The following policies and guidelines are considered part of the course syllabus for the classes I teach. Course policies also include the S.C.C. student code of conduct. These policies are not meant to be exhaustive; they should be common-sense reminders for most students.
Plagiarism Policy:
Plagiarism (from the Latin word for “kidnapper”) is the presentation of someone else’s ideas or words as your own. You plagiarize deliberately if you copy a sentence from a book and pass it off as your writing, if you summarize or paraphrase someone else’s ideas without acknowledging your debt, or if you buy or borrow a term paper to hand in as your own. You plagiarize accidentally if you carelessly forget quotation marks around another writer’s words or mistakenly omit a source citation for another’s idea because you are unaware of the need to acknowledge the idea. Whether deliberate or accidental, plagiarism is a serious and often punishable offense. *
* Fowler, H. Ramsey. Little, Brown Handbook (3rd edition). Boston: Little, 1968: 570.
To encourage academic excellence and honesty, you agree to the following policy:
First Offense: Automatic failure of the paper or test. Option of the instructor to automatically fail the student for the course.
Second Offense: Automatic recommendation that the student be expelled.
By remaining enrolled in the course, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to abide by this plagiarism policy.
Homework Guidelines:
Drafts of all essays and papers written outside of class, including rough and final drafts, must be word-processed, formatted professionally, proofread carefully, and edited well. Remember that computers are only tools. You are responsible for the quality of all work you choose to submit.
Formatting requirements: All essays and other papers must be word-processed on a computer, spell-checked, proofread, and edited. Essays and papers should be double-spaced with one-inch margins; Word’s default 1.25” side margins are acceptable. Use a readable and professional 12-point font such as Times New Roman or Arial. Starting with physical page 2, have your word processor automatically add page numbers (auto-paginate) in the header or footer. (Ask me in advance for help if you are unfamiliar with this process.) On the first page, include a single-spaced essay header in the upper left-hand corner (within the body margins) listing your name, the course and hour, the assignment, the date of submission for that version, and a label indicating which draft it is (such as “Final Draft”). Essays must include a statement describing the target audience (left-justified, between the essay header and title) and an appropriate title (centered, using MLA title format), unless otherwise specified. Do not use justified margins or cover sheets. Staple together the pages of the essay in the correct order.
Unless your instructor says otherwise, all final paper submissions must be accompanied by all previous drafts, prewriting, and peer response, as well as the prompt for the assignment. A cover letter usually is also required, and it should be formatted in business-letter style. Submit all items in a standard letter-size manila folder with your name on the tab. Make sure your final draft is on top of the other drafts, or another draft may be read as the final, which may affect the paper's grade.
All items in the submitted assignment packet (including cover letter, final draft, other drafts, prewriting and peer response) will be considered in the assignment grade.
Turn in all work complete and on time. Late non-graded assignments will not be counted for credit. Late essays and other papers will lose one full grade point (-1.0), or 10% of points possible, if they arrive in your instructor’s possession within one week of the due date. (For example, a paper would be more than a week late if it was left in your instructor’s mailbox and not received until the 8th day.) Papers submitted more than one week late will earn a grade of 0.0, or 0 points. Incomplete packets and work generally will be returned as though not submitted. In any case, remember that to be eligible to receive a grade of 2.0 or higher for the course, you must complete all assignments satisfactorily.
No late work will be accepted after the last regularly scheduled class meeting prior to the final examination meeting.
Essays and other papers up to and including the midterm (if applicable) that were submitted on time may be revised for a revised grade. Before starting the revision, you must discuss your revision plan with your instructor, who must approve of your plan. You then will need to fill out a revision checklist. If the checklist is completed correctly and the revision packet is submitted before the assigned deadline, the original grade and revision grade will be averaged for the final grade. Please note that re-revision is not an option.
Course Guidelines:
As part of a college course, all of us expect to act and to be treated as adults, with courtesy and respect (whether or not we are of the “official” age of majority). Most, if not all, of these guidelines should be self-explanatory. If we abide by our key principles of responsibility, communication, and respect, then the particulars of the following guidelines should be obvious. However, everyone should review these guidelines, which add clarity to what we mean by responsibility, communication, and respect, and which present some ideas that can help you to be more successful in our class.
Each of us is expected to show respect for others in the class; this includes, but is not limited to, listening quietly and attentively when someone is speaking, and participating fully in class and peer group discussions. If you are dying to say something and cannot wait until you have the floor, and especially if you do not wish to share it with the class, please write it down! If you are disruptive, you may be asked to leave the class.
Communicate regularly (at appropriate times) with your peers and your instructor. Address issues before they become problems; identify problems so we can work to solve them before they become conflicts. Stay in touch. Your peers and your instructor are your first, best learning resources.
Take responsibility for your learning. Bad things happen to good people, so plan ahead. In case your printer blows up, or your car dies, or your computer eats your homework, make sure you have back-up copies you can arrange to have printed elsewhere; have an alternate transportation plan; back up your work regularly. Have your work done well in advance of deadlines. They are called deadlines for a reason.
Challenge yourself! You can be as successful as you want to be.
Make sure to keep copies of all of your work on at least two types of storage media, such as floppy disks, your hard drive at home, dead tree material, email, or a CD-R. That way, if something happens and you cannot access your file or find your printed document, you can always print another copy and receive at least partial credit for the assignment. This is also helpful if you are required later in the quarter to revise or to submit copies of your work (for an exit portfolio project, for example). In any case, you should always keep all work for any class, at least until you receive your final course grade.
The responsibility for your success in this class is yours. Make active use of all your resources, including your peers and your instructor. It is up to you to contact your classmates to obtain missed notes and assignments.
Practice active reading techniques, including annotation. Avoid highlighting in your textbooks; this has been shown to be an ineffective study tactic that simply makes you re-read more. (We will use highlighters for peer editing and other tasks.)
Proofread your papers carefully. I will not take the time to mark every error, particularly in papers with numerous grammatical or mechanical errors. Errors decrease a paper's effectiveness, which will be reflected in its grade. If you have concerns about learning how to edit effectively, please make time to meet with me so we can address such concerns.
Occasionally, I may share with the class something that you have written, if I feel that it is particularly praiseworthy, noteworthy or thought provoking. I may also showcase such works or excerpts online. If you are not comfortable with having your work published in this manner, please notify me before you submit it.
Disclaimer: As you might expect from any context in which people communicate, we will be exposed to a wide variety of language styles, issues, ideas, and opinions in this course. Occasionally, these ideas may invite a strong emotional reaction, and some of us may choose to take offense. This is the price we pay for our freedom of speech (and therefore, our freedom of thought). If you are concerned about the possibility of being exposed to content to which you might take offense, please speak with your instructor as soon as possible to address these concerns. If necessary, arrangements can be made for you to take a class in which you may be more comfortable.
Other Policies:
We may add to or modify our course policies from time to time. Students will be made aware of such changes and will be given the opportunity to discuss them.
Questions or Concerns:
I encourage you at all times to bring to my attention any questions or concerns you have about our class or these course policies and guidelines. Your thoughts are always welcome!