policies

Classroom Participation (15% of course grade) Resources
Blog Participation (15% of course grade) Academic Integrity 
Critical Writing (40% of course grade) Grading scale 
Exams (30% of course grade)

Classroom Participation [15% of course grade]
—10% for daily in-class participation, 5% for one-time secretarial duties—

Attendance is vital to your success a class such as this one, since classroom discussion will be our opportunity to “do something” with the texts you read. Success in this course does not result from regurgitating the standard take on texts and authors as determined by Sparknotes. Being prepared and present positions you for an active and engaged classroom experience, twice a week.

I know, however, that there may come a time when you will need to miss class. My compromise: you are granted three absences for the semester, no questions asked (which means I make no distinction between excused and unexcused absences). Beginning with your 4th absence, you will lose 5% of your course grade–that is, one half of a letter grade–per absence. If you miss a class, you are responsible for that day’s work, including turning in (on time) any work due regardless of your attendance at class, understanding assignments, and getting the gist of class discussion. Needless to say, if you’re not in class, whatever the reason, you’re not accruing participation points. Make sure you are in class, ready to begin discussion, when class is scheduled to start. Because I take roll at the very beginning of class, tardiness gets recorded as absence unless you approach me after class to confirm your attendance.

Before each class, read the assigned material and come to class prepared to discuss it, not just to listen to others talk about it. Instead, come to class each time with a couple of passages circled that you believe would generate fruitful discussion, and write down the observations you have and the questions that you run into as you read. Reading without writing is passive, not active–and reviewing the written record of your first reading of a text, before you come to class, will help you to answer some of your own questions and to process more fully your experience of the reading.

Many days, you will find a RAP listed on the course schedule. This is a Reader’s Assistance Podcast, a podcast I have posted to the course blog. In it, I will guide you through the (sometimes dense) ‘introductory’ readings I have assigned (in chunks) from the Broadview. I encourage you to listen to the podcast while working your way through the reading assignment, pausing as you go to read different sections as I guide you. At the end of the podcast, you will then take a ‘quiz’ on the material (which you find in OAKS), to ensure that you’ve read it productively. (If you would like to read the material on your own, without the RAP. If you do this, still remember to take the ‘quiz’ in OAKS. (The RAPQs [RAP Quizzes] are part of your grade for the course.) If you find that you’re having any trouble with the quiz, I encourage you to make use of the RAP. You have up to five attempts at each RAPQ, since the purpose is to encourage you to go back to sections of the reading that seem to be causing you difficulty.

To be considered “present,” do all of the following:

1. Arrive on time, with the day’s work prepared in advance.
2. Bring all texts that will be discussed.
3. Turn off your cell phone, iPod, and so on.
4. Give me and your classmates your full attention.
5. Do not text, chat, or surf the internet.
6. Remain in the room until the class ends.
7. Conduct yourself in a manner respectful to all present.

SECRETARIAL DUTIES

One time this semester (to be assigned at the second class meeting) you will be responsible for writing for the whole class’s benefit a detailed summary of the readings and discussion for a particular day. You will take notes during class on your assigned day and then will write up a summary of those notes. It’s vital that you bear in mind your audience for this summary: the other students in the class. Within 48 hours of the end of your assigned class, you will submit your summary in OAKS.

This summary will become part of the Review of the Week. It will include three sections: Overview, Noteworthy Quotes, and Key Terms. I will produce the Review for Week 1, as a model; all later reviews will be produced by students.

Each week I will post the Review of the Week, accompanied by my brief Preview of the coming week, on the course blog by Sunday at noon. Where necessary, I will edit these Reviews before posting.

 

Blog Participation [15% of course grade]
—10% for daily posts, 5% for scheduled questions—

Before every class for which you are assigned a reading, you will post a response on the course blog. Most weeks, this will mean you will post twice: before Tuesday’s class, and before Thursday’s class. Frequent and informal student writing has a number of goals: to prepare everyone for a productive in-class discussion of the material; to encourage both written and spoken informal discussion of the material; to allow for those who are less active in-class participants the opportunity to participate in alternate ways; to provide low-stakes opportunities for students to experiment with a range of types of written responses to the material.

Here’s how the blog post system works: Each week, two students will be in the driving seat, posting a question to suit each day’s reading. These questions should be open-ended (without specific right or wrong answers), encouraging discussion of the assigned reading material. The questions must be posted 24 hours (or more) before the class meeting. (This means for the week you are the question-poser, you will need to do the reading well in advance.)

When you are not scheduled to ask a question, you will select one of the two questions posted for each class and produce a response to that before coming to class (since the Question Askers are required to post their questions at least 24 hours before the class meeting). You will always have at least 24 hours to do this. Your response should take the form of a comment. Often, you will find that others have commented before you. Consider responding to others’ comments as well as/instead of to the original question.

