When I send you back the email with comments about your Storybook or Portfolio project, I will record the points in the Gradebook, along with a little note in the "Progress" area to let you know what assignment you need to turn in next. If I forget to record the points for you, please let me know! Sometimes I forget to press the update button which reveals the score I record so that it is visible in the student view.
Here are some of the reasons why a Storybook or Portfolio assignment might not receive the full 10 points. If you do not get the full 10 points, please read my email to find out what the problem(s) were. The most common problems people run into are as follows:
1. Late Assignment. If you turn your assignment in on Monday after noon, you can receive up to 8 points of credit (assuming there are no other problems); on Tuesday, up to 7 points; on Wednesday, up to 6 points, and on Thursday morning before noon, up to 5 points. (No Storybook assignments are accepted after noon on Thursday.) To be eligible for full credit, make sure you turn in your assignment on time, by Monday noon.
2. Incomplete Assignment. If you turn in the assignment on time but the assignment was incomplete (i.e. the author's note is less than the minimum length, the bibliography is missing, etc.), the assignment is not considered to be done until you have fixed that and turned in a complete assignment. To avoid this problem, please make sure you read the questions carefully when you turn in the assignment the first time, reading each question carefully before you answer "yes."
3. Failure to Proofread. I am glad to help people to improve their writing, but it is essential that you also proofread your work carefully before you turn it in. If you turn in something that has serious errors that you would have caught by proofreading your work out loud (missing words, simple typographical errors, etc.), you may lose points. Your writing is not finished until you proofread it carefully by reading it out loud.
4. Failure to Spellcheck. I am glad to help people with English spelling because there are lots of spelling errors that a spellchecker cannot find for you. That being said, you must spellcheck your Storybook assignment before you turn it in. If there are spelling errors that the spellchecker would have detected, you may lose points. So, if you want to receive full credit on the assignment, you need to make sure you do the spellcheck!
5. Incomplete Revisions. Each time you receive a Storybook or Portfolio email from me, there will be a general comment from me at the top, along with specific comments marked with ==> throughout the email. It is your responsibility to read those comments and to make the necessary revisions. I am not a perfect proofreader, so there is no guarantee that I have found everything you need to correct, but if I have found something that needs revising, it is your responsibility to get that taken care of by the time you turn in your next assignment. If you turn in your next assignment without having completed the pending revisions, you may lose points. If you are not sure about how to do the revision, you need to contact me before the assignment is due so that I can give you the additional information you want.
6. Plagiarism. If any part of your Storybook or Portfolio assignment is plagiarized, you will receive no points for the assignment. So, please make sure you review the Plagiarism assignment from Week 1 of the semester if you have any doubts about just what it means to retell the story in your own words. If you have any questions about this, make sure you contact me before you turn in the assignment.