Blog Assessment

Overall Blog Evaluation

Seventy percent of your blog grade (worth twenty percent of the final grade) will be a participation grade based on these questions: Did you do all your blog entries? Did you do them on time? Did you submit entries of the proper length? Did you comment on others’ blogs thoughtfully and effectively? The final thirty percent of your blog grade will be reserved for the quality of your blogs. The quality expectations for each blog and for commenting are delineated below.

Above all, when blogging and commenting, remain respectful of one another and adhere to the Penn State Principles with regard to its policies on discrimination.
Remember, too, how important it is to tag your blogs correctly. Improper tagging can lead to lower grades, so, please be attentive when tagging your entries.

Successful “Passion” blog entries are:

  • submitted in a timely fashion before each Thursday class and are at least 300 words.
  • written in a lively voice that engages and provokes its audience into commenting and taking distinctive stances.
  • coherent in terms of its content or focus and address a particular topic, niche audience, or human interest angle.
  • attentive to grammar and correctness, but may be written in an informal or colloquial style.

Successful “Rhetoric and Civic Life” blog entries:

  • are submitted in a timely fashion (before each Thursday class) and are at least one full paragraph in length (300 words).
  • are written in a lively voice and find ways to engage and provoke its audience into commenting and sharing by asking questions and/or by taking distinctive stances.
  • demonstrate an engagement and understanding of the course materials, principles, and themes.
  • provide incisive analysis of how rhetoric functions.
  • are attentive to grammar and correctness, but may be written in an informal or colloquial style.

Successful “Work in Progress” blog entries:

  • are submitted in a timely fashion (before each Thursday class), with developed drafts uploaded on designated workshops days or reflective posts on non-workshop days that are at least a full paragraph long (200 words).
  • consider options for how to develop responses to assignments.
  • reflect meaningfully on the writer’s process, performance, and rhetorical choices.
  • consider how course principles can be brought to bear upon the writer’s work.
  • do not get bogged down in complaining about grades.

Successful commenting:

  • furthers the discussion prompted by the post in thoughtful and meaningful ways.
  • responsibly and responsively critiques working drafts, offering thoughtful suggestions that help the writer improve his or her work.
  • adheres to the Penn State Principles, especially when disagreeing with the writer.