Philosophy of Religion (PHIL 330)
Manchester University, Spring 2017 Instructor: Steve Naragon
Writing
[analytical essays] [academic dishonesty]
Please feel free to use the resources available to you at the Manchester University Writing Center.
ANALYTICAL ESSAYS [top]
Twice during each third of the semester, a two page essay on the day’s reading will be due (and it is due BEFORE THE CLASS PERIOD for which the reading is assigned). Specifically, these are the readings from Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings. It’s up to you to decide the readings on which you want to write your essays, so long as they are on different days, and so long as they are spaced out during the semester (viz., two before the first exam, two more before the second exam, and the final two before the final).
On some days we will be reading more than one article; your essay should be on just one of these. Also, because of your ability to choose when to write your essays, I will not accept any late submissions.
Each essay should include these numbered parts:
(1) summary outline (in your own words) of the overall structure of the author’s argument,
(2) analysis of what you take to be the most important steps of that argument and where you think the argument is most vulnerable or in need of attention,
(3) general evaluation of the essay: thumbs up, thumbs down, and why.
Six of these essays are required during the semester. You may write a seventh essay, if you wish, to substitute for a lower grade received on one of the other essays.
Length: 800 words (this is not much, so you need to be succinct).
Grading will follow this rubric:
Rubric
Each essay will receive up to ten points:
Length (0-2 pt)
2 = At least 800 words.
1 = At least 600 words.
Summary (0-2 pts)
2 = A perfect summary outline of the essay. You captured what was essential to the reading or argument with the fewest number of words possible. All significant points were included, with no insignificant details.
1 = Irrelevant details were included, or some important part of the reading or argument was neglected.
Analysis (0-3 pts)
3 = Excellent discussion: tight, to the point, enjoyable to read, and helpful. In the analysis, you should discuss those parts of the essay that you think are most deserving of attention — either because of their strength, or their weakness, or their general importance to the argument of the essay.
2 = Good grasp of the text/ideas with a fairly well focused analysis of the argument or issues.
1 = Considerable unclarity or lack of focus.
Evaluation (0-2 pts)
2 = Well-supported evaluation of the reading or argument.
1 = Fails to give adequate support to your evaluation.
Mechanics (0-1 pts)
1 = No errors of spelling, punctuation, or grammar.
0 = One or more errors.
Please turn in these essays through Canvas, in the appropriate drop-box (your first essay goes into box Essay-1, your second into Essay-2, and so on). Please type these up in a word processor and give them a good proof-reading before uploading into the appropriate Canvas drop-box.
If you wish, you may write an additional essay to replace the lowest grade of a previous essay, if you like (this is to replace an actual essay grade, and not a '0' for an unwritten essay).
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.
Manchester University // Registrar // Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies // Last updated: 26 Nov 2016