Context: Contexto
These are the Objectives of our class (SPAN 102) found in our syllabus (on BlackBoard) provided by our World Languages Department this semester. Here is what is expected at the end of the semester for Spanish 102:
Objectives, Objetivos: By the end of the semester, you will do the following in Spanish.
· form statements and questions orally and in writing;
· give and get information about yourself, your family and everyday life;
· speak and write about the future;
· express feelings, hopes and wishes;
· describe people, places and things in the present and past;
· read short paragraphs on culture and everyday life using familiar vocabulary, and
discuss the content of them
In our requirements for this class, we need to complete a final composition which is part of our final exam. The final exam must include different communicational elements such as speaking, reading, and writing. The final composition will be assessing the material studied in its written form. I will be assessing 1. The Quality of the Writing (detailed information and careful organization) and 2. Grammar, Usage & Mechanics (spelling, punctuation, grammar structure or syntax). Our final composition is based on our weekly writing in our journal. The final composition is layered and built upon progressive learning. With no journal entries there is no composition.
Final Composition Informal Personal Writing Rubric
Features
4
Expert
3
Accomplished
2
Capable
1
Beginner
Quality of Writing
Piece was written in an extraordinary organizational style using correctly all material studied.
Very informative using details from vocabulary and grammar topics, and well-organized.
Piece was written in an interesting organizational style, gives plenty of personal information from our textbook.
Somewhat informative and organized.
Gives some personal
information, uses some material from our textbook, but poorly organized.
Piece does not use journal entries, uses literal translations
Gives no personal information, uses no material from our textbook, and very poorly organized.
Grammar, Usage & Mechanics
Virtually no spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors
Few spelling and punctuation errors, minor grammatical errors
A number of spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors
So many spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors that it interferes with the meaning and clarity of the writing
00:40
What is the final composition? Qué es la composición final?
The final composition is a piece of writing in Spanish that demonstrates your ability and capability to use our learned material as explained in our syllabus. The final composition is layered and built upon progressive learning. You can build your final composition by using some patchwriting techniques (see what is patchwriting under JOURNAL on BlackBoard). That means organizing in your own way the material we have been assessing by annotating every week on your JOURNAL. The JOURNAL (to assess what we have been learning) and the final composition (to show how we use the learned material in writing) are connected in the same way our final composition is connected to our final exam.
How long have we been building our segments, sentences, and expressions to do patchwriting and organize our final composition? Desde cuándo estuvimos construyendo nuestros segmentos, oraciones y expresiones para organizar nuestra composición final?
We have been doing our entries on our JOURNALS since the first week of the semester by following some or by answering all the questions I have been preparing for you every week of this semester. The same questions we have been using during our sessions in Zoom and in person, sometimes brought by my interest in everyday life events, quotidian events, and sometimes from our own textbook (see v-text on VHLCentral). We have discussed daily routines, rituals, celebrations, likes and dislikes, hobbies, desires and wishes, and plans.
Why a final composition? Where to submit it? Por qué una composición final? Dónde entregarla?
The final composition is part of your final exam (20 puntos) and it will incorporate the material we have been learning in our classes including themes such as “La familia” o “Los pasatiempos” and grammatical topics such as “irregular verbs in the preterit tense” or “Verbs like GUSTAR”.
The final composition will be submitted on BlackBoard under Final Composition (see dates on BB) on the last day of our class (13 de diciembre), in that way I will have time to read it and prepare questions based on your own writing for our final exam (Monday December 20, 2021).