Terence Wade, A Comprehensive Russian Grammar. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers. Second Edition, revised and expanded, 2001.

ISBN 0-631-21891-2

 

Terence Wade, A Russian Grammar Workbook, Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 1996-2003.

ISBN 0-631-19381-2

 

These books are available in the ND University Bookstore.

 

 

Your final grade will consist of the following components:

 

class performance 20%

daily homework 10%

quizzes 10%

exams 20%

compositions 20%

final exam 20%

 

Your participation is crucial to the success of this course! In order to excel in this class and make it an enjoyable and enriching experience you will have to meticulously prepare for each class and be actively involved in its discussions. To this end you will have to attentively read all the assigned literary texts and grammar explanations, memorize our target vocabulary and do the assigned exercises.

 

 

-carefully read the assigned text and be ready to answer questions about its content;

-be ready to analyze the assigned text;

-translate unfamiliar words using the dictionary and/or provided glossary;

-formulate your own questions and thoughts about the text;

-learn the target vocabulary;

-mark difficult words and passages and be ready to ask questions and/or participate in discussions about their renditions into English;

-learn/review the assigned grammar and do the exercises;

-and be ready to write a quiz and participate in the discussion.

 

Your performance in the class will be graded on the scale from 0 to 3 points:

3=contributed several thoughtful and insightful comments to class discussion

2=completely prepared and participated in class discussion at a satisfactory level

1=present in class but quiet for the most part

0=absent.

 

Please be sure to bring a letter of excuse for official or excused absences (illness, religious holidays, family emergencies). After three unexcused absences, your course grade may be lowered by one step (e.g., A to A-, B+ to B, D to F, etc.) Five or more unexcused absences may result in the lowering of your grade by a full letter (e.g., A to B, B to C, etc). This is a performance-based course. Your listening and speaking abilities in Russian cannot improve if you miss classes with any frequency.

 

These assignments should be handed in on time. Homework turned in late will be marked down one grade and no assignment will be accepted more than one class period after it is due. Each assignment will be graded according to the following scale: 3 points for a job well done, 2 points for good work that contains more than a few mistakes, 1 point if the assignment is done poorly, and no points if you fail to hand it in.

 

At the beginning of each class you will be given a short quiz. These quizzes will contain recently covered grammatical and stylistic issues as well as new vocabulary. You will be asked to translate several phrases/sentences from Russian into English and/or from English into Russian.

 

There will be 3 semester exams testing your command of the covered material. Each exam will last for one class period. Before each exam I will discuss with you its form, content and assignments. With the exception of an emergency, no make-up exam will be given unless you obtain prior approval from me.

 

There will be 3 compositions in this class. Each time you will be given a choice of three or more essay topics and will be expected to write a one page essay (double-spaced) on the topic of your choice. This exercise is designed to help you in developing your writing self-expression in Russian. Skills developed by this exercise include correct usage of vocabulary, grammar, and style; organization of your material/argument, and analytical skills. Each essay will receive a letter grade. The due dates for the Russian compositions are listed in the course syllabus. You will have 5-10 days for each essay. Your essays will be corrected and returned immediately. Except in extreme circumstances, each day late equals one step down in your grade for that assignment (e.g. B to B-, etc.).

 

are mandatory. While rewriting and rethinking your compositions you will have an opportunity to review vocabulary, style, and grammar as well as to learn from your mistakes. On the first draft of your essay I will underline grammatical mistakes and make suggestions on how to improve your essay’s argument, style, and composition. The first draft will be graded, so I encourage you to put your best effort in it from the start. Your final grade for each essay (the only one to be recorded) will depend on 1). the quality of the first draft reflected in the initial grade; and 2). how well you implement the suggested corrections and changes in the rewrite. A good rewrite can raise your initial grade an entire letter (B+ to A+, etc.)

 

There will be a comprehensive final exam, which will focus on the covered grammatical, lexical, stylistic and literary material. The final will include a short oral exam. During the last week of classes I will dis­cuss the format of the final with you.