REQUIREMENTS

• Active (and informed) participation in class discussions
• Occasional in-class quizzes
• Two map quizzes (Europe before WW1, Europe after WW1)
• Four short writing assignments analyzing historical developments (1-2 pages)
• Five short research assignments that serve as the basis for the research paper (short proposal, review of a monograph, analysis of a primary source)
• A research paper on a topic of interest (10-15 pages)
• A presentation of your research paper in a class poster session
• A small group presentation to the class on a historical monograph
• Three short exams (30 mins)
• A comprehensive final examination
• Note: I’ve prepared a series of reading quizzes and link to them on the schedule. These are intended to help you take away key points from the reading – and will not figure in your course grade

GRADING

Your grade will measure your effort, the level of your thinking and writing, as well as the progress you make across the semester. The following is offered as a rough guide. It assumes a good faith effort on all assignments.

• 10% attendance, participation, professionalism
• 5% map quizzes
• 20% short writing assignments
• 15% research assignments
• 15% final research paper
• 20% short exams
• 15% final examination
• each in-class quizz will count for approximately 1% of the course

Other things that can have a significant impact on your grade: absences (more than one week), coming late, being a distraction to the class or the professor, and excellent or poor participation.

I will grade short writing assignments and quizzes on a check/check plus/check minus scale. A check indicates good work in all aspects of the assignment and equals 85%; a check plus indicates excellent work and equals 95%, and a check minus indicates work that is missing something important and equals 75%;  sometimes I will give credit for a partial or late assignment with a check minus minus of 65%. Other assignments will be graded out of 100 points. I will keep the electronic grade book on Moodle so that students have access to a record of their grades.

I follow the College of Wooster guidelines for grading. A grade in the “A” range indicates excellent work, the “B” range indicates good work, the “C” range indicates adequate work, the “D” range indicates a minimal performance. A grade of “F” indicates unsatisfactory work or the failure to complete all course work.