# Grading & Rubrics
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## Point distribution
| Component | Milestone | Points |
|:--|:--|--:|
| **Attendance & participation** | Weekly consultation | 10 |
| **Project 1 — Deconstruction** | Research | 10 |
| | First draft | 10 |
| | Final render | 10 |
| | *subtotal* | *30* |
| **Project 2 — Technique Tutorial** | Thumbnails | 10 |
| | Written (video) tutorial | 10 |
| | Final render | 10 |
| | *subtotal* | *30* |
| **Project 3 — Original Work** | Thumbnails | 10 |
| | First draft | 10 |
| | Final render | 10 |
| | *subtotal* | *30* |
| | **Total** | **100** |
| **Extra credit** | Career Audit & Portfolio Review | 5 |
| | **Grand total possible** | **105** |
**Grade scale:** A ≥ 90 · B ≥ 80 · C ≥ 70 · D ≥ 60 · F < 60
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## Due date calendar
| Due | Week | Date | Points |
|:--|:--|:--|--:|
| P1 Research | 2 | Tue, Sep 1 | 10 |
| Career Audit & Portfolio Review *(EC)* | 3 | Tue, Sep 8 | 5 |
| P1 First Draft | 4 | Tue, Sep 15 | 10 |
| P1 Final Render | 6 | Tue, Sep 29 | 10 |
| P2 Thumbnails | 7 | Tue, Oct 6 | 10 |
| P2 Tutorial | 10 | Tue, Oct 27 | 10 |
| P2 Final Render | 11 | Tue, Nov 3 | 10 |
| P3 Thumbnails | 12 | Tue, Nov 10 | 10 |
| P3 First Draft | 14 | Tue, Nov 24 | 10 |
| P3 Final Render | 16 | Tue, Dec 8 | 10 |
All milestones are due in Canvas **by the start of class, 9:00 AM.**
---
## Attendance & participation rubric (10 points)
| Points | Standard |
|:--|:--|
| 10 | Attended every meeting. Arrived every week with completed work to present. Engaged substantively in critique of both their own and their peer's work. Consistently acted on prior direction. |
| 8–9 | One absence with advance notice and submitted progress. Otherwise consistently prepared and engaged. |
| 6–7 | Two absences, or a pattern of arriving with little to show. Participation in peer critique limited. |
| 4–5 | Three absences, or repeated failure to act on direction. |
| 0–3 | Four or more absences, or chronic unpreparedness. |
Arriving without work to present is the functional equivalent of an absence — the consultation cannot do its job.
---
## Universal milestone rubric
Applied to every 10-point milestone, weighted according to the milestone's stage.
### Completeness — 3 points
Everything the assignment asked for is present and delivered in an openable, viewable, playable form.
| 3 | Every deliverable present, correctly formatted, ready to review |
| 2 | Minor omissions or format problems |
| 1 | Significant components missing |
| 0 | Largely absent, or files cannot be opened |
### Execution quality — 3 points
Craft, measured against professional standards in the student's discipline and against their own demonstrated ceiling.
| 3 | Meets or approaches a professional bar; clean and controlled |
| 2 | Competent with visible rough areas |
| 1 | Substantial technical or aesthetic problems unaddressed |
| 0 | Below the standard expected at this level |
### Response to direction — 2 points
Evidence that the previous consultation's notes were acted on.
| 2 | Prior notes clearly addressed; where a note was rejected, the reasoning is articulated |
| 1 | Some notes addressed, others ignored without comment |
| 0 | No evidence of response |
### Documentation & professionalism — 2 points
Written material, file management, naming, and delivery.
| 2 | Clear writing, organized files, correct naming, proper attribution, clean presentation |
| 1 | Adequate but careless in places |
| 0 | Disorganized, unattributed, or unreadable |
---
## Stage weighting
The same rubric, but different emphasis by milestone type:
**Research / Thumbnails milestones** weight *completeness* and *documentation* most heavily. At this stage the instructor is assessing thinking, planning, breadth of exploration, and honesty about gaps — not polish.
**First draft / Tutorial milestones** weight *completeness* and *response to direction* most heavily. The question is whether the whole thing exists and whether last week's critique landed.
**Final render milestones** weight *execution quality* and *documentation* most heavily. Here the standard is professional finish and portfolio readiness.
---
## What raises a grade
- The whole piece present at a rough standard, early, rather than one section polished
- Notes from the previous week visibly addressed
- Honest assessment of your own weaknesses in written reflections
- Scope adjusted proactively when it became clear the original plan was too large
- Documentation and breakdown material captured during production rather than reconstructed after
- Work published somewhere a recruiter could find it
- Substantive engagement in your classmate's critique
## What lowers a grade
- Arriving at consultation with nothing to show
- The same note appearing in critique three weeks running
- Files that will not open, links that are not shared, builds that will not launch
- Missing or vague attribution on Project 1 or on tutorial sources
- Undisclosed use of generative AI
- Backloading — nothing exists until the week before the deadline
- Written reflections that describe what you did without evaluating it
---
## Revision policy
Every milestone except final renders may be revised once after critique, within one week, for regrade. This is deliberate: the course is built on iteration, and a milestone grade should reflect what you can do after receiving direction rather than before.
Final renders are not revisable — they are the point at which the work is assessed as delivered.
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## Grade conversion reference
| Letter | Points | |
|:--|:--|:--|
| A | 90–105 | Professional-standard work; portfolio-ready by semester's end |
| B | 80–89 | Solid work with visible growth; some milestones under-delivered |
| C | 70–79 | Requirements met at a basic level; limited growth |
| D | 60–69 | Significant milestones missing or substantially under-delivered |
| F | Below 60 | Course requirements not met |