Marking Guide

I. Introduction

What is in this Marking Guide? This Marking Guide is designed to help you understand how you will be evaluated in this course, both in seminars and on written assignments. It is a complement to the course outline and provides you with the information you need to succeed in this history course. You are responsible for understanding the material in this Marking Guide, which contains the following information:

An overview of how you will be evaluated in seminars
A look at how your essays will be evaluated
A sample paper that outlines how you need to format your history essays

II. Seminar Evaluation Tips

1. Seminars

a. Purpose of Seminars

Academic Purpose. Effective oral communication is central to the craft of history and to university life. Seminars are a fundamental part of history courses because history was once a part of rhetoric, the age-old art of persuasion. Universities and scholarly innovation thrive on debate, which is why it is important to learn how to convince others of the validity of your ideas in a respectful manner. The purpose of seminars, then, is to introduce you to academia and to give you a taste of how historical scholarship works. Seminars also place instructors and students on the same footing, offering them an environment in which they both can contribute to knowledge building.

Professional Purpose. Beyond its centrality to historical practice and education in institutions of higher learning, effective oral communication is crucial to any given career path you may take. Even in our digital age, there are few jobs in which you will not be required to have public speaking skills. Whether going to an interview, presenting at a conference, teaching at any level, making a business pitch, or speaking with your employees or fellow co-workers, you need to be able to clearly communicate your ideas to others. The purpose of seminars, then, is to prepare you for professional life outside of university and to make you a competitive candidate in the job market.

b. Evaluation of Seminar Participation

Seminar Attendance. Attendance is mandatory for all students for every seminar and only proper excuses will be considered acceptable reasons for not attending. Every missed seminar is awarded an automatic zero unless you communicate with the instructor before the beginning of that seminar. The instructor will provide one excused absence for any given semester if you communicate with him before the beginning of that given seminar (exceptions will be made for emergencies). This means that you do not need to write a seminar report for your first excused absence, but for all other subsequent excused absences you are required to write seminar reports as outlined below.

Seminar Participation. To receive a decent seminar grade, you need to participate in weekly seminars by reading the required readings, viewing the assigned images, and sharing what you have learned with everyone else. Avoid giving long discourses with the aim of racking up points. Respect your fellow students by giving concise responses that edify the group and provide others with the opportunity to share their opinions. Remember that listening is an important skill, but one that does not help others to learn about the topic under discussion. Store your handheld devices and avoid personal computers as much as possible. In other words, look your fellow students in the eyes when they are talking and encourage them when you believe they have made valid points.

Grading Seminar Participation. Every week you will be assigned a mark out of ten based upon your seminar participation. The criteria determining your weekly seminar grade is outlined in the chart provided below. If you attend a given seminar and are completely silent but listen attentively, you will be assigned the maximum grade of four. If you were checking your cellphone (or doing anything besides listening and observing respectfully), you will be assigned a lower grade to reflect your lack of engagement. You must understand that you only deserve a passing grade in seminar if you participate and demonstrate that you did the readings and viewed the assigned images. At the end of the semester all your weekly grades will be tallied up and divided by the total number of seminars in the course (excused absences will not be factored into the total number of seminars). If you do not say anything throughout the course, your highest possible seminar grade is forty percent, which is an extremely generous mark. Those with perfect seminar attendance will have their lowest weekly seminar grade eliminated from their overall weekly average.

Seminar Reports. All students with more than one excused absence are responsible for handing in seminar reports in coordination with the instructor. Other students registered with Student Accessibility Services also have the option of writing seminar reports to demonstrate engagement with course material. A seminar report (3 pages, double-spaced, 12-font, Times New Roman) is not meant to be a review of the required readings and assigned images; instead, it should be a reflection that poses questions, wrestles with problems, and provides insightful observations about the weekly seminar topic. Those who want to make up for their absences by writing seminar reports must seek permission from the instructor by communicating with him before the beginning of any given seminar. It is not appropriate to simply miss a seminar and then hand in a report with the expectation that your absence will be pardoned. As for grading, those who need to write a seminar report will have that given seminar eliminated from their overall weekly average if they demonstrate enough engagement with the seminar readings in their report (i.e., their weekly average will be calculated based upon one seminar less than the total number of seminars). Students who have more than three excused absences need to schedule a meeting with the instructor to discuss how their seminar grade will be evaluated.

