Style and Audience
All O'Conner formal assignments use Modern Language Association (MLA) Style
Sheet with additions noted below. All these designated essays and assignments
must maintain a formal, profession style and tone. Each assignment should
demonstrate the student's ability to write, edit, revise and proofread on
a college level. Contractions and slang terms or phrases are not considered
elements of formal academic writing. Also, for most assignments try to avoid
using first and second person pronouns unless there is a specific rhetorical
reason to do so. The audiences for all your formal assignments will be, primarily,
the instructor, secondarily, a university-wide audience consisting of peers,
and thirdly, an imaginary peer-reviewed journal much like many of the literary
journals we will be studying. As such, you should always consider these audiences
when you write, revise and edit. Your tone should be serious and intellectual
for the majority of your assignments. Avoid racist and sexist language at
all times. Avoid all common logical fallacies. Poor grammar, spelling and
usage will greatly impact your grade in this class. All submitted text must
be original work. All quoted, summarized and paraphrased text must be documented
according to MLA documentation standards.
Virtual Copies of Assignments:
Virtual or electronic versions of many your assignments will be placed in Blackboard
or your electronic portfolio. Sometimes I will also ask you to send assignments
to me electronically as an email attachment. Use Millikin University's email
processor GroupWise to do this. My email address is: moconner@millikin.edu
You may be asked to submit all your formal assignments to the TurnItIn.com
site using my designated course number.
Keep all of your assignments backed up on your H: drive, and on a disk or mini USB storage drive, and back up often.
Hard Copies (Printed):
Occasionally, printed hard copies of assignments are requested. Each formal
essay and assignment is required to be written on a word processor. Microsoft
Word is recommended. No handwritten assignments are acceptable. As per MLA
style standards, each page of the assignment should use Word default margins
all around, be left justified, and include a page number and the student's
name in MLA recommended style and order. Printed assignments with more than
two pages should be affixed with a staple or paper clip. All text should
be double spaced and font and point sizes of the text should yield around
250-300 words per page. I strongly recommend using Times New Roman font at
12 point font size.
Attendance Policy
With the exception of rare and extreme circumstances, I do not distinguish
among kinds of absences for attendance purposes. Contact or see me immediately
if rare and extreme circumstances arise which will affect your class attendance.
You are expected to be present every day your class meets, but to accommodate accidents, illnesses, and emergencies, I allow a number of absences without penalty. Absences beyond the limit are considered excessive and result in grade reductions. Reductions will be taken on a percentage basis from the total number of points possible in the course. Students are expected to arrive in class on time in order to be counted present and remain during the entire scheduled class period.
The following policy will apply to all your absences:
MWF Classes:
you may miss 3 times without an automatic grade reduction; 4 absences = a final
grade reduction of 5%; 5 absences = a final grade reduction of 10%; 6 absences
= a final grade reduction of 15%; 7 absences = a final grade reduction of 20%;
8 absences = a final grade reduction of 25%; and 9 or more absences = failure
of the course.
Tues/Thur Classes
For TTH classes, the following policy will apply: you may miss 2 times without
an automatic grade reduction; 3 absences = a final grade reduction of 7.5%;
4 absences = a final grade reduction of 15%; 5 absences = final grade reduction
of 22.5%; 6 or more absences = failure of the course.
Disability Accommodation Policy
Please address any special needs or special accommodations with me at the beginning
of the semester or as soon as you become aware of your needs. If you are
seeking classroom accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act,
you should submit your documentation to the Office of Academic Development
at Millikin University, currently located in Shilling Room 205.
Academic Honesty Policy
All students are expected to uphold professional standards for academic honesty
and integrity in their research, writing, and related performances. Academic
honesty is the standard we expect from all students. Read the Student Handbook
for further explanation (available on the Millikin University web site).
Staley Library also hosts a web site on Preventing Plagiarism, which includes
the complete university policy. It is located at: http://www.millikin.edu/staley/prevent_plagiarism.html.
Visit and carefully read the Preventing Plagiarism web site.
If you submit work that is not your own, that is, plagiarized or copied from any source without proper citation, or if you are caught cheating on any assignment, you will fail the assignment and you will may fail the course. In addition, the Registrar and the Office of Student Services will be notified so that they can take action according to university policy, which means that you may be dismissed from the academic program and university. If you have difficulty with any assignment in this course, please see me rather than consider academic dishonesty.
Academic Dishonesty will not be tolerated at Millikin University. The following
apply specifically to academic misconduct in this course:
•
Plagiarism: The appropriation, theft, purchase, or obtaining by any means another’s
work, and the unacknowledged submission or incorporation of that work as one’s
own. Appropriation includes the quoting or paraphrasing of another’s
work without giving credit.
•
Collusion: Prohibited collaboration with another in preparing work.
