Paper Policies

Paper Policies

Papers
Rough Drafts and Peer-Editing
Rewrites

The bulk of the grade for this class will be based on several major papers and presentations (refer to the Syllabus for details).

Papers

I do not accept papers via e-mail for any reason.
All papers must be submitted as Microsoft Word files (97-03 format, not Office 2007) or Open Office files; all presentations must be submitted as Microsoft PowerPoint files (97-03 format, not Office 2007) or Open Office files.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I am not using MS Office 2007. If you turn in file in this format, I will not be able to read them or grade them, therefore you will earn a zero for them. If you are using MS Office 2007 you must save your files as an older version of Office (Office 97-03 format) or as rich text files (.rtf). If you don't know how to do that contact the ITS Help Desk.

All Word files must have the ".doc" extension on the end. This includes drafts you post for peer-editing as well as papers you turn in to me. (Open Office text files end with the ".odt" extension.)
All PowerPoint files must have the ".ppt" extension on the end. This includes drafts you post for peer-editing as well as papers you turn in to me. (Open Office presentation files end with the ".odp" extension.)

All papers must be turned in to the Assignment Manager by the due date.

If you aren't sure how to do that, refer to How do I Turn in an Assignment Using the Assignment Manager? in the Instructions and FAQ section.

Once files are submitted a receipt will appear on the screen; print and save this receipt in case there is a problem later (saving it as a pdf file is also acceptable).

Once an assignment has been submitted, you can’t access it again. If you turned in the wrong file, contact me and I will clear the file so you can resubmit it. Do not e-mail me files!

Late papers will be marked down by 10 points for each day they are late. Papers more than one week late in Fall or Winter semesters (3 days in the Spring or Summer semesters) will not be accepted and the student will receive a zero for that assignment (which will most likely lead to failing the class).

Late papers will be accepted without penalty only under extenuating circumstances. If you must turn in a paper late, contact me ahead of time.

Rough Drafts and Peer-Editing

Students will be working in groups of four to peer-edit each other's rough drafts. Papers which have not been peer-edited will not be accepted and the student will receive a zero for that assignment (which could lead to failing the class).

You get credit for both components of peer-editing: posting your draft for your group to peer-edit, and peer-editing for all the other students in your group. These two components count as short assignments (which are 20% of your overall class grade).

Posting Your Draft: You get credit for your posting your draft to the Group File Exchange. If you post the draft on time you get 100%. If you post it late you get 90%. The grade drops 10% for each day it is late. If it is a week or more late you will receive a zero.

Draft Length: Your draft must meet the minimum required length for the assignment. Drafts shorter than the minimum required length will be marked down accordingly.

NOTE: To earn 100% drafts must be complete and posted on time. "Complete" means the draft includes everything required by the assignment sheet (i.e., if the assignment sheet says you must include a Works Cited and an out outline with the final paper you turn in to me, the draft should also include those things).

Peer-Editing: You get credit for peer-editing your groupmembers' papers. If you peer-edit all the drafts that were posted from your groupmembers you get 100%. That score will drop for each paper you do not edit. If you don't edit any papers you will receive a zero and you will have annoyed your groupmates -- the people who have provided you with feedback for your paper.

To earn 100% for each paper you peer-edit you must include your comments and suggestions throughout the paper. At the end of each paper you must also include and answer Dr. Hannah Furrow's Peer-Editing Questions; make sure your answer to each question is well-developed (a few sentences or even a paragraph, not a yes-or-no answer or a just a few words). Peer-editing was covered in Unit 2. The Questions are posted there and in the Instructions and FAQ section.

Rewrites

Occasionally, a student will turn in a paper which does not earn a passing grade. If this happens, the student may rewrite it in order to make the paper meet the assignment requirements and receive a passing grade. If you need to rewrite:

1. See the instructor for assistance
2. Rewrite the paper
3. Take the paper to the Writing Center for tutoring (This step is optional but strongly recommended)
4. Resubmit the paper, including the date and time of the Writing Center appointment

A rewrite should be a substantial revision of content, not merely correcting surface features (spelling, grammar, punctuation, citation, etc.). If the content is not substantially different, your grade will not be changed.

Rewrites are due one week after you get your graded paper back.

Students may only rewrite papers which were turned in on time (i.e., late papers may not be resubmitted).

Students may only rewrite papers which did not earn passing grade.

Students may not rewrite any short assignments or quizzes or Paper 3 (the Research Paper).

It is possible to earn full credit (100%) on a rewrite if the revised paper is well-written and fulfills all the assignment requirements.

When a student rewrites a paper, that grade is saved in my off-line gradebook to use for calculating the student's class grade. If the original grade is better than the rewrite grade, I use the original grade when calculating the student's class grade.