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Grading for this class will have three main components. First,
like many classes, this one will include a pair of exams. For the
most part, these exams will focus on the readings and lectures,
although there may be some items that will be drawn from group presentations,
particularly in the case of key “lessons learned.” The
two exams (one mid-term and one final) will be equally weighted,
with each being worth 100 points toward final course grade, or 200
points in all.
The second component will involve the work on “real-world”
communication efforts, as developed individually and through group
work in discussion sections, which will also add up to 200 points.
The third component will reflect your participation in discussion
sections and in small-group projects, which are integral components
of this class. As in “real-world” jobs, showing up and
doing at least your share of the group work will be very important
in this class. One reflection of this fact is that your number of
absences from section will be cubed, and the resultant number
will be subtracted from your final grade. The net effect is that
one absence won't hurt your grade too badly — unless you wind
up with a final class average just 1% too low for a higher letter
grade — but having more than once absence will be very
bad for your grade. The other reflection of this fact is that, aside
from simply showing up for all the sections, the quality
and helpfulness of your participation in sections and in
small groups will be worth 50 points toward your final grade.
One of the main themes of the class is that “effectiveness”
in creating change is not simply subjective, but instead tends to
reflect identifiable principles; accordingly, a significant fraction
of the grading for your real-world communication efforts will be
based on how effectively and thoroughly you take these principles
into account in designing (and potentially implementing) whatever
plan you devise. A particularly strong emphasis will be placed on
how well you come to understand those to whom you plan to market
your ideas, and on your analysis of “lessons learned”
at the end of the term. As can be seen from the more detailed breakdown
of grading for the assignments, below, the earlier assignments are
intended in significant part to help prepare you for the more challenging
later ones.
Group/Section Assignments
(150 points in all: all assignments after the initial identification
of problem will be assigned letter grades. See schedule
for specific assignment due dates)
Assignment 1:
First Group Project Presentation (10-minute limit)
Discussion section, as a whole, presents overall facts and
“marketing plan”
10 points; graded pass/fail.
Facts:
What are total
war costs?
What do they
“mean” — for taxes, national debt, responsibility
to future?
Why would energy/carbon
tax make more sense?
Preliminary marketing plan:
What are your
intended target audiences — before Jan. 31? after?
Given those
target audiences, what should be your pared-down, focused, message?
What should
be your “invisible footnotes” (info/back-up you need to
have ready)?
Assignment 2: as
individual, send first letter implementing marketing plan.
One-page limit on actual letter.
Submit copy of letter to TA. TA copy needs to
include “invisible footnotes” not actually sent with original
letter, providing information on why you picked the specific numbers/facts
you used. “Invisible footnotes” are not subject to one-page
limitation.
20 points; graded. Grading breakdown:
5 points:
Facts, evidence
10 points:
Presentation of Key Message of the letter.
5 points:
Good writing, grammar, spelling.
Assignment 3: Small-Group
Project Presentations, in lectures (5-minute limit).
Working with a smaller group from your discussion
section, present lessons you have learned so far, and spell out
plans for improving future marketing.
—
what response did you get to initial letters? why?
—
what will you do differently for more precisely “targeted”
messages?
—
what will be your target audience(s)?
—
what do you know about them?
—
what does that mean you'll need to do to “reach” them
most effectively?
30 points; graded. Grading breakdown:
5 points:
Quality of analysis, responses to initial letter
10 points:
Research on target audience.
10 points: Use
of class concepts to refine/improve message.
5 points:
Preparation of responses to potential/likely criticss
Assignment 4:
Copies of letters that implement your more targeted marketing.
Working as an individual, but in coordination
with other members of the small group from your Discussion Section,
send letters or other forms of written communication to at least
three additional persons or organizations. Building on what you
have learned in the class, you should aim for greatest feasible
impact in showing connections between war costs and taxes, in building
public awareness that supposed “tax cuts” for current
voters amount to tax increases on future generations, and/or
building support for an energy or carbon tax to help retire war-related
national debt.
For this assignment, the optimal trade-off between
brevity and completeness will depend on the audience you are trying
to reach, so decide for yourself what fraction of your “invisible
footnotes” should be contained in the actual letters. In cases
where you decide not to include the “invisible footnotes”
in your original letters, do include them in the copy you
provide to your TA. The TA copy should also be accompanied by the
kinds of evidence that will allow you to earn the assignment points
spelled out below. At a mininmum, this additional evidence should
include a summary of what you found out about your target audience
before preparing the letter, an analysis of the ways in which your
letters reflect the use of class concepts, and your reasoning for
picking the specific numbers/facts you used, as well as spelling
out why you did or did not include the footnote information in the
original letters.
40 points; graded. Grading breakdown:
5 points:
Marshalling of facts/evidence
5 points:
Presentation of key message of the letter.
15 points:
Research on target audience.
10 points: Use
of class concepts to refine/improve message.
5 points:
Good writing, grammar, spelling.
Assignment 5:
Written analysis of experience and “lessons learned.”
Working as an individual, but in coordination
with other members of the small group from your Discussion Section,
analyze what you have learned from these “real-world”
communication efforts. The length of these analyses may vary, but
an average length (not including appendices) should be about five
pages. Among other topics you see as important to include, be sure
to provide at least the following five kinds of information. Note
in particular the importance of item #2 in the grading of this assignment,
as spelled out below.
1. What messages did you send out? To whom? How framed?
Why?
2. How did you improve those messages by using class concepts?
In particular,
— what did
you learn about your audiences first?
— how did
you tailor your messages for them.?
3. What “worked” most effectively? What didn't
work so well? Why?
4. Based on your experience, what would you do differently
next time? Why?
5. As an appendix, attach copies of your actual correspondence
and any responses
50 points; graded. Grading breakdown:
10 points:
Use of class concepts to refine/improve message.
10 points:
Research on target audience.
15 points:
Based on above, explanation for framing of targeted messages
10 points: Critique
of class concepts. What worked/didn't work? Why?
5 points:
Appendix; good writing, grammar, spelling.
Note that deadlines will be strictly enforced, and that except
where otherwise specified, all assignments
are due by the start of the Class or Discussion Section dates spelled
out in class
schedule.
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