Six items, four separate rubrics, no final exam. There are two situations where the paper gets a zero without being read, and both are about the mechanics of submitting.
The six graded tasks
There is no final exam. These six items add up to the whole grade.
Task
Weight
Week in the syllabus
What you hand in
Research Paper
30%
week 14
the final draft, together with the earlier drafts and the written feedback
Oral Presentation (proposal)
20%
weeks 8-10
the talk and the visuals
Academic Essay
20%
week 5
a text handwritten in class, then the typed up version
End of Course Interview
15%
week 14
a one to one interview, nothing to submit
Research Paper Outline
10%
weeks 10-11
an outline with Roman numerals, at least 5 sources
Library Skills Task
5%
weeks 3-5
the completed form
No final means no second chance
The passing requirement is one line in the syllabus: ninety percent attendance, no final exam. In ENG 101 there was a threshold you had to reach before the final, and the final was a window to pull yourself back up. Here that window does not exist, the whole grade comes from six items spread across the term.
Read two numbers together. 40% of the grade is in a single chain: the outline at 10% and the paper at 30% are not two separate assignments, they are two stages of the same work. Build the outline wrong and the paper gets built wrong, and you have two or three weeks left to fix it. 35% of the grade is oral: the presentation 20%, the interview 15%. You are asked to defend what you wrote out loud, and both count as exams.
The Academic Essay rubric: out of 22
The item names and their point ranges. This is the list of boxes your instructor ticks.
The outline is graded separately and it is 10% of the course.
Item
Points
Criterion
Argument/Content
1-5
Meeting the research question, a focused and arguable thesis, a logical progression of ideas
Source Use
1-5
At least 5 relevant sources, varied textual evidence, accurate and complete in text and end text citation
Language
1-3
Functional language, academic vocabulary, subject specific terminology
Formatting
1-2
Clear and functional format and layout
The Library Skills Task rubric: out of 10
This task has its own rubric, and half the points sit in one section.
Item
Points
Criterion
PART 1: Recording of Information from Library Searches
1-3
All the required information fields filled in completely for three source types
PART 2: Bibliographic Entry
1-2
The source cited fully and accurately in the required style
PART 3: Summary and Justification for Text Selection
1-5
A clear and meaningful summary, separating your own voice from the writer's, a detailed explanation of the source's relevance to the topic and its purpose in the essay
A paper that gets a zero on the Task Requirements item is not read at all, and the grade is zero, in two situations: if the paper is completely off topic, or if the final draft was submitted without the earlier draft(s).
The word limit is not a scoring item
The rubric separates two situations, and the distinction costs students dearly. If the paper is completely off topic, or if the final draft arrived without the earlier drafts, the paper is not read at all, and the grade is zero. If the paper is on topic but does not answer the question asked, or is under the word limit, it still gets a zero, but it is read and graded.
So the word count is not a partially scored item like language or format, it is a pass or fail gate. Read the limit off the assignment sheet, measure it with your own counter, and do not count the works cited. In the file we measured, the Library Task's justification paragraph came out at 244 words, just under the required 250-350 range.
The submission chain: what happens when a link is missing
01OutlineIt is graded (10%) and the tutorial hangs on it. Being late shifts the rest of the chain.
02First draftBrought to class printed, and the written feedback is given on paper.
03Collect the feedbackKeep the draft that was written on. You hand that in too at the final submission.
04Final draftTogether with the earlier draft(s) and the feedback. If one is missing, the paper is not read at all.
05TurnitinAfter submitting, check that the Turnitin ID appears. If the AI percentage is above zero, the submission is asked for again.
Lateness, attendance, make ups
All these lines come from section documents. What binds you is what your own section says; knowing the pattern lets you ask the right question in the first week.
Rule
What happens
Source
Late submission
5% off per day. An assignment more than 5 days late is not accepted and gets a straight zero. Handing it in a day late is always better than not handing it in.
FAE section syllabus
Deadline hour
It may not be midnight; in the section we looked at it was 23:00. Note the hour on Moodle.
section syllabus
Absence limit
The course is 5 hours a week for 14 weeks: 70 hours. The 10% limit is 7 hours. Going over it means you cannot sit the final and you lose the course.
