- 2 allowed absences without penalty, each additional absence will result in 1/3 letter grade penalty.
- 5-20 minutes late is a tardy
- Tardy 3x is an absence
- 5 or more absences will lead to automatic failing grade
- Miss only one class = 5% extra credit on blog grade.
Come to class! We need you to share your knowledge and perspectives. I also run ½ of the class as a studio or workshop in which you will practice writing techniques and begin working on your individual and group projects. If you don’t come to class, you’ll be behind on your projects.
Ok, I get that you’ll have to miss class. You are allowed 2 absences without a penalty to your grade. You’re an adult. I trust you to decide if/how you will use these absences. You’re welcome to let me know why you’re missing class. But you don’t have to tell me. Maybe you’re sick. Maybe your grandma really is in the hospital. Or maybe you haven’t slept in 3 days and just need to crash. Whatever it is, I don’t need to know. I will miss you in class, but we will find a way to move forward. (Please don’t email me to ask “Did I miss anything?” Find a more rhetorically savvy approach).
Every absence beyond the allowed will result in a 1/3 letter grade deduction from your final grade in the class (in other words: A becomes and -A).
Timeliness: Be in your seat before class starts! If you are not in class by the time I finish calling roll, I will count you tardy. Tardy 3 times = 1 absence. If you are more than 20 minutes late for class, then you will be counted absent.
Office Hours: Every week, I will reserve 4 hours so that we have time to talk one-on-one. Monday and Tuesday from 2-4. These are office hours, and they are a really important and useful resource for students. You can talk to me about readings, writing assignments, follow up on class discussions, challenges you’re having in class or in school generally. If you’re struggling, come talk and I’ll help. If you’re really excited about something you’re learning or writing, come talk to me! I love talking with students about what they care about. My office in in 1516 South Hall
God Willing and the Creek Don’t Rise Policy: This is a southern phrase. It means that we have a nice plan in this syllabus, but life and time bring all sorts of surprises. Last year there was a fire and a mudslide. Sometimes students get really sick or go through tough times. Sometimes I get sick and go through tough times. My “creek don’t rise” policy is here for all of those cases. If we as a community or you personally are going through something, let’s talk about it. Let’s adjust our plans accordingly.
Due dates: Turn your work in on time! However, I’d rather have late work than crappy work. Often learning to write in multiple media means learning that it always takes more time than you expect. If you need more time, you must ask for permission in advance. I will allow 3 assignments to be turned in late. If you use up these 3 assignments on your individual assignments, then I will not allow late work for your group projects. However, I will not accept any work that is submitted more than 5 days late.
Cell Phones: Turn your cell phone on silent before class. Most importantly: please don’t text, email, heart your friend’s selfie, snapchat, tweet, or candy crush in class. This distracts me. Teaching is like a performance… a performance designed to help 25 people improve as writers and thinkers. It’s hard. Respect me and your classmates by being fully present, in mind and body.
Plagiarism occurs when a writer passes off another’s words or ideas without acknowledging the source. For example, turning another’s work as your own is plagiarism. Also, plagiarism includes copying/pasting sentences, paragraphs, or pages from a website without putting those words in quotes. If you plagiarize in this class, you will likely fail the assignment on which you are working and your case may be passed to the university for additional disciplinary action. Because of the design and nature of this course, it will take as much (or more) work for you to plagiarize in it than it will to actually complete the work of the class. Furthermore, that your work is not your own will be noticed almost immediately; as above, the consequences will be dire. Don’t do it. It’s not worth it.
Plagiarism is different from misuse of sources, occasions when a writer does not properly cite a source, misuses quotations, includes too much of an original source in a paraphrase or summary, or commits similar unintentional violations of academic protocol. If you misuse sources, we will work together on appropriately incorporating and/or citing the sources. Note that some audiences/instructors will consider misuse of sources to be plagiarism; for this reason, it is extremely important for you to identify the conventions associated with source use and citations in any class (or writing situation).
