17th and 18th Century Philosophy (PHIL 318)
Writing
DAILY ESSAYS
An essay will be assigned for nearly every class period, and are due before class on the day for which they are assigned. You are expected to complete fifteen of these (so, on average, about one essay per week). Because of this flexibility to choose which essays to write, I will not accept any late essays.
Each essay should be a succinct and beautifully written response to the given prompts, which are found on the Reading Schedule. Please turn in these essays through ANGEL, in the appropriate drop-box (your first essay goes into box E-1, your second into E-2, and so on). Also, it’s much more convenient for me if you paste them into the text window of the drop-box (and not attach them). Because I’ll be grading these on mechanics as well as length and content (see the rubric), however, I strongly urge you to type them up in a word processor first, and give them a good proof-reading before you cut-and-paste them into the ANGEL drop-box.
Length: 500-600 words (this is not much, so you need to be succinct).
DAILY PARAGRAPHS
Part of your class participation grade will be based on brief, one-paragraph reflections on some passage in the reading. This passage is of your own choosing, so long as it doesn’t overlap with the topic of the daily essay. This passage could be a single sentence that puzzles you or that you find interesting. These pre-class paragraphs are due by 9:00 AM (submitted as responses to a blog entry for that day on ANGEL), and late is the same as never. Each class period will be graded following a 6 pt. rubric.
Format: If the passage is short, type it out; otherwise, indicate its location. Follow this with your one-paragraph reflection. Use this sample submission as a guide:
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Heraclitus, Fr. 118: “A dry soul is wisest and best.” Heraclitus mentions the four standard kinds of stuffs (fire, air, water, earth), and he seems to associate the soul with fire, which is also associated with logos, so that sort of makes sense. The soul (or mind) could seem to be like fire (or maybe is literally a kind of fire?), always changing, but also retaining a kind of unity (namely, the continuity of the flame). Would Heraclitus have thought that each of our minds was part of the basic cosmic fire that ordered (or was the order of) the universe? |
WRITING TIPS
Please carefully proofread your essays. You need to use complete sentences, proper punctuation, and correct spelling. Both in college and after you graduate you will be judged, in part, by how well you write. Typos, misspellings, poor grammar — in short, sloppy writing — is like so much stink coming from the bottom of your shoes. It won’t matter how nicely your hair is combed or your shirt is pressed if you can’t write a decent paragraph.
I hope it never comes to this, but my comments on your writing might make use of some of the following abbreviations:
awk: awkward. This is a sentence problem; the sentence should be re-written for greater clarity.
frag: sentence fragment. Another sentence problem; your sentence is lacking something vital. Like a subject. Or a verb. Don’t fall into the trap of writting essays that sound like advertising copy. We all can do better than that!
wc: word choice. You might find a better word to suit your sentence. Consult your dictionary for the exact meaning.
sp: spelling. Consult your dictionary!
?: Huh? You’ve lost your reader.
TS?: Topic sentence? This is a paragraph problem. There needs to be a topic sentence (normally, the lead sentence of the paragraph) that indicates what the paragraph is all about (what you are hoping to do in the paragaph; or it’s the claim for which the paragraph will now offer support, or an observation for which the paragraph will now offer some elaboration, etc.).
CO?: Cohere? Another paragraph problem; the sentences in this paragraph don’t fit together very well. Try re-arranging the,. Ask yourself: (a) What goal am I trying to acheive with this paragraph? and (b) Is each sentence working towards this goal?
Q?: Quotation? Quotations should be used only when a paraphrase will not do the job as effectively. Common problems include failing to properly introduce a quotation, failing to properly cite a quotation, quoting more than is helpful, and using a quotation when a paraphrase would be better.
Academic Dishonesty [top]
[This text is copied from the college Catalog]
Membership in the Manchester College 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 College 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 will apply.
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 vice president and dean for academic affairs, the vice president and dean for student development, and the student’s academic advisor.
Given the incompatibility of deceptive behavior with the integrity of the community, students guilty of academic dishonesty a second time during the course of their academic career are liable to disciplinary probation, suspension and possible expulsion. These actions will be initiated by the vice president and dean for academic affairs. The student has the right to appeal probation, suspension or expulsion for Academic Dishonesty to the president (or his/her designee) of the College within five days of the receipt of the probation, suspension or expulsion letter. The president shall render a final decision.Appeal
Any student who is convinced that he or she has been charged inappropriately with deliberate plagiarism or cheating, or who believes his or her final course grade is inaccurate, has the right to file a grievance. In accordance with established procedures, grievances unrelated to academic performance may be referred directly to the Office of Academic Affairs. See the Academic Grievance Procedure in the Source for details regarding the appeal process.
Manchester College // Registrar // Department of Religion and Philosophy // Last updated: 29 Jan 2012