STARS syllabus and the program page
In terms of blocks
In Fall 2026-27, every ENG 102 section runs three blocks a week, and a block is 110 minutes. Missing three blocks is inside the limit, the fourth block is outside it.
the course timetable
Medical report
Does not erase the absence. On the day your report covers you are not let into class or into an exam; and if you sat an exam that day you count as absent for that exam too.
section syllabus and the program attendance policy
A missed graded task
The make up route is not an email to your instructor: you write the reason on a form from the Registrar's Office and attach your report if you have one.
the program page
Arriving late
Coming in more than 10 minutes late goes on the record; after three late arrivals a warning, and after that you are not let into class and recorded as absent.
section syllabus
Doubt that the text is yours
The first step is not discipline: rewriting the text in front of your instructor.
section syllabus
Revision: three passes, in this order
Fixing typos is the last and cheapest step of revision. Reverse the order and you will spend three hours on commas and submit a structural problem.
01The structure passRun a reverse outline: write that paragraph's one sentence claim in the margin of every paragraph, then read only those sentences one under the other. A paragraph whose sentence you cannot write is doing two jobs at once or no job at all. Paragraphs should be at least 5-7 sentences.
02The evidence passIs there a source behind every claim; can every quoted phrase be found word for word in the source text; is every source in the text in the works cited; is the counterargument at its strongest.
03The sentence passThe rubric's language bans and format items. This is where most points are lost and where they are easiest to get back.
The rubric's language bans
No "I think" voice: because I think, in my opinion. You are the one making the claim anyway, and "I think" weakens it.
No generic you and no editorial we.
No questions aimed at the reader, rhetorical questions included.
No metadiscourse: sentences that talk about the text itself, like "in this paragraph I will show that", get deleted.
No idioms, proverbs, clichés or exaggeration.
No vague expressions: some reasons, a few ideas, important issues.
No "etc." and no "and so on". If you are going to list them, list them.
Sentences do not start with and / but / so.
No contractions: it is, not it's.
The language structures the rubric wants
Hedging: seem to, appear to, may be, a majority of. Making a claim stronger than it can carry is also an error.
Conjunctions and transition phrases. Between the two drafts, this is what got added most.
Comparison and conditional structures.
On the vocabulary side, the course's own resource is the Academic Word List, 570 word families. Not to memorize, but to paste your own draft into a highlighter and see which academic words you never use.
Format: the items the rubric lists
Format is worth 2 points and it is a fully controllable 2 points.
12 point, double spacing.
The citation format your instructor assigned, with in text and end text in the same style.
Page numbers, in the header or the footer.
An appropriate and functional title.
A tab indent on the first line of paragraphs; no blank line between paragraphs.
Source titles shown in italics or in quotation marks.
A hanging indent in the works cited.
Quotations longer than about 40 words indented as block quotations.
Ten learning outcomes, turned into check questions
Every row of the Course Learning Outcomes table in the syllabus, rewritten as a question you can check against your own draft by hand.
Can carry out autonomous, focused research in order to identify potential sources
Did I find my sources myself, or are they all the ones given in class? (For the Academic Essay, the ENG program requires at least one to be one you found.)
Can I show in writing which terms I searched with, the synonyms, the Boolean operators, which database?
Did I use the peer-reviewed filter; if not, how do I know which source is peer reviewed?
Are there sources I cut, and can I write one line saying why I cut them?
Assignments that measure this: Library Skills Task · Academic Essay · Oral Presentation · Research Paper Outline · Research Paper
Can critically analyse and evaluate academic texts to understand and record both their meaning and potential value
For each of my sources, can I answer 'what does it ask, what does it measure, what is its main finding' in my own words?
Which of my sources is primary and which is secondary? Could I have put a book review or a news piece in the place of a study?
Where does the author of one of my sources state the limits of their own work, and did I use that in my text?
Am I analyzing what the source does rather than praising or blaming it? (The rubric's item: don't praise or blame; analyze.)
