Policies
Regular attendance and
punctuality, which are standard requirements in every writing course
in the Department of English, will be important factors in the
determination of your final grade. You have three free absences.
After that, your grade will be lowered with 10 participation points
for each absence over three. More than 6 absences will result
in you failing the course and getting dropped from the course.
If this occurs past the “W” date you will automatically receive a
failing grade and need to retake ENGL 218 again. Late arrivals or
leaving class early may be counted as an absence.
A missed conference meeting, or group presentation, counts as
two absences. Please note that absences are for
emergency/personal situations, and that you use them only for such
purposes. If you miss a class, you are responsible for obtaining any
handouts, instructions, or assignments that may have been given in
the class
(the best way to do this is to
email me ).
NOTE:
I leave you the responsibility of dropping yourself from this class
if you decide not to be in it anymore.
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I will
collect each assignment in the classroom at the beginning of
class on the day it is due. Please note: A letter grade
will be taken off for each day late. If you are unable to attend the
day an assignment is due, please make arrangements to deliver it to
me personally or have another student bring it to class for you. In
case of emergency, contact me before an assignment is due.
**Do
not wait until the night before your assignment is due to tell me
that you have a problem with an assignment as you will have had
ample opportunity to ask questions in class and during my office
hours. It is your responsibility to get your assignment turned in on
time to me.
I do
not accept assignments by email and request that you always provide
me with a paper copy of your assignment.
All major assignments must be turned in to pass this class.
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All
major assignments must have a professional appearance. They must be
word processed and printed. In addition, each assignment should be
stapled together, include your name, the course and section number,
the specific assignment name, and the date. Other format
specifications will depend upon the requirements of the document you
are producing.
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When
drafts of assigned documents are due for reader review, you will be
responsible for providing two legible, complete, computer-printed
copies. Showing up without a draft for these days will result in a
loss of participation points. Active participation in reader review
days will influence your participation grade for the course.
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Plagiarism (a.k.a. “Stealing someone else’s work”) and any other
kind of academic dishonesty may result in a failing grade and even
in further disciplinary action by the university. Plagiarism is the
act of presenting another person's language or ideas (intellectual
property) as your own. Put simply, do not give me work written by
someone else. This includes copying from your peers, the internet,
or any other source, and presenting the work as your own. You may be
guilty of plagiarism if you fail to properly quote and/or cite any
borrowed materials. You are expected to follow the correct citation
guidelines within your discipline (see TCT Appendix C
A24-29). As a member of the academic community, you have the ethical
obligation to understand plagiarism and to be as honest as you can
about using another person’s writing or ideas. You will fail the
course if you don’t abide by this rule.
Submitting your own previously written work to satisfy an assignment
for this class or submitting the same assignment to me and to
another instructor without permission from both of us constitutes
academic dishonesty.
In
addition, you are responsible for protecting your own work from
being misrepresented. If you allow your work to be copied and
submitted as someone else's, you are guilty of academic misconduct
and may be reprimanded.
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Group
Work
There
are a number of assignments where you will be intensely
collaborating with other people in a group. This means that your own
grade, as well as other people’s grades for this class,
significantly depends upon your active participation in group work.
Since one of the key components of the course is that you work
effectively in groups, there will be group evaluations where the
people in your group will evaluate the quality of the work that you
have done for the group. I therefore expect each person to do equal
amounts of work, as well as participate equally, in the activities
of the group. In addition, you should take an active role in doing
the work required of you by your group. Any improper activity, such
as not showing up to group work, not participating, or leaving
others to do your work, etc., will be penalized.
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Individual
Chapter Presentations
Each
student will lead a discussion of the class for a reading in TCT
that is most interesting to him or her. This presentation will be
about ten-minutes long and should raise what you think are the most
salient points of the reading. All presentations are done at the
beginning of class. This activity will factor into your grade, and
each one of you will be asked to do a presentation. I will have a
sign-up sheet for this. For the presentation, think about the
following questions: What is significant about the chapter? What
should we pay attention to? Handouts help as well.
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In
order to receive a passing grade of "C" in English 218,
you must attend class, participate in class discussion, produce
satisfactory in-class writing and quiz results, and satisfactorily
complete all major assignments by their due dates. I will be using
the point system described in the section titled
ASSIGNMENTS on your syllabus to determine your final grade.
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You
should understand that this class will be very work intensive, both
in-class and outside of the class. I expect that you are willing to
work hard to increase your professional capabilities in terms of
writing skills, presentation skills, and general professional
communication skills. Your work should be proofread and corrected
for typos, spelling and other grammatical errors, look professional,
and in general, display a clear sense of purpose and application of
the concepts we talk about in class. Under no circumstances
should you expect this class to be an easy “A” class, and you
will need to apply yourself successfully in this course if you want
to get a passing grade.
I only
consider “A” grades appropriate where a student has done exceptional
work in successfully and effectively applying the concepts we talk
about in class in a particular assignment; therefore, you should not
expect to get an “A” (or “B” for that matter) in this class for
merely showing up and handing in average work. I expect a lot from
you in this class, so be prepared. I strongly encourage students to
come visit my office hours if there are questions regarding
assignments.
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If
you have a disability that may hinder your performance in this
class, please notify me and/or call the Services for Students with
Disabilities, located in Corbett Center, or call 646-6840 for an
appointment. Your notification will be kept confidential.
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© 2004 Gustav
Verhulsdonck
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