tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post3264484351228030957..comments2024-03-27T08:40:31.785-06:00Comments on Clayton Cramer.: Grading Papers The Last Few DaysClayton Cramerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03258083387204776812noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-82500243190572114462012-11-19T14:26:01.446-07:002012-11-19T14:26:01.446-07:00He may have, but the list of sources was darn impr...He may have, but the list of sources was darn impressive. I demand at least eight sources -- and in spite of my efforts to explain the difference between serious, scholarly, published sources, and random (and sometimes insane) crap on the Internet, it took the first round of papers for most students to really get it. Even now, the vast majority of papers have exactly eight sources--not one more. But this student got it on the first paper: nothing but serious scholarly journal articles, and far more than required. Genuine scholarly curiosity, it seems, not just meeting minimum requirements.Clayton Cramerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03258083387204776812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-73024059286752222572012-11-19T14:04:52.272-07:002012-11-19T14:04:52.272-07:00He may have read Jared Diamond's book about th...He may have read Jared Diamond's book about that very topic.<br /><br />Bill in TexasAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-53336736814266002802012-11-19T10:29:52.356-07:002012-11-19T10:29:52.356-07:00I was actually pretty open on this -- anything abo...I was actually pretty open on this -- anything about Western Civilization from the Middle Ages through the Peace of Westphalia (1648). I gave them a list of suggested topics, but a few were creative. One wrote a grim but well-done paper about torture. The really stellar paper was about resource exhaustion and collapse of civilizations.Clayton Cramerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03258083387204776812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-78062828553181341832012-11-18T14:56:09.752-07:002012-11-18T14:56:09.752-07:00What's the topic the students were to right on...What's the topic the students were to right on?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-66472368087264054472012-11-17T18:11:34.529-07:002012-11-17T18:11:34.529-07:00Pretty sure. It isn't flawless, and from talk...Pretty sure. It isn't flawless, and from talking to this kid, he is <i>very</i> smart.Clayton Cramerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03258083387204776812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-41032848374616678652012-11-17T17:58:18.294-07:002012-11-17T17:58:18.294-07:00How sure are you that the author of the paper is n...How sure are you that the author of the paper is not at Stanford or Berkeley?Bruce H.noreply@blogger.com