Proficiency Levels for various skills - How do you rate yourself ?


 

Test yourself now, and retake the test as part of your mid-term reflection on progress. This test is not to be sent in - it does not count towards your grades, and is intended solely as a means of helping you identify any areas which may need to be strengthened.

These notes are mainly for the Web-based Courses, but can also be adapted for my Lecture-based Courses.
There are also other Pages which describe the standards I use when grading Essays and Reading Reports, and a couple of Pages to show how I would prepare for an Essay on the Life of Abraham, and how I would prepare for and answer a question which asked me to "write an account of the events described in II Chronicles, chapters 34-36"

Students are encouraged to use the check list below to help identify the strengths and the weaker areas of their work. When a weaker area has been identified please don't feel bad about it - resolve to work at improvement until it becomes a strength. Remember that Student Academic Services provides FREE TUTORING and other helps for improving your work and your grades. The Writing Lab not only has rooms in the Golden Library where students may go for FREE help, but also has help online - check out the Student Menu on the ENMU main page.

Reading - which statement fits best :

  1. I read for pleasure and to acquire knowledge
  2. I read when course work requires it
  3. I don't enjoy reading
  4. I try to avoid reading

Reading Reports and Essays - which statement fits best :

  1. I will complete the work and send it in on time
  2. I will complete the work, but it may be late
  3. I may or may not complete the work
  4. I don't do assignments

Relational - which statement fits best :

This applies to the Bible courses which I teach

  1. The people of the Old (New) Testament were real people struggling with real problems, and I see them as real individuals
  2. The people of the Old (New) Testament don't seem real
  3. The people of the Old (New) Testament were either very holy and walked around in white robes, or they were very bad and got what was coming to them
  4. I don't care about the people of the Old (New) Testament

Comprehension - which statement fits best :

  1. I have no difficulty understanding the text (putting it into practice is probably more difficult)
  2. I have to stop and think about occasional words
  3. I often have to stop and try to work out what a passage means
  4. I don't know where to begin

Reading Assignments - which statement fits best :

  1. I will study the assignments and also look up related articles in encyclopedias or on the Web
  2. I will study the assigned readings from the Bible and the text-book
  3. I will just study the assigned readings from the Bible, but I won't bother with the text-book
  4. I don't do reading assignments

When asked to write an account - which statement fits best :

  1. I write a connected account in a logical sequence which is easy to follow
  2. I write a disjointed account, or present some events out of sequence
  3. I write a list of events, or whatever comes to mind
  4. I don't know where to begin

When asked to write an account of the events described in a passage - which statement fits best :

  1. I have no difficulty re-telling a passage in my own words
  2. I sometimes just copy out bits of the passage without thinking much about it
  3. I often just copy out bits of the passage without thinking much about it, or else write out a list of events
  4. I don't know where to begin

Accuracy - which statement fits best :

  1. I can answer "who what where why when" correctly
  2. I sometimes make one or two minor factual slips or errors
  3. I make more than two minor factual errors, or one or more major errors
  4. I am either totally confused, or else I just don't care

Punctuality - which statement fits best :

  1. I always complete my work and get it in on time
  2. I sometimes complete an assignment a week late
  3. I complete one or more assignments several weeks late
  4. I don't complete some assignments, or I complete them more than two weeks late

Time Management - which statement fits best :

  1. I have scheduled a one-hour "Class Period" Monday through Saturday, for work on the Course, and I will keep to it
  2. I haven't made a regular schedule, but I will do the work sometime during the week
  3. I don't have a schedule, and somehow I never seem able to get everything together, so the work is started but not completed
  4. I don't bother studying through the week, but I may try to answer the Reading Report at 8:59 am Monday morning

Key Verses - which statement fits best :

This applies to REL 101 and REl 103 only

  1. During the week's readings, I'll make a note of any verses which seem particularly meaningful and I'll write them out in full as part of the Reading Report
  2. I'll browse through the passage and pick out six verses
  3. I'll write out any six verses without thinking about them
  4. I'll not bother writing out any verses

Essays - Technicalities - which statement fits best :

  1. I proof-read my essays, run a spell-check and a grammar-check, and I think about changes which the checks suggest
  2. I proof-read, and run a spell-check and a grammar-check, then I just plug in the changes which the word-processor suggests without thinking about them
  3. I don't bother proof-reading, or running a spell-check and/or a grammar-check, but I don't think that I make many spelling or grammatical mistakes
  4. What's proof-reading ?? (see below)
    I don't really care about making or correcting mistakes. Duh.
    To proof-read something means to read it through slowly and carefully, as if you were reading it for the first time, and ask yourself if the material is presented clearly and correctly, or if there is a better way of expressing it. It also means to check carefully for typos, spelling mistakes, bad grammar - anything that some nit-picky old crab might notice.
    The process of reading, re-writing or correction, and reading again continues until the complete work can be read through without finding anything that needs re-writing.

Quotations - which statement fits best :

  1. I am always careful to show when material is quoted, and I always acknowledge the source(s)
    If I use quotations, they are relevant to the subject of the Essay or Report
  2. I may use quotation marks, but I may forget to acknowledge the source(s), or I don't make a clear distinction between quoted material and my own material
  3. I pad the Essay or Report with quotations, which I may or may not acknowledge, but there isn't much of my own work
  4. I use quotations which are irrelevant to the subject of the Essay or Report.
    Or - I'll copy and paste bits from encyclopedias, the Web, and other sources, without acknowledging the sources or identifying the material as outside work
    This is PLAGIARISM, and carries the penalty of an "F" grade.
    Further penalties may also apply

Citing of Sources - which statement fits best :

  1. I always give proper citations for sources such as articles in encyclopedias
  2. I use such sources, but I sometimes forget to cite them properly
  3. I don't intend to use such sources
  4. I can't remember where I got it from, and I can't be bothered finding out.
    Or - I'll copy from such sources, but I don't cite them.
    This is PLAGIARISM, and carries the penalty of an "F" grade.
    Further penalties may also apply

Essays and Reports - style - which statement fits best :

  1. I use Edited Standard Written English (ESWE) consistently and well
  2. I make a few minor mistakes in ESWE
  3. I often make several minor mistakes, or a couple of major mistakes in ESWE
  4. What's ESWE ?? (see below). I have a hard time with grammar, punctuation, spelling, and all that stuff
    Go here for the Page about ESWE

Spelling Mistakes and Typos - which statement fits best :

  1. I take care, and make very few spelling mistakes or typos
  2. I make several minor spelling mistakes or typos
  3. I frequently make mistakes, or I often misspell common words such as "altar" (a place of sacrifice) or "Israel"
  4. I don't really care, and I can't be bothered to improve my spelling and grammar.

Essays - focus - which statement fits best :

  1. I will write adequately and to the point about the set topic
  2. I may miss out some major points or events
  3. I tend to wander away from the set topic
  4. I don't care about the set topic, or I don't understand what it's asking about

For each Topic :

  1. = "A" material
  2. = "C" - "B" material
  3. = "D" material - tutoring for writing and/or time-management skills is advised
  4. = "F" material - if tutoring does not help, the student should consider withdrawing and taking some other Course.

Copyright © 1999 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved

Dr. Rollinson

Station 19, ENMU
Portales, NM 88130

Last Updated : June 27, 2017

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