🤔 WHY LABOR-BASED GRADING CONTRACTS?

Traditional grading often causes students to worry more about acquiring grades (“I have to get an A!”) and pleasing a teacher (“What is the professor looking for?”) than focusing on their agency, creativity, and learning (Inoue, 2019; Hara, 2010; Elbow & Danielewicz, 2008; Inman and Powell, 2018). Students who worry about “doing what the professor wants” become less likely to experiment, take risks, and fail at writing, which is arguably how we improve as writers. Conventional grading might even convince you that everything is a test, your mistakes will define you, you’re in competition with your peers for a good grade and for the instructor’s approval, and writing is an exercise in fakery (what you think the professor wants), not authenticity (how you’re practicing the skills at hand). Additionally, student achievement is more often related to economic class and access to white, masculine, middle-class registers of writing. Students who embody cultural norms and privileged positions enter the classroom with a distinct advantage, while the rest are left struggling to keep up in an academic system that is often indifferent to their presence and contributions. Grades are meant to represent learning but can be biased—against gender, race, ethnicity, class, religion, sexual orientation, and other marginalized axes of identity (Inoue, 2019)—creating conditions that mostly punish failure instead of rewarding learning.

Labor-based grading contracts have begun to replace traditional means of assessment as an effective means of establishing equity and inclusivity in the classroom. Ungraded learning is very much at odds with the academic system, where grades and GPA are central to how higher education is perceived (Inman & Powell, 2018). In this course, we’ll try to approximate the evaluative conditions of non-academic classes—like a yoga class, or an athletic team—by focusing on the responsibilities we’ll assume and the labor we’ll do. Therefore, the default grade for the course is a B+ (86-89%) if you do all that is asked of you in the manner and spirit in which it’s asked and meet the basic criteria for this contract. We may disagree, and at times your writing may stumble, but if you put in the labor you are guaranteed at least this grade.

🔋 DEFINING LABOR

Our goals will be about learning to write, not about grades, since successful writing is not only assessed by its final written product but also by the social, collaborative labor through which those words are written. I define labor in terms of equity, participation, and practice, not unquantifiable “effort,” particularly since this is a mandatory class consisting of students of varied skill level, background, and desire or motivation to enroll in this course. This contract asks you to engage in labor as active classroom citizens, helping each other learn and grow as writers. Since writing can always be modified or improved, I will evaluate your writing based on the labor you put forth in a sequence of assignments designed to teach transferable writing skills and habits and the seriousness-of-purpose of the process of writing itself, encouraging you to internalize habits of knowledge production and utilize writing to better understand yourself and our world. We will check in with each other frequently and discuss your work as individuals and as a collective, providing feedback that will help you revise your writing. Your work, in turn, will require dedication and attention as you move from draft to draft, meaning you will do better if you come prepared, keep an open mind, be fully present, listen to and deeply consider the feedback you receive, and provide thoughtful feedback to your peers.

📋 SO WHAT COUNTS AS LABOR?

The labor required to complete the sequence of assignments in each unit reinforces a range of skills, including the basics of attendance, class preparation, and active participation in discussion, group work, workshopping, conferences, and self-reflection. During and outside of class, we will engage in low-stakes writing assignments designed to help you practice skills and build towards your essay drafts. We’ll approach your essays like phases or stages of a single product, and each essay will have 3 phases of drafting. Working with your peers and me, you’ll submit two drafts in each unit and will then revise each essay one more time for the Final Portfolio. This work is mandatory and must be submitted on time and meet the assignment parameters for you to earn at least a B+. Your writing does not need to be exemplary, perfect, or “good,” but your drafts must visibly demonstrate care and attention paid to the instructions, to peer review comments, to general feedback, and notes you get from me. Your labor towards this will generally be assessed in the following forms:

👩🏾‍🏫 ATTENDANCE. It feels harsh to penalize students for absences given that we are still operating in a pandemic, with heightened screen fatigue and personal stress, in a culture with limited access to mental and physical healthcare. All live Zoom sessions (and asynchronous full-class Slack discussions) include activities that are part of your grade; in other words, any time you’re absent, you will miss something important. I trust you to make your own decisions about attending class, but I also emphasize that these sessions will significantly help you. I encourage everyone to take live notes in the Slack #notes channel, but those notes may not be comprehensive. If you’re unable to attend, it’s your responsibility to find out what you missed and complete missed work in a timely fashion. Keep in mind, the more sessions you miss, the more you might struggle with meeting the assignment parameters, which are essential for maintaining a B+. Much like a face-to-face writing class, the majority of our coursework will happen outside of live sessions through individual and collaborative writing, but don’t forget I’m here for you too! Please reach out if you’re facing a persistent issue that’s affecting your ability to come to class and stay on track. Together we’ll figure out a plan better tailored to your needs.

🙋🏾 PARTICIPATION. Participation is critical to the successful functioning of the course and to your development of critical thinking and writing habits, independent of a flawed or arbitrary grading system. I recognize that not everyone thrives in highly oral/verbal settings, so I will measure participation in a number of ways, such as:

• Speaking aloud or using the chat function in a live Zoom session
• Thoughtful reflective notes synthesizing feedback from your synchronous peer workshops
• Contributions on Slack, in both classwork-related channels and social channels
• Scheduling and attending meetings with me

Regardless of the form it takes, participation must be consistent and substantive (i.e., thinking aloud through course content and not just asking about logistics like when an assignment is due). I take note of who demonstrates knowledge of the readings, who does the activities, who is actively listening, who offers thoughtful questions, who is curious and actively figuring things out, who is willing to try even when unsure, and who interacts with me and other students. Good humor and/or high energy is always noted and appreciated!

