Paper Guidelines and Policies

ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT & PLAGIARISM

All acts of plagiarism and scholastic dishonesty, including having someone complete assignments for you, are violations of academic integrity subjected to disciplinary action.

Plagiarism is intentionally or knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as one's own.

Self-Plagiarism, which is submitting a paper you completed in another class (K-12 or college), is also forbidden.

If you plagiarize and it is unintentional, you will be given a warning. If you are asked to choose another topic or rewrite the paper, the professor is obligated to report your misconduct to the chair, dean, and Student Affairs. After the second incident, you will face disciplinary action. However, if you commit an act of plagiarism or scholastic dishonesty and it is intentional, you could receive an F in the course and face serious disciplinary action.

All students will meet with the professor in a 5-10 minute conference early in the semester and after the midterm to discuss the readings, exams, papers, and/or project. You must visit the nearest ACC campus to update your Student ID card with your photo prior to the first meeting. The professor also reserves the right to require students to an in-person or Zoom conference in the event of suspected academic dishonesty, plagiarism, or improper AI usage. Students who do not comply with my conference requirement will be subjected to withdrawal.

USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Artificial Intelligence (AI) cannot be used to write papers, create presentations, or complete graded coursework. Any improper use of AI-programs, including but not limited to ChatGPT or DALL-E, is subject to due process and disciplinary action. However, the use of programs that assist in translating, formatting your papers, improving word choices, and utilizing proper grammar and spelling, such as Grammarly, Quillboth, and Packback, is encouraged.

Each paper is assessed based on the criteria set by this grading rubric.

Following the Directions

Other than academic integrity, the most important aspect of writing an essay for a college course is to read the instructions carefully. Study the lectures and readings and videos that accompany the instructions for each paper or assignment. Ask questions.

Pre-writing and Constructing an Outline

Once you have established the appropriate focus of your assignment, you can begin generating ideas via pre-writing. The different kinds of pre-writing include clustering, brainstorming, mapping, and freewriting. Freewriting is a popular choice with writers. In freewriting, the writer is given a topic and writes non-stop about that topic, paying no attention to grammar, spelling, punctuation, or style.

Writing your Outline

For each major assignment, you will need to submit an outline naming the topic, authors and works analyzed (if required), a supportable thesis or focus, clear organization, examples or quotes (if required), and at least one scholarly article (when required). The portal for for submitting your outline can be accessed via the Assignments Folder (for that particular paper) in the course menu.

Once your outline is approved, you may begin drafting your paper.

The purpose of the outline is for me to examine your focus, assess the organization of your document, approve your thesis if required (or central idea in 1302), and make sure that you are on the right track.

Use the Basic Organization of an Essay (introduction, thesis statement, body paragraphs with topic sentences, conclusion) to design your outline and develop ideas for formal, academic writing. Also, make sure to check out the sample outlines I've provided for you in Blackboard. The traditional format of an essay does not apply to expressive narratives, written in the first person, or creative writing assignments.

Writing your Rough Draft

After your outline has been approved, you may begin writing your rough draft. Even though you must refer to your outline, don't feel restricted by it. In the drafting stage, don't worry about spelling, grammar, or punctuation-- just make sure that you are focused on the focus or thesis and basic organization. Let the ideas flow.

First, be sure that the format of your paper is in MLA Format: heading, headers with page numbers, double spacing, documentation, in-text citations, work cited, etc. For Microsoft 365, try this video. Click here to format your paper via Apple Pages.
Once you have a complete draft, go back and make sure you have a compelling introduction that captures the attention of your audience and states the thesis (when required). Your thesis statement should be the last sentence of your introduction. (In English 1302, the thesis statement is often the generic, universal, central idea of the story.) These guidelines (for thesis statements, intro, body paragraphs, topic sentences, and conclusions) do not apply to expressive, reflective, and creative writing.
Make sure that you have included a thesis statement and topic sentences. The thesis statement is the last sentence in your introduction and states the main idea of the paper. The first sentence of each body paragraph, the topic sentence, must have a tight connection to your thesis and it should tell the reader what the paragraph is about. In your body paragraphs, you should include examples to support your main points. Your paragraphs and sentences must be in logical order. Again, these guidelines (for thesis statements, intro, body paragraphs, topic sentences, and conclusions) do not apply to expressive, reflective, and creative writing.
There should be a smooth transition between sentences and paragraphs.
Before editing the specific details of your essays, you must review the content and organization or make global revisions. Once the content of your essay is in place, you can revise for grammar, punctuation, and style, and then make specific revisions. Check out the Revisions Checklist.

Other Issues that Must be Addressed

Avoid first and second person point of view in academic writing-- unless I indicate otherwise. Also, don't make announcements about your intent or objectives for the paper in the introduction or anywhere else. Click here for pointers on avoiding the second person POV. In all formal papers in this class, I do require that first person be used in the conclusion.

