Paper Policies

Paper Policies

Papers
Rough Drafts
Posting Late Drafts

Peer-Editing
Peer-Editing Late Drafts

Rewrites

The bulk of the grade for this class will be based on two major papers (Microsoft Word files or Open Office files) and two presentations (PowerPoint Presentations or Open Office Files).

Papers

I do not accept papers via e-mail for any reason.

All papers must be submitted as Microsoft Word files or Open Office files; all presentations must be submitted as Microsoft PowerPoint files or Open Office files.

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 the file to me!

The final draft (for me to grade) should be a clean copy with no peer-edited comments included.

If you want to turn the paper in early, you may do so any time after the peer-editing deadline. There is no bonus for turning in papers early, just a chance of getting it back faster. That means:

The sooner you submit your paper, the sooner you are likely to get it back.

Don't submit any paper until you are SURE you are ready for me to grade it! I will grade the first file you submit, not any subsequent updates.

Late papers will be marked down by 10 points for each day they are late. Papers more than one week late 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

Students will be working in groups of four to peer-edit each other's rough drafts. Papers which have not been peer-edited by your classmates will not be accepted and you 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%. 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.

NOTES:

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).

Drafts must be posted in MS Word or PowerPoint format (not Open Office) to ensure that your classmates can open them. If you don't know how to save Open Office files in MS Word or PowerPoint format, go to the ITS Help Desk for assistance.

Posting Late Drafts: When you post a draft late, you run the risk that your group may not have time to peer-edit for you. (This is your problem, not theirs.) The best thing to do is to be polite: let them know why your draft was late and ask them to please peer-edit for you anyway. The will be more likely to make this extra effort if you also peer-edit for them, preferably on time.

Peer-Editing

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 for your peer-editing grade 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 AND 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 is covered in Unit 2. The Questions are posted there and in the Instructions and FAQ section.

Peer-Editing Late Drafts: If someone in your group posts a draft late, your peer-editing grade will not be penalized.

For drafts that were posted on time, late PE files must be posted by 11:55p.m. Sun.; files posted after that earn zero points.

Please peer-edit late drafts if you can. You are not penalized when someone else posts a draft late. If you don’t have time, you are not obligated to re-arrange your schedule to peer-edit the late files (and you will not be penalized if you don’t).

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

NOTES

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

The final draft (for me to grade) should be a clean copy with no peer-editing or grading comments included.

Rewrites are due one week after you get your graded paper back. This about three weeks after the original paper deadline. Rewrite deadlines will be posted as announcements.

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

Students may not rewrite any short assignments or quizzes.

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.