During the semester, I will give points on essays as follows:

A+ 100%; A 95%; A- 92%; B+ 88%; B 85%; B- 82%; 

C+ 78%; C 75%; C- 72%; D+ 68%; D 65%; D- 62%; F 50%; NC 0%

Final grades are computed on the standard percentage basis:

     90% + = A; 80 - 89.9% = B; 70% - 79.9 % = C; 

60%-69.9% = D, 59.9% and below = F

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Calendar and weekly assignments: 

• Your weekly assignments will be linked to the Calendar page on my website throughout the semester and must be completed in a timely manner.   In addition to the detailed activities, I have entered due dates into the Blackboard Calendar under the Tools Menu.  This feature should help you organize your time over the six week course.

•  In an online class, activities are due throughout the week and often on the weekends.  However, when you complete the work if flexible as long as you meet the due dates.  For example, if you do not wish to work on the course during the weekend, you can do most activities earlier in the week and simply post them on the weekend by the due date.

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Email Guidelines

• If you have not changed your email address on Blackboard, you will be missing important information.  
• Always sign your emails.   Always put your name the course name (301) and the specific email topic in the "Subject" area of your email.  This helps me keep track of the individual emails I reply to.   

            For example: Subject:  Justin Brown   Engwr 301 Essay One Final Draft.

• Also, please use a greeting at the beginning of your emails, even if it is just "Professor Guerin," "Ms. Guerin," or "Jeanne."  I am not a Mrs., so that would not be an appropriate way to address me.   
• Please keep emails to me and to each other brief and polite.  Remember that the communication cues we depend upon in face to face interaction such as physical gestures, tone of voice, facial expression are missing in online communication.  Often misunderstandings arise.  Sometimes feelings get hurt.  Don't assume the worst.  If you feel offended by the content of an email, give yourself some time to cool off, and then politely ask the sender for clarification.
• My emails to you might be lengthy at times, depending on the subject matter. 

Discussion Boards (forums)

• Our primary method of sharing ideas and essays drafts will be through the course discussion boards.  These are located at the "Discussion" link on the far left side of the web page.  We will use class boards and small group boards as needed. 

• Discussion board logistics are a challenge.  Typically, the entries will follow a reading or writing assignment; then you will reply to each other, generating a discussion.  So there are several steps involved.  The problems arise when students either post their initial entries late or begin replying too early.  To avoid this, there will be a deadline for the initial entries, AFTER which you may begin replying.  

• Unless otherwise directed, you should reply to the  entries above yours and  below yours.  If you are on the top of the board, you should reply to the two entries below yours and the two at the bottom of the board.  If you are at the bottom of the board, you should reply to the two entries below yours and the two at the top of the board.  

• Expect to log on to the discussion boards several times per week. 

• Only discussion entries posted by the deadline will be counted.  Details will be furnished in the Weekly Assignments area of the site.

• Many of you may be accustomed to the informal communication style of discussion boards on the internet, and I DO want our class discussion boards to be a place where you feel comfortable exchanging ideas on the assigned topics.  Still, keep in mind that you are enrolled in a college English course; I expect thoughtful entries that demonstrate your engagement with the subject matter.  Also, you will want to be aware of your audience and avoid using slang, unless you are sure all of your classmates--some of whom may not use English as their first language--and I will understand the slang term.  Profanity is inappropriate, even if the readings include profanity. 

• I also expect you to aim for correctness in grammar, punctuation and spelling, and remember that the discussion boards can serve as areas where you can practice writing skills as you participate. 

• Depending on the assignment, you may wish to write your entry in a word processing program and then copy and paste onto the board.

• Your participation will be graded on the effort you put into class discussion and the timeliness of your entries and replies.  

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Essay Assignments:  

• Each detailed essay assignment will be posted on the website under the Essays link on the menu bar to the left of most course web pages.  See above for formatting.  

• As stated in the Course Objectives, above, to pass this course, you will write 6500 words. A word count will be included at the end of the last page of essays and reading journal entry and should not include the heading of your paper or the documentation.  

• If each essay and journal entry does not meet the word count, there will be a major grade penalty that may cause you to fail the course.  

