0.

• Extra credit may be earned in a variety of ways. For specifics as to how to earn extra credit and raise your grade, click here.

• Absences which are not made up will have a direct bearing on your grade. 2 to 3 such absences for any one of the three sections of the course will lower the grade for the course 1/6 grade point; 4-5 by 1/3 grade point; 6 or more by 1/2 grade point. Only 6 absences for any one of the three sections of the course can be made up. Any more will have a direct effect on your grade which cannot be made up. For further specifics about Attendance and Make-up Policy and how to make up absences, click here. (In situations of genuine emergency over which the student has no control, petition for modification of this rule can be made.)

In my judgment, writing well and caring to write well is not a skill separable from thinking well and caring to think well. To get a grade of "C," you should have your writing meet the following criteria with a reasonable degree of success:

1. Does it address what the assignment and questions ask and expect?  Is it to the point?  I.e., does it basically attempt to follow the Guidelines for the Research Project?  (If you are at all in doubt what is expected in these guidelines, make sure that you check out your understanding of these matters with me.)

2. Does it meet the minimum requirements for written work in the course? Is it coherent? Is it a result of your own thinking? (Clear evidence of plagiarism is sufficient grounds for an "F.") Is it double-spaced? Is it free of minor and distracting spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors? Is it neat and legible? Does it give full references to all sources relied upon in MLA format (including encyclopedia references listed by author and title of encyclopedia article)?  Does it stand on its own, enabling a reader to understand it without presupposing special knowledge of course texts or the meaning of technical terms?

3. Is it reasonably accurate, complete, and fair in its representation of the views and experiences and practices of others being discussed?  Does it use, as required, 4 major academic sources in addition to Internet sources and other sources?

A grade of "B" will require meeting these two additional criteria with areasonable degree of success:

4. Does it give an accurate and clear, reasonably thorough account of the objective features of the topic under consideration? Does it make clear the historical and cultural context of the phenomenon being explained? Have appropriate qualifications been made and taken into account, avoiding sweeping generalizations that are unsupported and perhaps unsupportable? Have the best available sources on the topic been drawn upon? Are relevant matters from class sessions and assigned readings taken into account?

5. Has it developed and expressed an empathetically objective comprehension of the topic under consideration? Does it (or could it) pass the tests of empathy and neutrality? Has it reasonably overcome the effect of your own biases and crossed over to the insider's perspective and begun to experience the 'threshold effect'? Has it built a bridge of empathetic communication so as to allow the reader access to the perspective and understanding of insiders?

A grade of "A" will ordinarily require in addition meeting this criterion:

6. Does it bring the phenomenon to life, such that the meaning found in living participation is brought out and made clear to the reader's imagination? Does it bring out what motivates and inspires the participation of insiders? Does it help the reader begin to cross the threshold of empathetic understanding? Does it approach the topic freshly, thoughtfully, and originally? Are concrete examples used to sharpen and clarify any abstract points that might otherwise be unclear or ambiguous?

In my judgment, writing well and caring to write well is not a skill separable from thinking well and caring to think well. To get a grade of "C," you should have your writing meet the following criteria with a reasonable degree of success:

1. Does it address what the assignment and questions ask and expect?  Is it to the point?  I.e., does it basically attempt to follow what is specifically laid down in the Guidelines for the Book Review?  (If you are at all in doubt what is expected asked on the website guidelines, make sure that you check out your understanding of these matters with me.)

2. Does it meet the minimum requirements for written work in the course? Is it coherent? Is it a result of your own thinking? (Clear evidence of plagiarism is sufficient grounds for an "F.") Is it double-spaced? Is it free of minor and distracting spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors? Is it neat and legible? Does it give full references to all sources relied upon in MLA format, including the book being reviewed? Does it stand on its own, enabling a reader to understand it without presupposing special knowledge of course texts or the meaning of technical terms?

3. Is it reasonably accurate, complete, and fair in its representation of the views and experiences and practices of others being discussed?

A grade of "B" will require meeting these two additional criteria with areasonable degree of success:

4. Does it reflect a basic understanding of the nature of an interreligious dialogue?   Does it give an accurate and clear, reasonably thorough evaluation of the objectives or goals for the interreligious dialogue (or trialogue) represented in the book? Have appropriate qualifications been made and taken into account, avoiding sweeping generalizations that are unsupported and perhaps unsupportable? Does it support its claims through discussion of specific relevant sections of the book? Are relevant matters from class sessions and assigned readings taken into account?

5. Has it developed and expressed an empathetically objective comprehension of the subject(s) under consideration and, as well, assessed the authors' and dialogue participants' achievement of empathetic objectivity? Does the paper (or could it) pass the tests of empathy and neutrality? Has it reasonably overcome the effect of your own biases and crossed over to the insider's perspective and begun to experience the 'threshold effect'? Has it built a bridge of empathetic communication so as to allow the reader access to the perspective and understanding of insiders?

A grade of "A" will ordinarily require in addition meeting this criterion:

6. Does it bring the interreligious dialogue (or trialogue) to life, such that the meaning found in living participation (and the achievement or failure to achieve an interreligious meeting of minds) is brought out and made clear to the reader's imagination? Does it bring out what motivates and inspires the participation of insiders? Does it help the reader begin to cross the threshold of empathetic understanding? Does it approach the topic freshly, thoughtfully, and originally? Are concrete examples used to sharpen and clarify any abstract points that might otherwise be unclear or ambiguous?

• Grading of the Journal and "Journal Summaries" will be based on their thoughtfulness (creativity is encouraged), the seriousness with which you have honestly sought to come to terms for yourself with what we are covering, and the sincerity of your efforts in the course to develop empathetically objective understandings before offering evaluative judgments. While these are difficult factors to evaluate, every effort will be made not to have the specific content of feelings and opinions expressed influence the grade.