Course Policies

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Class Requirements:

The following is a detailed rundown of the class requirements:

Ø       Attendance and Participation (10%)

Included here are the following:

-         The student's attendance

Note: attendance is mandatory . You are expected to be in class on time, with your homework completed. This is a skills course; understanding of new material requires mastery of old. As such, it is not possible to do well without regular attendance. In addition, we will spend several days peer-reviewing drafts of papers. Obviously, this can only work well if everyone attends class. Students who must miss any class should give the reason for his/her absence in advance of class.

-        The student's level of preparation for each class, i.e. his/her readiness to discuss the assigned readings for the day

- Participation in class discussion blog http://paradoxes105.blogspot.com/ . (Full credit for this component requires at least one substantial post or comment per week for every week after the first week of class until the end of the semester. This component of the participation grade is worth 5%.)

There will be no letter grade assigned for this requirement.

Ø       Peer Review Contribution and Self-Assessment (15%)

Each student will be expected to make every effort to ensure the success of the peer review sessions. Self-assessment will also be a part of the peer review sessions and students will be required to evaluate their own work honestly and constructively. The criteria involved will be outlined in an early class. Peer reviews of the work of others is due by midnight on peer review days. Peer reviews of your own work and self-assessments must be turned in with the corresponding paper draft; drafts turned in without these materials are considered incomplete and late.

Ø       Homework (10%)

These writing assignments will typically focus on identifying an argument in the readings and/or your response to that argument. This will also be an opportunity for you to raise questions about the reading and practice proper documentation.

Ø       Paper Assignments (Essays) (65%)

Students will write two essays, a formal research proposal, and a longer research paper. The topic of the research paper will be decided by the student in consultation with the instructor. Details for each paper assignment will be provided in class.

Mark Your Calendar …

Table 1 shows the due dates and times for each of the four paper assignments. Papers should be left in my mailbox in the College Writing Center . Late final drafts will receive a deduction of one third of a letter grade for each calendar day (or part of a day) they are late. This penalty also applies to the complete first draft of each paper .

Drafts:

For each of the four essays, students will be required to submit a complete first draft . (For the first two papers, a complete first draft involves a detailed argumentative outline, while the first draft of the research paper is expected to be a more traditional prose essay.) It is important that these essay drafts are completed on time because they are the primary focus of the peer review sessions.

Each student's complete first draft will receive an evaluation from a peer (or peers) and from the instructor. You may also be required to provide your own evaluation of each first draft that you submit. The student will then be expected to incorporate the evaluations of the first draft into the final draft of an essay.

Paper Format:

All assignments (other than in-class assignments) must be written with a word-processor. It must be printed in 12 pt. font, double spaced, Times New Roman, 1” margins, with numbered pages, and stapled.

Citation style:

Students will be made aware of the importance of selecting a citation style for their essays. There are three acceptable citation styles for this course: Chicago , APA , and MLA . Guidelines for each of these styles are available in Hacker's Pocket Style Manual .

Paper Submission:

Essays may not be submitted electronically.

Grading Scheme:

Table 2 outlines the grading scheme for this course. Students must get a C or higher in CAS 105 in order to satisfy the College's primary writing requirement.

A Note on Academic Respect and Responsibility:

Much of this course will highlight the importance of argument . The structure of a well-written paper reflects the writer's ability to use argumentative strategy effectively, by offering arguments, and entertaining some counter-arguments, before finally coming to a (hopefully) well thought-out conclusion. Any class discussion or debate on an issue should focus on arguments in a similar manner. Discussions, therefore, will not just involve claim followed by counter-claim, etc. Rather, students will be asked to give reasons for why they hold such-and-such a view. If somebody disagrees with your position, then they too will have to give reasons. As a discussion progresses you may or may not be convinced by the other person's reasoning – you may just end up agreeing to differ. In a philosophy discussion this is acceptable; the important thing is that we reason things out as we go along.

Students learn by asking questions and receiving well-intentioned answers – no student should be afraid to speak up in class. It is important that we be open-mined in this class, willing to criticize one another, receive criticism, and also engage in self-criticism. This means that we should always respect our peers in the class – give their views and arguments fair consideration and never adopt a belligerent or condescending tone in a discussion. This is a class requirement and the point will be reinforced in the first class meeting. Failure to meet this requirement will result in a warning for the student; repeated failures will result in a final grade reduction.

Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is the stealing of the ideas or words of another and using them as if they were one's own. This includes unintentional stealing of the ideas or words of another and using them as if they were one's own. Forms of plagiarism include, but are not limited to, the following:

-         Having someone else write a paper for you

-         Not citing portions of another's work that you have included in your paper

-         Failing to mention a source you have paraphrased

-         Taking a paper, in whole or in part, from a website

-         Stealing a paper from another student and then submitting it as your own work

As in most other college courses, in this course students are continuously encountering other people's ideas and words – primarily in texts, but also in lectures and class discussions. To avoid plagiarism, students must learn the importance of acknowledging their sources and the skills for doing this. Accidental plagiarism is still plagiarism.

Plagiarism is considered a very serious breach within the intellectual community and punishment is accordingly severe. In this class, any suspected case of plagiarism will be addressed. If a determination of plagiarism occurs, then (a) the student receives a zero in the assignment, and (b) the incident is reported to the University Board. The instructor reserves the right to counter plagiaristic activity within the class with measures permitted by College regulations. See the Undergraduate Bulletin for more information on the College's policy regarding plagiarism.

FREE ADVICE

•  v      The College Writing Center and The College Writing Fellows : The College Writing Center and the College Writing Fellows offer free writing tutoring. Graduate-student consultants with extensive teaching and/or tutoring experience staff the Writing Center . The Writing Fellows are highly trained peer tutors. Both the Writing Center Consultants and the Writing Fellows provide critical feedback at every stage of the writing process, from brainstorming to revision. If you have a specific, focused question about your writing you can also receive critical feedback online through Write-On, an online advising service. Take advantage of these services!

College Writing Center , Rush Rhees G-121. Call x3-3584 to set up an

appointment.

College Writing Fellows, Susan B. Anthony 166 and the ITS Center.

On-Line Consulting: http://writing.rochester.edu/write-on

•  v      Learning Assistance Services . Located in Lattimore 107, Learning Assistance offers help with study skills, time management, and learning disabilities. Call x5-9049 to schedule an appointment.

•  v      Rush Rhees Library Reference Librarians . For help researching any term paper, call x5-4478 or fill out an online form to schedule an appointment for one-on-one researching assistance. This service is also available at Carlson.

And of course, I am always happy to discuss your work with you, either by appointment or during office hours.