Course Policies

Communication Policy

I enjoy hearing from my students, and I check my email frequently.  If you have any questions or concerns about the class feel free to contact me.  There are no stupid questions.  In many cases, the students who are not successful in my classes are those who do not contact me when they have questions or are struggling in the class. 

Attendance Policy

Attendance is an essential element in being successful in this course..  Missing class will leave you unprepared to complete the writing assignments in a satisfactory manner.  If you miss four class sessions during the semester, you may be dropped from the class, regardless of the reasons for your absences.  There are no “excused” absences in college; an absence is an absence.   To me a vital part of the course is participation in class discussions. Also, often the assigned work in class will help you complete the formal writing assignments. If you are absent during those discussions or for those assignments, you have missed a significant aspect of the course. Finally, be aware that if you are encountering personal circumstances that do not allow you to attend regularly, this will prevent you from effectively completing the course.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the act of presenting the words, work, or opinions of someone else as if they were the original work of the submitter. These may be the product of another student or a professional writer or be from any source whether the author is known or unknown.  Students should be conscientious in acknowledging their debt to whatever source by using the appropriate documentation whether in a paper, oral presentation, or exam.

Examples of plagiarism:

• • • ·  Turning in material that was written for another course, including your high school courses

    • ·   Providing a restructured, reworded version of someone else’s writing or ideas without acknowledging your source(s)

    • ·   Copying or purchasing essays or portions of essays from the internet and offering these words as your own work

    •     Using an AI tool such as ChatGPT to generate a response to an assignment

Unintentional plagiarism sometimes occurs when students attempt to paraphrase without adequately restating the passage in their own words.  Plagiarism can also result by students not using their own style but relying on that of the original. I will work with students to eliminate problems associated with unintentional plagiarism.  However, intentionally attempting to pass off the work of others as your own is a form of academic dishonesty equivalent to cheating on an exam and will result in receiving a failing grade on an assignment, which might cause a student to fail the course. A student caught plagiarizing also risks the possibility of fulfilling additional requirements designated by a representative of the Office of Student Services.

Often plagiarism occurs because a student is struggling--either not understanding an assignment or not managing his or her time effectively.  If you are encountering these circumstances, please reach out to me. Each student has a unique writing voice, and it is easy for me to spot when that voice suddenly changes.

Perhaps the best reason to avoid plagiarism is that it will not make you a better writer.  Writing is a skill that takes time and effort to develop  The more effort that you expend in this class to become a better writer, the better prepared you will be for your next course that requires writing.