Assignments/Grade Distribution

Grade Breakup

Class Attendance and Participation

Much of our work will be in groups and may be on-line. You are expected to fulfill your fair share of group work and interact courteously with your peers at all times.  Classes are run in a discussion/workshop format; therefore, regular attendance and active participation are important.  Missing more than three classes will lower your grade substantially, and six or more absences will result in a failing grade for the course.

As most of the classes will be conducted in a computer lab, it is class policy that you will not use the internet for checking email, surfing the web, or playing games during class time. You may use the net for personal work before and after class. Failure to follow the above policy would lead to loss of class attendance for that day.

Late Work Policy
Assignments are due on the date mentioned in the schedule. The assignment should be turned-in as a hard copy during class or in my mailbox (203 Ross Hall) during working hours, stamped and signed by the department secretary. If you fail to do so, your paper would be considered late.

Late work could lead to a 10% reduction on the grade for every calendar day it is late. Papers will not receive a grade if they are late by four class periods; however, you will still be expected to turn in a completed assignment. 

Revision Policy
Writing is an iterative process of revisiting your text and making improvements to previous versions. Keeping this in mind, I will let you revise once any individually composed major assignment if you are not satisfied with its quality. However, revision does not mean simply sentence-level changes. Your revisions should be substantial and should address issues such as organization, content, and development as well.

In addition to the revision, I would like you to reflect on your revisions and draft a letter (250 words approx) listing the changes you made and your rationale for incorporating them. The letter should be a carefully drafted document and will be a part of the new letter grade. The time limit for turning in the revised document and reflection is 1 week from the day I hand back the graded copy of your paper.

Academic Honesty
Ethics in the academy is a major issue.  Understanding what constitutes plagiarism and academic dishonesty will help prevent you from committing these acts inadvertently and will strengthen your writing.  Plagiarism is a serious legal and ethical breach, and it is treated as such by the university.  If you have any questions about documentation, see me before you turn in an assignment.

Disability Accommodation
If you have a disability and require accommodations, please contact me early in the semester so that your learning needs may be appropriately met.  You will need to provide documentation of your disability to the Disability Resources (DR) office, main floor of the Students Services Building, Room 1076, 515-294-6624.