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Writing

[daily paragraphs] [extra credit journals] [academic dishonesty]

With all your writing assignments, please make free use of the resources available to you at the Manchester University Writing Center.

Daily Paragraphs [rubric]

Each day before class — and the sooner the better, but at the latest 30 minutes before class begins — please post on the appropriate “Discussion” in Canvas a brief passage from the day’s reading that you found interesting or puzzling – either from my notes in the book or from one of the readings. Please quote the text itself (preferably at most just a few sentences, and be sure to indicate where the passage is from) and then your question or comment about the text you quoted (what you found puzzling or interesting; why you think this passage merits our attention.)

Your paragraph (apart from the quote) should be from 100-150 words. Please do not write on a passage that somone else has already discussed (unless you have a distinctly different worry or observation about the passage).

[Makeup: Paragraphs submitted after the beginning of class will be counted as late but still accepted until the close of that day, i.e., midnight.]

Extra Credit Journals [rubric]

You may write brief essays for extra credit, if you wish. These are opportunities for exploring additional texts, films, videos, podcasts, etc., as listed under “Other Resources” on the Reading and Assignment schedule. A journal can be submitted on any item marked with an [EC]. These should be at least 600 words (about two pages), and will be graded on their length, content, and basic mechanics (see the rubric and see the sample journal). The content should include two parts: a brief summary of the text, film, or talk, and a rather longer discussion of what was philosophically of interest. A good discussion should also integrate ideas and arguments from the class discussions and readings. After the essay, assess it using the ten-point rubric provided (you can give just a string of numbers, but feel free to explain or justify your score).

These journals need to be turned in no later than two class days after the date on which they were listed (for instance, Olivia Judson’s essay “The Selfless Gene” is listed for Tuesday, March 3, so a journal would need to be submitted no later than midnight on Monday, March 9).

Please submit them to the “EC” drop box on Canvas, with the title of the article or film in the subject line. You may write up to one journal per class day, and at the end of the semester, the very last journals are due on the last day of classes (Thursday, May 7). Plan accordingly.

Each journal is worth up to 10 points, and up to 50 points may be accumulated. A full 50 points will add 4% to your course grade.

Academic Dishonesty [top]

Feel free to stop by my office with any questions you might have about what might constitute plagiariasm, but see also this useful resource found on the library website.

[The following text is copied from the university Catalog]

Membership in the Manchester University community requires a devotion to the highest principles of academic and personal integrity, a commitment to maintain honor, and a continuous regard for the rights of others. There can be no rights without individual responsibility.

Manchester University faculty are committed to teaching and learning as a career and a profession. Each instructor is presumed to develop and use methods and techniques which enhance learning and which best fit his or her personality and subject matter area. At the same time, the instructor is expected to abide by the general principles of responsible teaching which are commonly accepted by the academic profession. These principles suggest that faculty keep complete records of student performance and that they develop and apply express, uniform criteria for evaluating student performance.

Students are free to take reasoned exception to the data or views offered in any course of study. While they may reserve judgment about matters of opinion, they are responsible for learning the content of any course in which they are enrolled. At the same time, students are expected to abide by the general principles of academic honesty which are commonly accepted in educational settings.

When a student chooses not to follow the general principles of academic honesty, the following policies and procedures bear their sad fruit.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the presentation of information (either written or oral) as one’s own when some or all of the information was derived from some other source.

Specific types of plagiarism encountered in written and oral assignments include the following:

● Sources have been properly identified, but excerpts have been quoted without proper use of quotation marks; or the material has been slightly modified or rephrased rather than restated in the student’s own words.

● Key ideas or items of information derived from specific sources that present material that is not common knowledge have been presented without proper identification of the source or sources.

● Unidentified excerpts from other sources have been woven into the student’s own presentation.

● A paper or speech may be a mosaic of excerpts from several sources and presented as the student’s own.

● An entire paper or speech has been obtained from some other source and presented as the student’s own.

● Texts in another language are translated into English and presented as the student’s own.

Cheating

Cheating consists of any unpermitted use of notes, texts or other sources so as to give an unfair advantage to a student in completing a class assignment or an examination. Intentionally aiding another student engaged in academic dishonesty is also considered cheating.

Submission of the same work (essay, speech, art piece, etc.) to fulfill assignments in separate classes requires the permission of both faculty members (if both courses are being taken in the same semester), or the permission of the second faculty member (if they are taken during different semesters).

Penalties

• Unintentional Plagiarism. In cases of plagiarism in which no deception is intended (such as ignorance of proper citation of sources), the student should expect a reduction in the paper’s grade; in some cases, the student may be given an option to rewrite the paper. No disciplinary letter will be filed.

• Deliberate Plagiarism and Cheating. In cases of deliberate plagiarism, and in all cases of cheating and attempted cheating, the work assigned will be failed. At the instructor’s discretion, the student may also fail the course (regardless of the grade-weight of the work assigned).

In either a case of deliberate plagiarism or cheating, a disciplinary letter recording the deception will be sent to the student, with copies sent to the associate dean of academic resources and the student’s academic advisor. For more information, as well as for information regarding your rights of appeal, see the MU Source.