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Writing

DISCUSSION FORUMS

Full credit in the course will require writing seven posts and commenting on fourteen posts written by others (so, for each forum, you will write one post and comment on two posts by other students). 

These forums will take place on ANGEL, where you will find the topics and due dates (for the posts and comments); the latter are also listed on the reading and assignment Schedule.  NB: You are encouraged to make these posts as early as you can.  Feel free to comment on posts as soon as they are available.

Each post should be at least 500 words and is worth up to 6 points; the comments should be at least 100 words each, and each is worth up to 2 points (see the rubric).

A good post will show evidence of having worked through the relevant readings, perhaps also responding to class discussion, and is written free of grammatical errors and typos.

About the comments:

(1) If a post already has two comments, then choose another post on which to comment. 

(2) These comments should be more than simply praise or a note of agreement.  I want you to interact with the claims made in the post, or with the argumentation: Do you agree or disagree, and why?  Is the author overlooking something?  You might offer further evidence for the author’s views, or else counter-evidence.  Try to raise at least one useful question for furthering the discussion.

(3) Feel welcome to comment as often as you wish on the posts; for any given forum, I’ll grade your two most substantial comments (that appear to be 100 words or more), but shorter comments are also welcome, and can add immeasurably to the conversation.

SHORT RESEARCH ESSAY

You will need to write one six to seven page essay (1800-2100 words), involving at least two drafts, an annotated bibliography (minimum: 10 sources, 5 non-internet), and a summary sheet.  There are a number of due dates for different aspects of this paper; these dates are listed on the Schedule, and are quite firm.  All assignments will be submitted on ANGEL — either as part of a discussion forum (the initial topics), a blog post (the annotated bibliography), or drop-boxes (for the thesis paragraph/sources, the first draft, the final draft, and the summary sheet) — these will all be clearly labeled in the “Research Essays” folder on ANGEL.

Choose your own style manual to follow — MLA, APA, or Chicago — and be sure to follow it [What’s a style manual?].

You will first explore your topic in a discussion forum, where you can receive suggestions from me and your fellow students.

The First Draft should be as finished as you can manage it: typed, proof-read, and nearly perfect.  I will then comment on this, after which you can re-submit the paper for a grade.  The last week of the semester will be devoted to everyone presenting their research to the class.

Plan your work schedule, and work ahead when you can.

SUMMARY SHEET

You will need to develop a two page (one sheet, front and back) summary sheet [rubric] to accompany the oral presentation of your research at the end of the semester [rubric].  This sheet should include the basic facts and findings of what you researched and the most important items from your bibliography.  You might want to review this sample summary sheet.

WRITING TIPS

Please carefully proofread your writing.  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, mispellings, 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.

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: 16 Dec 2011