Week 15 Update, Fall
Dec. 13th, 2009 11:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
willowispOur last day of classes was Friday. It was also a day of the Oswego winter weather I remembered -- not much snow, but what we had being blown by a biting wind. Both classes let out early, though not because of the weather.
In the Asian theatre class she had planned to show us a video but the video player, for the first time this semester, gave her attitude. Despite many suggestions from students it could not be made to work. It was very sad, because I was looking forward to seeing it. She also collected our final papers; mine got to eight pages with the eighth about half a paragraph shy of being a full page. I also, on a hunch, brought in my rough draft with her comments. It turned out to be a good idea, since she wanted that as well. I was one of the few who did not have to go out in the cold to bring the rough draft in.
Gothic lit was a brief class because we finished discussing our last story about halfway through. He went over what will be on the exam Monday and then let us go. I had a very happy occurrence in the class on Monday, wherein as we discussed the penultimate story, an idea for my three-page essay popped into my head. I typed it up on Monday night, handed it in on Tuesday (it had been due Friday) and asked him to look it over, and on Wednesday he said it was "a winner" and that I should turn it in as-is. I stayed after class on Friday to ask how I was doing going into the exam, and he said I had a strong B+ to A-, not counting the essay I had turned in since he hadn't graded it yet. I think I have a chance at an A if I do well on the exam tomorrow. No pressure.
In sophomore seminar we had five papers; four were 4-6 pages, and the fifth was 6-8 and was supposed to be built on one of the shorter essays. The fourth essay was due Thursday and the long essay was due on exam day, although we have no exam. Since I already had a suggestion for him on what to tack on to my third essay, I decided to run with it and turned it in on Wednesday. In return, I didn't have to hand in my fourth 4-pager until exam day, which gave me the time I needed to finish the Asian theatre essay for Friday. I asked the professor how I'm doing, and he said I had an A going into the final two papers. He then said I could always lower it with catastrophic action, but I said "no thanks".
Literary criticism has the exam which scares me most and the most worrisome grade. So far, I've gotten back a C+ essay worth 10% of my grade and a C essay worth 20%. The third essay, worth 30% of my grade, is still not back yet. I went to her office hours on Thursday to request that if my grade was lower than C to give me a D, on the theory that a D class can be repeated for a higher grade, but a C or C- cannot. The professor said she doesn't think I need to worry about doing that badly, based on the conferences we had leading up to the third essay. She plans on giving us the essays (or emailing the grades) before the exam on Thursday. Of course I plan to do my best for the exam any which way, but I'm still nervous. The exam is a "dialogue" with five or six of the theorists we've studied this semester, using our own words to describe their theories. We can bring a 5"x8" index card, but I'm mostly worried that I don't quite have the concepts down, so even with the card I may not be able to come up with appropriate paraphrases. That, and I don't know much about the theorists themselves, so I have no idea what they might actually say outside of their essays. At least I have until Thursday to come up with something.
And, with that, I'm off to work on the essay due Tuesday.
In the Asian theatre class she had planned to show us a video but the video player, for the first time this semester, gave her attitude. Despite many suggestions from students it could not be made to work. It was very sad, because I was looking forward to seeing it. She also collected our final papers; mine got to eight pages with the eighth about half a paragraph shy of being a full page. I also, on a hunch, brought in my rough draft with her comments. It turned out to be a good idea, since she wanted that as well. I was one of the few who did not have to go out in the cold to bring the rough draft in.
Gothic lit was a brief class because we finished discussing our last story about halfway through. He went over what will be on the exam Monday and then let us go. I had a very happy occurrence in the class on Monday, wherein as we discussed the penultimate story, an idea for my three-page essay popped into my head. I typed it up on Monday night, handed it in on Tuesday (it had been due Friday) and asked him to look it over, and on Wednesday he said it was "a winner" and that I should turn it in as-is. I stayed after class on Friday to ask how I was doing going into the exam, and he said I had a strong B+ to A-, not counting the essay I had turned in since he hadn't graded it yet. I think I have a chance at an A if I do well on the exam tomorrow. No pressure.
In sophomore seminar we had five papers; four were 4-6 pages, and the fifth was 6-8 and was supposed to be built on one of the shorter essays. The fourth essay was due Thursday and the long essay was due on exam day, although we have no exam. Since I already had a suggestion for him on what to tack on to my third essay, I decided to run with it and turned it in on Wednesday. In return, I didn't have to hand in my fourth 4-pager until exam day, which gave me the time I needed to finish the Asian theatre essay for Friday. I asked the professor how I'm doing, and he said I had an A going into the final two papers. He then said I could always lower it with catastrophic action, but I said "no thanks".
Literary criticism has the exam which scares me most and the most worrisome grade. So far, I've gotten back a C+ essay worth 10% of my grade and a C essay worth 20%. The third essay, worth 30% of my grade, is still not back yet. I went to her office hours on Thursday to request that if my grade was lower than C to give me a D, on the theory that a D class can be repeated for a higher grade, but a C or C- cannot. The professor said she doesn't think I need to worry about doing that badly, based on the conferences we had leading up to the third essay. She plans on giving us the essays (or emailing the grades) before the exam on Thursday. Of course I plan to do my best for the exam any which way, but I'm still nervous. The exam is a "dialogue" with five or six of the theorists we've studied this semester, using our own words to describe their theories. We can bring a 5"x8" index card, but I'm mostly worried that I don't quite have the concepts down, so even with the card I may not be able to come up with appropriate paraphrases. That, and I don't know much about the theorists themselves, so I have no idea what they might actually say outside of their essays. At least I have until Thursday to come up with something.
And, with that, I'm off to work on the essay due Tuesday.
HI Cat
Date: 2009-12-14 06:51 am (UTC)This quarter was the first time I accepted a 0 for an assignment. ( I had bronchitis, laryngitis , mono and was coping with 2 deaths- so I layed in bed that week and accepted it).
I still managed to get an A, once all my other work is done. I have had a C in statistics and it didn't hurt my average badly. I have a 3.845, so you will do it even if you get one C.
I pray you don't, but overall, try to relax and just go with it.
Stay in touch-be well.
Estelle