Check for quality of sources when researching; avoid sources that cannot be retrieved from the library or scholarly sources.

Introduce your quotes properly; the quotes and the surrounding words must come together to form a complete sentence. Check out: Introducing and Integrating Quotes.

When writing dialogue in personal narrative or creative writing assignments, always indent whenever a person begins speaking.

A note about word count-- quality is more important than quantity. I don't count words. However, often a paper lacks development and needs more elaboration and examples. Try using methods of development or organization to add more depth to your paper.

Finally, your conclusion should be a reflective paragraph, using the first person point of view. How do you connect to the topic, authors, assignment, etc.? How is it relevant to modern society or to your life? Again, there is no need for a conclusion or introduction (or thesis statement and topic sentences) in personal narratives, journals, and creative writing assignments.

Peer Editing

Before peer editing, be sure to run your paper through a spelling/grammar check and make the revisions suggested above. In peer editing, each student must critique at least two papers using the guidelines in the Revisions Checklist.

Please post your paper as a DOC or PDF file (no links) for peer editing by going to the discussion board, clicking the peer editing link to the left of the post, and then creating a thread.

In the subject heading, be sure to give your name and the submission number (take one, take two, etc.), so that your paper can be easily identified, and I will know how many times it has been posted (I will review it twice, if you turn submit it in a timely fashion). Then, in the message box, let the class know your concerns: content, organization, mechanics, format, or any other specific issues. Please do this for all peer editing discussion posts.

In peer editing, you will need to assist two classmates or more. You must make at least two suggestions that could help improve a classmate's paper, and your commentary must differ from my feedback and the input of the other students. Look at the organization, content, format, and mechanics. If you are not sure about something (such as comma usage), don't comment on that particular issue.

In addition, point out at least two positive aspects of the paper that you are critiquing. If you notice that some papers have yet to be reviewed, please critique those first.

When responding to a post, always begin by saying something like: "Hi Daniel" or "Hello Prof. Villarreal." Otherwise, we will not know to whom you are speaking.

If you have any questions about a critique, please address the person who helped you by name, copy and paste their message, and then re-attach the paper.

Students who earn the maximum number of points in the discussion board are the ones who contribute in a substantive way. Responses to other students such as “Your paper looks great!” or “Thank you!” are not considered substantive contributions.

As you critique the writing of your peers, you need to remember a few key points:

Make suggestions about content and organization first (global revisions); then note specific errors.
Always use a positive tone when giving constructive criticism.
Do not become combative; remember that we are trying to help each other.

All papers have a specific due date. However, do not submit your paper for a grade before reading my comments in the discussion board and then making modifications-- unless the grace period has expired. It's important that you complete your work in the order it was assigned. For example, when you post your paper to the discussion board without giving me a chance to review it and then hastily post that paper to be graded, that's a big no no. I need at least 24 hours to review your paper (most of the time, I get to it much sooner). If you jump ahead and post the outline for the next paper, I will grade the previous paper you just submitted.

Please note the peer editing rubric below:

Professor Feedback in Peer Editing

During the peer editing process, I am quite active in the discussion board, providing feedback on nearly every paper that is posted.

Please note that when I critique your papers in the discussion board, I provide only general feedback about the content, organization, mechanics, and/or format. I do not get into specifics for the most part. However, if you are confused about my suggestions, you are encouraged to ask specific questions, by addressing me by name in your response to my post, copying and pasting my comments, and then re-attaching your paper.

In the discussion board, I will critique each student's paper a maximum of two times (due to the time constraints, in the sessions meeting less than 12 weeks), you will most likely receive feedback for each paper you submit in the discussion board ONCE). In order to track the number of times you post your paper, please provide the number of submissions. Upon the first submission, for example, type "take one" in the first line of your submission. You are encouraged to submit your paper again, after carefully reviewing the critiques from your classmates and me and making revisions. If you are eligible for two takes (more feedback from me), please type "take two." After two submissions, I will no longer make comments in the discussion board, but I still want you to continue to post the number of takes in the subject line of your posts. If I see that you are struggling and posting an unusual number of takes, I may jump in and ask that you email your paper (as a DOC or PDF file) to me directly for detailed feedback or to visit with a tutor or librarian. If you have completed peer editing with classmates and I've reviewed it in the discussion board (or failed to complete peer editing in a timely manner), feel free send your paper as a PDF with specific questions to bvillar@austincc.edu.

