Assessments (Exams, Projects, Papers) Your grade this semester will come from a variety of activities as shown in the table at the right. A brief description of each is provided here:  Self-Assessment Activities: Self-assessment activities will take the form of quizzes in Blackboard. They serve to allow you to test your knowledge of the material and may be taken as often as you like. Your highest scores will be recorded. o Self-assessment quizzes will be assigned every week. The self-assessment quiz will typically take the form of a matching quiz of roughly 10 vocabulary words and will be worth 10 points. There is no time limit for the self-assessment quizzes. Vocabulary is particularly important to establishing a foundational understanding of the material. As a result, your will be re-tested on vocabulary words AMERICAN NATIONAL GOVERNMENT POLS 1113-3 4479 3 CREDITS SPRING 2018 during both the mid-term and final exam. Only the words that appear on the vocabulary quizzes will appear on the vocabulary section of each exam.  Discussion Board Postings: Discussion board postings will provide you with the opportunity to post your thoughts and defend those thoughts by referencing the readings and scholarly literature. Discussion board postings will take place each week. Rubrics will be provided to guide you in writing your posts. o You will have between Monday and Sunday night at midnight of the assigned week to complete the discussion board entry. You will not receive full credit for late entries, therefore it is necessary that you inform me about any trouble you are having meeting the weekly deadlines prior to the assigned due date. Your lack of participation in these assignments may result in your removal from the course.  Chapter Quiz: Chapter quizzes will be given almost every week and will cover vocabulary words and key concepts from the module chapter assigned that week. The quiz will typically take the form of a series of multiple-choice, true/false and short answer questions. o Each quiz is worth 10 points and should be completed between Monday and Sunday night at midnight of the assigned week within a 15 minute time limit. You will not receive full credit for late quizzes, therefore it is necessary that you inform me about any trouble you are having meeting the weekly deadline prior to the assigned due date. Your lack of participation in these assignments on a regular basis will be a component of your attendance record in the course.  Final Project: One extended homework assignment will be given throughout the semester. o The assignment will consist of developing a 5-6 page, double-spaced, 12 point font essay on a subject from the textbook. The assignment will be graded in five parts:  proposal,  quantitative analysis,  peer feedback,  first draft and  final draft.  The assignment is worth 20, 10, 10, 30 and 30 points for each respective component, totaling 100 points o While the textbook is the major source of the essay material, you should also ultimately include at least 5 additional sources by the time of the final draft. These sources may include newspaper or magazine articles, journal articles or additional books. These materials, including our textbook, should be cited using the MLA, Harvard or Chicago citation style. o The first and final draft must also include the use of some form of quantitative analysis, including a collection and/or presentation of data and an accompanying chart or graph. o The goal of the homework assignment is to acquire real-world and academic research skills, improve comprehensive knowledge of the topic, improve writing skills and practice constructing a convincing, intelligent argument. The paper will therefore be graded based on the following criteria:  Proper use of citations, grammar, spelling and organization.  Clear argument made based on empirical evidence demonstrated from sources. AMERICAN NATIONAL GOVERNMENT POLS 1113-3 4479 3 CREDITS SPRING 2018  Demonstration of key vocabulary words and themes from the chosen section revealing a comprehensive knowledge of the material.