c. Chart for Grading Seminar Participation

*A = 80–100; B = 70–79; C = 60–69; D = 50–59; F = Below 50

A	Reserved for students who demonstrated the following characteristics: (1) Arrived to seminar on time, (2) Did all the assigned readings, (3) Viewed all the assigned images, (4) Participated generously and frequently with the larger group, (5) Respected the opinions of other students, (6) Shared insightful responses based upon assigned readings/images, (7) Listened attentively to others
B	Reserved for students who demonstrated the following characteristics: (1) Arrived to seminar on time, (2) Did all the assigned readings, (3) Viewed all the assigned images, (4) Participated generously but infrequently with the larger group, (5) Respected the opinions of other students, (6) Shared decent responses based upon assigned readings/images, (7) Listened attentively to others
C	Reserved for students who demonstrated the following characteristics: (1) Arrived to seminar on time, (2) Did most of the assigned readings, (3) Viewed most of the assigned images, (4) Participated infrequently with the larger group, (5) Dismissed the opinions of other students, (6) Shared mediocre responses that were not always based upon assigned readings/images, (7) Did not listen attentively to others
D	Reserved for students who demonstrated the following characteristics: (1) Arrived late to seminar, (2) Did some of the assigned readings, (3) Viewed some of the assigned images, (4) Participated once with the larger group, (5) Was not respectful of the opinions of other students, (6) Shared responses that were not based upon assigned readings/images, (7) Did not listen attentively to others
F	Reserved for students who demonstrated the following characteristics: (1) Were completely silent

III. Essay Evaluation Tips

1. Essays

a. Purpose of Essays

Academic Purpose. Clear and creative writing is central to the craft of history and to university life. Essays are a fundamental part of history courses because history has always been about telling good stories. Universities and scholarly innovation are rooted in attractive and persuasive narratives, which is why it is important to learn how to both organize your ideas in writing and to properly cite the ideas of others. Much like with seminars, the purpose of essays is to introduce you to the world of academia and historical scholarship. Essays also allow you to contribute to knowledge building by bringing fresh eyes and new interpretations to primary and secondary sources.

Professional Purpose. Beyond its importance for history and universities, clear and creative writing is the key to any given career path you may take. Whether you are composing a cover letter for a job, drafting reports and memos at work, putting together materials for your business, or communicating via email with your employees or fellow co-workers, you need to be able to properly communicate your ideas in writing. Similar to seminars, the purpose of essays is to make sure you are ready for any form of employment outside of university and that you are an attractive candidate who stands out from the rest.

b. Evaluation of Essays

Evaluation of Essays. To receive a decent grade on your essays, you need to be passionate about your topic, meticulous in your research, careful with your citations, creative in your writing, and thorough in following instructions. Your essays will be evaluated based upon five general categories: (1) format, (2) citations, (3) style, (4) organization, and (5) content.

Format (2%). The format of your essay refers to its general appearance. All your essays need to follow the format of the Sample Paper provided at the end of this Marking Guide. You will receive full points if your essay is formatted in the following manner:

A page number at the top or bottom of every page (excluding the title page)
A proper title page: essay title, name, course code, instructor, and the date
A format using 12-font and Times New Roman letters for the text and bibliography
A format using 10-font and Times New Roman letters for the footnotes
A proper use of double-spacing for the text and single-spacing for footnotes

Citations (3%). The citations of your essay refer to the proper use of footnotes and a bibliography. Your citations need to follow the Chicago Manual of Style and you are prohibited from using intext citations. Students who fail to provide exact page references to their quotations, or to those parts of the sources they used, will receive an automatic 0 for their citations. Students who have footnotes but fail to provide a bibliography will receive an automatic 0 for their citations plus an additional penalty of 5%. Students who have a bibliography but fail to provide footnotes will receive an automatic 0 for their citations plus an additional penalty of 30%. And students who fail to provide footnotes and a bibliography will receive an automatic 0 for their paper. Citations will be evaluated based upon these general characteristics:

A series of footnotes with exact page references to your sources
A bibliography with the title Bibliography at the end of the essay on a separate page
A bibliography properly spaced, indented, and organized in alphabetical order
A proper use of the Chicago Manual of Style

Style (15%). The style of your essay refers to the level of writing. Style will be evaluated based upon these general characteristics:

A proper use of sentences, paragraphs, punctuation, spelling, and grammar
A proper manner of quoting in which your words properly flow into your quotations
A proper manner of paraphrasing and engaging with other people’s ideas

Organization (30%). The organization of your essay refers to the general flow of the argument and its overall structure. A good portion of your grade for organization is dedicated to your introduction because in it you lay out the argument and set the stage for the entire paper. Organization will be evaluated based upon these general characteristics:

An introduction clearly stating the theme of your paper and its general argument
A manageable topic and organized structure that carefully develops the argument
A narrative that maintains focus throughout the paper
A sense of coherence in that the paper fits together as a unit
An informative conclusion concisely summing up your paper

Content (50%). The content of your essay refers to how convincing the argument is, the quality of analysis (it moves beyond mere description), and the overall signs of original research. A good portion of your grade for content is dedicated to your use of sources (the evidence for your argument). If your essay shows signs of intentional plagiarism, your paper will be assigned an automatic 0 and you will need to book an appointment with the instructor. If your essay demonstrates signs of unintentional plagiarism, depending on the severity, you will be docked anywhere between 20% and 50%. Content will be evaluated based upon these general characteristics:

A persuasive thesis that is well argued
A use of the required number of sources
An intelligent use of sources and signs of original research
A careful handling of historical content free of “factual” errors
A proper use of dates and appropriate definitions of key concepts and terms
A quality of analysis and a general demonstration of effort
A completed essay according to the required length (it is not possible to evaluate content when content is missing from the essay)

c. Chart for the Grading of Essays