Grades

Using the criteria on the syllabus, I will evaluate your assignments and give you a score for each. I also will record your scores in one of the grids below so that you can keep track of your progress. Please check to make sure that the score written on your assignment matches the one I recorded here. To preserve your privacy, I have not listed your names here; instead, I have used the student numbers that I gave you at the beginning of the course. At midterm and at the end of the course, I will add up your points, divide by the number of possible points at that stage of the semester, and record your grade according to the scale on the syllabus:
 
 
1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6
Quiz 1 3 3 3 2 1 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 3 2 1 3 3 3 3 2 2
Quiz 2 4 5 3 3 4 4 5 4 5 3 0 5 4 4 5 3 5 5 5 4 2 3
Quiz 3 3 4 5 4 3 5 3 5 5 4 3 5 3 5 3 4 2 5 4
Quiz 4 5 5 5 4 5 5 5 5 4 5 5 5 5 4 5 5 5 5 4 5
Quiz 5 6 6 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 5 3 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 6
Midterm A A A C C F A A C B F C A B A B A B A A F C
Quiz 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Quiz 7 2 5 5 5 4 2 5 4 3 2 4 3 3 2 4 4 5 4 3 5
Quiz 8 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Quiz 9 2 5 4 3 3 5 3 2 3 3 4 5 1 4 5 3 4 5
Quiz 10 5 5 5 5 5 3 5 5 5 3 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Web page 16 16 16 16 16 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 17 17 17 17 17 17
Article 16 19 20 18 14 17 20 16 15 19 17 16 13 13 15 17 16 14 13 18 19
Portfolio 20 20 14 20 20 18 20 20 20 17 15 18 18 16 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
Extra 5 5 5
Total 90 106 93 93 88 89 102 88 88 80 83 97 85 86 87 98 94 98 93 78 97
Grade A A A A B B I A B B B B A B B B A A A A C A
 
Quiz 1: What is Proto-Indo-European? Who spoke it? Explain its relationship to English. What are some other Indo-European languages? (3 points)
Quiz 2: Compare Old English and Middle English. Refer to specific lexical, grammatical, phonological, and orthographical features of each. (5 points)
Quiz 3 (9/15/99): Analyze the text at http://www.bibliomania.com/NonFiction/Pepys/Diary/chap04.html; argue that this text is an example of Old English, Middle English, or Early Modern English. Defend your answer by referring to aspects of its lexicon, grammar, and orthography. (5 points)
Quiz 4 (9/24/99): Identify a lexical gap in English and coin a word to fill this gap. You may create a portmanteau, compound, initialism, clipped form, or another type of word. Write a dictionary entry for your word, making sure to include information about its orthography, pronunciation, part of speech, meaning, and etymology. Because you cannot use special characters here, you will have to do your best with English letters to provide the pronunciation. (5 points)
Quiz 5 (10/11/99): Choose two of the three terms I assigned you in class and, without using your book or notes, identify them. That is, explain what each one means, provide an example if possible, and explain why each is significant to linguists. (6 points)
Quiz 6 (11/5/99): Identify your favorite example of slang by creating a dictionary entry for your word or phrase, making sure to include information about its orthography, pronunciation, part of speech, meaning, and etymology, if applicable. Because you cannot use special characters here, you will have to do your best with English letters to provide the pronunciation. (5 points)
Quiz 7 (11/11/99): Analyze Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech (http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/Docs/march.html). Specifically, describe the register he uses, identify any examples of jargon or slang, and try to identify his dialect. You may not find examples of all of these phenomena. In each instance, make sure that you both define the term and cite at least one example. Finally--and most importantly--explain the significance of these linguistic elements. How did they shape King's message and affect his audience? For example, why do you suppose he used the register he used? (5 points)
Quiz 8 (11/12/99): Please submit your group's translation of the Gettysburg Address into slang, jargon, informal register, or euphemism. Please include the names of the group members who worked on this translation. (3 points)
Quiz 9 (11/17/99): According to Noam Chomsky and other linguists featured in The Human Language Series, how do children learn language? (5 points)
Quiz 10 (11/30/99): Analyze the passages I presented in class (http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/markport/language/ameng/passages.htm). Two were written by the same person. Which ones are they? Defend your answer by referring to patterns in lexicon and syntax. Try to identify this author further. Is the writer male or female? What is his or her race? When did he or she live? Again, defend your answer. This author is well-known. Try to name him or her. (5 points)