Formatting Essays:      

All final drafts of essays will be submitted electronically and should be formatted* in Times Roman 12 pt. font, and include one-inch margins, double-spacing and a word count at the end.  Paragraphs must be numbered.  All essays must include this heading in the upper left-hand corner:

Your name
English 301
Jeanne Guerin
Name of assignment
Due Date

*Formatting essays online is tricky.  Use these guidelines as well as those above.

Paragraph numbering is important.  Paragraphs should be numbered from beginning to end, P1, P2, P3, etc.  This system makes it much easier for me to comment on your essays and for you to read and understand my comments.  

Although MLA standards DO NOT call for extra spaces between paragraphs, in my online classes, I ask students to create an extra space between paragraphs.

Submitting Work:

• Submit journals and essays via email attachment and to the Digital Drop Box in Blackboard.  For essays submit final drafts and Works Cited page, as well as the Peer Review Record.  I will grade your peer review efforts and the timeliness of your rough drafts from the discussion board.  

• If you are using Microsoft Word, save as usual and attach.  

• If you are using any other word processing program save as a Rich Text or Rich Text Format file and attach.

• Name the files as follows:
      Your last name and the assignment title.  
      For example, if your name is Joe Jones, and you are submitting Essay One,  you would name the file jonesessay1.  If you are submitting Reading Journal #1, you might name the file jonesRJ1.

Late Paper Policy: 

• There will be a grade penalty of one full grade for each calendar day an essay draft is late.  

• You are responsible for keeping a copy of your essay.  

• Technology related excuses are tiresome and typically avoidable.  Save all your work for the course on a disk, and don't wait until the last minute to post to the discussion board.   

• Leave yourself time to complete your work in a campus computer lab or on an alternate computer.

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Plagiarism: 

• Unfortunately, plagiarism has become a growing problem in the last few years.   The American River College English Department faculty is committed to rigorous pursuit of detecting this unethical practice and imposing disciplinary sanctions on students who plagiarize.  

•  I have an account with Turnitin.com, an Internet service that runs essays through a search system that will detect cases of plagiarism electronically, by running your essays through a scan of internet pages and print databases.  I use this service.   It works very well and, unfortunately, I have caught students every semester. 

• This semester you will submit your own essays to the service before turning them in. 

• If you plagiarize, you will receive a grade of F on the plagiarized assignment and will quite probably fail the course.

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Peer Reviews: *  

• Because reading and writing go hand in hand, most writers do not work in isolation.  Instead, they test the effectiveness and clarity of their writing by asking others to read drafts.  

• No writer wants to submit a final draft for evaluation before he or she has tested its readability. When others read our work, they can help us discover areas that need clarification, connection, analysis, or better supporting detail.  

• Our class will also practice this method of pre-evaluation.  Therefore, all writing prepared for the course is subject to peer reading and reviewing.  

• For each essay, you will submit the peer reviews you did for classmates as well as the peer reviews that were done for you.

• Unsubstantial peer reviews will lower your essay grade. 

*For summer classes peer reviews will be assigned as time permits.

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Readings and reading journals  

• Be prepared for discussion assignments by completing all readings on the dates they are due.  We will discuss readings on the discussion board.   You will also submit reading journal entries to me.  Also reading journals will not be accepted after the due date and time.   These are worth ten points each and will reflect your engagement with the readings.

• Please note: Do your own reading and your own thinking.  When I read your journals,  I can almost always tell if a student has not read the readings, but instead has read the discussion board entries and has tried to write a journal entry based on the discussion posts of students who have done the reading.  Changing the way you feel about something you have read because a discussion gave you new insight, is fine, but taking other student's ideas and formulating a response without doing the reading is plagiarism and will be treated as such.  Only entries that reflect critical engagement with the readings will receive passing grades.  You should plan to include very brief quotes from the readings.

• Your journal entries will be graded for content.  Avoid summarizing.  Assume your audience knows what the readings are about and wants to learn how you respond to them.

• Your reading journal grade for the course will be drawn from these assignments.  

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Class Participation:  

Participation is an essential aspect of the course. You will be expected to take part in discussion as well as discussion and peer evaluation workshops. Be prepared to share your voices in the discussion board assignments. I am very interested in hearing your perspective on the literature we read throughout the semester and do assess points for your participation.

Red Alert: Take care to meet each course requirement.  In order to pass the course and to meet the American River College 6,500 word requirement for English 301, all assignments must be completed and submitted for grading. 

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