Assignments that measure this: Library Skills Task · Academic Essay · Oral Presentation · Research Paper Outline · Research Paper
Can critically analyse and evaluate spoken input to understand and record both their meaning and potential value
Did I take notes during other people's presentations, and could I get a meaningful question out of those notes? (This is graded separately.)
Did I write down the spoken feedback I got in the tutorial or in class?
Can I repeat an objection raised against me in my own words before answering it?
Assignments that measure this: Oral Presentation · End of Course Interview
Can develop well-reasoned written arguments that are supported by valid and reliable evidence
Can I write every paragraph's one sentence claim in the margin? (A paragraph I cannot write one for is doing two jobs or no job at all.)
Is there a source behind every claim, or are some of them my own assumptions?
Could I have fallen into one of the logical fallacies the rubric names: false cause, anecdotal fallacy, appeal to authority, false dichotomy, overgeneralization, personal assurance, straw man?
Could I have made my claims stronger than they can carry, and is there hedging where hedging is needed?
Assignments that measure this: Academic Essay · Research Paper Outline · Research Paper
Can develop well-reasoned spoken arguments that are supported by valid and reliable evidence
Can I say my thesis in one sentence without looking at paper?
Can I say which is my strongest source and why it is the strongest?
Can I say out loud the strongest objection that could be raised against me and my answer to it?
Can I deliver it without reading the slide? ('Not reading off the slide or a script, not reciting memorized material' is a separate item in the presentation criteria.)
Assignments that measure this: Oral Presentation · End of Course Interview
Can write focused, coherent, thesis driven academic essays
Is my thesis a claim that takes a position, rather than a title, a fact or an announcement?
Does it carry a single main point, or has it fallen into the 'both… and…' pattern?
Do the introduction and the conclusion state the same thesis?
Is there a new point in my conclusion paragraph? (The rubric bans it.)
Assignments that measure this: Academic Essay
Can write focused, coherent, thesis driven research paper
Is the order of claims in my outline the same as the order of paragraphs in my text?
Does every piece of my thesis have a counterpart in the text; is there a section with no counterpart?
Could I have repeated the same claim in two separate places?
Am I inside the required length limit? (In the rubric the word or page limit is scored on the 'Task Requirements' item.)
Assignments that measure this: Research Paper
Can incorporate citation skilfully and accurately, and distinguish between their own and others' voice
Are the first and last sentences of every paragraph mine, or the source's?
Did I search every quoted phrase word for word in the source text? (Ctrl+F, the first five words.)
Is the source's sentence structure still standing in one of my paraphrases? (If it is, that is patchwriting, and it is not accepted even with a citation.)
Is there an attributive tag in front of every quotation and a 'what this does to my claim' sentence behind it?
Is every source in the text in the works cited, and every source in the works cited in the text?
Assignments that measure this: Library Skills Task · Academic Essay · Research Paper
Can effectively communicate with others orally in the form of formal presentations and discussions/debates
Does the presentation have an introduction, a logical order, transition phrases and a closing summary? (The Organization item lists these.)
Do I show and explain the visuals while speaking, or are they just standing behind me?
Do I define the key terms for the audience?
Did I rehearse, did I try the talk once in the ungraded pre-task in Week 7?
Assignments that measure this: Oral Presentation · End of Course Interview
Can use the language accurately and appropriately
Are there expressions like 'I think' or 'in my view'? (The rubric bans the solipsistic voice.)
Is there a generic 'you', an editorial 'we', a rhetorical question aimed at the reader?
Are there sentences that talk about the text itself (metadiscourse), like 'in this paragraph I will show that'?
Are there vague expressions like 'etc.', 'and so on', 'some reasons', 'important issues'?
Did I use contractions (it's, don't); did I start a sentence with 'and/but/so'?
Is the format complete: 12 point, double spacing, page numbers, paragraph indent, hanging indent in the works cited, quotations over 40 words as blocks?
Assignments that measure this: all six items
If you want to test your own text for similarity before submitting, Turnitin is closed to you and your instructor sees the report. The library's guide points to Akademik İntihal as the tool a student can use: a free account with your bilkent.edu.tr address, and an access code from your instructor or advisor. That report is not a grade, it is a tool that shows you which section needs a citation or a rewrite.