Please wait until I respond to your paper before making final revisions and submitting for a grade. Keep in mind that I generally do not post to the discussion board between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., so post your paper to the discussion board for feedback, sooner rather than later. Once you are ineligible for either a first or second take, you can do a Take Three and peer edit with fellow classmates. It's important that you complete your work in the order it was assigned. For example, when you post a Take One or Two to the discussion board without giving me a chance to review your paper and then post that paper to be graded, that's a big no no. I need at least 24 hours to review your paper (most of the time, I get to it much sooner). If you jump ahead and post the outline for the next paper, I will grade the previous paper you just submitted.

When communicating with a tutor or me, be sure to copy and paste any comments or feedback I've made about your paper in the body of the email.

Tutoring

If you need assistance, please check with our embedded tutor or supplemental instructor (info linked via the course menu when one is assigned) or use the tutoring services that ACC offers students for free.

For help with research and MLA format, you can chat with an ACC librarian 24/7.

Note: Even though I am a tutor at ACC, I only work with students currently in my class via the peer editing process. However, always feel free to email me with a quick question or two about your paper (and please attach it when you do) via email to bvillar@austincc.edu. In addition, I am available to tutor you in your other writing-intensive courses (or help with admissions essays, resumes, and scholarship essays). Click here for more information.

Submitting your Paper for Grading

After making final revisions to your paper, please submit the final copy to the appropriate portal for that paper in Blackboard (to be scanned for plagiarism and improper use of AI). Include information about extra credit activities and screenshot the results of library tutorials if they were required underneath the Works Cited.

Do not submit the final version of your paper until your outline has been approved and you have drafted your paper, I have weighed in on your paper in the discussion board (if you posted it in on time), at least two other students have critiqued your paper (and vice versa), and you have made modifications.

All students must submit papers to be graded via a PDF, DOC, or DOCX file to be scanned via SafeAssign in Blackboard; you cannot use your phone or post a Google DOC link or Pages file.

Check out this video about submitting a DOC or DOCX file.

For converting a Mac Pages document as a DOC or DOCX file, click here.

Those students who email their tutorials (when required) but fail to make a notation of the scores at the bottom of their papers will lose points on their papers (approximately five for one tutorial; 10 for two; 15 for three). The only way to regain those points is if you choose to make corrections on your paper; you may email me the completed tutorial(s) and then make a notation that you have completed the tutorial(s) underneath your paper. Corrected papers must be submitted directly to me via ACC email at bvillar@austincc.edu.

On occasion, I do award extra credit points for students who submit their papers before the soft due date. Please check the schedule.

After the hard due date has passed for a paper, you will lose ten points for each day past that date, not to exceed more than a 40 percent deduction of the total points possible. However, if the paper, or any major assignment, is not completed until the last week of class, you cannot earn more than 50 percent of its original value.

If you receive a grade 10 on an assignment, such as a paper, please read my commentary in the feedback. A 10 is just a placeholder and signals that you submitted the assignment incorrectly and need to follow my instructions to remedy the situation.

Please do not email me with grade-related questions during holidays, weekends, or between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. during the week. I need time with my family and, during those time frames, I often do not have access to a computer and cannot view your paper or your grades.

NOTE: Once you submit your final assignment(s) for the course, please check your grade sheet and your ACC email the following day to ensure that your work was properly submitted and your grade was accurately recorded.

Please note the rubric below, which is used for grading papers in this course:

Reviewing your Grade and Making Corrections

Allow me 24-72 hours to grade your assignment after it is submitted. Please read my feedback to find out how to earn extra credit and improve your score. If you want more detailed feedback, please email me and I will accommodate you.

If you receive a grade of 10 on a paper, please read my comments. A 10 is just a placeholder and signals that you submitted the paper incorrectly and need to follow my instructions to remedy the situation. A grade of 1 is more serious--read my comments for guidance.

I do allow students to make corrections and earn up to ten points extra credit for correcting their graded papers (except for the final paper). You may also earn back the points that you lost if you failed to attach or mention (at the bottom of your paper) that you emailed me your required tutorial(s).

You must email me your corrected paper at least 24 hours before submitting the next paper. You cannot learn from your mistakes, otherwise.

LATE POLICIES FOR WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS

Refer to the soft due dates in the schedule to stay on track. In general, I give students a one-week grace period to complete all assignments, except for the first and last week of class.

Papers, Journals, and Outlines: After the hard due date has passed (one week after the soft due date), you will lose ten points for each day after that date, not to exceed more than a 40 percent deduction of the total points possible. However, if the assignment is not completed until the last week of class, you cannot earn more than 50 percent of its original value. You must post your outline BEFORE posting your paper to the discussion board or for a grade. Otherwise, you will receive a zero--no exceptions.

Discussion Boards: After the hard due date (one week after the soft due date), you are ineligible to receive credit (because you were not part of the discussion)--no exceptions.

Quizzes: I will record a zero after the grace period is up, and then update once the assignment is completed by manually entering the grade, as long as the past due assignment is not submitted during the final week of the course.

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