I have finished grading the finals and submitted course grades in HokieSpa. I made some setting changes in Canvas so that your grade shows appropriately:

• I set the Final Exam as equal to 100% of the Course Grade.
  Why? Since you have argued for your course grade in the Final, the letter grade there is your letter grade in the course.
• I changed the grade scheme for the Course Grade to Virginia Tech’s default grade scale (no rounding). 
  Why? To export your grades from Canvas so that I can import them to HokieSpa, I needed to set them to use the same grade scale that is used in HokieSpa.

Thanks for your hard work this semester. Good luck with your future studies and careers.

Unsubscribing from the Course Website and Twitter Updates

If you subscribed to the course website at the beginning of the term, you probably want to unsubscribe now. Look for an unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email message that you get from the course website.

If you were following the course Twitter account (@HokieTengrrl), just go the the page in Twitter and click the Unfollow button.

I have archived the Facebook group, so you should receive no more updates from it. If you prefer, you can also Leave the Group.

I have graded all the genre analysis reports. In this post, I’ll comment on how you all did and how to proceed with your final exam. Please read the information carefully.

Overall Feedback for the Class

Generally, everyone did a well on the Genre Analysis Reports. Many of you reported that you learned valuable information that you could use in the workplace. Reports tended to use appropriate headings to structure the documents well.

Some Weaknesses in the Genre Analysis Reports

• Poor proofreading. In longer documents, the little things sometimes slide; but they are still very important. Remember that even in long documents you need to run the spellchecker and pay attention to the squiggly lines that tell you when something is wrong.
• Inconsistency. Another issue in longer documents is ensuring that you use the same form for your key words. Quite a few reports had errors with how the name of the kind of writing the authors explored named. In one sentence, for instance, I might see RFPs while the next expressed it as RFP’s. Remember that your terms should match.
• Required content missing. The other error I saw repeatedly related to missing content. The assignment required specific sections and three examples. The weekly post on December 4 even reminded you to “Ensure you include all the required sections and information, listed in Step 4 of the assignment.” Remember that in the workplace, failing to include the listed information can cost you a bid or grant. Be sure to pay attention to instructions.

Addressing the Genre Activity Report in Your Final

Unfortunately, classes are over, and there is no time left in the schedule for revision at this point. Because I must turn my attention to grading the final exams, there simply isn’t time to grade revisions of the Genre Analysis Report as well.

So What Do You Do if Your Genre Activity Report Earned an Incomplete?

1. Take a deep breath. You are not doomed. You are in the same kind of situation as someone in the workplace who didn’t win a bid or lost a client. There’s still hope.
2. Turn your attention to your final exam. As you explain the grade that you deserve in the course, explain what happened with your Genre Activity Report. Account for what went wrong, and convince me that you’ll deal with such situations in the future.
3. Do not stress yourself about the “bell curve.” Let me try to be a bit more transparent. There are always some students who are exemplary. The idea of the curve is only to ensure that exemplary students earn higher grades than those who just meet the requirements. That may be a tough standard, but I think it’s fair. In truth, I do not plot out all the numbers in some beautiful graph; but I do pay attention to students who have gone above and beyond the norm.
4. Focus on making your final exam persuasive by using these tips:
   1. Pay attention to the advice in the #TuesdayTutorial: Determining Your Course Grade.
   2. Use what you know about document design. Remember the value of chunking information, using information-rich headings, and making your document easy to navigate. Don’t make me (your audience) search for information. Use document design strategies that show me where everything is.
   3. Consider adding tables or graphs that support your argument. Be sure that any graphics you include add to the content. Don’t toss in clipart or other graphics just as decorations. Be sure your graphics help you make your point.
   4. Provide concrete data on your performance. Use numbers, facts, and even quotations from your work or feedback. Show me how you have done in the course. Make everything completely obvious.
   5. Remember to spellcheck and proofread. It’s important to your argument that your document is polished and professional. Errors will make your point less persuasive.