GENERAL POLICIES

1)  Get to class on time.   ALTHOUGH I DO NOT KEEP TRACK OF LATE ARRIVALS (I ASSUME YOU ARE ALL ADULTS), I WILL HAVE A QUIZ OR IN-CLASS WRITING EVERY DAY THAT WILL START ABOUT FIVE TO SEVEN MINUTES AFTER CLASS DOES. IF YOU COME TO CLASS LATE YOU WILL BE GIVEN NO EXTRA TIME TO COMPLETE THE WORK. These quizzes and writings count towards your final grade. Accordingly, it will be in your interest to get to class on time, every time. Arriving more than twenty minutes late for a class will count as an absence.

2)  You get two absences, no questions asked.  After that, each absence will detrimentally influence your final grade. Talk to me well in advance if you need to make other arrangements.  I might, but it's not likely.

3) Check your e-mail and the class web site regularly.  I use both to get announcements pertaining to the class out to everyone.  Accordingly, it is your responsibility to read any class related e-mail I distribute within twenty-four hours of my posting time, except on weekends, when you will have forty-eight hours to do so.

4) You must participate in Class Discussion.
This means:		This does not mean:
1)		1)
BEING AN ACTIVE LISTENER		DOMINATING CLASS DISCUSSION
2)		2)
ASKING QUESTIONS OF, AND RESPONDING TO YOUR CLASSMATES		TALKING ONLY TO THE PROFS

Paper Revising Policies

All papers turned in on time can be revised as many times as you wish to improve your grade. To revise a paper, however, you must:

A) Make an appointment with the writing center to go over your draft and my comments with a tutor from the center.

B) Ask the tutor to write a brief report of your meeting and submit that report with your revision.

C) Turn in both the original and revised drafts to me.

LATE PAPERS

Do not tell me how your printer broke, or why the computer erased your paper. It is your responsibility to set aside enough time to compensate for unforeseen events with printing (and there often are), and to make back-up copies of your work (NOTE: if you don't have a good strategy for backing up your work, please come to me and I will help you out)  ALL PAPERS ARE DUE AT THE START OF CLASS ON THE DUE DATE, UNLESS I HAVE MADE SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS TO THE CONTRARY.  If your paper is late, I will deduct from your essay's grade according to the following schedule:

TURNED IN LATE BY	GRADE REDUCTION
less than 24 hours	5%
less than 48 hours	30%
more than 48 hours	60%
6)	As you can see, the penalty is relatively minor at first but goes up steeply.

7)

Despite the frequent calls for both national standards and high-stake tests in education, there will be no such animals in this class. There will, however, be smaller quizzes and in-class writings. If you've done the homework, you will be prepared for these. Just about every class will have a quiz. At the end of the semester, you will be able to drop your two lowest quiz grades. Accordingly, if you've missed a quiz because you were absent, that will be the grade that drops.

8) A Final Note: THERE IS NO PRIVATE WRITING IN THIS CLASS. You can expect that portions of your essays will be used in class.  In general, the students of this seminar will act as coaches and editors for each other

Formal Criteria and Format Policies for Papers

• All essays and assignment should be properly typed, whether for a rough draft or for a final version. Untyped work will not be accepted.
• All essays should conform to the following
  
  

  Font: No larger than 12

  Footnotes: Any standard style

  Spacing: Always double space, except for indented block quotations

ESSAY GRADING CRITERIA

A.

Excellent essay. This paper does all of the following:

1) Makes me forget that I have to grade it as a teacher; it invites reading

2) Starts with a vital opening

3) Progresses through to a main body with substance

4) Concludes in a convincing manner that makes sense with the rest of the paper

5) Demonstrates a definite awareness of an audience and what they need in order to follow the argument

6) Engages with a question at issue in the sense that opposing views are fairly represented and receive some response

7) Supports each key assertion (opinion, claim, etc.) with appropriate evidence or reasoning  

8) Avoids obvious logical fallacies or contradictions

9) Documents sources appropriately

10) Strikes a workable balance between the writer's voice and those of the sources

11) Seamlessly integrates quotes into statements

12) Employs sources which are themselves are appropriate to the context of the argument

13) Argues a clear thesis and develops that thesis throughout the essay

14) Makes transitions between topics which are smooth, or they seem to belong there

15) Offers both general abstractions and concrete details

16) Embraces a tone which suits the subject and the audience

17) Uses a style which is effective -- and avoids awkward phrases

18) Avoids cliches in favor of fresh diction.

19) Attends to necessary, if dull matters; the pages are numbered, the formal criteria for the course have been followed, there are no spelling errors, etc...

20) Uses a title that suits the topic and audience

In sum, this is literate writing with a purpose.

B.

A solidly good essay. This paper manages most, but not all, of the above. Still it shows signs of thoughtfulness and skill. The organization works, but it's standard. Or the style is grammatical, but not as graceful as an "A" paper. Or the thesis is clear and developed, but not as ambitious. Or the sources are there, but they are integrated a little awkwardly, or they aren't as central as they could be. Or perhaps they take up a bit too much of the essay for your argument. Your claims are supported, but perhaps too much or not enough. The conclusion is reasonable, and we can see how you got there. The style is appropriate, but nothing more. The paper deploys standard English. The writing enhances the argument rather than distracts from it. In sum, this is college level writing that holds its own compared to the average essay on any campus today.

C.

Passing essay. This paper will get you through, but it could be easily improved in a number of ways. It only managed to attain little more than a half of what the excellent essay achieved. Still, it addresses the assignment. It has a thesis. Some support is offered. It is organized, though the transitions are not always smooth. It documents sources, but perhaps with even less facility than the B essay. Perhaps this paper had something important to say, but a few too many grammatical errors threw the reader off. Or perhaps the grammar was fine, but it didn't have much to say that isn't already fairly obvious. Perhaps this paper made a gesture toward engaging with the real issues of the assignment, but it was left the reader less than certain that those issues were fully realized. Perhaps it began with a great idea, but wandered off inexplicably into trivia. Perhaps it became too repetitive at times, etc. This essay is basically OK, and you're ready to go on in your other studies. But not much else could honestly be said in its favor.

D.

Poor essay. This paper managed to use less than half of the excellent criteria. Perhaps there is no detectable thesis. Perhaps it is significantly shorter than the assignment. Or the grammar is so dysfunctional that it is a genuine struggle to read. Perhaps there were no sources documented. Or it is pretty clear that the writer hasn't been paying attention to the readings and discussion. This essay needs thorough revision, which I'll recommend.

The revision will be reconsidered and factored into the final grade along with the D--but the end result for the assignment can be no higher than a C.

F.

Alarming essay. This paper is plagiarized in part (or as a whole). Or it was like the D paper above, only pretty much all of that instead of just some of it. This essay requires an office consultation, and you may be in the wrong class.