EACH STUDENT WILL BE HELD TO THE SAME STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS (i.e., no special pleading, please).
 

I.  ATTENDANCE:
(1)  Prompt attendance is mandatory.  You need to attend class, and you need to be on time  for those class periods.  If you take more than three hours of unexcused cuts (i.e., the equivalent of one week’s classes), your final grade will be reduced one-half of a letter grade for each excess cut. PLEASE DON'T MISS CLASS!!!

(2)  You will be expected to be well prepared for and take an active role in class sessions.  IF YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND SOMETHING THAT IS SAID IN CLASS, PLEASE ASK!!!  I much prefer that you speak up and are wrong than for you not to speak at all.  THERE IS NO PENALTY IN THIS COURSE FOR WRONG ANSWERS DURING CLASS SESSIONS.

(3)  If not otherwise instructed, for the purposes of the quizzes you will be expected to have read the entire assigned reading for the week by the first  class session of the week.
 

II.  WRITTEN WORK:
(1)  Since this is an upper-level English course, you are naturally expected to produce written work that is relatively free of grammatical/punctuation errors.  (If you  need spot-check review, any grammar text such as A Pocket Style Manual should answer any problems or resolve any confusion you have).  All written work should be thoroughly proofread for misspelling and typographical errors.  Therefore, any paper containing a number of basic-grammar or punctuation errors will suffer a substantial reduction in the grade it might have received on content alone.  PLEASE PROOFREAD!!!

(2)  If you find that you are having difficulty with your writing, you can find additional help free at the OIR Teaching Center, Broward Hall Basement, SW.
 

III.  DEADLINES:
All work must be turned in on time.  Late papers will receive a substantial grade reduction (usually one letter-grade per class session late), and they may well be graded without comments.  A paper will be considered late if turned in any time after the beginning of the class session it is due.  Any written work more than one week late will not be accepted at all.   You will receive a failing grade for that assignment.
 

IV.  “DEATH PENALTY” FOR CHEATING:
Yes, everyone knows that unfortunately lots of people lie and cheat.  But my job is, among other things, to teach you how to reason clearly and precisely.  Dishonest shortcuts defeat that purpose and ultimately turn potentially disciplined minds into lazy and inept mushmuckers.

So my approach to cheating is brutally simple: The first time you are caught cheating in any form, you fail the course.  No second chances.  No excuses.  Furthermore, I automatically send a letter to the University Administration recommending that you be suspended or expelled from the university.

One of the most common and most misunderstood ways of cheating is plagiarism.  Plagiarism is broader than just copying someone else’s thoughts word for word.  It includes many other kinds of intellectual theft.  You should certainly take advantage of the expertise of gifted scholars; in general, it would be arrogant and foolish not to.  But that does not mean that you can steal their ideas, which is what you are doing if you pass off someone else’s points as your own.  Any time you write something that incorporates someone else’s ideas—no matter how much you may have reworded, reworked, or otherwise disguised them—you are obligated to give that person credit.  Part of becoming educated is learning to appreciate and respect the discipline and hard work that previous scholars have put in, which has advanced knowledge of a subject to the point where you have found it.  If you have any doubt about what constitutes cheating in any particular circumstances, ask my opinion.  Better to be safe and informed than ignorant and expelled.
 

V.  SEEK HELP AND ADVICE:
I am here to help you learn from this course.  I HOPE YOU WILL FEEL FREE TO SPEAK WITH ME AT ANY TIME BEFORE CLASS, AFTER CLASS, DURING MY OFFICE HOURS, OR BY APPOINTMENT—PARTICULARLY (AND AS SOON AS POSSIBLE) IF YOU ARE HAVING ANY PROBLEM.  My office is in 4336 Turlington Hall.  My scheduled Office hours this term will be during 11th period (6:15 PM–7:05 PM) on Tuesdays and 8th period (3:00 PM-3:50 PM) on Thursdays.  Unfortunately but inevitably, there will be those intermittent occasions when I am called away for a university meeting, or a conflicting PhD exam, or any number of other such duties (sorry).  Don’t panic.  If you find that you cannot see me during my office hours and aren’t able to talk to me shortly before or after class, please telephone or e-mail me.  And, of course, as a last resort, we can try to set up an appointment for a mutually agreeable time to meet other than my normal office hours.

When all else fails, take a deep breath, concentrate, and don’t forget that real learning is fun.  So work hard, but also BE SURE TO MAKE IT FUN FOR YOURSELF!