Before you submit: 39 items
The same list is also available as plain text at /yazma/eng-102/kontrol.txt.
Did I read my section's umbrella subject (the Broad Subject area) off the assignment sheet, or am I guessing? Is my question inside that area?
Did I bring three DIFFERENT source types to the Library Skills Task? The rubric does not accept three articles of the same type.
Is the PART 3 paragraph of the Library Skills Task inside the 250-350 word range? Did I select the paragraph and use Word's counter on it?
In PART 3, did I write the sources I rejected and why, alongside the one I chose? That is where most of the points are.
Did I get written answers to the 21 questions in the long guide, or am I still working on guesses? Every item left unanswered leaves an item on this list unanswered too.
The draft chain: if an outline and an interim draft were asked for, were they submitted? In the rubric, a final draft that arrives without the earlier draft gets a zero without being read.
Am I taking the final draft in together with the draft that has the feedback written on it?
Is the submission channel and format right: the Turnitin box on Moodle, PDF, the file name your instructor asked for?
Is there a spelling error in the file name? In the file we measured, two errors in the file name carried into the title of the submitted PDF.
Do I know the deadline hour: is it midnight, or something earlier like 23:00?
Do I know the late penalty? 5% a day, and a zero after 5 days. Handing it in a day late is better than not handing it in.
Am I counting my absence hours? 10% of 70 hours is 7 hours; with 110 minute blocks, the limit is passed in the fourth block. A medical report does not erase an absence.
Are the presentation and interview dates in my calendar? Both count as exams, missing one is a zero, and since there is no final there is nowhere to make it up.
Did I get the citation style from my instructor in writing, and are the in text citations and the works cited in the same style?
Is the thesis in ONE place in the document? The second copy of a thesis written in two places can break.
Do the introduction and the conclusion state the same thesis? Is there a new point in the conclusion paragraph? The rubric bans it.
Is the thesis split into three reasons as a) b) c), and does each reason sit in a body paragraph?
Did I run a reverse outline: can the claim of every paragraph be written in one sentence?
Are the paragraphs at least 5-7 sentences? A two sentence paragraph counts as an undeveloped idea.
Is there a source behind every claim; is any line left with nothing under it?
Are the first and last sentences of every paragraph mine, or the source's?
Am I naming the same source over and over? Turn the repeated name into a pronoun.
Do two paragraphs start with the same transition pattern? The sense of sequence disappears.
Does the counterargument paragraph end by delivering its own verdict, and is it written at its strongest? Straw man is named explicitly in the rubric.
Was every quoted phrase searched word for word in the source text? Ctrl+F, the first five words.
Is the source's sentence structure still standing in one of my paraphrases? If it is, that is patchwriting, and it is not accepted even with a citation.
Were the citation details (publisher, year, volume, pages, DOI) copied from the source itself, or from memory? Did I type the DOI by hand?
Is the year of the same source the same in both places in the document? In the form we measured, two different years came out.
Did I write the title of the published version, or the title of the preprint in the author's own archive?
Did I check the automatically generated citations (EBSCO Cite, Mendeley, Zotero) one by one?
Could I have labeled a source with the wrong type? Journal name, volume and pages mean an article; a publisher and an ISBN mean a book. The title can be the same in both.
Do the word for word quotations have page numbers? Could I have presented a quotation taken from a secondary source as if it were primary?
Is every source in the text in the works cited, and every source in the works cited in the text?
Did I read the works cited with my eyes once more after converting to PDF? A page number can slip into a line.
Are the rubric's language bans clean: no "I think", no generic you, no rhetorical questions, no metadiscourse, no etc., no contractions?
Is the format complete: 12 point, double spacing, page numbers, paragraph indent, hanging indent, block quotations?
Am I inside the required length? Under the limit means a zero on the Task Requirements item, and that item is not a scoring item, it is a pass or fail gate.
Did I get my own similarity report before submitting? Turnitin is closed to students, Akademik İntihal is open. An AI percentage of zero is expected.
Am I ready for the oral defense: can I say my thesis, my strongest source, the contradiction between the sources and the strongest objection out loud?