The schedule listing each week’s two questioners will be posted before the second class meeting.

(For some help with the logistics of blogging, see Get Blogging!)

 

Critical Writing [40% of course grade]
—10% for paper 1, 15% each for papers 2 and 3—

The formal papers are very different from the daily informal blog writing: each formal paper will be a cohesive, carefully organized, fully developed essay in which you present your ideas in much more depth, and with much more forethought, than you will generally do on the blog. I will grade these formal papers in terms of grammar, style, and structure as well as in terms of analytical content. I’m always happy to discuss your writing and ideas with you, so please make use of my office hours (and, of course, the Writing Lab).

The first two papers are eligible for revision. However, if you want to revise, you must see me outside of class to discuss your revision; otherwise, I will not accept it. The revision is due within 10 days of my returning graded papers to the class. (This will happen in OAKS and I will email you when graded papers are available; the timing of that email will determine the start of the “clock,” so the revisions will be due 10 days from then.) The grade for the assignment will be determined by averaging the grade on the first with the grade of the second version of your response to that assignment.

Since the deadlines for formal written work are so clearly spelled out on the syllabus, late papers will not be accepted except in very extraordinary circumstances.  Due dates for the formal papers are days when our class does not meet; these papers will be due at 11 p.m., in OAKS, on the indicated date.

 

Exams [30% of course grade]

You will take two exams—a midterm and a final, part of which will be cumulative. Each exam will consist of short essay responses and a longer essay; the final will also include identifications. I will provide exam structure guides and study guides for each exam. Before the first exam, we will examine some sample responses together in class.

RESOURCES

Office hours are reserved for you to drop in as suits your schedule, to discuss your writing and/or the course: TR 3-4:30. Should that not suit your schedule, please email me to arrange an alternative time. Emailing is the most efficient way to communicate with me outside of class; I would discourage contacting me by phone except during office hours.

The Writing Lab is located on the first floor of Addlestone Library, within the Center for Student Learning. Here you will find many resources for your writing (for this and other classes): handouts, reference books, sample bibliographies, and consultants who have been trained to assist you in generating materials for your essay, organizing your ideas and materials, revising and editing your writing, and any step in the writing process. You can find information, including hours and schedule, at the link above.

Academic accommodation for a documented disability can be arranged through the Center for Disability Services: 953-1431, Lightsey Center, Suite 104. If you are approved for accommodations, you should let me know as soon as possible so we can organize appropriate arrangements.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

All students, needless to say, must follow the College of Charleston’s academic integrity policy, which forbids cheating, attempted cheating, and plagiarism. Any case of suspected cheating or plagiarism (on any written response for the course) will be sent to the College’s Honor Board, and any student found guilty will receive a grade of XF, indicating failure of the course due to academic dishonesty.

“Recycled” papers written for other courses are not acceptable in this class.

College of Charleston Honor Code and Academic Integrity, from the Student Handbook:

Lying, cheating, attempted cheating, and plagiarism are violations of our Honor Code that, when identified, are investigated.  Each incident will be examined to determine the degree of deception involved.

Incidents where the instructor determines the student’s actions are related more to a misunderstanding will handled by the instructor.  A written intervention designed to help prevent the student from repeating the error will be given to the student.  The intervention, submitted by form and signed both by the instructor and the student, will be forwarded to the Dean of Students and placed in the student’s file.

Cases of suspected academic dishonesty will be reported directly by the instructor and/or others having knowledge of the incident to the Dean of Students.  A student found responsible by the Honor Board for academic dishonesty will receive a XF in the course, indicating failure of the course due to academic dishonesty.  This grade will appear on the student’s transcript for two years after which the student may petition for the X to be expunged.  The student may also be placed on disciplinary probation, suspended (temporary removal) or expelled (permanent removal) from the College by the Honor Board.

Students should be aware that unauthorized collaboration–working together without permission– is a form of cheating.  Unless the instructor specifies that students can work together on an assignment, quiz and/or test, no collaboration during the completion of the assignment is permitted.   Other forms of cheating include possessing or using an unauthorized study aid (which could include accessing information via a cell phone or computer), copying from others’ exams, fabricating data, and giving unauthorized assistance.

GRADING SCALE

A 94-100 4.0
A- 90-93 3.7
B+ 87-89 3.3
B 84-86 3.0
B- 80-83 2.7
C+ 77-79 2.3
C 74-76 2.0
C- 70-73 1.7
D+ 67-69 1.3
D 64-66 1.0
D- 60-63 0.7
F 0-59 0.0