Course Requirements

Essays:

You will be responsible for four essays over the course of the semester.
-The first two papers will be short (approximately 300-500 words long) and combined will count as 15% of your final grade.
-The third paper will be 4-5 pages long and count as 15% of your final grade.
-The fourth paper will be a longer research paper (around 1200 - 1500 words) and will count as 25% of your final grade.

Exams:

Mid-Term and Final will be in-class essay exams. (Midterm 10%, Final 15%)

Discussion Questions and Class Participation:

Every student will be asked to prepare questions for discussion of the class session’s during the semester (2-3 students will prepare for each class). Also during the semester students will be asked to post reading responses on a class bulletin board. (This will be explained in greater detail)Cumulatively, these presentation questions and postings will count for 10% of your grade. Participation in class discussion counts for the last 10%.

The idea with the discussion questions is that you be prepared to lead 5 minutes of class discussion. You should prepare at least one question and a follow-up question. You should also be prepared to bring the class to at least one specific place in the text that you want to discuss or comment upon. Please try to get questions or a short paragraph to me via email or leaving something in my box the day before or the morning of the class for which you are preparing discussion questions.

Essay Format:

All essays must be typed, double-spaced with reasonable margins, stapled, and written with references in MLA form. Please include the following information at the left or right hand corner of the first page of each essay: your name, the assignment number, the due date, and my name. Each essay should include a title. Please keep either a hard or soft copy of each essay until you receive it back from me.

Late Papers:

No such thing. All papers are due on the date indicated on the syllabus. If trouble arises, you must contact me before the paper is due.

Attendance:

In accordance with University policy, three absences are permitted without penalty. On the fourth absence, your final class grade is dropped. Five absences results in automatic failure. Absences should be taken only for personal illnesses, religious holidays, and major personal crises (which may require a Dean’s note). Being more than 15 minutes late to class counts as one absence. If you are absent, you are responsible for obtaining class notes, assignments, and other important information. Essays should still be turned in on the due date. They may be left in my box at 310 Philosophy Hall.

Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty

Intentional or unintentional plagiarism will result in the a grade of O (lower than an "F") and a mandatory conference with the Dean of Students. Plagiarism includes:
1. Submitting as one’s own, essays or portions of essays written by other people.
2. Failing to acknowledge through proper documentation the source of ideas essentially not one’s owns.
3. Failing to indicate quotations, paraphrases, and ideas not one’s own through proper documentation.
4. Submitting an essay written for one course to a second course without permission.

Please use MLA (Modern Language Association) citation form for all references, footnotes and endnotes. If you are uncertain about whether or not you are properly citing your sources, please see me. Also see me with questions about plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty (improper collaborations, cheating on examinations, falsification or misrepresentation of sources or data, etc.)