Course Policies and Requirements

Attendance and Class Participation.  Attendance is expected, as is class participation; both are essential parts of the course.  You have four free absences (unexcused); a fifth absence means that you may fail the course, as will an excessive number of excused absences.

You should come to class prepared to discuss each day's reading. Since the syllabus is online, as are the readings not in your textbooks, you should have no trouble in reading the next day's assignments even if you're absent on the previous day.

Giving your full attention to the material and to your classmates' comments raises the level of learning in a discussion-based class such as English 368. Although you're welcome to keep your cell phone on in case of an emergency (such as having a relative in the hospital), please be considerate and turn your cell phone off otherwise while you're in class. Other kinds of disruptions fall into this category of being considerate of your classmates, too: wandering in and out of class, reading the newspaper, playing sudoku, and so on are disruptive. Days when this occurs are days on which you receive a 0 for class participation. Also, although you may use your laptop to take notes if you wish, I have noticed that a student's participation in class discussions usually diminishes when a laptop is used. Since class participation is a substantial part of your grade, please consider this when deciding whether to bring a laptop to class.

Students with Disabilities: Reasonable accommodations are available for students with a documented disability. If you have a disability and may need accommodations to fully participate in this class, please visit the Disability Resource Center (DRC). All accommodations MUST be approved through the DRC (Admin Annex Bldg, Room 205). Please stop by or call 509-335-3417 to make an appointment with a disability specialist.www.drc.wsu.edu.

Papers

Formal Papers. Students in this class will write two formal papers, a short (5-7 pages) analytical interpretation of one of the novels, and a longer analytical paper (10-12 pages) that will require some research. A list of paper topics will be handed out well before the papers are due.

Format. Papers must be neatly typed and carefully proofread. Citations should follow MLA style as outlined in the MLA Handbook, Bedford Handbook, or other such guides.

Electronic Version. You will need to turn in a computer-readable version (as a Word or .rtf attachment) of your paper by e-mailing it to me in addition to, or instead of, turning in a paper version. Your paper will not be graded and you will not receive any credit for the paper until I receive the electronic version.

Late Papers and Extensions. Late papers are penalized at the rate of one letter grade (10 points) per class day late; a paper that would have received a "B" on Tuesday will receive a "C" if handed in on Thursday.

• If no paper is turned in within 4 class days (due date plus three more days), no credit will be given and a 0 will be averaged into your course grade for that paper.
• You have one 48-hour extension in this class. This extension means that your paper will be due on the next class day, which could be more than 48 hours, without penalty.You must request the extension ahead of time, and you should save it for a true emergency, since no other extensions will be granted for illness, funerals, weddings, or any other reason.

Plagiarism Policy. Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of someone else's words or ideas. This definition includes not only deliberately handing in someone else's work as your own but failing to cite your sources, including Web pages and Internet sources. Penalties for plagiarism range from an F on the paper or the course to suspension from the university.

For a first offense, any paper plagiarized in whole or in part will receive an "F" (0 points), and the incident must be reported to the WSU Office of Student Conduct.  You will NOT be allowed to rewrite the plagiarized paper for a better grade.

WSU Statement on Academic Integrity. As an institution of higher education, Washington State University is committed to principles of truth and academic honesty. All members of the University community share the responsibility for maintaining and supporting these principles. When a student enrolls in Washington State University, the student assumes an obligation to pursue academic endeavors in a manner consistent with the standards of academic integrity adopted by the University. To maintain the academic integrity of the community, the University cannot tolerate acts of academic dishonesty including any forms of cheating, plagiarism, or fabrication. Washington State University reserves the right and the power to discipline or to exclude students who engage in academic dishonesty.

Exams

The midterm and final exams in this course will consist of objective (multiple choice, short answer, matching) and identification questions and an essay. Exams cannot be made up without a doctor's note. If you want to complete a weblog AND a report, you have the option not to take the final exam. The midterm is not optional.

Other Work

Quizzes. Frequent, unannounced quizzes over the reading will be given in this class. They cannot be made up, even if you are absent because of illness, but the lowest quiz grade will be dropped. Quizzes are usually given in the first 10 minutes of class; if you come in late and the quiz is in progress, you will not be able to take the quiz. An optional quiz will be given as a universal "make-up" quiz at the end of the semester.

In-class writing and short assignments. Short, typed responses to the reading may be assigned from time to time, as will short pieces of in-class writing.

Précis. One of the out-of-class assignments will be to write a précis of a journal article and critique it. You can find the précis assignment at http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/engl368/precis.htm.

Reports and Weblogs

Students in this class will either present a brief oral report to the class or keep an online journal (weblog) of their reading this semester. Both options will should involve about the same amount of work, but with the weblog option, you'll be spreading the work out over the entire semester. Those who choose both to present a report and to keep a weblog will not have to take the final exam.

• You'll sign up for a report or a weblog in class. See the Reports and Weblogs pages for more details.
• To make the schedule updatable and available to all, it will be posted at the link above with your names on it. Weblogs will also be linked from our main page, which will contain the names of class webloggers. Because the point of the weblog is to share your thoughts with others in the class, our main class site will contain a link with your name as part of the requirement.
• If you have any privacy concerns (under FERPA) about having people know that you are in this class or do not want your name posted anywhere on our class site, you should choose the Reports option instead; you'l also need to write to me (on paper) requesting that your name be omitted from the Reports page.

Grade Distribution. Note: Because of FERPA and privacy issues, no grades will be discussed or transmitted by e-mail or instant messaging. You can check all of your grades (except the grade for class participation) in elearning.wsu.edu.