Final Exam

Worth an additional 5% added into the Major Project Grades

Fun Facts about the 3764 Final Exam

  • The exam is an optional, extra credit assignment.
  • The exam is a take-home, online assignment due by the end of your exam period (see the list of times at the end of the post).
  • The exam will take you 15 to 30 minutes to complete. Think of it as taking the same time as an in-class writing activity.
  • If you’re not sure, just do it. It cannot hurt your grade.
  • The exam is open now, but I will not look at submissions until the end of your exam period.

The Assignment

  1. Return to one of the four major projects you worked on this term: your rhetorical analysis, your Help for Hokies post, your job-application materials, or your group project. Choose the version of the project that you submitted for a grade.
  2. Sketch out a revision plan for the project, using the following questions to help guide your work:
    • What are the strengths of your project that you want to be sure to keep?
    • What choices were problematic, and how can you change them to improve the project?
    • How can you better attend to my audience and purpose?
    • What design choices can you change to improve the project?
    • What else would need revision that you didn’t have time to complete but would complete, given enough time and resources?
  3. Go to Assignments in Scholar, choose the Final exam, and either write your revision plan memo in the form OR turn in a Share link to your revision plan on Google Docs by the end of your exam period.

Expectations for the Final

You are writing a revision plan memo. You are NOT actually revising the original project.

The best submissions will go beyond providing a cursory answer to the questions. They will show a concerted effort to rethink the original submission and improve it. For example, a cursory answer would focus on fixing typos and correcting some formatting issues, while a strong plan might talk about cutting or completely rewriting a section of the document, redesigning the look and feel of the document, and/or changing the tone of the document.

The best responses will talk not only about what changes you would make, but specifically how you would change it. Note that you may include whatever makes sense for your revision plan (e.g., a mock-up, a revised paragraph, a chart showing a new design or structure); but be aware that working on such things probably means the final will take you more than 15 to 30 minutes.

Your goal is to show me that you can think about Markel’s eight Measures of Excellence from the beginning of the term and apply the ideas to improve your work. I want to look at your revision plan and see clear evidence that you understand what makes a strong piece or technical writing.

Schedule for the Final Exam

CRN #13260 (9:05 MWF): Due by 9:45 AM on Tues, May 13
CRN #13261 (10:10 MWF): Due by 3:05 PM on Fri, May 9
CRN #19530 (1:25 MWF): Due by 5:25 PM on Tues, May 13

If you have a conflict, I can make minor adjustments in the deadline, but please talk to me by the end of our class session on May 7.