The best writing
is done through an iterative process of writing and revising. With this
in mind, you will submit a draft of your major paper part way through the
semester, and get feedback on it from both your instructor and a peer.
When drafts
are coming due, I am often asked, "how complete should the draft be?"
The answer is, as complete as it possibly can be by the deadline. The purpose
of submitting the draft is to get useful feedback, and the feedback is likely
to be much more useful if what you submit is closer to
a finished product.
With this
in mind, the grading criteria for the draft are simple. I will not assess
the quality of the work at this stage, but you will get awarded 5% for handing
in a relatively complete draft. Small pieces may be missing, but the majority
of the assignment should be there in some developing form.
If you do not submit
a draft by the deadline, or your submission is very
incomplete (major parts are missing, or more than a quarter of the draft
is just a set of point-form notes), you forfeit the entire 5%.
Logistics
On
the day of the deadline, e-mail your draft documents to your
peer reviewer, and Cc me.