Course Grades

Your course grade will be determined by your grades on the weekly writing assignments and the major assessment, according to the following percentages.

Assignment	Percentage of Grade
Discussions and Preparatory Writing	20%
Quizzes	10%
Rhetorical Analysis Essay	10%
Podcast Script	10%
Major Assessment* Final Assessment *60% score required to pass the course	20%
Researched Argument Essay	30%

NOVA Online proctored or major assessments are required to maintain compliance with our accreditation standards and the Higher Education Act’s identity verification requirements for online courses. College-wide, proctored or major assessments must prove identity. To accomplish this in online courses, students must show overall passing levels on the proctored or major assessments in order to pass the course.

In this online course, if your average score on all proctored or major assessments is a passing percentage of 60 percent or higher, then your grade will be calculated according to the scale in the table below. Otherwise, a final grade of F will be assigned.

Your final grade will be based on the following scale:

Grade	Percent
A	90-100
B	80-89
C	70-79
D	60-69
F	0-59

Writing Assessment

Your writing should reflect college level skills of analysis and critical thinking. In addition, please make sure you thoroughly revise your work for paragraph and sentence mechanics. The following is the criteria used to evaluate your work. These criteria will be applicable to all your assignments, specifically, paragraph postings in Discussions, essays, and exams.

Critical Analysis of Text (70%)

Text -- insightful interpretation of the text;
Topic -- a clear understanding of the topic;
Thesis -- clearly defined statement of intent/thesis with related textual examples;
Analysis -- appropriate elements used for critical analysis;
Content -- adequate details, examples, and citations to develop the topic.

Paragraph Mechanics (20%)

Coherence -- information organized in a clear, coherent manner.
Paragraphing -- essay divided into logical, unified paragraphs with a suitable introduction and conclusion.

Grammar and Sentence Mechanics (10%)

Sentence structure -- sentences constructed clearly, using the most suitable structure.
Grammar -- paper free from grammatical errors such as subject-verb agreement, faulty noun-pronoun agreement, et cetera.
Correct word choice;
Correct punctuation;
Correct spelling.

NOVA Online courses have a requirement for proctored assessments to maintain compliance with our accreditation standards and the Higher Education Act’s identity verification requirements for online courses. College-wide, proctored assessments prove identity so students must show overall passing levels on the proctored assessments in order to pass an online course. In this online course, the average of both proctored assessment scores must be a passing percentage of 60 percent or higher in order for you to pass the course regardless of your scores on other graded activities. Please contact your instructor if you require any clarification on this proctored assessment policy.