| Attendance and Participation: Attendance is mandatory. Composition courses are workshop classes that include in-class writing, peer group work, and conferences. Therefore, students should not be late and should not miss classes. Students who miss more than two sessions of a TR course may be dropped within the first 8 weeks with a W or thereafter receive an E. Since discussion will be an integral part of the course, I will expect you to be on-time and to participate. Requirements for Writing Assignments:
All assignments for the course will require a creative and thoughtful title, your name, my name, and the date. You will be required to post many of the assignments for this course electronically, on the MOO or by using email attachments, so please ensure that you have computer access on the days such assignments are due. You are responsible for keeping back-up (I recommend several) copies of all your work since electronic texts can easily be lost. If your assignment is lost in cyberspace, I will expect you to repost it within the same day I ask for it. Sending assignments by email and posting them to the MOO and the Web will be discussed in class. Papers/Projects: All papers/projects will require extensive revision and multiple drafts. You will revise your work based on my comments and the comments of your classmates and drafts as well as final revisions will be included in your portfolio, which is worth 80% of your total grade. In Class Writing Assignments/Quizzes: We will start several mornings off with in-class writing assignments and/or quizzes. These assignments will evolve out of the assigned reading so it is imperative that you actually do the reading to get credit for the assignment. Each in-class assignment will count toward 20% of your final grade and you must be in class during the assignment to get credit for it. Reader Responses: You will write 1-2 reader-responses of approximately 700 words (2 typewritten pages) per week. The specific subject of some of your responses will be assigned, while the subject of others will be your responsibility. If you incorporate autobiographical material into your responses, the focus of your discussion should be directed toward the reading. If I ask for responses to be posted to the MOO or class listserv, I will expect you to have that done by the beginning of class on the day each response is due. Responses count toward your final portfolio grade so I expect you to take them seriously and use them to contribute clear, insightful reflections to the class. As with all of your work, be sure to make back-up copies in case of computer viruses, hard-drive crashes, or any other technical disasters. Late Assignments: Your written work for this course, including essays, reader responses, and informal assignments should be turned in on the dates indicated in the daily schedule. If you cannot attend class on the day an assignment is due, I will still expect you to email it to me by classtime that day. Late reader response and style assignments will be penalized 20% each day they are late; late essays/projects will be penalized 5% each day they are late. Conferences: Individual or small group conferences with the instructor may be scheduled. Students should come to conferences prepared to discuss their work. A missed conference counts as an absence. Grades: The Student’s Guide explains grading policies, methods of responding to drafts and final copies, and the standards of assessment of the Writing Program. Instructor’s comments will consider the following aspects of writing, in the context of a particular assignment: purpose, audience, content, expression, organization, development of ideas, mechanics, and maturity of thought. Students cannot receive a passing grade in first-year composition unless they have submitted drafts and final versions for all major assignments and the final exam. Plagarism: Plagiarism occurs whenever you borrow another author's words or ideas without giving that author credit for his or her work. If you are not sure about how to cite a source in your writing, please consult a style guide at the library (MLA, APA, Chicago Manual). If you still have questions, see me or send me an email. If I notice plagiarism in your writing, you will receive an E for the assignment in question with no chances for revisions. Serious cases may result in an E for the entire course. The University of Arizona takes academic dishonesty very seriously. See the Code of Academic Integrity posted online at: http://w3.arizona.edu/~studpubs/policies/cacaint.htm Class Conduct: We are going to have a lot of fun this semester. But we will only have fun if you conduct yourself with respect for yourself and others. I expect you to 1) come to class prepared and take pride in the work you do; 2) offer support and encouragement to your classmates; 3) listen to others carefully before offering your opinion; and 4) talk to me outside of class if anything that happens during class bothers you. Netiquette: I encourage you to post any thoughts, ideas, or responses onto the class listserv during the semester. To make our messages to each other easy to recognize, try to place in the subject heading a meaningful phrase describing the content of your message. For instance, if you are discussing a point that Marshall McLuhan brings up in his book The Medium is the Massage, you could write in the subject line "Medium Is the Massage" or "McLuhan, page 40." If you have a response to someone's comments, you might put in the subject line, "Re: Susan's Response to McLuhan." If you have a question about a class policy, please post it to this list so others can benefit from my response. So, for instance, if you want to ask about the grading policy, write "Question about Grading." If your question is of an personal nature or pertains only to me, be sure to send it to my email address (lauer@u.arizona.edu) and NOT the class listserv. Remember to mind your netiquette. No personal attacks or insults. In addition, do not send irrelevant material to the class listserv or send messages to members in private or on the listserv that could make other members of the class uncomfortable. Think of the class as a professional place, like an office, and your fellow classmates as fellow professionals. Within these guidelines, the listserv should be an enjoyable place for us to talk to each other when we are not in class together. It is also an important place for us to take care of class business. Disabilities Accommodations: Students with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations to fully participate in course activities or meet course requirements must register with the Disability Resource Center. If you qualify for services through DRC, give your letter of accommodations to your instructor as soon as possible. A Student’s Guide to First-Year Composition: All First-Year Composition Students are required to purchase the Student’s Guide.The Guide addresses in detail all of the matters addressed below. Also see the Writing Program web page: http://w3.arizona.edu/~comp Grades: The breakdown of grades for the semester is as follows:
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