For example, class participation may equal 95 points, which is multiplied by 0.1 to equal 9.5. The essay or critique may be worth 97 points which is multiplied by 0.4 to equal 38.8 points. The take home exam may equal 94 points which is multiplied by 0.5 to equal 47 points. Added up this is 95.3 points which is an A grade. The proportion of assignments varies from class, but generally are in this range.
Students begin any assignment with all of the available points.
I then deduct points for spelling errors, grammatical errors, incomplete sentences, run-on sentences and such routine flaws. I do this because I expect students to be turning in work which they would submit on a job as part of a formal policy analysis or report. Common errors such as these make such reports weaker and diminish the impact of the work. I am especially hard on mistakes in the citations. I expect that the citations will be properly used and will be in proper style.