Course Policies

The Honor Code:

Since you have all learned about the Honor Code and signed the pledge, we do not anticipate any problems with cheating or plagiarism.  Here is a quick summary:

  1. All essays must be pledged.
  2. When you use any outside sources–a book, an article, a classmate, a video, a study guide, or information you find on the Web—you need to cite these sources in your paper.  This means, for example, that if you consult Spark Notes, you must cite the Spark Notes.
  3. If you quote directly, the quotation must be in quotation marks, and it must be cited.  Don’t paraphrase someone else’s language by changing a couple of words and claiming it as your own.  Summarize the idea in your own words, and then cite your source.  We’ll be going over citation requirements and plagiarism issues in class as well.
  4. It should go without saying (but we will say it anyway) that you may not pass in someone else’s work as your own, whether this involves an idea, a sentence, a paragraph, or a whole paper.  Also, you may not pass in part or all of a paper you have written for another class.  The idea, after all, is to produce original work for each class that deepens your own knowledge about the subject.
  5. You should know that we are familiar with a wide range of web sites on the works we read, as well as the paper mill sites, and we check these regularly.
  6. If you have any questions or concerns about what constitutes an honor violation, please give either of us a call, email us, or stop by our offices.

 

Grading:

First essay: 30%

Responses, quizzes, and class participation: 25%

Final Project:  45%  (25% paper; 20% digital presentation)

*We have posted detailed grading criteria on our course page.

Late Papers: You cannot pass in the draft paper late.  You must be prepared to give your classmates your draft on the day it is due.  For the revision, we will be marginally more flexible.  You must let us know ahead of time if you will not be passing in a paper on the due date (i.e., do NOT tell us the day the paper is due).  Once we’ve set a new deadline, however, this deadline is firm.  After that, we’ll mark your paper down by 1/3 of a letter grade for each day it is late (e.g. from a B+ to a B).

Absences: You won’t get much out of the class if you’re not here, so come to class.  Be on time.  Over the course of the semester, you will ONLY be allowed two absences.  After the third absence, your participation grade will start to go down dramatically.   Let us know if you won’t be in class—send a message with a classmate, call or email, or tell us the class before.

Office Hours:  Our office hours are listed on the welcome page.  You do not need an appointment.  If you cannot make these hours, please just let us know, and we will arrange another time.

We have both Writing Consultants (Jessie Pascarelli and Korine Powers) and Speech Consultants (Nicole Prunetti and Amanda Malloy) assigned to work with you this semester. You must work with a Speech Consultant on your group presentation, and with a Writing Consultant on at least your digital story—you may also work with a Writing Consultant on your first paper.  Contact information for all of our class consultants will be available in plenty of time.

We have posted a number of writing tips on this site. You can also go to the Writer’s Web section of the Writing Center web site at any time for helpful on-line writing guides.