😇 COMMUNITY. Please be a generous and kind colleague! We won’t always agree, but we should strive to interact with compassion, understanding, respectfulness, and collegiality. Bigotry—meaning issues like sexism, racism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, religious intolerance, etc.—will not be tolerated. Otherwise, please keep an open mind when engaging with your peers. This goes double for class readings and peer review. If you have a negative reaction to a text or textual artifact, couch your criticism in what it is about the idea, theory, or issue that sparked your reaction.

🔍 OK, BUT HOW IS MY WRITING LABOR EVALUATED?

Labor-based grading does not mean that just doing the assignments or feeling like you worked hard on them entitles you to a B+ or higher. To qualify, you must at minimum do the following:

• Follow the instructions for each exercise and phase of drafting, and do what you are asked to do in the spirit you are asked to do it.
• Submit assignments by the deadline.
• Work towards the assignment parameters outlined in the essay guidelines, getting progressively closer to them in each draft. To do this, you must use the feedback you receive in: 
  • Replies in Slack threads,
  • Comments from peer review and feedback conferences, 
  • General Feedback posted to the course blog, and
  • Comments on your submitted assignments on D2L (if applicable).

You are responsible for checking the status of your assignments and reviewing and responding to any individual comments you receive. Ignoring applicable feedback indicates a lack of labor. 

Work that meets the assignment parameters, whether or not the writing itself is exemplary or “good,” will be scored “Parameters Met” [★]. 

Work scored as “Late” [L] will be accepted for evaluation within one week of the deadline, but I will be unable to provide feedback. After one week, late assignments are counted as “Missed” [M] and can’t be made up. If a submitted assignment egregiously ignores the instructions and assignment parameters, I will treat it like unsubmitted work and grade it as “Missed.” A “Missed” grade means you are no longer eligible for a B+. 

Work that does not meet the assignment parameters will be scored as “Needs Work” [+]. You must schedule a conference with me to discuss how to proceed if you receive a “Needs Work” score; I will not accept revisions that take place without meeting with me first. After we meet, you may choose to revise the assignment and potentially overwrite the score with a “Complete,” provided the revision meets the assignment parameters. If you choose not to revise it, the “Needs Work” score will remain. You’re allowed a finite number of “Needs Work” scores per letter-grade range, as broken down in the chart at the end of this document.

When I calculate final course grades, for each outstanding “Missed” assignment, you’ll be penalized ⅓ of a letter grade (for high-stakes assignments) and ⅙ of a letter grade (for low-stakes assignments). 

All assignments are valued as 1 point on D2L since I have to enter a numerical score, but the number doesn’t matter. Instead, pay attention to the textual symbols below to keep track of your standing in the class:

★	Parameters Met, Complete!
+	Needs Work, Parameters Unmet
L★ or L+	Late/Complete or Late/Needs Work
M	Missed

On Slack, timely posts that meet the assignment criteria will be marked with the “thumbs-up” 👍🏾 emoji and may receive a written reply. Late posts that meet the assignment criteria and are submitted within the one-week grace period will receive a “check” ✅ emoji but no written comments. “Needs Work” posts will receive a “thinking face” 🤔 emoji. (“Needs Work” posts will receive full credit unless I indicate otherwise in my feedback to you; posts that aren’t accepted for credit count as Missed and cannot be revised.) Posts submitted after the one-week grace period, or that ignore the assignment directions, will not be scored. I do not accept revisions or resubmissions for Slack posts. If you receive a “Needs Work” score, you may want to talk to me about how to proceed, but you don’t need to resubmit your work.

⚔️ GRADING BREAKDOWN AT-A-GLANCE

The table below breaks down what you need to do to remain in a given grade range. Specific letter grades will be based on the precise combination of requirements you have or have not completed. Everything in the “B” column must be completed to maintain your guaranteed B+ standing in the course, unless we made alternate arrangements due to extenuating circumstances.

# of…	A	B	C	D	F
+	0	1, not incl. FP	2-3, not incl. FP	4-5, incl. FP	6, incl. FP
L	1	2	4	5	6
M	0	0	2	3	≥ 4
Slacks	All	All, minus 1	All, minus 2	All, minus 3	All, minus 4 or more
Feedback Conferences	3	3	2	1	0
Ethnographic Research Tutorial	★	★	★	M	M
Peer Review Forms	All	All, minus 1	All, minus 2	All, minus 3-4	All minus 5 or more
Writing Center	2 hrs or more	1 hr	30 min	30 min	0 min

FP stands for Final Portfolio. 

L scores apply to both essay drafts and required Slack posts. M scores apply to essay drafts, required Slack posts, Library Instruction, and Peer Review Forms. Peer Review forms are due by Fridays along with your drafts; late forms are not accepted. You were not responsible for peer review if your peers failed to post their work on time as long as you posted your work on time and made good-faith efforts to remind them to submit for peer review. 

For the Writing Center requirement, you must see a tutor at the Pace PLV Writing Center at least once. For the Ethnographic Research Tutorial, I will simply be looking to see that you completed it. A higher score on the quizzes lets me know that you took time and care with your answers (i.e., labor), but if you score poorly it won’t count against you. 

Other forms of labor like class attendance, substantive participation in live sessions or in Slack discussions, extra one-on-one meetings with me, number of substantive replies to your peers, thoughtfulness in peer review and replies to your peers, etc. will determine what grade you receive within that grade range (e.g., A or A-; B+, B, or B-; etc.).

🙌🏾 SELF-ADVOCACY

Pace (PLV)’s writing program has begun to shape this class, but I value your input as well and encourage you to suggest changes you deem necessary. Two-thirds of the class will need to agree on suggested edits for those changes to go into effect.