•
Fabrication/Falsification: Unauthorized alteration or invention of any information
or citation in an academic exercise. Falsification involves altering information
for use in any academic exercise. Fabrication involves inventing or counterfeiting
information for use in any academic exercise.
•
Multiple Submissions: The submission by the same individual of substantial
portions of the same work (including oral reports) for credit more than once
in the same or another course without authorization.
•
Complicity in academic misconduct: Helping another to commit an act of academic
misconduct.
Turnitin.com may be useful to students in addressing any plagiarism concerns they may have. Millikin University students may learn more about how to properly cite sources and maintain the highest degree of academic integrity with the Turnitin online program. All Millikin University faculty may, at their discretion, use Turnitin (see: http://www.turnitin.com/static/index.html) in order to ensure that students are not having/exhibiting problems with plagiarism.
Turnitin
This course uses an electronic tool to ensure that you are using sources effectively
and ethically. The service, Turnitin, checks your essays against its own
database of submitted essays, the Web, and an electronic database of articles
and books. It does not release essays without the consent of the instructor.
More information about Turnitin is available at http://www.turnitin.com.
If you have questions about citing sources, see Staley Library's site on
documenting sources.
Assignment Deadlines
Every assignment for this course is due at the beginning of the hour of the
due date on the syllabus. Late work is work turned in after the beginning
of the class period on which it is due. The grade for late work will be reduced
by 10% for each day late, including weekends. You have five days after the
due date to turn in late work. Assignments will not be accepted after this
five-day grace period. This policy includes drafts, as well as final copies.
All late work should be submitted electronically, so it will carry a date/time
stamp. Late work left in mailboxes, on desks or shoved under office doors
will be considered "turn in" at the day/time I actually see the
document.
Course conduct: Expectations for Classroom Behavior
Faculty members have the responsibility and the authority to maintain a productive
educational environment in the classroom. It is the responsibility of the
student to practice conduct conducive to learning by being prepared, prompt,
attentive, and courteous in the classroom and by accepting policies set forth
by the professor to maintain an academic decorum.
Acceptable classroom behavior is behavior that encourages critical inquiry and thought, and promotes a shared community of learners. Focused attention on the tasks at hand and respect for fellow peers is expected. During classroom discussions and presentations, you need to listen carefully to the thoughts of others and be prepared to add relevant insight and responses.
Behavior that repeatedly interferes with my ability to teach class or the ability of other students to benefit from the instructional program include: constant idle chit-chat, idleness, irrelevant use of computers, routine late arrival or early departure, inappropriate interruptions, such as back-pack shuffling or cell phone use, use of threatening language and personal insults toward the professor or other students. This behavior is inappropriate.
If you carry a cell phone into the classroom, please turn it off during class or place it on "silent" mode. Any disruptions that prevent the smooth flow of academic activities will result in a student being asked to cease the disruption or leave the classroom. Multiple instances of such distractions will result in the student being dropped from the course.
Final exam policy
All students must take the course final exam at the designated time on the
designated date. There are no early finals given and no final make-up exams.
Students who do take the final exam at the specified time and date will be
given a zero for the exam.
Make up policy
See above language for written assignment deadlines. There are no make-ups
for daily reading quizzes. If you miss class (or are late) on the day of
a quiz you receive a zero for that quiz. There are no make-ups for midterm
exams. See the professor for certain emergency situations where a make-up
exam may be allowed, as determined by the professor.
Textbook Policies
All students are required to have in their possession a copy of each textbook
for this class during the time the text is being covered on the syllabus.
Students may not share textbooks with others in the same class. Purchasing
textbooks is a required part of the learning process in higher education.
To demonstrate that you are a close, critical reader of your texts, you should
highlight important passages and write annotations within/beside the text
in your books to assist in your learning processes.
Resources policies : Writing Center
You can receive valuable help with your writing by visiting Millikin’s
Writing Center. The Writing Center is a free, one-on-one service that helps
you develop global strategies for improving writing, reading, and critical
thinking processes in a friendly, relaxed, and supportive environment. The
Writing Center helps with all aspects of writing, from brainstorming for ideas
to overcoming writer’s block, to the final editing and proofreading strategies,
as well as advice for drafting, expanding, and organizing your writing. The
Center also offers help with proper documentation style and plagiarism concerns.
While you [may/are required] to visit the Writing Center for this course, do
not limit yourself to those visits; the Writing Center is used by all students
in need of help with writing assignments from any course. Remember to bring
with you your assignment sheet and/or your draft for each of your writing projects.
The Center is located on the second floor of the Library in Room 203. Although
walk-ins are accepted, scheduled appointments have priority and are recommended.
Call or email for an appointment at 424-6353 or wcenter@mail.millikin.edu
Course prerequisites
IN150 and IN151 or permission of instructor
Letters of Recommendation
I am always glad to provide letters of recommendation for students who have
completed any of my courses with a 93% or above